BOK’s Panga review, motivated me to finish this review, which I had started writing a while ago.
DETAILS: This is one of the South African made machetes from Cold Steel, which feature 1055 medium carbon steel blades and molded on polypropylene handles. The # 97 PM Panga (I am told Panga means “big knife” in Swahili), has a curved cutlass type upswept point. The blade is 16” long and 0.085” thick (5/64” nominal) with no distal taper. The handle has a lanyard hole and a textured finish. Weight is 19 oz. and over all length is 23 5/8”. Suggested retail price is $7.99, but Special Projects catalog has them for $6.99, and many online dealers have them for $1-2 less.
OUT OF THE BOX: I was a bit disappointed when I slipped the cardboard sleeve from the Panga’s blade. There were a few rust spots on the blade, despite the fact that the Special projects catalog states that the blades are “…dipped in a special anti-rust solution before having a black baked on finish.”. And the “finish” looked a lot like black paint complete with dried on drips; however considering the Panga’s low cost and utilitarian purpose, this did not concern me. What did concern me, was the very poor edge. The Special projects catalog says this about the factory edge: “Each machete comes with a good utility edge that will cut right out of the box and, with a little work, can be made hair shaving sharp.” Well, the machete I got had the roughest, thickest and most uneven edge that I have seen on a cutting tool! The edge looked as if it was done by someone who was paying little attention, by skipping it along a grinding wheel very fast.
The handle was better, with very little excess polypropylene at the mold seams and only a few very minor blemishes.
Over all the Panga appears to be solidly constructed. I don’t think the molded handle could loosen easily, and the blade is just thick enough that I would describe it as stiff, although it can be flexed a bit by hand. I expect the steel (1055) to perform well for a machete of this type, especially in regard to resisting major damage due to it’s high toughness.
SHARPENING: I had hoped to try the Panga with the factory edge before sharpening, but the blade edge was so dull and uneven, that I had no choice but to completely profile and sharpen first. I did as much of the work as I could with the Panga clamped in a vice with a file, before moving on to some DMT hones. This was a lot of work, and if I had it to do over, I would find someone with a belt grinder to do it for me. I was finally able to get the edge shaving sharp, at about 15 degrees per side (30 degrees included angle).
ERGONOMICS & BALANCE: I found the handle to be comfortable and it afforded a secure grip, although a little on the large side. I have extra large hands (about 10-11 glove size), so those with smaller hands may well find the Cold Steel machete grips too large (I suppose that the grip could be whittled down a bit if desired). Despite the rough textured finish, the grip seems slick enough that you will have to maintain a firm grip to keep it in your hand in use.
The balance point is 5” forward of the grip, and the Panga feels somewhat blade heavy when you swing it. I thought it felt heavier than it is (19 oz. nominal) weight. I found that the curved shape of the grip is wrong for me, as it tends to over extend my wrist when I swing it, undoubtedly adding to the blade heavy feel.
BRUSH CLEARING PERFRORMANCE: Unfortunately the Panga machete did not work out very well for me. The blade heavy balance tended to wear me out quickly, and I found that the Panga is a little finicky as to the angle of swing to cut well and has a relatively small sweet spot, which starts about 6” from the handle and extends for about another 6”. For comparison, the 18” Ontario and Barteaux machetes have sweet spots that also start at about 6” from the handle, but extend for about 10”. Although the Panga felt too heavy for light vegetation, I found that it did not have enough weight/momentum to cut through a lot of vines, branches and saplings, which could be easily cut with one swing using the heavier Ontario GI or Barteaux M18 heavy duty.
The edge did hold up quite well. I had expected that the Panga’s edge would tend to roll, in fact, the edge seems more likely to suffer micro chipping than rolling. In any case I experienced no major edge or blade damage. As could be expected, the edge did wear quicker than the Ontario’s (1095 steel at RC 50-55).
The Panga’s handle dose need to be held firmly, since there is no D guard or “tail” on the handle to keep it from flying out of your hand. You could use a lanyard for this, but I believe lanyards on machetes are unsafe should you fall with it tethered to your wrist and I would rather have it fly then have it fling back in my face should I loose my grip. When I get tired, I find that I tend to loosen my grip, so I have to make a conscious effort to keep a tight hold when working with the Panga.
