Cold Steel All Purpose Tactical Machete with Sheath

I must start by saying that I was between many choices- The latin machete , tramontina brazilian machete , the magnum kukri , and the regular kukri , and the ontario machete. I looked into each one , carefully reading all complaints and praises given to each and every one. One by one , I eliminated the choices until I was left with this one and the ontario one. I do not regret my choice!! This machete/kukri has served me well from the start. You have to understand that for a 23.00$ machete , it did have a few minor problems though- but not unfixable! The first one was that it was dull. Not incredibly dull - enough to slash but not sharp enough.That was easily fixed. After an hour or so with a file and sand paper( no power tools , they untemper it!!)I got the edge and bevel sharp and ready . The next problem is that the blade was not 100% straight , but after about 20 min. , I managed to get it pretty straight again. The reason you will find machetes exactly like this only way more expensive is that the other ones come sharp and perfect , which takes valuable time and money to obtain. So I think that the hour and a half was worth it to save myself a hundred bucks:) The last thing is the handle . Im a boy at 14 now ( my name is not maria , its just a user name) and since I have smaller artistic hands , the handle isnt tight on my hand . Rather , I can use BOTH hands( or should I say a hand and a half) for a walloping swoosh!!!That didnt stop me! Enough of the bad stuff now. Now that everything is fixed , lets move onto what it is capable of. It ROCKS!!! I was able to slice through several water bottles cleanly , chop through a vine , and make a path way through brush!! And Im not even full size yet, so just imagine what a full size grown up could do! I love adventuring , but I hate snakes; this weapon was my way out. I also read many creepy stories of wild beasts attacking humans - so I wanted to be ready. Its big on me though . I added paracord at the beginning and at the end of the sheath so now I can carry it on my back: At my waist its way too long:) Over all , you cant go wrong with this baby. I dont see whats wrong with the sheath - I love it!! I consider it a bonus. ( Remember , it was only 20 bucks. ) I plan to do a lot of exploring with it . We just bought our new house , and it has hundreds of acres in the back. With this knife , through rain and snow , jungles and mountains- Ill be ready. Hope this review helped!

It has the weight, length, and shape to do a terrific job of hacking through brush and shrubs. Yes, it does need a bit of work on the cutting edge before you use it, but that is true of most any cutting tool. I've read reviews that said it couldn't be sharpened. It can, if you know what you're doing. If you don't, nothing can be sharpened. I've read reviews that said it wouldn't hold an edge. It does, if you don't try to put a razor edge on it. Too shallow an edge on something meant to do rough work lack the necessary support behind the edge. Granted, this tool won't hold a sharp edge the way a piece of D2 cutting tool steel, that's been hardened to RC 62, will. It's basically made with spring steel and made to be resilient and shock resistant, while holding a serviceable cutting edge. Pretty much any metal will take an edge. This machete is no exception, and it will hold that edge for a reasonable amount of work. Get a decent sharpening stone, and you'll have no trouble maintaining that edge in the field or around the yard. The only thing I'm not completely happy with is the somewhat symmetrical flare to the butt of the grip. The top of the grip tends to chafe the heel of my hand if I'm using it without gloves. I'm pretty sure I can round that lip off with a file and some sand paper. Then it will be bloody perfect! Take proper care of it and don't let it rust (it's not stainless, you know), and it should serve well for a very long time.

