Just got a Cold Steel "Kukri Machete"... Are they all this dull?

RBid said:
That's not an edge, sir. It's a bonus spine! You got two, for the price of one! That's what we call "value".
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That's destined to become a standard term on bfc from now on.

From some future knife review:

"The only problem I have with this knife is that it arrived dull. I'm not talking butter knife dull, I'm talking bonus spine dull."

:D:thumbup:
 
me2 said:
Ah, Cold Steel's infamous utility edge. The only utility in it is if you need to practice sharpening.
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Yup. I think the only folks who can do any utility with the courtesy grind on those are people who cut a lot of jello and butter. I've consistently been horrified year after year by the fact that the packaging still calls it a utility edge--it gives the impressionable a horrible idea of what a machete edge is supposed to be like. :o
 
Check out the Himalayan Imports sub forum if you want a real user khukri.Particularly the Village Utility Knife series-VUK--KV
 
kvaughn said:
Check out the Himalayan Imports sub forum if you want a real user khukri.Particularly the Village Utility Knife series-VUK--KV
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There's a rather substantial difference in price between a Himalayan Imports kukri and a $20 Cold Steel machete(which is meant as, you know, a machete, not a real kukri). Your sentence above is like telling someone who was asking about a Ford Focus to just get a Porsche instead.
 
me2 said:
Ah, Cold Steel's infamous utility edge. The only utility in it is if you need to practice sharpening. Yes, it comes dull, but put a back bevel on it then sharpen it and you'll have a fine cutting piece. I prefer a 4-5 degree per side (dps) back bevel with a 15-17 degree edge.
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Wow that sounds like a lot of metal to remove, do you do it with motorized equipment or by hand?

Took me a while with a metal file to get the "utility" edge into a real edge, but it's still pretty obtuse and assyemetrical. Either I'll need to buy a round file/hone or send it to someone to get it done proper but it definitely works miles beyond what it came as.
 
The kabar kuk machete I bought years ago came sharp and if you are looking at a Becker Machaxe I suspect it will come plenty sharp as well.

---
Beckerhead 42
 
DShiflet said:
There's a rather substantial difference in price between a Himalayan Imports kukri and a $20 Cold Steel machete(which is meant as, you know, a machete, not a real kukri). Your sentence above is like telling someone who was asking about a Ford Focus to just get a Porsche instead.
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Not really.-$20 as opposed to $58. What I payed for mine.Certainly worth the difference in light of the price/quality quotient.--KV
 
kvaughn said:
Not really.-$20 as opposed to $58. What I payed for mine.Certainly worth the difference in light of the price/quality quotient.--KV
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Umm, yes really, that's almost a $40 difference. I consider that pretty substantial, personally. Sure, if you spend hundreds on knives all the time I guess it's nothing, but for a lot of people spending $20(and I've seen them as low as $15) vs spending $58 is a pretty big difference.

Also, usage matters. If you're planning on doing a lot of serious camping, or living off the land, stuff like that, yeah, the HI is the better choice. But if you just plan on clearing some brush around your yard, well, the lighter weight of the CS may make it the better choice(the thinner profile is perfectly fine for MACHETE uses, no need to carry a heavy chopper if you're only doing machete style work).
 
Hell, thinner/lighter actually works better for machete work. I would weep openly if I had to clear vegetation all day with a thick kukri. Even if sharp they're usually too heavy and short to get up to the necessary speed and then you're swinging more weight for less result.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Hell, thinner/lighter actually works better for machete work. I would weep openly if I had to clear vegetation all day with a thick kukri. Even if sharp they're usually too heavy and short to get up to the necessary speed and then you're swinging more weight for less result.
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Yeah I wanted more of a machete than a chopper, just thought the kukri shape would be good for it since the weight is forward.

Tried it for a bit of trail clearing today and think it worked okay. Kind of seeemed like iit was snapping stuff more than cutting, but I think that was more technique than tool.
 
Keep checking your edge for any rolling--the factory grind can be a little burnt because of how coarse of wheels they use to apply it, so it takes a few sharpenings (or one good careful grinding) to get past the burnt part into the good steel.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Keep checking your edge for any rolling--the factory grind can be a little burnt because of how coarse of wheels they use to apply it, so it takes a few sharpenings (or one good careful grinding) to get past the burnt part into the good steel.
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Will probably reprofile it once I can get a round file and a concave sharpening rod. Right now though it's doing pretty good, like I said I think it's more technique than the tool. I thought maybe it wasn't sharp enough to grab onto the soft greener vegetation, but I just took a swipe at a tomato and it went through it without even flinging it off the table top.

Didn't notice any rolling and I did quite a bit of chopping with it today too just basically trying to beat on the edge, held up fantastic. Was actually really surprised about the wear resistance since it's only 1055

I'm thinking maybe it needs to be a bit more of an accute edge, but it actually seems like it is between 18-20 degrees per side already. I think I just need to learn to strike at more of a diagonal better.
 