I am a little perplexed why the Panga did not perform better for me, after all this machete, and others of very similar design are used extensively through out Africa and much of southern Asia. I suspect that it may work much better for others. I did find that the Panga performed a bit better when I used it exclusively, than when I switched back and forth between different machetes, so it may take some getting used to. Despite this, I don’t think I ever will find the Panga’s handling to my liking.
WOOD CHOPPING: Although I am not much of an advocate of machetes for wood chopping, there are times when a machete may be called on to stand in for an axe or a saw.
To get a feel for the Panga’s wood chopping ability, I did a bit of side be side chopping with it, and the Barteaux M18 Heavy Duty and B18 Budget machetes. I found that the Panga penetrated deeply and would throw off wood chips; overall, it worked nearly as well as the M18. In fact the Panga penetrated more and would have out paced the heavy duty Barteaux, if it were not for the M18’s greater weight, which allowed it to break through the core of the seasoned wood I was chopping, sooner. The B18 Budget machete did not do nearly as well, as it lacked the blade weight and thickness to throw chips. The B18 penetrated about the same as the M18, but would tend to just stick in the wood, or if you lowered the chopping angle, shave off thin slices of wood instead of chips.
TO CUT TO THE CHASE: While the Panga’s balance and handling are not right for me, they may be fine for others. The Panga dose earn high marks for durability of the blade and of the molded on handle (which eliminates the possibility of handle rivet loosening that plagues the Ontario GI type machetes). The Panga is also a good machete for wood chopping.
I do think that the ergonomics and balance could be improved. And I would very much like to see a decent factory edge on the Cold Steel machetes.
Cold Steel’s web site: www.coldsteel.com
Lasher Tools: http://www.lasher.co.za
BOK’s review of the Panga machete:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=217265
Barteaux M18 Heavy Machete review:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=207783
Barteaux B18 Budget Machete review:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=215488
Assorted machetes vs. a cardboard tube:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=469038
DETAILS: This is one of the South African made machetes from Cold Steel, which feature 1055 medium carbon steel blades and molded on polypropylene handles. The # 97 PM Panga (I am told Panga means “big knife” in Swahili), has a curved cutlass type upswept point. The blade is 16” long and 0.085” thick (5/64” nominal) with no distal taper. The handle has a lanyard hole and a textured finish. Weight is 19 oz. and over all length is 23 5/8”. Suggested retail price is $7.99, but Special Projects catalog has them for $6.99, and many online dealers have them for $1-2 less.
OUT OF THE BOX: I was a bit disappointed when I slipped the cardboard sleeve from the Panga’s blade. There were a few rust spots on the blade, despite the fact that the Special projects catalog states that the blades are “…dipped in a special anti-rust solution before having a black baked on finish.”. And the “finish” looked a lot like black paint complete with dried on drips; however considering the Panga’s low cost and utilitarian purpose, this did not concern me. What did concern me, was the very poor edge. The Special projects catalog says this about the factory edge: “Each machete comes with a good utility edge that will cut right out of the box and, with a little work, can be made hair shaving sharp.” Well, the machete I got had the roughest, thickest and most uneven edge that I have seen on a cutting tool! The edge looked as if it was done by someone who was paying little attention, by skipping it along a grinding wheel very fast.
The handle was better, with very little excess polypropylene at the mold seams and only a few very minor blemishes.
Over all the Panga appears to be solidly constructed. I don’t think the molded handle could loosen easily, and the blade is just thick enough that I would describe it as stiff, although it can be flexed a bit by hand. I expect the steel (1055) to perform well for a machete of this type, especially in regard to resisting major damage due to it’s high toughness.
SHARPENING: I had hoped to try the Panga with the factory edge before sharpening, but the blade edge was so dull and uneven, that I had no choice but to completely profile and sharpen first. I did as much of the work as I could with the Panga clamped in a vice with a file, before moving on to some DMT hones. This was a lot of work, and if I had it to do over, I would find someone with a belt grinder to do it for me. I was finally able to get the edge shaving sharp, at about 15 degrees per side (30 degrees included angle).
