I'll take the 1311. It weighs about the same as some 7 inch blades. The reach will let you drop the 14 inch machete and 5-to-7 inch knife combination and have very similar utility.
The kukri doesn't work for me for trail clearing and grass cutting. Vines (maybe 2 or 3 inches) would also be a problem. I find it difficult to open green coconut with a kukri. Most of my big knife chores involves smaller branches, some nothing of big logs, 6 inch diameter hard and softwood, and of course, cutting, shaping and notching lengths of bamboo about 6 inches across.
I plan to add a 6 inch razor swedge to the 1311 - just like I do with bolo machetes. That should work well for fighting.
That swedge should be interesting, please post pics when you get them. Do you think maybe the 1311 is too thick and heavy for grass, vines, and coconuts, vs a cheap Tramontina utility machete??
http://www.scrapyardknives.com/ubbthread...ge=0#Post671300 <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
The TTZ out chops the 1311, but for its weight, the 1311 in outstanding. My Zilla is excellent at clearing light brush and vines, but that's because it has been thinned out a bit
Wow, great post, and nice video too! Thank you so much for sharing that. After seeing them both, I voted for both! I think the coating puts the 1311 at a disadvantage vs the satin KZTT due to extra friction in the cut and the withdraw. A satin finish on the 1311 should narrow the gap a little, but for one-chop destruction, the KZTT is probably always going to be king!
Some say you want what you don't have, so I voted kukri, but I feel like I could take on the world with my 1311. If I was just fighting, make it the Rucki.
I like the extra reach on the 1311 and rucki. Blade on blade fighting is probably not going to happen in the modern era, but for sneaky clandestine sentry elimination (and lacking specialized weapons for the job), quick and silent one-chop destruction favors the KZTT over the 1311. Plus, if you get cornered on the exfiltration, you can always chop out a new door for your escape through bricks, concrete, and fences with the KZTT.
I think I'm going to have to get both the KZTT and the 1311. There are simply a few things the 1311 cannot do, and I'm sure I'm going to be chopping through concrete walls with the KZTT when I get done with cutting some bamboo tent poles with the 1311, haha. So, you see, I have to have both!