I sharpen my machete's with a belt sander from harbor freight. I bought several different grit belts. The final edge is polished convex and goes through wood like a butter. I haven't had a problem at all with chipping.
 


Way better now! Chops through thin stuff like it wasn't even there, and goes through thick stuff like a hatchet.
 
Quite a few years ago I bought a hatchet, and I can't even tell you the brand name.

I took the hatchet to a sharpener/knifemaker who works locally. He sharpened that blade so sharp that half the time when I touch it I cut myself. I have no knife that approaches the sharpness of that hatchet, except maybe a Becker BK9 and a Ka-Bar Dozier Folding Hunter. The hatchet is, of course, much thicker, so I don't understand how it can be so sharp.

More recently I bought a H.I. kukri. I wasn't too impressed with the sharpness, so I took it to the same local sharpener that I took my hatchet to, and asked him to sharpen it. I'm still not impressed with its sharpness, although it is much thicker than even the BK9, but I doubt if it is thicker than my hatchet (I haven't measured the hatchet). I don't get it.
 
HotSteel said:
Quite a few years ago I bought a hatchet, and I can't even tell you the brand name.

I took the hatchet to a sharpener/knifemaker who works locally. He sharpened that blade so sharp that half the time when I touch it I cut myself. I have no knife that approaches the sharpness of that hatchet, except maybe a Becker BK9 and a Ka-Bar Dozier Folding Hunter. The hatchet is, of course, much thicker, so I don't understand how it can be so sharp.

More recently I bought a H.I. kukri. I wasn't too impressed with the sharpness, so I took it to the same local sharpener that I took my hatchet to, and asked him to sharpen it. I'm still not impressed with its sharpness, although it is much thicker than even the BK9, but I doubt if it is thicker than my hatchet (I haven't measured the hatchet). I don't get it.
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If he sharpened your hatchet to the point you are cutting yourself on it that easily, he has oversharpened it.
Scary sharp is not something you want in a blade used for chopping purposes. Many times this type of oversharpening will lead to edge deformation and chipping.
A blade used for chopping must balance it's sharpness between cutting and edge holding. For most purposes a toothy "Field" sharp edge is sufficient for both.
A blade that will slice cut newspaper and not push cut is usually as sharp as it needs to be and as much of the convex profile as possible should be maintained.
In the case of the HI product, if the edge has been modified to the extent that it becomes unsuitable for the purposes for which it was intended, it is unwarrantable modification.
 
This i have never heard of
My Tramontina small wood handle machete came very sharp with an excellent edge, and so did my Condor Eco Light
AND my new Cold steel (Lasher) all terrain chopper

I bought a Bellotto a while ago however and it can genuinly be called the worst knife i have ever owned, dull, horrid finish, rust, stupidly oversized handle slabs and it literally stinks
 
Karda said:
If he sharpened your hatchet to the point you are cutting yourself on it that easily, he has oversharpened it.
Scary sharp is not something you want in a blade used for chopping purposes. Many times this type of oversharpening will lead to edge deformation and chipping.
A blade used for chopping must balance it's sharpness between cutting and edge holding. For most purposes a toothy "Field" sharp edge is sufficient for both.
A blade that will slice cut newspaper and not push cut is usually as sharp as it needs to be and as much of the convex profile as possible should be maintained.
In the case of the HI product, if the edge has been modified to the extent that it becomes unsuitable for the purposes for which it was intended, it is unwarrantable modification.
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I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with you on the sharpness point, and for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, sharpness and edge angle should not be confused. An edge is chiefly make more durable by virtue of its angle. Thusly I can (and do) put a screaming sharp edge on splitting mauls and they see a large boost in performance even though they're still very THICK and they are not rendered any more prone towards damage because a dull edge is already damaged. Keeping a dull or rough edge on a cutting tool so it doesn't get damaged is sort of like buying designer jeans with the knees already torn out so you can't wear a hole in them. The edge angle needs to be matched to the task, but common machetes can be brought down to 15° per side with a hair-popping edge without issue.

Secondly, "field" or "working sharp" edges are as such not because they are the ideal for the tool but because in the incidence of damage during field use it is often more important to simply get the damage repaired to usable sharpness quickly so you can get back to work rather than taking the time to bring it all the way back up to ideal sharpness. When at home or at "base camp" is an appropriate time to then further refine the "working sharp" edge back up to ideal sharpness.

Cutting ability is all about geometry, and that's determined both by the refinement of the edge bevel apex (i.e. sharpness) and the geometry behind that apex (i.e. both edge and grind angles.) If one of those factors is lacking, so will cutting ability, and the work becomes harder. Rough edges will cut, but they do not cut as well as a sharper one does.
 
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