I was disappointed when I opened the package and pulled the blade out of the sheath. It looked terrible. The machined edge on this blade was nasty. It looked like something with fangs had bitten the edge of the blade to pull the steel off to create a semi-edge. In fact, it looked somewhat like the edge of an arrowhead chipped away to be sharpened (but with nasty gooves and burrs). Cut marks in the steel... Awful. I pulled out my sharpener and spent every sitting minute for a week -- literally several hours -- running the blade over the sharpener, peeling back the burrs the grooves, the cuts and the marks. I could have done it using a grinder, but the blade had too much grind and not enough love and it needed to be fixed. While this is a working machete, not a showpiece, I found myself unable to resist working the edge to razor sharpness. I mean hair-shaving, paper slicing, bloody thumb sharp. It was overkill, but it did a lot to make it look and perform better. Being high carbon steel, it also took and held that edge well. I didn't get all the marks, grinds, grooves and machine cuts out of the edge near the cutting blade, but I improved it a lot. It looked a lot better, was a lot sharper and, most importantly, working it in the field proved it could withstand tremendous abuse. I've had it for a year or more now and I've used to baton wood, to cut back brush, to chop limbs for firewood off deadfalls and I've even used its flat blade to scoop up fire coals for cooking. It still has marks where the machining abused the steel. It's also still a little thinner than I'd like. But it is a beast. We took a SOG Fasthawk, a Bear Grylls Gerber Machete (parang) and this Cold Steel Magnum Kukri and the bites into a wooden log were very similar. As a friend and I worked side by side on a red cedar deadfall, collecting wood, his Bear Grylls Gerber Machete broke at the handle (a failing like others that has led to a recall of that blade). The Cold Steel Kukri keeps on kicking. I think it's inexcusable for the blade to have come in the condition it did and if others rate it a 2 overall, I can certainly understand why. Out of the box, this thing was horrific and Cold Steel makes too many great products not to know better. In fact, they should have put another brand name on this blade, because some folks will see this and will think it represents the company's work. That would be a shame to confuse this South African (where it's made) machined abuse with typical Cold Steel quality. Anyway, once sharpened correctly, it maintains an edge, it has good weight and power and it's the kind of blade you can use again and again and not sweat hurting the steel. I like it and enjoy having it ride with me in my expedition kayak for utility use, firewood chopping, path clearing and more. Seeing its utility over time has given me a new respect for it that was lacking when it arrived on my doorstep. ** EDIT - I purchased another one for a friend as a gift and was going to go ahead and clean up the edge... It came in MUCH better shape than my first one did. While it was obvious that a machine grind had been used and the edge was semi-dull, it was far superior to the burred up mess I got the first time around. Quality control appears to have improved. (11/15/2013).

After reading the reviews here, looking at a lot of YouTube videos, and checking out many other machetes, this one impressed me the most because of it's price, usefullness and apparent durability. Now that I have had it a couple of months - I have no regrets... It's a tool, not a show piece. It came quick. It came 90% sharp and it does what it's supposed to do. I read complaints about the sticker on the blade. Mine peeled right off (slowly) with no sticky residue. The handle works fine. I would prefer a stiff spongy grip, but that's just me. Again, it's a tool. Use it like any other tool... responsibly. If you don't have a good grip on it - somebody is going to get hurt. It took some work to put an edge on it I like, but that's a good thing! Once it was sharp, it holds it's edge well. The flimsy sheath could use some improvement. The second time I sheathed the blade, it poked right through. But for the overall price - this is not a complaint, only a suggestion. A machete is a basic tool everyone who works outside should have, If this model appeals to you - go for it. The couple extra inches really help the 'sweet spot'. If you like shorter, longer, fatter, whateverer... I recommed staying with 'Cold Steel'. They make a no nonsense line of tools that, for the price, simply cannot be beat. (Did I mention it's the coolest, baddest looking blade ever!)

