Question regarding the Shanghai Worrier dagger

So, today I have bought the cs bowie machete, made in South Africa. I compared two of the same knives, produced there.
Ok, there are differences , when you compare the shapes and sharpness. I suppose, you have to invest some work to have good results.
I will test it and let you know my experiences.
However, I suppose next knife I am going to buy is the Shanghai Warrior. But it would be great to see any videos or pictures, showing this thing in action.
Don't know, what's the reason, not to show the usual expressive vids by cold steel.
 
Another friend of mine got to hold both the CS Smatchet and the Bowie machete.
He said, the Bowie machete is more of an evolution, a modern type of knife than the Smatchet.
And the Warrior he felt like it was more of a Greek or Roman kind of knife.
Funny how all these people have their own views on the same item.
But yes, the Bowie machete might become your favourite.
It is quite light compared to the Smatchet, not only in weight, roughly 200 gram difference, but when holding it , it is stubstantial noticeable.
Then again, compare the Smatchet to the CS Barong machete or the Jungle machete, then the Smatchet is much more maneuverable than those two.
So, it's all relative.
And also depending on the person holding it.

You can always put a lanyard in the handle if you are in doubt the hand sliding onto the blade.
But it won't happen.I'm sure.

Finnish hand surgery :-).
I didn't know that.
 
Last edited:
dingy said:
shanghai shadow and warrior both are sooooo cool , i will buy some .
Click to expand...

Kwon Kwang said:
WOW that Shanghai Warrior is nice! Want.

I've been putting my knife buying on hold for a while; the weak Canadian dollar means that my knife addiction has become a very expensive hobby. With shipping it would cost me at least $80 CAN for one when I paid only $35 with shipping for my Shanghai Shadow!
Click to expand...
yeah I know that feeling.

But they are more affordable than many expensive ones.
And not performing less.
Well... as you can talk about performing with a dagger...
;-P
 
noviomagus said:
Another friend of mine got to hold both the CS Smatchet and the Bowie machete.
He said, the Bowie machete is more of an evolution, a modern type of knife than the Smatchet.
And the Warrior he felt like it was more of a Greek or Roman kind of knife.
Funny how all these people have their own views on the same item.
But yes, the Bowie machete might become your favourite.
It is quite light compared to the Smatchet, not only in weight, roughly 200 gram difference, but when holding it , it is stubstantial noticeable.
Then again, compare the Smatchet to the CS Barong machete or the Jungle machete, then the Smatchet is much more maneuverable than those two.
So, it's all relative.
And also depending on the person holding it.

You can always put a lanyard in the handle if you are in doubt the hand sliding onto the blade.
But it won't happen.I'm sure.

Finnish hand surgery :-).
I didn't know that.
Click to expand...

After holding the bowie machete in hand I as well think that one wouldn't slip onto the blade.
That's good.
 
noviomagus said:
yeah I know that feeling.

But they are more affordable than many expensive ones.
And not performing less.
Well... as you can talk about performing with a dagger...
;-P
Click to expand...

I would say that the Shanghai Warrior is similar to a real smatchet like the Al Mar or Böker Applegate smatchet, it's not the typical dagger.
 
halbschaf said:
After holding the bowie machete in hand I as well think that one wouldn't slip onto the blade.
That's good.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it is not something to worry about.

The good thing about these machetes is ,Bowie and Smatchet , they are hand filling.
Which is nice for chopping action.

halbschaf said:
I would say that the Shanghai Warrior is similar to a real smatchet like the Al Mar or Böker Applegate smatchet, it's not the typical dagger.
Click to expand...
But the original Smatchet seems to have a similar blade to the CS Smatchet , maybe the Cold Steel is a little thinner.
Those Smatchets made by Cold Steel are pretty good.
And much tougher than you would expect from a machete.
Maybe the wide blade has something to do with this as well.
Though the CS Jungle machete is no slouch either.Or the CS Barong machete...


There is a video on YouTube where a man chops it through an empty can.Some Red Bull kind of tin can , I'm not sure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn9GcQf8fbo

The proof is in the pudding I would say about this Smatchet.
 
Last edited:
Something like, you have to taste it to know how good it is?

:-)

In this case, experience it.

But as you can see in the video.
It is a good fast slicer.

Plus, my CS Smatchet stabs better than my Shanghai Shadow and Warrior.
And those are really good pigstickers too.

