All Purpose Tactical Machete with Sheath

Can do must of the chopping work of a small-medium ax and all the duties of a machete. Very well made very well put together. Size is about perfect in it will pack well but still big enough to handle any chopping task shy of cutting down a larger diameter tree. Will chop kindling and firewood well especially if you use a small log as a mallet to assist in spitting wood. I feel a must have camping and survival tool. Sheath is also well made and not all cheaply done. Well worth the price you really get your moneys worth from this chopping tool. Like to add when I bought this Cold Steel Royal Kukri machete I also bought a Accusharp carbide blade knife sharpener. The Cold steel Kukri came only OK sharp. Yes it would cut you, but I felt it to dull for my liking. So I did 50 passes with the Accusharp, tested the blade for improvement and repeated, 50 test, 50 test etc. After 250 passes the Cold Steel Kukri was very sharp and no doubt I could get it even sharper as it's sharpness improved noticeably with every 50 passes of the sharpener, but I got it sharp enough to cut anything I will need to with minimal effort. All in all I can highly recommend both the Cold Steel Kukri Machete and the Accusharp knife sharpener.

From the male of the family. I wanted a couple of fighting swords for home defense, and this Cold Steel cutlass is certainly one of my picks. We have a large property, with lots of wildlife on it as well, including javelina (in the pig family), bobcats, coyotes, and more, so it's nice to have a hefty longknife at my side while working out there. Of course, call it a machete and you can get it for a far better price than most "swords," so that's fine with me. I was watching a video on knife fighting, and one of the instructors said, "if you get in a knife fight, don't ever think you're going to use your arm or body to block a blade. Your best defense is always, don't get cut. To that end, go for your attacker's knife hand." Then I remembered reading stories about battles from medieval times when women would go around after the fighting, and fill entire baskets with fingers. You know what I'm leading up to: if you're going to ever use a sword or longknife in self defense, you want to be sure and protect your hand. Most machetes and even a lot of swords don't do this for you. This cutlass does! That tough polypropylene handle will stop a blade -- or thorny branches, for that matter, if you're using it as a machete. We need the hand protection! As for the blade, it is 2 feet of high carbon steel. That means, it will take an edge. Mine came reasonably sharp, but not enough (and I do understand that it's a safety feature, not to ship a blade with it's keenest edge. The makers don't want your first experience to be slicing yourself!). A few minutes with a file, then stone, and I had a wicked edge. The handle is 6 inches long, and fits my hand very well. I like that the blade has a baked on anti-rust finish, and that the cutlass came with a canvas sheath. This is a great price for what you get! Recommended.

Another quality purchase! I admit to having an addiction to machetes and Kukris'. I like Big Knives and I cannot lie . This 25" blade came out of the box SHARP. It did have a little excess oil on the blade, but that just shows that Cold Steel cares about sending their blades protected from rust. Great quality control! Now then, after a run over a strop, it seemed adequately honed and ready for action. At the log pile, it delivered several hard chops and threw chunks impressively. I was a bit concerned over the blade seeming thin at 2.8 mm, but it cut well, and stayed fairly sharp. No vibration was evident. It is LARGE, and won't be riding my hip any time soon, but it is meant for the canoe anyway. I can tell that it WILL be a workout in an extended session, but that's okay. The sheath is very simple and doesn't have molle capability but I can work around that. The price at $35.00 is a steal. I would recommend this beast for anyone that wants a big knife!

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).

This is a terrific blade! I bought it in remembrance of my Filipino Mother and my Grandfather who was a Filipino Guerrilla during WW2. the Weight and feel are perfect. Thank you so much Amazon and Cold Steel!

