Article in "American Surveyor" about cutting tools

We got a 14 person inmate fire crew to clear line for us. Amazing, 10' wide through thick brush down to the ground with a running trail down the middle. They can do 300' an hour. I can do 300' an hour but there will just be a small hole through it and it'll still take 20 minutes to crawl the 300'.

I agree with him on axes. I have a lightweight Estwing, I've almost been hit by it glancing off of trees like that several times. I got a heavier Fiskars axe, much better, it sinks into the tree when you hit it. Cut down an 8" pine in a few minutes.

Yeah, I'm still trying to figure out the most efficient tool for cutting line through underbrush. I use a 24" machete because that is all that I have ever used and it's easy to carry in a sheath on my hip. But it doesn't seem that efficient to me. I have seen some surveyors have brush hooks in their trucks but I have never seen one used.

I used to use a brush hook, a ditch bank blade, a 48" wood handle, and a RAZOR sharp edge. Requires 2 hands. You can dig out monuments with the end, and you can pretty much do it all with it. BUT you cannot carry anything else, while it is with you. At least, in your hands. Often today, I have a chainsaw in one hand and my handy new JAVAD in the other! YEAH! To the tune of "Comin' through the jungle"!

Bow Tie Surveyor, post: 349925, member: 6939 wrote: Yeah, I'm still trying to figure out the most efficient tool for cutting line through underbrush.

The tool I use the most for cutting line through brush is a pair of Fiskars Ratchet Loppers. Loppers are useful and these are the best I've ever used.

http://www2.fiskars.com/Products/Gardening-and-Yard-Care/Loppers/Ratchet-Lopper-27

My dad is a fan of loppers. He used to use them in the 1970's until today. I could work circles around him, with the brush axe, (above) but I could not do other things well. My usual chore was to chop out all traverse lines, and hang flags at all traverse points. And, stay out of the others way. So long as their lines were chopped out, they left me alone. That was my goal.

Kent McMillan, post: 349930, member: 3 wrote: The tool I use the most for cutting line through brush is a pair of Fiskars Ratchet Loppers. Loppers are useful and these are the best I've ever used.

http://www2.fiskars.com/Products/Gardening-and-Yard-Care/Loppers/Ratchet-Lopper-27

I second a good pair of loppers. The don't tear up your shoulders and elbows and you can clear surprisingly fast. Cut the stuff at ground level and push it down. Pair the loopers with a Fiskars axe and you are unbeatable...3" manzanita will go in two chops.

Dave Karoly, post: 349932, member: 94 wrote: I second a good pair of loppers. The don't tear up your shoulders and elbows and you can clear surprisingly fast. Cut the stuff at ground level and push it down. Pair the loopers with a Fiskars axe and you are unbeatable...3" manzanita will go in two chops.

What kind of Fiskars axe do you use?

A good machete is still the tool of choice in the Pacific Northwest. The most common thing that we are cutting through is blackberry vines, which yield nicely to a sharp machete.

Machetes did not work well on the dried, hard, woody scrub in Oklahoma. I can definitely see the value of a set of loppers there.

Everything is easier; if your tool is sharp.

I want a Jedi light saber with a five-foot blade and with a human meat detector safety shut-off feature built in.

Either that or a razor sharp Blackie Collins D-handle 21-inch machete.

Our blackberry vines require a bank blade (Kaiser blade; hook blade) with a long handle. And you will still dig briars out of the back of your ears!

Dave Karoly, post: 349932, member: 94 wrote: I second a good pair of loppers. The don't tear up your shoulders and elbows and you can clear surprisingly fast. Cut the stuff at ground level and push it down. Pair the loopers with a Fiskars axe and you are unbeatable...3" manzanita will go in two chops.

I also like loppers. Used a Sandvik Brush Hook for decades, always had trouble with small diameter "springy" stuff like Tamarisk. Had way to many close calls with machetes to ever touch one again! A good ratchet lopper is hard to beat as a general purpose tool.

I found loppers to be to slow. Brush hooks are unstoppable and can even take down trees. Well worth the extra bulk. The best part is the looks you get when you come out of the woods and back into civilization with a brush hook in your hand. People don't know what to think!

Short machete for instrument person to get missed on-line brush.

Long machete for point person, especially in snake country.

Brush hooks or bank blades for thorny brush and dead branches.

Double bit cruiser axe, one sharp side and one duller side for multiple uses.

Whatever, sharpness is the key, and safety is the rule.

Light saber would be the surveyor's dream tool just like gps became.

The article is 100% wrong about brush-ax's not being dangerous and should be used by the novice. That's the worst advice I've ever heard. Also, I will run circles around you folks with loppers with my machete. Finally, we don't use chainsaws but if a man knows what he's doing with them, and the timber is big enough, they will win. In vines, the machete is the weapon of choice as the safest alternative. In saw-briars, the brush ax wins hands down.

Used a brush hook or chainsaw in my younger years but switched to a Coos Bay Knife, a machete blade attached to a length of axe handle, and a boys axe, for trees. Feds had a length requirement so you wouldn't be into your legs.
The brush hook was almost unbreakable, could dig holes, chop trees and brush, and I believae the best all around tool for the working in the woods in a survey setting. You did have to spend time to keep them sharp.
Chainsaws allow you to go anywhere in the woods and gets more brush out of the way than any other tool. If you use a chainsaw buy a good quality one, stihl or huskey. The only problem is a saw only does one thing. A good chainsaw man is invaluable and will clear more line than 2 people using hand tools. He does all the heavy work so pay him accordingly.
The Coos Bay Knife is the best brush cutting tool I ever used. It wood cut brush like a hot knife threw butter. The only problem is the handle length allows it to reach the ground and rocks, which leads to chips in the blade and blade breakage.
Anything sharp will cut you. Take a break if you get tiered. When things get wet they get slick and your hands get soft and are easily cut or banged up. Always have gloves for the crew.

Stay safe out there.

As others have said, in the Pacific NW a machete is king when it comes to blackberries and other vines. I like my woodsman's pal for larger limbs. It is like a short, thick, wide and curved machete that gets some good momentum for cutting hard wood. Some times you just need to go with a little power. When I know I will be cutting a lot of line I break out the Stihl pole saw with a hedging head for seas of blackberries. For the big stuff I break out the chainsaw, if allowed on the site.

Merry Christmas

johnbo, post: 350492, member: 8695 wrote: Used a brush hook or chainsaw in my younger years but switched to a Coos Bay Knife.......

What is a Coos Bay Knife? i googled it and came up empty.

Thanks

Ken

Ken Salzmann, post: 350539, member: 398 wrote: What is a Coos Bay Knife? i googled it and came up empty.

Thanks

Ken

I thought it was just me....

I had a Bolo, back in the day; that was a nice knife....

Machete, small chain saw, ratcheting loppers.