In the end,... any butcher/chefs knife blade is good at stabbing.

That's what I always say when people are a bit shocked by the looks of these kind of blades.

It's just looks.
Those ordinairy kitchen knives are not less deadly.
At all.
 
Last edited:
noviomagus said:
Something like, you have to taste it to know how good it is?

:-)

In this case, experience it.

But as you can see in the video.
It is a good fast slicer.

Plus, my CS Smatchet stabs better than my Shanghai Shadow and Warrior.
And those are really good pigstickers too.

In the end,... any butcher/chefs knife blade is good at stabbing.

That's what I always say when people are a bit shocked by the looks of these kind of blades.

It's just looks.
Those ordinairy kitchen knives are not less deadly.
At all.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your explanation. I think you're right.
This bowie machete has a agressive, sharp blade with a tip like a needle. Only my feeling is, that the blade seems a little flexible, but as you said, that's nothing to worry about. Cannot await testing it.
 
Halbschaf,

I have done some more stabbing tests with the mentioned blades.
But the Shanghai Shadow and Warrior are the more agile kind of knives in my opinion.
Better grip as well.
The handle on the CS Smatchet is a bit on the, too large side, to be honest.
(Someone with a larger hand might find it perfect).

My middle finger and ring finger touches the base of my hand when holding the Smatchet, but the index finger barely, where as holding the Shanghai brothers (warrrior/shadow) have the index, middle and ringfinger touching the base of my hand easily.
You want, IF ,in combat/fight a very secure comfortable grip on a knife.
It shouldn't be easy to lose out of the hand. Whether through struggle or shock.
Somewhat thinner handles are better in this regard in my opinion.

The larger grip makes it a little more unwieldy as well , is my experience.A little less agile/maneuverable.
The Smatchet is 4 inch longer, the Warrior is much , much more secure in my hand.And those 4 inch blade length/weight differences are not the reason for that.
The Smatchet has a wider more heavy blade though.Makes it powerful at chopping.
But the penetration is good as well.

The CS Smatchet is 4cm at the widest point of the handle.
The Shanghai Shadow/Warrior 2.7 cm.
That is quite a noticeable difference.

When looking at authentic Phillipino Barongs and other swords it is noticeable that the handles aren't too thick either.
There is a reason for that.
 
Last edited:
noviomagus said:
Halbschaf,

I have done some more stabbing tests with the mentioned blades.
But the Shanghai Shadow and Warrior are the more agile kind of knives in my opinion.
Better grip as well.
The handle on the CS Smatchet is a bit on the, too large side, to be honest.
(Someone with a larger hand might find it perfect).

My middle finger and ring finger touches the base of my hand when holding the Smatchet, but the index finger barely, where as holding the Shanghai brothers (warrrior/shadow) have the index, middle and ringfinger touching the base of my hand easily.
You want, IF ,in combat/fight a very secure comfortable grip on a knife.
It shouldn't be easy to lose out of the hand. Whether through struggle or shock.
Somewhat thinner handles are better in this regard in my opinion.

The larger grip makes it a little more unwieldy as well , is my experience.A little less agile/maneuverable.
The Smatchet is 4 inch longer, the Warrior is much , much more secure in my hand.And those 4 inch blade length/weight differences are not the reason for that.
The Smatchet has a wider more heavy blade though.Makes it powerful at chopping.
But the penetration is good as well.

The CS Smatchet is 4cm at the widest point of the handle.
The Shanghai Shadow/Warrior 2.7 cm.
That is quite a noticeable difference.

When looking at authentic Phillipino Barongs and other swords it is noticeable that the handles aren't too thick either.
There is a reason for that.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for your super informations. I bought the cs bowie machete and have tested it in the forest today.
It feels very good in the hand, stabs great and although it's light in weight it allows powerful chopping through limbs. It's really sharp but the edge has to get touched up. Maybe a convex grind is also an option?
Till know I'm satisfied with this knife.
By reading your details, I would prefer the Shanghai Warrior to the Smatchet, when buying the next knife.
Me as well have a much better feeling, when the handle isn't to thick. In the past I have had several knives with this problem, as I do not have large hands. The Al Mar Pathfinder Kukri machete and the Al Mar smatchet with a 10 inch blade were such kind of knives, and because of this reason I sold them. For guys with very large hands they may be great.
 
