I'm reviewing two Cold Steel machetes today, and I figured I'd make this a two-in-one review. The first one is the Kukri Machete, model 97KMS, and the second one is the Heavy Machete, model 97HM. Both sell for around $15 in stores, and both are great choppers - with some work. Read on...
KUKRI MACHETE
The Handle: The Kukri's handle is stiff, black PVC with checkering all over (including the butt). It's 5" long and gives you enough room to get a good grip, and the butt swells so the kukri doesn't fly out of your hand. It's comfortable in use, but can cause blisters on your hands if you're not used to agricultural or landscaping work (evidence: my wife). There's a lanyard hole in the butt as well, and this really comes in handy when you're outdoors and need to switch to a different tool: just hang the kukri off a tree limb until you need it. The handle encapsulates the tang (it's a full tang) as evidenced by Noss' destruction test. The handle is what it is: comfortable to use and sturdy. It's not removable; it's sealed on.
The Blade: The kukri's blade is, well, kukri-shaped. It's got that nice, deep recurve and thick spine. The blade itself is 1055 carbon hardened to 60-62 (according to my Cold Steel catalog). The blade is 13" long with a 12" edge. It's 1/8" thick and has no stampings or markings. There's a sticker on it with the model name and number, and mention that it's made in South Africa. It has a black, baked-on finish to inhibit rust. This finish bugs me because the entire blade (even the grind line) has it. The blade came pretty dull; I wouldn't even call it a utility edge. I had to get an edge on it with a steel file, then gradually work my way up to a ceramic stick. To get the blade sharp enough to slice paper cleanly, it took about an hour of careful work. Even after this, some of the black finish remains on the grind line, showing that some areas were ground deeper than others.
How does it perform? Well, it works great! I hacked away at a bristlecone pine tree for almost 45 minutes straight, and the edge only required a light touch-up on the ceramic stick due to some rolling. There were no chips and the blade was still perfectly straight. The finish was also intact, and I could've resharpened this thing ad wiped the blade down, and you'd swear it was never used. Great job on the edge retention; I just wish it came with a better factory edge. For a $15 tool, it's really reliable.
The Sheath: The kukri comes with a lightweight black Cordura sheath. It has two snaps - one near the middle of the blade and one near the handle-blade junction - to keep the kukri in place. The belt loop is nylon, and will fit a belt up to 2" wide. There's also a plastic safety toe so the tip doesn't pierce through, and the overall construction of the sheath is adequate. It's stitched and riveted, and it does its job.
The kukri weighs one pound, and it's a pleasure to work with. It doesn't require a lot of effort to use efficiently, and it can do more than its load of the work. I'm really impressed for such a $15 knife, and I might even pick up a spare for the car. It's not groundbreaking and it's not pretty or fancy; it just works, and that's all I care about.
THE HEAVY MACHETE
The Handle: The Heavy Machete's handle is a bit thicker than the kukris at 5-5/8" long and a hand-filling 1-3/4" wide vertically. I can barely get a full grip on it, and my glove size is XL. It's made of black polypropylene and has a light cobblestone texture. There's a large lanyard hole, which comes in handy for hanging the machete just like the kukri. I like the texture of the Heavy Machete, but it seems just a little too big for me. Working with it, I found it to be better than I expected. It wasn't horrible uncomfortable, but it still slipped loose once or twice.
The Blade: This is the nice part about the Heavy Machete. Like the kukri, it's blade is made of 1055 carbon at 60-62 on the Rockwell scale. It's void of markings and also has a sticker on it, telling you the model name and number and where it was made (South Africa). It has the same baked-on black finish and the same horrid factory edge. This one took about half an hour to get paper-shaving sharp, but still needed the full treatment of metal file, coarse grit, medium grit, fine grit, and then ceramic. It only took a shorter period of time because the blade is more of a straight line and was easier to work with. The blade is 14-5/8" long, 13" of which is the edge. The blade is a whopping 4-1/4" wide at its widest and 2-1/4" wide right at the start of the grind line. It's just under 1/8" thick. This sucker can chop! The forward weight of the heavy tip makes this almost effortless. It sliced through honeysuckle vines about 1" thick with just the weight of the blade. I can't believe how well this thing chops. This will be my go-to machete from now on. The weight is 24 ounces, which is a pound and a half. That's why it's so effective. The blade required the same touch-up as the kukri after use, but it showed no dents or chips, and was still perfectly straight.
The Sheath: The Heavy Machete does not come with a sheath, but they're available separately for around $5. I bought one to carry the machete around in, and it's the same thing as the kukri but shaped to fit the Heavy Machete: black Cordura; two snaps; large belt loop; stitched and riveted. No safety toe, but it doesn't need it (the Heavy Machete has a flat, unground tip).
Overall, the Heavy Machete has become my favorite for clearing out brush and light limbs. Its weight-forward design really lends itself well as a chopper, and it retains its edge long enough to not require a resharpening during use. All for around fifteen bucks.
