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cold steel machetes

I have one, but I only use it when one of my Condor's isn't at hand. The CS machetes are ok, but Condor is AWESOME! :D

That being said, I literally batoned an entire 1/3 section of tree trunk with one just to see if I could, and it did the job fine! :cool:
 
I own three, a 12" Bowie, an 18" magnum Kukri and an 18" Barong.
There are two lines made of CS machetes, and you really want to get the line that has the more rubbery handles (Barong, Bowie, some others). I don't know where the difference comes from (I think they are made in different countries like China and Pakistan, the Pakistan line being the lesser one) but it is very noticeable. The steel on the 'cheaper' line also bends quicker, and its F&F is of lesser quality.
I can highly recommend them all for durability, but the Barong and Bowie also have very good overall quality, especially for the money.

HTH,
 
The lines are produced in South Africa (cheaper) and China (slightly better) respectively. I have the Chinese-made Barong. :)
 
i own;

two magnum kukri machetes
two heavy machetes
two panga machetes
two 18" spear point machetes
two 18" bowie machetes
two kukri machetes
4 18" latin machetes
1 bolo machete

the only ones i`ve actually used are the latins and bolo (sharpened with bastard file from new) to take lemons off a tree. i was wondering if anyones extensively used them. its kinda a pain how they come blunt though
 
i know cold steel attracts a LOT of ire on this forum , but i`m still surprised not that many ppl would take a cold steel machete with them into the woods/bush
 
i know cold steel attracts a LOT of ire on this forum , but i`m still surprised not that many ppl would take a cold steel machete with them into the woods/bush
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Wouldn't be my first choice, but they perform adequately. The "ire" comes from outrageous claims by the owner Lynn Thompson, his marketing practices as well as his outright theft of designs.
 
Has anyone else noticed the quality difference in the two lines of Cold Steel Machetes?

The line that includes the Sax and Bowie have way better handles and sheaths and the blade is stamped Cold Steel

The line that includes the kukri and various others (it is the larger line) has a cheaper plastic handle, a crapier sheath, and no CS stamp on the blade.

I wish they would just make them all like the better line.
 
i got a Kopis machete.....havent proved it yet but it came dull as a bone....now its got a nice convex edge! cant wait to test it!
 
I bought the bowie to clear grass away for a sheep shearing shed. The short false edge is handy as it allows it to cut grass on the backswing as well.

The edge is adequate and quite soft - probably just as well as i occasionaly whack the tip into metal uprights in the process of clearing around stairs, footings etc. The edge rolls rather than snapping off the tip. I suspect like most things it would be better convexed. And if using one hard it would be good to remember to take a sharpener. I doubt if it cduld be gotten to hair popping sharp or would stay ther very long

The textured sticky handle - like a cheap version of falkniven's thermoreum is secure - but rapidly blisters my hands. I suspect this is more a reflection on my office workers hands rather than the handle.

In short it is utilitarian and fit for purpose - would not consider it a "great" blade.

The bowie style in particular looks good for lightweight slashing, and would be light in the tip for any heavier chopping. They have a wicked point but am not sure what use that is for most machete users. The shape reminds me of on of the old english/eurpoean short sword utility blade shapes whos name escapes me -
 
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The Government said:
Has anyone else noticed the quality difference in the two lines of Cold Steel Machetes?

The line that includes the Sax and Bowie have way better handles and sheaths and the blade is stamped Cold Steel

The line that includes the kukri and various others (it is the larger line) has a cheaper plastic handle, a crapier sheath, and no CS stamp on the blade.

I wish they would just make them all like the better line.
Click to expand...
You are correct sir! lol!
I have the 12" bowie, 12" and 18" inch Barong and the Magnum Kukhri.
The handles on the first three are great and very ergonomic.
The Kukhri handle is truly awful, hard plastic with very deep checkering(?).
A buddy of mine has the higher-end carbon V Cold Steel Kukhri, similar handle BUT his is real kraton and the checkering is less extreme. The handle on his is comfortable the one on mine is not.
Its to the point that i'm considering cutting the handle off my Kukhri and putting on a more hand-filling less-blister-inducing design.
 
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just remembered i own two sax machetes as well . lol
anyone else lose track of what they have sitting around?
 
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I have a CS barong, three Condors, a no-name USA-made machete I got forever ago at Home Depot, a WW2 British army bolo, and also a couple of 22" Collins machetes on the way. :D
 
I have a 24" Latin, a 12" Barong and .. uh.. whatever the large size Bowie length (18"?), a two handed machete and a 12" Kuhkri.

I like the Latin and use it a lot when cleaning up the ditches on the sides of my parent's property. It is light and fast and give me a lot of reach. I put a rough edge on it with a coarse rattail file and it eats up tall grass like crazy.

I played around with the Barong some, but haven't ever gotten around to putting a good enough edge on it to make it really cut. It was basically rough ground but unsharpened when it arrived, and I started reprofiling it some, but when my Condor Bolo and Golok arrived I just put it up (they are both hard chopping fiends right out of the box).

I used the 18" Bowie some after Ike / Gustav clearing trees out of the parking lot at work, and it did the job but wasn't overwhelmed with it's chopping and the rubber handle raised a couple small blisters on my hand. I was also a little unnerved by watching that sharpened clip flashing back towards me, and since have reserved it for emergency use only.

The Two handed is basically a modernized version of the Cane Knives / Kaiser Blades that have been used around here forever. Works great once sharpened. I beveled and sharpened the square front edge of the blade also so I can cut grass and weeds by just shoving down with it. It also served admirably as an emergency burger spatula one weekend when we were going on a gulf fishing trip and they remembered to bring all the grilling supplies except something to flip the burgers with.

I tried to love the Kuhkri Machete and just never could. It arrived dull and the handle is like holding onto a pine cone. I sharpened it up some and smoothed the handle down, but the Condor Kuhkri was soooo much nicer just right out of the box I ended up giving the Cold Steel to a buddy who wanted something just to leave in his trunk for emergencies.
 
I've found that it has the tendency to twist in the hand if a glancing blow is struck. I'd prefer either a wider or flatter handle. :)
 
tbh i really only bought them to be used against the zombie invasion , but i thought maybe some of them could be useful in the bush too. i`d rather have one of them then no machete at all. course if i`m runing arnd the bush i`ve got a folder or a fixed blade or both on me anyway.
 
I have the 13" CS Khuk Machete & it has been a great machete & tough as nails..mine has the softer rubber handle material & yes it did come with a "rough/dull" edge. With a little bit of work it came out Hair popping sharp ! I've packed this machete alot & it has been worked hard & it's still going...holds an edge pretty good & very easy to resharpen !
CSKHUKURIMACHETE.jpg
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Alot of people here don't like ColdSteel but if your careful on the items you purchase from CS then you can get a really good knife for the money spent...but on the other hand make the wrong choice & you can spend way to much money for not so good of a product ;)
 
I have the bolo and I guess it's okay. It's better than most of the el-cheapo Chinese machetes you can find in retail stores these days. But once I got a Condor, Cold Steel's stuff started looking really crappy indeed. The difference is like night and day. Cold Steel machetes are thin, flimsy, with uncomfortable handles and embarassing sheaths. They look and feel like they were punched out of thin sheet metal, and come dull as a hammer. Condor machetes come with razor (shaving) sharp, convex edges, comfortable handles, sweet sheaths, and are shockingly well-finished for a machete. The spine on my El-Salvador came rounded off- like Busse's nuclear-meltdown treatment. Who bothers to round off the edges on a MACHETE? Condor does.
 
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