Here's Jeff's Article:
Here Are My Top 10 Reasons A Machete Is The Ultimate Survival “Multi-Tool”...
Spear-Point: The point of the machete can be used to “drill” holes… open canned goods… and skin game you hunt (just grip the upper edge of the blade and use the tip to cut). Also, with a “bolo-style” tip design like the Guardian’s, it’s an effective stabbing weapon for self-defense.
Lead Edge: The edge closest to the tip is best used for scraping, such as for finishing a hide, carving out a canoe (or shaving off that stubble “Crocodile Dundee-like”).
Middle Edge: This is the “sweet spot” of the blade where the most force is distributed for felling trees, chopping wood for shelter or a fire, or hacking anything you want from bushwhacking a trail to decapitating zombies.
Forte: The bottom third of the blade isn’t as strong for chopping, but it’s perfect for finer-control tasks such as cutting meat... stripping bark... shaving tinder... or scraping flint to start a fire.
Pommel: Typically used in fighting as a close-quarters, non-lethal defense tool. For our Guardian, we extended the full-tang blade to be able to use this area as a glass-breaking tool to escape or rescue someone from a crashed or burning vehicle.
Rear Spine: The flat edge of the spine closest to the handle grip makes for a good hammer… as well as popping the cap off of a beer bottle of course.
Spine: Because of the power generated when swinging a machete, the spine can be used for breaking sticks instead of chopping them. But for me, a simple flip of the machete allows you to use the spine for self-defense because it will break a bone rather than hacking off a limb in a scenario where lethal force isn’t desired.
Beveled Upper Spine Point: Not all machetes have this feature, but for our Guardian, we beveled the upper portion of the symmetrical spear-point to be better used for “stabbing” self-defense moves (something most machetes aren’t equipped for). By beveling the upper edge rather than sharpening it, it makes our Guardian legal as a “tool” rather than a “sword” - yet is still incredibly effective at this combat purpose.
Broad, Flat Top: Having a wider point with the bolo design allows the machete to be used as a shovel for digging fire-pits... trenches... or even a foxhole in a pinch. (Plus, it’s a badass way to flip a steak at your next BBQ!)
The Most Important Feature: While not a specific “area” of the machete, our heat-treated 1095 steel can easily defeat many “urban obstacles” you may encounter after a disaster (or collapse).
First, I wouldn’t try this with any other machete (see this video for why), but we tested several different types of steel and found that the common machetes you get from a sporting good store (or even the popular knife manufacturers) work fine for chopping smaller pieces of wood, they failed when put to the test against “urban” type obstacles.
This is important because you never know when you’re going to need to:
- Bust through cement to build a reinforcement wall, defensive position, or protect your home from a storm (or looters)
- Breach a concrete wall whose main entry has been destroyed
- Cut through barbed wire or sheet metal to gain access to an escape path
- Or break through any other barriers in urban type environments.
- Most people - even experienced survivalists - don’t think about using a machete for these types of challenges… mostly because no other machete has been powerful enough to be an “urban survival tool”.
But that’s exactly how we designed the Guardian from the ground up and you can see why it’s so different than any other machete out there in this “torture test” video…
In fact, I’m so confident that the Guardian is the most powerful machete on the market that not only do I offer you a full 365-day warranty… but I’ll even let you test it out at home (for free) BEFORE buying it!
Look, when it comes to your survival and protecting your family, don’t settle for cheapo sporting good store machetes.
You want one that will be strong enough to defeat any task you throw at it and still be so strong you can pass it down from generation to generation as a prized selection in your arsenal.
Prepare. Train. Survive.
Jeff Anderson
Editor
Modern Combat & Survival Magazine
Note From Me(George): If you want to see these tips in action, then I'd recommend checking out Jeff's torture test video here if you missed it this weekend.