New video on Cold Steel Gladius Machete.

yans said:
Just be honest and say you need to touch up the edge to do what we do in the vids. i would have more respect then.
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I wouldn't get worked up about a $20 CS machete yans. You may not be a machete buyer but the ones I've bought all need work on the edge. Especially CS machetes.

Touch up the edge you state? Nah, you have to get a grinder or put an hour or two in with a file to get it close to sharp. They're that dull :(

I don't think it's a matter of respect or disrespect. LT is showing the blades potential when sharpened "professionally." It doesn't bug me cuz I know it's going to be dull as h*ll when it arrives anyway.

I'll grant you that their knives do come crazy sharp out of the box. It's always been one of their biggest claims "comes shaving sharp." ;)
 
It seems as though they are actually planning on doing a basic sharpening job on them, much like their "two-handed katana machete". As much as I despised the handling characteristics of the 2HKM (it neither works well as a sword OR a machete) it did come with a factory edge that was VASTLY improved over the rough grind that their standard models come with. ;)
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
It seems as though they are actually planning on doing a basic sharpening job on them, much like their "two-handed katana machete". As much as I despised the handling characteristics of the 2HKM (it neither works well as a sword OR a machete) it did come with a factory edge that was VASTLY improved over the rough grind that their standard models come with. ;)
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Wow, that would be a huge improvement over the offerings that I've purchased in the past!
 
It wasn't like a Condor, but it sure was better than nothing! The 2HKMs come with a fairly obtuse medium-grit convex on them from the factory. It was definitely a few steps above "functional sharpness" but could have used thinning out with a finer belt.
 
'' Made from 1055 Carbon steel and hand sharpened to a murderous point and wicked edge, it offers 19" of unprecedented piercing and slashing power at a bargain price. ''

From CS's website
 
Other than the cool factor of it resembling a Roman sword I think I prefer the old spear point machete or one of the barong machetes as a more useful, (if less tacticool), design. The double edge on the gladius could be useful if you chipped your primary edge with a bad swing but from a utility standpoint it rules out being used like a draw knife -- not that anyone will choose this blade for its utility -- and from a martial utility standpoint I'd rather have a single edge with a sharpened swage to allow for piercing and tip slashes but also have plenty of options for reinforcing a block or deflection with the off hand or doing a back of the blade block with less fear of damaging a thin edge. I suppose the top edge helps prevent your opponent from grabbing the blade, but I think this doesn't make up for the other things.
 
Wow. Just watched the video of Lynn Thompson trying to market a Roman Gladius-style weapon as a machete.

facepalm.jpg
 
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cziv said:
http://www.coldsteel.com/gladius-machete.html Out of stock so I hope you don't consider this deal spotting mods okay? It does say that though
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No one buys directly from the manufacturers sute anyway, so no deal spotting because there's no deal :D From the illustration, it looks like it actually may be sharpened. Interesting.



Cronx210 said:
A sword fundamentally consists of a blade, a hilt, and a crossguard, typically with one or two edges for cutting, and a point for thrusting.

It is pretty much a Short Sword.
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Because it's so thin [>3mm], it's pretty much a goofy machete.
 
Many Chinese military swords were historically very thin. Sudanese kaskara swords, too. And don't even get me started on the Indian urumi...:D Point being that "thin" and "sword" are not necessarily mutually exclusive words. I think the gladius machete falls under an entirely different category that's seeing a revival--that of the sword/machete hybrid. The Condor Bush Cutlass and the CS Two-handed Katana Machete represent the first two models that were introduced to the market in that category, with the Combat Machete being a possible precursor. Collins and a few other manufacturers used to make fancy sword/machete hybrids for plantation owners.

dsc00020.jpg
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Many Chinese military swords were historically very thin. Sudanese kaskara swords, too. And don't even get me started on the Indian urumi...:D Point being that "thin" and "sword" are not necessarily mutually exclusive words. I think the gladius machete falls under an entirely different category that's seeing a revival--that of the sword/machete hybrid. The Condor Bush Cutlass and the CS Two-handed Katana Machete represent the first two models that were introduced to the market in that category, with the Combat Machete being a possible precursor. Collins and a few other manufacturers used to make fancy sword/machete hybrids for plantation owners.
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Yeah have you noticed the swords that bull fighters dispacth bullsw with? They are so thin that they actually bend slightly under their own weight when poised for the thrust. I have also seen Chinese Wushu spring steel swords that are extremel thin but also will decapitate you if struck by one. :eek:
 
I think we get too hung up on ideas of toughness.
Look at the machetes used in Rwanda...10 CENTS per machete, and not up to the quality that anyone here would buy (certainly nothing approaching the worst of the Cold Steel offerings).
I picked up a weird trench weapon from WW1 yesterday, which was made from the handle of a German shovel and what looks like the end of a fire-poker jammed in the end (one spike part and one hook). The construction is nothing like what I would consider making for sale or home-defense, but it served some poor guy in the trenches, who made it to try to avoid dying.
I'll bet that guy in the trenches (or the Rwandans for that matter) wouldn't have turned up their noses at this Cold Steel Gladius Machete.

Actually, the more people bad-mouth it, the more I want one.:D
 
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stabman said:
I think we get too hung up on ideas of toughness.
Look at the machetes used in Rwanda...10 CENTS per machete, and not up to the quality that anyone here would buy (certainly nothing approaching the worst of the Cold Steel offerings).
I picked up a weird trench weapon from WW1 yesterday, which was made from the handle of a German shovel and what looks like the end of a fire-poker jammed in the end (one spike part and one hook). The construction is nothing like what I would consider making for sale or home-defense, but it served some poor guy in the trenches, who made it to try to avoid dying.
I'll bet that guy in the trenches (or the Rwandans for that matter) wouldn't have turned up their noses at this Cold Steel Gladius Machete.

Actually, the more people bad-mouth it, the more I want one.:D
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Not only would they not turn their noses they would probably thank god for having something like it.
 
I won't lie, I ordered one. For less than $50 I don't expect very much, but perhaps I'll be surprised. At the very least it makes for an interesting show and tell.
 
stabman said:
I think we get too hung up on ideas of toughness.
Look at the machetes used in Rwanda...10 CENTS per machete, and not up to the quality that anyone here would buy (certainly nothing approaching the worst of the Cold Steel offerings).
I picked up a weird trench weapon from WW1 yesterday, which was made from the handle of a German shovel and what looks like the end of a fire-poker jammed in the end (one spike part and one hook). The construction is nothing like what I would consider making for sale or home-defense, but it served some poor guy in the trenches, who made it to try to avoid dying.
I'll bet that guy in the trenches (or the Rwandans for that matter) wouldn't have turned up their noses at this Cold Steel Gladius Machete.

Actually, the more people bad-mouth it, the more I want one.:D
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Sure. I'd also take it over a shorter folding knife if I knew I needed to defend myself against a physical attack and I'd take a pen over an empty hand. It's not a question of whether or not I'd be happy to have one in a bad situation, it's a question of what I'd choose to have on hand if I had a choice ahead of time.

In a pinch with it closest to hand...no question I'd take it.
 
Vicarious Reality said:
No one but me got hung up on the fact that Cold steel now implies that their products be used for murder?
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Did they ever not? :confused: Their aggressive (literally!) marketing has always been a problem for me. Doesn't keep me from owning a bunch of their stuff, though.
 
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