CS machete steel ? Any info

From my experience not good. I bought one and was cutting a small green mimosa sapling about 1.5 inches in diameter to test the blade, a 1 inch section of the blade folded over on itself on the 3rd hit.

May be the last Cold Steel product I buy.
 
Dunno, the cold steel machete's look like they were contracted from Tramontina. They aren't made for cutting hardwoods really, best on vines, banannas, other soft vegetation. The tramontina factory edge is designed to work best on those sorts of things, it's really a bit thin for working hardwoods. I've put a convex bevel about the same width on mine and they've never been a problem unless I hit a rock, and that sharpens out on a belt rather easily. How much are the CS machetes?? Tramontina's around here run 5-15 dollars a piece at the flea markets.

If they "are" tramontina's, which they seem to be looking at the blade shapes and steel used, they're virtually indestructible. They often come with a very thin but poor (read large visible burr) edge grind, but for the price what do you expect. I usually sharpen mine before they first get used to get rid of the over-ground steel at the edge. They are hardend to a very flexible spring temper, I've bent mine to around 170 degrees and they spring back to true, this is mostly because of how thin they are, roughly 1/16 of an inch, this is with the 18 inch blades mind you, shorter ones will be stiffer. There's very little mass, but you can develop excellent speed to power through light vegetation. The low weight also reduces fatigue, you can use them all day without your arm tireing. They don't do so well chopping woods, no matter what edge you put on it the blade will just bury itself into soft woods like pine and be difficult to remove, on hardwoods the low mass results in poor penetration "and" binding (it won't damage the edge too much as long as your technique is good, you should be able to cut 2 inch branches with one clean swing). I generally go for another tool if the machete can't cut through whatever it is in one stroke.
 
No experience with those, all of mine were either Bolo or an umm.. swept point style, like what you'd traditionally think of when someone says "machete".
 
I have one of the CS Panga machetes and it has stood up to hard use and some abuse with no problems. The steel one mine seems to have a proper HT. 1055 requires more frequent sharpening than something like 1095, but it is harder to break.


My biggest complaint was the very rough/ uneven factory “edge” that it came with (it took a lot of work to get it sharp by hand). I also didn’t much like the handle profile on the Panga and have since reshaped it.




- Frank



PS - these machetes are not made by Tramontina; they are made by Lasher Tools in South Africa.
 
i have a bolo machete and one day decided to see what it can do on a cardboard box. within 5 hits, a small section of the edge was pushed in.

IMO the machete is best left for soft vegetation, meat on a hook, free hanging ropes, car hoods, etc. :rolleyes:
 
It's light cheap and THIN i like thin becasue it usualy means sharp. When i cut threw something I like to be able to pass the whole blade threw the material.. not too heavy and the accu-sharp is it's best friend

Hydraulicman
 
I had one in my boat bag, and it broke. I replaced it with a Ontario 12 inch machete that takes anything I throw at it and holds a better edge!
 
I got my son a Panga machete a while back, and it has performed well in a variety of materials, from soft vegetation to dry wood. The only blade damage ocurred when I hit a rock with it while chopping something close to the ground. It now has a little ding on the edge, but not too bad.
 
I have the double edge model.

I ended up putting a convex edge on it with a belt grinder. The factory edge was basically non-existant; the bevels didn't even meet. It will now shave hair off my arm. I did some general chopping with it, and it really performs well. No edge deformations and it seems to hold the edge. I'm actually suprised to see any negative reviews of the machetes because I have been so pleased with mine. (Except for the poor factory edge.)
 
From several recent posts one could deduce that they are using a material called "unpredictium".

TLM

:D
 
Sorry, I have not tested mine yet. I did sharpen it. First used a file and the file really grabbed the edge...meaning it seemed pretty soft. I then used a mouse pad and emory paper. Got a very nice smooth edge. Almost shaving sharp with little effort. I would not "push" this edge much. Light chopping only. For me this is a car trunk blade for emergencies. Self-defence = OK. Chop down tree = no way. Fun, cheap.

Jeff
 
My CS bolo machete's steel is very soft, causing the edge to bend even under medium use. Resharpening it is very easy.
 
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