PHOTOS ADDED
Here they are together...
KUKRI MACHETE
The Handle: The Kukri's handle is stiff, black PVC with checkering all over (including the butt). It's 5" long and gives you enough room to get a good grip, and the butt swells so the kukri doesn't fly out of your hand. It's comfortable in use, but can cause blisters on your hands if you're not used to agricultural or landscaping work (evidence: my wife). There's a lanyard hole in the butt as well, and this really comes in handy when you're outdoors and need to switch to a different tool: just hang the kukri off a tree limb until you need it. The handle encapsulates the tang (it's a full tang) as evidenced by Noss' destruction test. The handle is what it is: comfortable to use and sturdy. It's not removable; it's sealed on.
The Blade: The kukri's blade is, well, kukri-shaped. It's got that nice, deep recurve and thick spine. The blade itself is 1055 carbon hardened to 60-62 (according to my Cold Steel catalog). The blade is 13" long with a 12" edge. It's 1/8" thick and has no stampings or markings. There's a sticker on it with the model name and number, and mention that it's made in South Africa. It has a black, baked-on finish to inhibit rust. This finish bugs me because the entire blade (even the grind line) has it. The blade came pretty dull; I wouldn't even call it a utility edge. I had to get an edge on it with a steel file, then gradually work my way up to a ceramic stick. To get the blade sharp enough to slice paper cleanly, it took about an hour of careful work. Even after this, some of the black finish remains on the grind line, showing that some areas were ground deeper than others.
How does it perform? Well, it works great! I hacked away at a bristlecone pine tree for almost 45 minutes straight, and the edge only required a light touch-up on the ceramic stick due to some rolling. There were no chips and the blade was still perfectly straight. The finish was also intact, and I could've resharpened this thing ad wiped the blade down, and you'd swear it was never used. Great job on the edge retention; I just wish it came with a better factory edge. For a $15 tool, it's really reliable.
The Sheath: The kukri comes with a lightweight black Cordura sheath. It has two snaps - one near the middle of the blade and one near the handle-blade junction - to keep the kukri in place. The belt loop is nylon, and will fit a belt up to 2" wide. There's also a plastic safety toe so the tip doesn't pierce through, and the overall construction of the sheath is adequate. It's stitched and riveted, and it does its job.
The kukri weighs one pound, and it's a pleasure to work with. It doesn't require a lot of effort to use efficiently, and it can do more than its load of the work. I'm really impressed for such a $15 knife, and I might even pick up a spare for the car. It's not groundbreaking and it's not pretty or fancy; it just works, and that's all I care about.
THE HEAVY MACHETE
The Handle: The Heavy Machete's handle is a bit thicker than the kukris at 5-5/8" long and a hand-filling 1-3/4" wide vertically. I can barely get a full grip on it, and my glove size is XL. It's made of black polypropylene and has a light cobblestone texture. There's a large lanyard hole, which comes in handy for hanging the machete just like the kukri. I like the texture of the Heavy Machete, but it seems just a little too big for me. Working with it, I found it to be better than I expected. It wasn't horrible uncomfortable, but it still slipped loose once or twice.
The Blade: This is the nice part about the Heavy Machete. Like the kukri, it's blade is made of 1055 carbon at 60-62 on the Rockwell scale. It's void of markings and also has a sticker on it, telling you the model name and number and where it was made (South Africa). It has the same baked-on black finish and the same horrid factory edge. This one took about half an hour to get paper-shaving sharp, but still needed the full treatment of metal file, coarse grit, medium grit, fine grit, and then ceramic. It only took a shorter period of time because the blade is more of a straight line and was easier to work with. The blade is 14-5/8" long, 13" of which is the edge. The blade is a whopping 4-1/4" wide at its widest and 2-1/4" wide right at the start of the grind line. It's just under 1/8" thick. This sucker can chop! The forward weight of the heavy tip makes this almost effortless. It sliced through honeysuckle vines about 1" thick with just the weight of the blade. I can't believe how well this thing chops. This will be my go-to machete from now on. The weight is 24 ounces, which is a pound and a half. That's why it's so effective. The blade required the same touch-up as the kukri after use, but it showed no dents or chips, and was still perfectly straight.
The Sheath: The Heavy Machete does not come with a sheath, but they're available separately for around $5. I bought one to carry the machete around in, and it's the same thing as the kukri but shaped to fit the Heavy Machete: black Cordura; two snaps; large belt loop; stitched and riveted. No safety toe, but it doesn't need it (the Heavy Machete has a flat, unground tip).
Overall, the Heavy Machete has become my favorite for clearing out brush and light limbs. Its weight-forward design really lends itself well as a chopper, and it retains its edge long enough to not require a resharpening during use. All for around fifteen bucks.
PHOTOS ADDED
Here they are together...
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