So you have encountered this 'problem' as well.
I also haven't got large hands, not tiny either though, but when grips are on the large side, the grip is far from perfect and secure.
If you do like the handle of the CS Bowie machete, then you might like the CS Smatchet also.
They are a little different in handle size, but not a lot.
I don't know, you have to try to get a hold of a CS Smatchet somewhere to experience it.

But the grip of the Warrior is far more secure.
When engaging into an assasin like situation(ok it's not really going to happen anytime soon, probably).
I would opt for the Warrior, or even the Shadow.
Go figure.
The Shadow with its 'shallow' 7 inch blade.
But it is so maneuverable and fast in the hand.
You have total control over the tip/point, where to stick it so to speak.
And the grip is fenomenal.I have put tacky racket grip tape over it , to make it even better.
Forget about doing that on the Smatchet , it will get to Hulk handle size.
I still like the CS Smatchet though.


I have seen the Al Mar Smatchet and that handle did indeed looked awefully big.(Like a RTAKII)
And from seeing pics of the Al Mar Kukri, it doesn't look to secure in the hand either.
There is a difference between a handle feeling comfortable, and a handle feeling comfortable AND having a secure, tight grip.
Comfortable doesn't necessarily mean excellent for a fighting knife.
The finger tips should touch the base of the hand easily except for the pinky.
And not only the middle and ring finger .For the correct size I think.
These sound like minor details for some, but to me they are a world of difference when holding a knife for combat.

How large was the grip of the two Al Mar handles?
can you remember how your fingers wrapped the handle.Or did you measure the girth of it.
Did the tips of your finger were in contact with the base of your hand?

Another CS product with a bit too thick handle is the CS Barong machete.
It has quite a thickening near the guard.
This I cannot see with most authentic Barong from the Phillippines.
Makes a huge difference when holding and maneuvering such a blade.

Some probably do like this feature.
But too thick grips makes it harder to maneuver fast in my experience.
Makes it feel unwieldy.
 
noviomagus said:
How large was the grip of the two Al Mar handles?
can you remember how your fingers wrapped the handle.Or did you measure the girth of it.
Did the tips of your finger were in contact with the base of your hand?
Click to expand...

It is years ago and I cannot remember exactely. What I have in mind is that the smatchet had a great blade, but a very thick handle, made of micarta. All four sides had have the same length, I mean the cross-section dimension, of coarse, like a balk. The pommel as well was not very comfortable. I gave it to a knifemaker to reduce the thickness, but when I received it back it still was too thick.
The Kukri as well had a great blade, but here again the handle was horrible. The thickness of the handle was ok, but it was much to wide, shaped like a rubber coated plank. And with these kind of knives also it is essential that it fits 100 % into the hand. So I sold both.
Regrettable I cannot remenber more details.

The handle of the CS Bowie machete I just have bought is ok for me, but it would be better whether the circumference would be a bit thinner, that is true.
Especially later, when the surface is not so grippy any longer, I as well like to wrap my handles with tape for tennis racket handles. Maybe then it will get too thick.

Regarding the edge is it advantageous to sharpen it convex?

By the way
With leaf-like blades like smatchets I sometimes think it can be a problem to repair the tip, when it got damaged. You may get a shovel shape. With a bowie shape it is much easier. Do you have had experience with this problem?
 
Well, looking at the Al Mar Smatchet, the handle does look like a thick block.
Almost to the point of, how can they make such a handle?
Women would be happy with that size haha.


A good blade , but with a bad handle is not of great use in my opinion.

The pommel was not good either? In what way.


The Al Mar Kukri having a too wide handle is also very noticeable from the pics I have seen (google).
Your hand will not be able to grap it firmly .When swinging it feels like the handle trying to pry open your fingers. Not good.
This does not happen with a more narrow handle. It stays put in your hand.

Rubber coated plank... haha. Some things , in life in general as well, are so extreme, that they become laughable.
Stupidity.
Though the much favoured ESEE Junglas , has a too wide handle as well.
I have sold that one too in the past. It was a step better than the RTAKII which was uncomfortable handle wise.
But still a little too much of width.
Again, the devil is in the details.

The Bowie machete is not bad handle wise, also given the fact the blade is so light.
But like you say, a little less circumference would have been nicer.
9 or 9.5 cm girth/circumference instead of 10.5 cm.
Small change, lots of difference in handling and overall feeling .

