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cold steel machetes
- Thread starter tobym
- Start date
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2000
- Messages
- 2,357
I worked in a knife store that sold those and we kept a Panga off the shelf for our own stress relief. Mostly for breaking down boxes after deliveries. It is great to hack things apart with! I know a guy who keeps one in his bed room for home defense.
Anyhow, for the price go for it. You will need to get a sheath for it though, cause if I remember there isn't one supplied with the machete.
Anyhow, for the price go for it. You will need to get a sheath for it though, cause if I remember there isn't one supplied with the machete.I have a Cold Steel Panga machete. With the exception of the GI/Ontario type, the Panga is the only machete I have realy used, so my experience is quite limited. Having said that, here are my impressions/experiences with the Panga:
Cold Steel claims that their machetes come sharp out of the box - if only it were true! My Panga came completely dull and was very poorly ground (it appears to have been done on a grinder by someone working very fast by hand). It took me several hours of work with a file and some DMT diamond "stones" before the edge was profiled and sharp. The blade looks like it was dipped in paint and there was some light rusting in spots, but for the Panga's very low price this is not a big deal.
Since the Panga's steel is 1055, I figured it would roll easier than the Ontario's 1095 steel, but chip less. As it turned out the panga's blade did roll a little easier but also chipped about as much as my Ontaio. I use my machetes mostly on thick woody wines and green hard wood branches up to about 1 inch dia. I found the Panga did need more frequent sharpening and would take more time to sharpen. By the way neither the Cold Steel or Ontario worked well for chopping dry hard wood for me, so I don't do this and I don't cut much light grass (except to test sharpness).
The Panga has a more blade heavy feel and a thinner more curved blade than the 18 in. Ontario, and I thought these festures would make it very easy to use. As it turns out the Panga is, for me at least harder to use than the Ontario. I find the Panga has a smaller "sweet spot" and the blade heavy balance seems to increase fatigue, but again this may be a personal matter.
The Panga's molded on plastic handle dose not loosen with use as dose the Ontario's compression rivet secured handles, but may be a bit of a handfull for those with small to average sized hands. Care must be taken with the Panga, to keep a good tight grip on the handle to keep it for slipping out of your grasp since there is no "D" guard or checkering (there is a lanyard hole, but I don't use lanyards on machetes).
Overall, the Panga is O.K., if you want a very cheap machete that you don't mind profiling and sharpening before you use it (a belt sander is the way to go here). While far from perfect, I prefer the Ontario machete to the Cold Steel. Hope this helps some.
Cold Steel claims that their machetes come sharp out of the box - if only it were true! My Panga came completely dull and was very poorly ground (it appears to have been done on a grinder by someone working very fast by hand). It took me several hours of work with a file and some DMT diamond "stones" before the edge was profiled and sharp. The blade looks like it was dipped in paint and there was some light rusting in spots, but for the Panga's very low price this is not a big deal.
Since the Panga's steel is 1055, I figured it would roll easier than the Ontario's 1095 steel, but chip less. As it turned out the panga's blade did roll a little easier but also chipped about as much as my Ontaio. I use my machetes mostly on thick woody wines and green hard wood branches up to about 1 inch dia. I found the Panga did need more frequent sharpening and would take more time to sharpen. By the way neither the Cold Steel or Ontario worked well for chopping dry hard wood for me, so I don't do this and I don't cut much light grass (except to test sharpness).
The Panga has a more blade heavy feel and a thinner more curved blade than the 18 in. Ontario, and I thought these festures would make it very easy to use. As it turns out the Panga is, for me at least harder to use than the Ontario. I find the Panga has a smaller "sweet spot" and the blade heavy balance seems to increase fatigue, but again this may be a personal matter.
The Panga's molded on plastic handle dose not loosen with use as dose the Ontario's compression rivet secured handles, but may be a bit of a handfull for those with small to average sized hands. Care must be taken with the Panga, to keep a good tight grip on the handle to keep it for slipping out of your grasp since there is no "D" guard or checkering (there is a lanyard hole, but I don't use lanyards on machetes).
Overall, the Panga is O.K., if you want a very cheap machete that you don't mind profiling and sharpening before you use it (a belt sander is the way to go here). While far from perfect, I prefer the Ontario machete to the Cold Steel. Hope this helps some.
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2002
- Messages
- 121
MY personal experience w/ CS machetes is w/ thier
heavy machete. It wasnt as out of the sleeve sharp
as a Master Tanto and needed some moderate work;
but were bak to the old "what is it used for"
idea there. Frog Hair sharp is in my experience
bad in a machete. First thing u hak---POW--no
more shaving frogs for you smartguy. I stick to
a single cut bastard file and vise for the dings
and a diamond round rod to finish up.
My son; who is fast becoming as big a knife
knut as dear old dad ( the disease spreads fast!!)
took one of the 3 CSHM's I bought to a salt
treated 1 X 2 and hacked that bad boy apart in
5 strokes and only barely dinged the edge. Darn
things need a sheath though......
heavy machete. It wasnt as out of the sleeve sharp
as a Master Tanto and needed some moderate work;
but were bak to the old "what is it used for"
idea there. Frog Hair sharp is in my experience
bad in a machete. First thing u hak---POW--no
more shaving frogs for you smartguy. I stick to
a single cut bastard file and vise for the dings
and a diamond round rod to finish up.
My son; who is fast becoming as big a knife
knut as dear old dad ( the disease spreads fast!!)
took one of the 3 CSHM's I bought to a salt treated 1 X 2 and hacked that bad boy apart in
5 strokes and only barely dinged the edge. Darn
things need a sheath though......
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2002
- Messages
- 121
Have you heard if they are still carrying sheaths
at cs? Need one for my heavy machetes.
at cs? Need one for my heavy machetes.
Hello razorblade00,
I don't see the sheaths listed or even mentioned in my Special Projects catalog (Spring 2001). You might try calling their toll free number to ask: 1-800-255-4716.
If you can't get one from CS, you might try visiting a military surplus store. Those often sell sheaths separately, and at a store you can try them out to see which one fits.
I don't see the sheaths listed or even mentioned in my Special Projects catalog (Spring 2001). You might try calling their toll free number to ask: 1-800-255-4716.
If you can't get one from CS, you might try visiting a military surplus store. Those often sell sheaths separately, and at a store you can try them out to see which one fits.