For the past 15 years, I've had the bittersweet fortune to get more time behind machetes than most folks. I live on a large park property that's got tons of palmettos and scrub oaks and general overgrowth. The marsh and water views are spectacular, but only if you keep things thinned and trimmed...and something always needs trimming. That's where the machetes come in...and my love/hate relationship with them. I used to think one machete was as good as another...no more. Living in Florida, all I ever saw were latin machetes and so that's what I used...and the best one was the 18" one I got from Harbor Freight a few years back for about $5. It has decent steel and an OK grip...or so I thought until now. Accidently while shopping for a knife on Amazon, I saw all the killer reviews on the CS Magnum Kukri machete and knowing that a particular clearing job was due again, decided to see if it was all that up against my current 'keeper'. It was and more and here's why: I divided up the current job into halves and last week used the HF latin machete on the first half and finished the chopping and clearing in about 3 and a half hours...and I was whipped. I started the job with a good edge from my Presto Eversharp (another amazing Amazon review discovery) and had to touch up the blade twice with my Leatherman file to keep the edge sharp. The chopping seemed about normal for a latin with good performance, but not many one-stroke cuts. Most cuts on the fronds took at least two good cuts to sever the frond and the cuts didn't look very pretty. A lot of vibration is felt when the cut doesn't pass clean through and after several hundred strikes, your hand is quite sore. Not to mention all the extra strokes and effort. I was too tired to pick up the debris and left it for two days later. Fast forward to today. I used the 17" CS Magnum Kukri and the job took 3 hours. That doesn't sound like much difference until I tell you a few things: Easily 60 - 70% of the cuts were one stroke clean through with the identical edge from the Presto (5 min job tops) that I put on the other machete. And they took much less effort, it was like the blade was helping me...even lame off angle hits did vicious damage to the stringy fronds. Consequently the chopping was going much faster with more progress using less energy and with less hand shock. Machete users will know what I mean about hand shock...either it or fatigue will end your session and both were much, much less with this blade. Who knew a little physics and geometry could make such a difference. There were times when I was actually laughing after light elbow/wrist flicks would lop a frond clean off. I had to learn to pull back the juice and let speed and the blade work. This allowed me to get into smaller areas with less room for a full swing and work. As such, I actually cleared well outside my intended area, and did a much more thorough and better looking job with neater results...clean cuts look much better than hack offs. I easily removed dozens of smaller palmettos that would've been too much trouble before. It looked so much better that I went back into the latin-done area and redid it too and now it all looks good. Only two hours had passed at this point...I still had enough energy to haul off my debris, which I did and in fact I was done and showered in less time than just the chopping took with a decent latin machete. Oh...the edge was still scary with no touch ups after hundreds of palmettos, some scrub oaks and vines, and plenty of misses and carryovers into the dirt. This thing is a beast! I didn't think the design mattered so much in machetes, but apparently it does. I'm sure the steel quality helps. I know I'm comparing a $23 machete to a $5 one, but hey they're both dirt cheap and how much is your time and sweat worth? I saw the insane tests on this blade at[...] after I had already bought it, but needless to say if it stands up to more abuse than most survival knives costing hundreds, its all good. I know this is running long, but a couple of other thoughts: The sheath is OK...not great, but it works and survived my thoughtless romping through waist-high brush without any sign of damage and holds the blade securely when snapped and releases it cleanly without requiring you to slice the edge-side stitching. The huge and goofy CS sticker came off cleanly using a blow dryer on high once it got really hot and the glue melted. Also always oil your brush blades (machetes and saws, esp.)...with real oil, not WD40. They will go through material much more smoothly and not gum up as bad and will be easier to clean and rust less. Always use gloves and a lanyard that is just long enough that when looped in front of your knuckles will prevent your hand from sliding onto the blade if it gets pushed back hard. Why just in front of the knuckles? Because if your blade gets caught in something and starts to pull you with it, you can fold your fingers and it will slip off and not cut your hand off at the wrist. So, if you wanted to hear from someone who actually uses machetes a lot, then here you are. This thing rocks! Its my new 'keeper'. If someone knows of a better one in this price range, please comment. This was a long review, so thanks for taking the time to read it and I hope it helped.

Just get this thing. It's perfect for camping trips and general purpose work, as it will clear small brush while also having enough heft to chop up your firewood. By firewood I don't mean twigs. This thing will go through two inch branches like butter, thanks to the geometry of the blade. That's really the main reason I got it. It has the benefits of a kukri and a latin machete. In other words, it has the belly of a kukri without the curve (for chopping), but also has the length and balance of a latin (for clearing brush and momentum). Most complain about the edge, and yeah, it sucks out of the package. This was my main concern with it based on the reviews I read. However, I was able to take my small Lansky Pocket Sharpener and use the angled carbide part to instantly strip all the extra crap off of this blade. It comes with a "utility edge," so it has a bunch of the black coating on the edge and some of it had extra metal, but all of it came of pretty easy with a few passes of the sharpener. I'm no expert at sharpening, nor do I have a belt or file or grinder or any of that, but that's the good thing about the Lansky, you don't need them, at least not for this. Run the carbide part over it, then follow it up with the ceramic part and you will have a hair shaving edge in about 15 minutes tops. As far as the blade goes, this thing is definitely worth the money. It has good geometry and is thick enough so it won't bend when you're chopping. The sheath isn't as weak as I thought it was going to be either. I watched some videos that showed this big floppy sheath. Well, they must have improved it because it's actually pretty solid. The snaps are good and it holds the blade well. What more do you want for how much you pay for this thing? Also, the handle is relatively comfortable. It's made of tough, rugged, hard plastic, but as long as you don't have soft baby hands you can deal with the texture. I could easily see myself having this for a good 30 years without anything failing. That's saying something, because I go camping once or twice a month, and I don't necessarily take it easy my gear. I like to get stuff that last, and this thing is a beast. Really the only negative thing I can say is the edge out of the package. However, this negative turned into a big positive in 15 minutes with the Lansky. Chances are if you've been looking at blades on Amazon you've seen the sharpener, and you should pay the 7 or 8 bucks and get it, especially if you are planning on getting this kukri/machete, or really any other knife for that matter. It makes quick work of the crap edge that comes on this thing. I had my doubts, but once I saw the burrs and coating start shaving off with that carbide all my worries went away. You'll read a bunch of reviews on this thing I'm sure, but don't let all the edge comments deter you. It's an easy fix and it's definitely worth it. Like I said before... Just get this thing. Let me know if this helped y'all out.