I bought the machete to clear four to five foot high weeds on a hill. I also bought the blade cover for it. When I first removed the machete from the package I was surprised that it was slightly heavier than I thought it would be. It weights about 2 lbs is my guess. The blade isn't super sharp out of the package. It's set with a bevel edge that is a compromise between knocking down weeds and briar and perhaps hacking away at small saplings as well. When I first took it out, I was more "chopping" than "swinging". The best approach for me was to swing the machete in one direction (holding with two hands), then flipping my wrists so that it would than chop in the opposite direction, back and forth, back and forth. At first I was trying to cut down large swaths, but it works best if you cut in a few inches at a time for a few swings, then move forward. Once I got the "speed" of the machete head going with really wide swings, I was able to clear about 800 square feet in one half an hour, which is pretty good going! Unfortunately, machete-ing for 1/2 hour left me somewhat exhausted later in the day! Maybe try going for 15 minutes the first day and see how sore you are after. It's a lot of fun so the tendency is to do too much. Best to wear some gloves or you'll get wicked blisters. Also long pants because the briars will cut up your legs if you wear shorts. Some bug spray might be handy. Try doing this on a cool day, because you can get really, really hot doing this sort of work. I tried sharpening the machete using my arkansas stone, which worked really well. I just held the machete in my left hand (I'm right handed) and rested the machete on a surface with the blade pointing up. I took the arkansas stone in my right hand, and moved it down the length of the blade, stroking towards the spine (the back part which is dull). When you get the right angle, you feel like your polishing the blade and you'll hear a metallic "zing" as you move down the blade. I then tilted the blade and used the stone in my right hand to work on the left hand side of the blade. I did five strokes on each side, then four, then three, then two, then one, to minimize the burr. When I was done the machete was so sharp you could almost shave with it! When I tried the machete after sharpening, it did knock down the weeds much easier, but it was a little tougher to get down small half inch think saplings. The finer the sharpen, the better for thinner stuff. Keep a nice steep bevel on it if all you are doing is thick stuff (not weeds). I found the sharper (more steep angle) I put on the blade, the quicker it dulled. The factor sharpen is probably about a 25 degree angle blade, which probably keeps sharp for hours. I put on about a 15 degree really sharp angle, and it cut weeds like crazy but was basically dull after 1/2 hour of cutting. I prefer super sharp, so I'm a-okay with sharpening before each use. You could probably also sharpen with a file, although I haven't tried that yet. All in all, it's slightly on the heavy side. The blade does flex a little bit, probably keeps it from breaking. You can sharpen this blade to the profile you want for the type of bush or weeds you're trying to clear. It certainly does the job, but be careful not to overdo it because you're tendency is to not want to stop once you get started, and if you do overdo it you will be a hurting unit that evening, and probably wake up stiff the next morning!

I had high expectations for this machete, based on the positive reviews I have seen. It did not disappoint. The blade arrived with adequate sharpening. The blade was well finished. Thus far it has handled all the tasks I have thrown at it with relative ease. To make this review a little more helpful, I will give a little more detail about this machetes performance and quality. STEEL QUALITY This machete is made out of 1055 Carbon steel. It holds an edge well. When in use, this steel is just flexible enough to avoid breaking without compromising performance. It wouldn't be easy break the blade on the Cold Steel Cutlass Machete. For what you pay, I believe this machete's steel quality is astounding. BALANCE It's a cutlass. As such, it isn't usually a very balanced weapon. But I found no difficulty maneuvering the machete during use. I would say that while the balance is not perfect, it does not detract from the functionality of this machete. PRACTICAL PERFORMANCE When subjected to abuse, this machete delivers. If you need a machete that you can abuse, the Cold Steel Cutlass is the machete for you. It's simple to use, maintain, and performs typical tasks with ease. I was able to cut through a one and a half inch thick wooden stick with one blow. That's pretty good for a machete that costs about $30. OVERALL VALUE Taking into account the price tag for this machete, I am convinced that this machete is an amazing value. It does everything you could plausibly expect it to do. It's made out of good steel, it handles well, and is priced well. All in all, I am convinced that you will not find many machetes that are a better value than this one. I own swords (including an ordinary cutlass), and this machete performs more like a sword than a machete. It is truly a joy to use the Cold Steel Cutlass Machete. I hope this review was helpful. If you have any questions, comment. I'll be happy to answer them (if I'm able to!). Enjoy your machete!!!

I purchased the cold steel magnum kukri because I thought that it would be a great alternative to the vast majority of other machetes available on the market. Other machetes out there seemed to me to be flimsy and of poorer quality due to their lower grade steel and thinness. I liked the fact that this machete was thicker than most and was made from high grade steel; for these features are indicative of a hearty and long lasting blade which will hold an edge. I wanted a tool that would endure great amounts of abuse, and the kukri design in general is ideal for chopping pretty much anything. So the fact that there exists a kukri which is 17 inches long is an extremely attractive solution for me to an array of wilderness problems. Here's the thing, when I got it I wasn't prepared for the fact that it was not prepared for immediate use. The blade was extremely dull out of the box and had virtually no angle to it. I did a cursory sharpening job making the blade sharp but not putting on the gradual edge (20 degrees) experience has shown me to work well. I was sorely let down. I have butter knives that cut better than this blade did, and that is after twenty minutes of sharpening with a file and a sharpening stone. Not willing to accept that it was a waste of money, I have spent approximately five hours putting a twenty degree angle on the blade an inch back (using first a grinder, then an ax file, and then a course sharpening stone, and then a fine sharpening stone. I am belated to report that once the work was put in on re-profiling the blade edge I am seeing results that resemble what I expected to see out of the box. I have an 11 1/2 inch blade kukri made by Ka Bar which runs circles around this cold steel magnum machete when it comes to chopping; however, the extra length on the cold steel machete lends itself nicely to certain tasks which the smaller Ka Bar kukri is unable to do well. I think that if one has the time, ability, and will to re-profile this product it is a viable option for your needs; however, out of the box this product earns itself no love from me.