Putting tacky racket grip over already large handles is not an option in my opinion.
I have done that with the CS Smatchet, , it was awfull. It felt like thick bar(barbell) training.
And the polypropylene grip is good, for my hands anyway.
I like the toughness of that material(a lot), over the weak kraton(easily torn) that is also often being used as a handle material.

I do rather put a tacky racket grip over a strong handle material, than having a kraton/rubber grip that doesn’t last that long.

Convex is good yes.
Will make it a better chopper.
You got to get rid of those sharp corners at the edge.The ‘shoulders’of the edge so to speak.
Round them off and it will perform better.
File ,sandpaper etc.

The tip of the Smatchet.
I don’t see the tip breaking.
I have stabbed it into pine wood and pried it out, but due to the geometry that tip is relative tough.
I wouldn’t worry about that.
Not that you should start prying with the Smatchet which is never good , to do such a thing with knives swords and alike.

That tip of the Cold Steel Smatchet has some width making it not easy to bend.
And at the same time it has great penetration.

You will like that fact a lot.

I have several of the CS Bowie machete and the Smatchet.
So, despite my handle critics, I like them a lot.
Nothing is perfect anyway.
 
Last edited:
The Al Mar pommel is edged, and if you use the knife for stabbing or chopping, the egde hits the wrist. By far more comfortable would be a ringlike one.
Al Mar smatchet: "When swinging it feels like the handle trying to pry open your fingers." - Yes, that is absolutely correct.
Regarding the tip of a smatchet: I don`t mean the CS smatchet especially, but all of these kind of baldes, as well these of the Shanghai Shadow and Warrior, which are knives similar to smatchets imo.
 
halbschaf said:
The Al Mar pommel is edged, and if you use the knife for stabbing or chopping, the egde hits the wrist. By far more comfortable would be a ringlike one.
Al Mar smatchet: "When swinging it feels like the handle trying to pry open your fingers." - Yes, that is absolutely correct.
Regarding the tip of a smatchet: I don`t mean the CS smatchet especially, but all of these kind of baldes, as well these of the Shanghai Shadow and Warrior, which are knives similar to smatchets imo.
Click to expand...

You should have a look at the Schwanz dagger,uuuh I mean Schanz dagger(if you know German language , you know what it means).
I had that one,talking about sharp edges at the guard.
A dagger is a stabber, so your hand going up against an almost edge-like guard isn't too comfortable either.
The handle was also very block-like. Not rounded much.
Oval is the way to go regarding knife handles in my opinion.



Smatchet+tip:I don't see the tips of the Smatchets in general breaking easily, unless you put them through things that they are not intended to do, like prying a door open.
And if it would happen, then possible the very tip.
But no. I don't see it happen.
 
Here Schanz is named as the most famous German knifemaker. But for example: several years ago I gave him a drawing of a Bowie he should make for me, a really expensive one. When I received it, I was extremely disapointed. This has been the first knife made by a knifemaker, which I gave back. And as you stated: not always the expensive knives are the best. Maybe the steel was good, but craftsmanship horrible.
 
Yes, that is very disappointing.

It shows that someone having a big/famous name might mean much for a large group of people.
Many people might like what Schanz makes. Think high of it.
For you it turned out otherwise.
I found the Schanz dagger not much of a nice dagger that fits well in the hand.
The handle was also too short lengthwise.
So, blocky handle, sharp edged guard, short handle.


Did you have a high regard of him that you ordered a Bowie from him,...did you just go by his reputation.
Did you see work made by him that you liked a lot.

I have seen more knives that were not good but far over 100 euro.
That's why I focus on less expensive knives these days.
And if you mess up one, then it isn't a big loss, and you buy another.

Those Bark River Bravo 1 and 2 weren't that great either.
They were way over 200 euros in price.
And the edge twisted and rolled by just chopping some pine wood.
Any other knife withstood that with ease.
But those 'famous' Bravo 1 and 2.. no.

ESEE knives is also not my knife brand.
Had almost the whole bunch of them.
The 3, 4, 5, 6, Junglas, IzulaII.
They are all gone.
The handles are just not my cup of tea.
Not ergonomic at all.
Flat sides , sharp angles feeling like holding a flat piece of wood .
Try to carve with the 6, the sharp angle stabs into the hand when putting pressure when cutting stuff.
The Mora is king for that kind of work.
Costs almost nothing, performs endlessly.

And the prices of the ESEE here in the Netherlands these days..
:barf:
I feel like. What? Are you kidding me?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top