It is sometimes good to disregard the brand of a product when reviewing to ensure maximum objectivity. Were it not for the Cold Steel brand, I doubt so many people would defend negative reviews of this machete so feverishly. There is definitely a cult-like following among some people of Cold Steel. Ok, on to the machete which I received. First problem and probably the worst nightmare of blade enthusiasts is having a blade that is not true. From the handle to the tip of the blade, there was about a 5 degree offset or bent on my machete. Very obvious visually as soon as I picked up the machete. A slight effort on my part and I was able to bend it back fairly close to true but not entirely. This steel's temper is nothing to boast about. It is definitely easily bent and malleable. This damage or defect could have occurred either in the factory or afterwards somewhere during the handling process. Definitely a letdown in terms of quality. Now the most common complaint of this machete is the condition of the edge it comes in. Mine was no exception. It is a very rough edge and had sections where the steel was rolled over. This is surely a sign of poor workmanship at the factory. This was no surprise to me as I had half expected it and I plan to spend some time putting on a decent edge. However, the machetes I have seen for sale at retail stores all have much more decently finished edges than this one. Why is this Cold Steel brand product allowed such leeway? The black finish on the blade is good and similar to that of many other machetes. I particularly like the profile of this kukri blade. It has just the right amount of curve to it for me and not too much like some other kukri profiles. This was the main reason I chose this machete. I wanted a decent and cheap Kukri style chopper. The handle is pretty nice and is one of the strong points of this machete. It is not a completely hard plastic but rather has a slight cushioning property to it. This helps in absorbing shock. The handle material here is listed as polypropylene but so is the handle on the Cold Steel Katana Machete, which I also own. But that one is a hard rigid type plastic and feels different. Lot's of people have disliked the sheath. I actually find it to be slightly above average compared to the sheaths similar machetes come with in retail stores. It is designed very practically and the small plastic reinforcement panels at the tip is nice. The belt loop stitching is sturdy and done well with a X pattern reinforcement. Overall the Kurki machete concept is the best feature of this machete considering the price. The quality of the machete itself is only average and a bit under what I expected of Cold Steel. I am giving this 3 stars.

I just received this yesterday and have not field tested it yet. I will update my review when I do. So far let me give my initial impressions. The Sheath: The sheath is a well made cordura sheath with a plastic tip to prevent accidental blade protrusions. It's not flimsy and is somewhat rigid. There are 2 snaps on the top of the sheath that you unsnap to remove the machete and resnap to secure it. A lot of people don't like this design and continue to berate the sheath as "cheap" and "bad design". I've thought a lot about this and come to the conclusion that with the kukri type design of the blade there is no other option. The Blade: Well, reviewers are right on the money when they say that is will not come to you sharpened from the factory. I literally ran my finger down the edge of the blade and it was like a butter knife. The only chance I had at being cut was by one of the million burrs or knicks. You WILL have to spend some time putting a decent edge on it. I used a dremel and then a DMT Diafold course sharpener. After about an hour or so I finally had a decent edge on it. How it will hold up, time will tell. Other than that, the blade quality seems to be good. This is not a brush clearer as much as it is a chopper. It has a good weight and forward momentum that leads me to believe it can do much damage in a single swing. I highly recommend you put a lanyard of it, your wrist will thank you and you'll have much more control of the blade. The Handle: The handle very much reminds me of a bicycle handle. The grip is good, but like I suggested, a lanyard is a must. With the kukri design, there is so much forward weight that I think some might have trouble controlling it. The Dreaded Sticker: I have heard horror stories of people ruining the finish on their blade from using solvents to remove the sticker. Eventhough this is a machete made for work I understand that any wear on the finish is better to come from use in the field rather than a pesky sticker. Too many overthink things though. After taking as much sticker off I could with my fingernail and hot water I was left with a mess of glue on the blade. This came off EASILY with some dish soap and a sponge (the kind with a green scrubbing side and yellow sponge side). Use the green side of the sponge with some dish soap hot water and it will come off very quickly without hurting the finish. Overall: So far I'm quite happy with my $21 purchase. Time will tell how the edge holds up, but I think it will do ok. I wish this were made in the USA or another quality country like the UK, Germany, etc instead of South Africa. I know the blade would have come in far superior form. Would have probably cost 2-3 times as much, but it is what it is.

