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Tuesday, August 08, 2006

machete quest

Does anyone know where you can buy a machete? Don checked Home Depot and they don't seem to have any, and nobody seems to know where to get one -- I asked a coworker and he said that his is inherited from his father-in-law! That seems to be the way one acquires machetes... perhaps there is some sort of Pratchett-esque growth phenomenon in the garages and workshops of the world, and I ought to go a-harvesting!

Don's goal is to get the backyard jungle chopped down to a reasonable level before winter -- not to actually do any real landscaping or clearing, as that's not really an achievable goal right now, but just to make everything... well, short.

For this, he requires a machete. (Yes, we have trimmers -- two pair. We used them to cut down the dreaded pokeweed, or at least a lot of it. But if we have to snip down the jungle stem by stem I'm moving to Brazil.)

7 comments:

John said...

Evil Walmart, some mom & pop hardware stores, and military surplus places. They usually sell for $10-15 each.

Anonymous said...

A scythe works pretty well, too. Or rent a field and brush mower for a couple of hours and it will grind everything up as you mow.

Jamaila said...

We don't have room for a brush mower, since we want to get the whole thing even around that creepy back area. My coworker suggested the same thing except he called it a bush hogger. I suggested a scythe but Don said he doesn't want one, something about not wanting the wide swing. I guess he wants precision cuts or something.

StuccoHouse said...

Ace Hardware sells them. Order online and have them ship it for free to your local store.

Malnurtured Snay said...

The camping sections of Target or Walmart, I'd bet. Or, send Indiana Jones an e-mail and ask for his.

Anonymous said...

Military surplus would work.

A great tool for brush is something my racist neighbor called a mexican weedeater. I don't know the proper name. It is a sharp serated blade on a half circle with a wooden handle. The handle is mounted a little off center so the blade runs parallel to the ground and you swing it with one hand. The blade is on both sides, and works really well. I have seen them at Home depot and Lowes. I used them for cutting brush in Oregon and maintaining ill used trails.

Litcritter said...

Ace Hardware has both machetes and grass whips (which is the non-racist name for the tool Jay S is describing.