For years I have used my faithful Ontario SP5 Survival Bowie as an all-around yard knife and "swamp" knife. For heavier chopping, I switched to the Dog Father this year, but I still like the lighter, quicker Bowie for cutting my way through smaller stuff like palmettos and sticker vines. The DF wore me out last Spring when I employed it as a machete in Buffalo Swamp. A lighter "faster" DF would be perfect. It is here. It's called the Dog Father Limited Edition. It weighs in at 16 oz with a 10" flat ground blade of 1/4" thick SR77 steel. That's just 2.5 oz heavier than the Ontario SP5 with its 10" long 1/4" thick blade of 1095 high carbon steel, but a full 3 oz lighter than the original Dog Father with its thicker saber ground blade.



First a little light whacking on a palmetto. The SP5 excells at this lighter cutting.

The Dog Father can do it, but it takes a lot more effort.



Lets see how the new DFLE does: Outstanding! Lighter and livlier in the hand than the original DF, this blade easily does mini-machete work.



Now for the question a lot of folks have been asking, "How does it chop?" Very well, thank you. I used twenty strokes on the same piece of oak. The new DFLE chops almost as well as the heavier Dog Father and better than the Ontario.

With that out of the way, time to take the DFLE out into the yard in search of some real work.

I found this dead pine tree right near the high tide level at the back of my property. With less rain than normal for the past few years, I suspect some saltwater intrusion into the groundwater table killed the pine.



Timber!


Big Bird dropped by to see what was going on.


Even after chopping down the tree, the DFLE was still very sharp, easily slicing this palmetto stem. The new DFLE comes with a very nice edge. It is a great all-around camp knife with more reach than a Ratweiler and lighter, too. I think the old Ontario Bowie has finally been out done! Dan got this one just right. It's perfect. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Great review and great pics. I'm still impressed by how lively the DFLE is in my hand. It's nice to see that it has retained it's chopping ability.

Are you allowed to hunt in that marsh behind your house? Looks like a great place to get bag some ducks. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I never bothered to ask. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Nice testing Vic, did you already put a new edge on the DFLE?

Thanks for the review Vic. I need to find some time to get out and use my DFLE.

nice review vic. thanks.

No, and that is worth mentioning. Both the SP5 and DF have nice convex edges. The DFLE was used just as it came from Scrap Yard. The edge was plenty sharp for this type of work. The more recent SY knives I have purchased have come with nice sharp edges. I like that.

I prefer "rubber" handles on big choppers. I may test the Browning against the Busse FBM, Ontario RTAK II, Becker BK-9 and Brute, and Ranger RD9. That should be fun.

awesome test vic.
I still want the DFCG for some reason, idk why, i dont need it, but it'd be awesome to have one of each.

the DFLE really does chop really good, and its so comfy.
and I can do fine wrok easy with it.
I LOVE IT.