Silky Professional Series 555-24 NATA Double Edge Hatchet, 240mm

The NATA Japanese version of a heavy bolo style machete. It is a very versatile tool for a bushcrafter. The Silky version of it is a very good one. Heavy with good balance. I am not going to say it will replace a western style camp hatchet but if you are dressing wild game the Nata will do much better job breaking down the carcass for packing it out. The only possible shortcoming of the Silky is the grip. It is removable which makes it easy to clean it up after use, but with heavy duty chopping the handle can separate into itss 2 halfs. The fix is easy wrap it with waterproof US Navy SEAL tape. It happens that this tape also makes a good fire starter if you are using a striker.

As an experienced knife/machete user (U.S.Army Qualified Rating Jungle Expert Instructor) I can state that I only wish this blade had been available when I served. There are several things that are important in a tool of this type. Perhaps most important is the design of the blade itself. Note that it is thick, and the full width is carried to the front of the blade. This adds maximum strength and weight where it is needed most. The steel is superb Japanese quality, and chrome plated to resist rust. The blade easily retains it's sharpness. It has a full tang, meaning that the steel runs all the way through the handle to the end. The grip is rubber and easy to grip, as well as shock absorbing. There is a hole in the handle for a safety strap. It comes with an excellent sheath.IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTE: NEVER wrap your hand around ANY sheath when removing or inserting a blade into the sheath! Leather sheaths become soft and offer little or no protection when wet! An inexperienced individual in my unit sliced through a wet leather sheath and lost fingers because he grabbed a wet leather sheath by wrapping his hand around it, and pulled the blade out. DO NOT DO IT!I highly recommend this blade, and own more than one. (Always carry one in vehicle)

I purchased a very similar tool years ago, called the Buck 108 Compadre. Both knives have a full tang and long thick blade suitable for chopping.The NATA has superior fit and finish, a heavy rubber grip that reduces shock vibrations, a girthy rear quillion to keep the tool in hand during vigorous swings, and a simple sturdy ambidextrous sheath with drainage holes (I much prefer this sheath to the leather dangler included with the Compadre).This version has a double-bevel edge which is more durable than the single-bevel on most Japanese blades. It's not a slicer, it's a chopper. It's not made in the USA like the Buck, but it's made in Japan, which is better than the PRC.A similar tool that might be better is the Jimi Slash Competition Chopper from Cold Steel. But that's a limited production knife made from premium CPM-3V steel that comes with a less practical leather scabbard, and it's $500. Compared to that, this Silky NATA is a bargain.3 out of 5 stars, wouldn't change a thing.

Update after 2 years: it’s a useful tool, great for coconuts, but no longer a regular item in my pack. If I needed a nimble, but deadly tough machete at the ready on my hip, this would be ideal, but on my typical California camping and fishing trips, it just didn’t get used much, and now it stays home in the garden. The biggest problem is, it’s not a good cutter, so any usefulness as a cooking knife, or fish processing tool, is really not realistic. It is a very good chopper... but it’s so long, that the tip often hits the ground when chopping small bits. Ive had to reprofile the leading corner of the blade so many times it’s not a corner any more, more of a fillet :). It’s just not made for chopping on the ground or using for cooking, not that it was designed to do so, but i want my camping tools to be versatile and this one just isn’t. If you have $75+ dollars to blow on a brush clearing tool, knock yourself out, but if you want an incredible all around camp tool, there is much better...The silky ONO hatchet is simply the finest small axe I’ve ever used, I don’t want to think about camping without it. it’s a great chopper, and surprisingly good for whittling and hewing wood too. It’s also a fine meat cleaver and vegetable chopper, and very precise when held by the head, way better than the NATA. Read my NATA review below with a grain of salt; knowing what I know now, for typical camp chores, the ONO is the smarter purchase. If you really just need to hack through heavy brush, chop herbaceous vegetation, or bust open coconuts, the NATA is a great choice. I thought it would be the ultimate camp tool though, and I was wrong.Update (about 1 month after purchase): If you're primarily shopping for a camping/bushcraft tool, look at the Silky ONO, it's even better than the Nata, even after I sharpened the Nata up a bit. I reviewed it here: Silky Saws 568-10 ONO Chopper, 120mm - for some reason the link doesn’t seem to be active any more, just look up silky Ono.Original review: This is a very well designed tool. It is incredible at its foremost intended task, chopping small brush and limbs. The steel is ultra strong, I hit a damn staple with it and sadly it did ding the blade to the side a little, but the edge was not chipped out. Tough stuff.I bought this as an interesting replacement for the terrible Mora outdoor hatchet, wanted something small and lightweight that would fit in the pack and have as many uses as possible for camping, and be useful around the house.As advertised, it is a brush clearing monster, just had to hack up a huge fallen palm frond and I don't know another tool that would have made shorter work, chopped through the thickest part in 4 strokes or so, and if you know palm fronds, they are extremely stringy and tough, and too big at the base for loppers, annoying to saw, so this tool was ideal. I don't even think it took 2 minutes to have it chopped into 5 or 6 pieces. Prune dead branches off an avocado tree? One or 2 strikes and its done. Great tool for around the house.As for camping, It ABSOLUTELY SMOKES the Mora for splitting kindling, my number one use for small hatchets. And for bigger pieces, I can't think of a better batoning tool, period. The steel spine is so thick you'll break your baton before this thing could ever possibly get damaged. Sure for full rounds a splitting axe is the right call, but for smallish stuff, and precision sizing wood cuts for my firebox stove, this thing excells.The biggest con: I was surprised that this is not a good wood hewing tool, or slicing tool period. The final edge seems to be a good 40 degrees, maybe even more, so it's good for chopping, but for slicing anything or shaving/ smoothing wood, making feather sticks, etc., it is not as good as I hoped. I understand that is not its intended purpose. I see other reviewers stating that it is razor-sharp, and while I will say it is sharp, it isn't hair popping sharp or anything. Also, the main grind bevels are asymmetrical. Is that part of the design? Or a bad day at the factory? Not really sure. At any rate, this does not work well as a knife. I may re-profile and will report back if I get better results (but with the hardness of the steel, I'm not excited at that prospect). It's not unusual to expect a hatchet to be able to help with wood shaping, etc., and this does fall a little short there. That said, due to the balanced design of it, it is quite easy to make small "precision chops", and baton all day long, so it is still useful.I'm not sure if the single bevel tool would be better for those tasks. I went with the double bevel, thinking survival-wise, that if I hurt my right arm this would still be as good. Maybe overthunk that, and should have gone single in the first place. Rather than try the single bevel though, I've ordered the Ono, which looks like quite the beast. I got this tool thinking it would be better for woodwork and it comes up slightly short, still a strong 4 stars.

Very high-quality material and workmanship. Sheath is a nice bonus. Knife itself is very well balanced and handle very good grip with soft rubber. Blade has substantial mass that helps chop through thick brush or garden stalks. I purchased it to help clean up garden in the fall to chop down okra stalks which are very woody. I have also tried chopping both green and dried chestnut tree branches about 2" diameter. It did that with no difficulty and the edge held up very well. Other than having to clean off tree resin you could not tell the difference before and after chopping. If a shorter version was available, I would have bought it instead since the 240 is longer than I really needed. Overall, very pleased.