ERGONOMICS & BALANCE: I found the handle to be comfortable and it afforded a secure grip, although a little on the large side. I have extra large hands (about 10-11 glove size), so those with smaller hands may well find the Cold Steel machete grips too large (I suppose that the grip could be whittled down a bit if desired). Despite the rough textured finish, the grip seems slick enough that you will have to maintain a firm grip to keep it in your hand in use.
The balance point is 5” forward of the grip, and the Panga feels somewhat blade heavy when you swing it. I thought it felt heavier than it is (19 oz. nominal) weight. I found that the curved shape of the grip is wrong for me, as it tends to over extend my wrist when I swing it, undoubtedly adding to the blade heavy feel.
BRUSH CLEARING PERFRORMANCE: Unfortunately the Panga machete did not work out very well for me. The blade heavy balance tended to wear me out quickly, and I found that the Panga is a little finicky as to the angle of swing to cut well and has a relatively small sweet spot, which starts about 6” from the handle and extends for about another 6”. For comparison, the 18” Ontario and Barteaux machetes have sweet spots that also start at about 6” from the handle, but extend for about 10”. Although the Panga felt too heavy for light vegetation, I found that it did not have enough weight/momentum to cut through a lot of vines, branches and saplings, which could be easily cut with one swing using the heavier Ontario GI or Barteaux M18 heavy duty.
The edge did hold up quite well. I had expected that the Panga’s edge would tend to roll, in fact, the edge seems more likely to suffer micro chipping than rolling. In any case I experienced no major edge or blade damage. As could be expected, the edge did wear quicker than the Ontario’s (1095 steel at RC 50-55).
The Panga’s handle dose need to be held firmly, since there is no D guard or “tail” on the handle to keep it from flying out of your hand. You could use a lanyard for this, but I believe lanyards on machetes are unsafe should you fall with it tethered to your wrist and I would rather have it fly then have it fling back in my face should I loose my grip. When I get tired, I find that I tend to loosen my grip, so I have to make a conscious effort to keep a tight hold when working with the Panga.
I am a little perplexed why the Panga did not perform better for me, after all this machete, and others of very similar design are used extensively through out Africa and much of southern Asia. I suspect that it may work much better for others. I did find that the Panga performed a bit better when I used it exclusively, than when I switched back and forth between different machetes, so it may take some getting used to. Despite this, I don’t think I ever will find the Panga’s handling to my liking.
WOOD CHOPPING: Although I am not much of an advocate of machetes for wood chopping, there are times when a machete may be called on to stand in for an axe or a saw.
To get a feel for the Panga’s wood chopping ability, I did a bit of side be side chopping with it, and the Barteaux M18 Heavy Duty and B18 Budget machetes. I found that the Panga penetrated deeply and would throw off wood chips; overall, it worked nearly as well as the M18. In fact the Panga penetrated more and would have out paced the heavy duty Barteaux, if it were not for the M18’s greater weight, which allowed it to break through the core of the seasoned wood I was chopping, sooner. The B18 Budget machete did not do nearly as well, as it lacked the blade weight and thickness to throw chips. The B18 penetrated about the same as the M18, but would tend to just stick in the wood, or if you lowered the chopping angle, shave off thin slices of wood instead of chips.
TO CUT TO THE CHASE: While the Panga’s balance and handling are not right for me, they may be fine for others. The Panga dose earn high marks for durability of the blade and of the molded on handle (which eliminates the possibility of handle rivet loosening that plagues the Ontario GI type machetes). The Panga is also a good machete for wood chopping.
I do think that the ergonomics and balance could be improved. And I would very much like to see a decent factory edge on the Cold Steel machetes.
Cold Steel’s web site: www.coldsteel.com
Lasher Tools: http://www.lasher.co.za
BOK’s review of the Panga machete:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=217265
Barteaux M18 Heavy Machete review:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=207783
Barteaux B18 Budget Machete review:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=215488
Assorted machetes vs. a cardboard tube:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=469038
