Customer Reviews

Cold Steel Kukri Machete with PVC Handle

5 star:		(61)
4 star:		(43)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Bought a different kukri in 440 stainless and the blade was too soft to tolerate any chopping so thought I'd try Cold Steel.
Wow, what a difference! They're lighter than I thought and perfect size on the hip. Great balance and perfect to maximize the Kukri chopping advantage. Right out of the box I was impressed and with the factory blade was able to almost cut the box in half with a lazy diagonal swipe.
20 minutes with a cheap sharpener, (the fixed angle ceramic type that come with a keychain...) and the blade is scary sharp. Not perfect, but better than anything except my Ka-Bar. For this price I want a half a dozen of these lying around. (I don't know why) and judging by the steel and quality for my dollar won't hesitate to buy more expensive models from Cold Steel.
I also bought a Riflemans Hawk tomahawk from Cold Steel for a friend of mine and am similarly impressed.
I can shave with that and it's another piece of functional, work ready gear.

worth the price! holds an edge nicely. good weight. heavy enough to smash through stuff, but not to heavy to lug around on you hip all day. sheath is a little awkward at first, but is very secure. handle is not the most comfortable if you don't wear gloves. use a steel bruch to rub off the plastic burrs on the handle. overall, a great affordable compact machete.

We have owned the Cold Steel Kukri Machete for several years now and it's one of the most used large blades we own. In spring hiking it is common to come across downed trees blocking trails. This Kukri makes short work of the branchs sticking out so we can get over/around the down trees with minimal effort. The curved blade really improves the cutting ability and the Kukri isn't too heavy to carry for day hikes. We also use it at home for cutting large brush down to a managable size.

"So," I thought, "THIS is the famous Kukri," as I took it out of its plastic sleeve. Not bad. Fit and finish are about what I expected for the price--that is, very rough, but that's okay. Functionally, it's a compromise between a machete and a hatchet. Weighted heavily toward the tip, though not so much as a hatchet, this is a blade that wants to chop. It could well be the perfect tool for brush clearing; the blade is heavy enough to lop through saplings in a single stroke.

The only shortcoming is the complete lack of a finished edge, which must be filed down by the end user. For this low price, the omission is forgivable.

I was torn between purchasing this item (cheap price!) and the much more expensive Cold Steel Kukri Knife (amazing knife!) Ultimately I chose the machete because I intended to use this for some really abusive work in the woods. This is hands down the best machete I have ever used. I like the thickness of the blade a lot. This makes it very reliable and less prone to bending like some other machetes on mis-hits. The extra heft of the thicker blade also makes up for the shorter length of this machete and helps to deliver plenty of power for chopping chores. The handle design makes it easy to flip over and use the spine for breaking without ruining the blade edge. The size is perfect to put in my pack, but the size is also the only downside of this product. If you are chopping your way through thick brush for longer periods of time, you are going to want a longer machete, like the larger version of this machete: Cold Steel Magnum Kukri Machete or the Cold Steel Latin Machete: Cold Steel Latin Machete 24" Md: 97AM24 The short length of the Kukri Machete means that you will not generate as much force with each swing as you would with a longer machete. This translates in to more effort required for each swing to achieve the desired result. So if you need a machete for all day use, this is NOT what you are looking for. If you need an outstanding all-around tool for the woods that doesn't take up a lot of room, then buy this tool NOW.

Went to make some ham stock the other day, needed to cut those big pig bones down to size, didn't feel like using a hack saw, put the cutting board on the workbench and THWACK couple of nice clean cuts through an inch and a half of bone. Damn fine stock. Damn fine kukri. Highly recommended for the abuse it'll take and the low cost so I don't mind honing the edge myself.

Straight out of the bag, this machete is a great brush cutter and all around chopper. With a few modifications it really comes to life. I stripped the blade's black coating which came off easily anyway and polished the blade. I've also smoothed and refined the edge to almost shaving sharp. The last step was to smooth the handle taking off the scratchy plastic burrs. With these quick modifications it feels like a much more expensive model now and performs like one as well. Its compact enough to fit in a knapsack but large enough to feel substantial in your hand. At around $15 you can't go wrong.

I know I have a cold steel Kukri Machete but nothing many of the people posting are saying matches up with my blade even though the picture on the site matches it exactly. Mine is the thinnest bladed machete I own. It is very light and easy to transport. It came very sharp. The edge isn't secondarily resharpened. I had no trouble cutting a shipping tube into sections while holding it with one hand and chopping with the other. I didn't think it would be a good chopper due to the low weight but the thin blade and the way the edge is made and having nearly all the weight up front means it can chop with shocking efficacy. Modest sized tree limbs and saplings weren't a problem. Cold steel blades tend to be thick edged and made of thick metal to take a beating but this wasn't such a blade. I make a big point _not_ to hit nails, rocks, etc. to protect that shockingly effective cutting edge.

To sum it up _my cold steel kukri_ is the best light chopper I've ever used. It can cut as well as much heavier blades but you have to keep it sharp and you have to protect that edge because it isn't going to stand up to the kind of abuse that a thicker bade with a different kind of edge might endure at all well.


Please do not confuse this light Kukri Machete with the big Kukri cold steel sells. That costs one heck of a lot more money and weighs a heck of a lot more. It is a completely different animal.


Like I said. I'm confused. Maybe they went to a thicker blade and let quality control slide? If so that blade isn't going to have much in common with the blade I know and like.

Addendum:

Cold steel says 18 inches and 16 oz. for the kukri machete. The ka-bar kukri machete is 17 inches and 1.26 pounds for the knife only. The ka-bar cutlass is 16.5 inches and 1.12 pounds.

The cold steel kukri come in two flavors: 3.2 pounds and 2.9 pounds. Yikes!

This is not a real kukri, it is a marriage of the kukri's chopping power to a machete's weight. The Kukri's chopping power comes from the weight forward curved blade. This machete gets a good chopping bonus from the design. It's not going to have the chopping power of an axe, or even a real kukri, and it's not going to have the light brush clearing ability of a true machete because of the length and forward curve. It is a decent marriage between the two though.

It is made as well or better than most true machetes, but is not a fine blade. Most examples I have seen had the edge ground at far to shallow of an angle and had to be completely reworked. (A chopping edge will fold over if to fine.) The sheath is also next to useless. I ended up making one out of kydex. So after the work I've put into it, this tool has given me years of service clearing brush, doing light yard work, building improvised shelters chopping campfire wood etc. All in all not a bad tool, but don't expect to much for the money you're spending. Like any other multi-purpose tool it is a compromise.

I've had mine for a couple months and I'm finding it ok but not great. Steel is a bit soft and dulls pretty quickly but easy to bring back if you know to carry a file or sharpener. I like the handle but wish they left the butt flare smooth. I did 3 hours of heavy use clearing some trail and the heel of my hand got pretty sore. I smoothed out the butt with a file and wire wheel but haven't had an opportunity to work with it again. The weight of the knife was such that I never tired and that surprised me. The sheath is flimsy and I ripped it the first time out on the trail - handle caught on some brush and ripped at the top. Good design if it had a much tougher reinforcement where the top snap is. The knife is surprisingly easy to carry on a belt. I think if it followed closer to the real Gurkha Kukri shape it might be a better cutter, also if the steel was a little harder, maybe a little thicker at the back bone. Its much better than a standard shaped machete I bought at a garage sale. I'll work on this one a bit but I'm shopping for a better one, might try one of the larger real Gurkha Kukris. I wish I could afford the Cold Steel San Mai version to try.