I bought this to clear some brush, and boy did it deliver! Once sharpened, it just wanted to swing through bushes and small trees like a hot knife through butter, and the edge stayed sharp even after hours of hard service (apart from a couple of dings from stupidly hitting rocks, but those came out). The weight-forward kukri design works very well, producing a much stronger impact for a given swinging force. It did come with a dull edge, more appropriate for breaking than cutting, but it only took a few minutes with a file to get a serviceable edge and a few minutes more with sharpening stones to get it wickedly sharp. Other reviews mention a difficult-to-remove sticker on the blade, but mine had no such sticker, so it seems Cold Steel has wisely listened to that piece of feedback. Bear in mind, this is not a top-of the line showpiece; it's a tool that is meant to be used, and it's a truly excellent one for the price once you put a bit of work into finishing the edge to your liking.

I loved this machete it works like a gem

Pros: 1055 Carbon steel makes for one heck of a tough tool. Balance seems to be good Handle is comfortable enough.. but I recommend gloves for heavy usage. Did not come with sticker.. Paracord hole is handy.. I am extremely impressed with the sheath.. very high quality for the price. Cons: Black coating does NOT prevent rust from what I've seen (I saw some rust on the edge of the coated blade). Black coating is uneven and I had to use some steel wool to even it out. Blade tip had a strange bulge at the end.. I had to sand it out with a stone. Blade itself is extremely dull.. I passed over it over a dozen times with a carbide sharpener without the blade being sharpened.. I then spent another few hours trying to get the darn thing sharp by hand with some stones and even a waterstone.. Could only get it so-so sharp.. I'd recommend using a belt sander if you want to sharpen this without wasting hours on it. The edge is NOT convex.. which is disappointing for a tool like this. You'll have to retool the edge if you want this blade to stay sharp for long periods of time. Notes: Would probably be better just to remove the entire black coating from the blade.(But I do not personally have a belt-sander.. so this is difficult).

Great as machete and looks good. Sheath is well designed and sturdy. Needed sharpening when it arrived but sharpening was easy and has a great edge.

Good chopper on paper, but awkward sheath and uncomfortable handle** I bought the Cold Steel 97MKM Magnum Kukri primarily for carrying in the bush and clearing vegetation. Although it appears to be a very solid blade for the price, there are a few things I noticed immediately that made me reconsider it. First, the sheath is awkward. Because of the shape of the kukri, removing the blade isn't a simple straight draw—it takes some maneuvering to get it in and out. For something I want to carry while moving through the bush, I found this inconvenient. The balance also feels very blade-heavy to me. I understand that the forward weight is part of what makes a kukri effective for chopping, but it doesn't feel particularly nimble or natural in my hand. For general brush and trail clearing, I think I would prefer the handling of a more conventional machete. My biggest complaint is the handle. The material feels like very hard plastic rather than a comfortable rubberized grip. Although it has molded texturing, it doesn't give me much confidence that it will remain secure when my hands are wet or sweaty. On a tool that will be swung repeatedly, a comfortable and secure grip is especially important to me. I haven't used it enough to fairly judge the durability, edge retention or chopping performance, so I'm not criticizing those aspects. The blade itself appears substantial and the forward-heavy design should make it a powerful chopper. My issues are mainly ergonomics, balance and the sheath. Someone specifically looking for an inexpensive, heavy-chopping kukri may really like it, but for general bushwhacking and vegetation clearing, I don't think it's the right design for me.