Knives

[Tonka]

(30 April 2012, 09:08)00111001 Wrote: Why use a knife for splitting wood? Get yourself a Gransfors Bruks axe. That and a mora will see you through. Plus you can do much more with the axe than you can with a machette.

Link: http://www.raymears.com/Bushcraft_Produc...orest-Axe/

My experience is quite different regarding axe vs machete. However I believe it is has to be a personal choice. I often choose the machete for jobs that colleagues (woodland volunteers) tend to choose other tools. I would add that I usually clear several times the area of a saw or axe wielding colleague. Although, I am also quite a bit, um, sturdier, than most of them.
I have a number of axes, but have found that any choppers or axe of remotely comparable size and weight to a machete to be far less versatile. They cut by weight, rather than speed... but they lack enough weight to really cut it (bad pun intended). A big tree felling axe is definitely superior at felling trees, but is so heavy you may as well say take a JCB with you.
That said. If a friend was helping me, and asked "should I hack this with the chopper" or the machete, I would say "use the chopper" as unless you have your technique down, your machete you may as well be sponge on a stick. It's not like using a hammer.
So I'm not disagreeing with you, a medium sized axe would be a good choice for many people... especially in the UK. But then the right machete would be a good choice for others. So long as they have had a lot of practice.

I regularly get told "what are you doing... you'll never get through that with a machete". 30 seconds later I'm hauling my pile of branches to the fire.