CS Black Bear machete arrived - what a beauty.

[Houlahound]

First up a lot of discussions I have seen revolve around is it a small machete or a big knife. After handling it all day and doing both machete and knife tasks I am calling it a huge knife and not a machete.

The comparitive length machete is a bolo and the bolo would outperform it on machete tasks. In fact I think the bolo outperforms most other machetes at machete tasks....IMHO.

As a big knife tho the black bear is awesome. I like the thinner stock than what you would expect to find on a large Bowie, I guess that's why it's called a machete.

The profile is the Bowiest looking Bowie design I can think of, it is truly vicious with the sweep in the belly, the height of the blade and whoa - a gnarly clip. The clip is also sharpened.

The handle is very secure with a positive grip both forward and back with a palm swell in the middle and a bird head and big ass guard at the rear and front. Such a simple time proven design that TBH is hard to beat and makes wonder why so much innovation goes into on the handles when that most basic boring handle design is IMHO the best.

Sheath is soft textile with a hard plastic end for tip. I will carry this blade on my back and leave lodged in a tree trunk in camp.

If you are into large but practical blades as a camp knife and you don't mind basic concepts put together really well on cheap but robust materials I would highly recommend.

Feel free to ask any questions about it or comment with your experience.

ETA, this is the first knife I have bought that comes in a plastic bag with a cardboard info panel and rack hanger stapled to it - not your typical on the packaging.

 

[91bravo]

This thread is useless without pictures.

 

[dirc]

(not my pic, but still looks good)

I love the shape and design... my only gripe about this (and with all CS machetes) is the 1055 steel.
1055 is great for an axe, but as a knife or machete steel, I prefer 1075 with a good ht. You get much better edge retention and still get great toughness.

Ontario uses 1075 now for all their machetes (with the only exception being 1095 in the military I think)

 

[Houlahound]

Dang that's a sweet profile.

They must be worried about rust cos this is the most oiled up knife out of the packet (not out of a box lol) I have received.

 

[d762nato]

I like it but it's a shame they sharpened the clip like that. I'd like to see the clip left unsharpened which also makes it a little thicker. It still looks like a decent knife especially at the price point these carry.

 

[Henry Beige]

At the price point, you could have a CS Bushman, only a 7” blade, but SK5 steel, roughly equivalent to 1084, or a Tramontina 14” bolo. That is to say, a better knife or a better machete. At the price, it is no burden to have both.

Of course, you could say, at the price, why not just have the Bowie anyway. To which I say, because then you have to put up with the guard and the sharpened top edge.