Customer Reviews

Smith & Wesson SWBH Bush Hog Kukri 17.5" Blade with Sheath

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Story:
I bought this bad boy over a year ago and have used it several different times. Believe it or not, I found it at a gun show in Tampa, Fl for only 20 bucks. It looked cool enough and i'm a sucker for impulse buys, so i figured why not. Played with it a little bit in the yard when I got home and then put it away until I needed it. Since I wasn't actively looking for a brush cutter it sat idley until I decided that I needed to trim up the first 6ft on all the trees on my property (3.2 Acres). Amazing product! Not sure if it's the weight, handle, length, or shape, but this mamma-jamma helped me go to town. Limbs on Pines, shrub oaks, and palmettos all went Buh-bye with minimal swinging. I was sold and loved the thing. Hunting season came around and since I always carry either my Kabar or one of my other hip toys, I gave this blade a try. I set my climber on a tree and used the kukri to hack the pestering limbs all the way up to my spot. Never an issue. I brush cut, web check, Poop-check, swat spiders, flip it around when I'm bored, Hack down small pines and oaks, and even throw it into stuff (which I'm aweful at). It has served me extremely well and I would recommend this product to anyone. The best part is, I NEVER sharpened the thing. Not once. I'm pretty good at sharpening knives and broadheads, but when it comes to machetes and lawnmower blades, I'm terrible. So I told myself that I would take my time and sharpen it with extra detail when the time came, but the time has yet to come. Just used it last weekend in Citrus WMA (Fl) and its still sharp as ever.

Now that the praise is out there, I'd like to bring up the concerning issues with this beast. first issue is the price. like I said before, I bought it for 20 bucks from a gun show, I expected to see it online for cheaper, but oh well. Second issue is the sheath. The sheath is held in the closed position by using velcro, and when you're working with velcro there will always be some play. I found myself pulling the machete out while the velcro was still in the closed position. It has resistance though, which is the saving feature there. (Resistance as in, if you were hanging upside down and wiggling around, because you're a Jackwagon and fell outta your climber.) Much like a drop leg holster made for a specific gun, provides that little resistant slide. I'm sure this is an unintentional design for the kukri though, BUT it actually works out to my liking. It allows for a one handed smooth draw on the blade without having to make noise, look down, or fumble with the velcro. It requires a pull that it slightly beyond the weight of the kukri itself but still very minimal. This may not seems like a huge deal, but I'm quite daring in the woods and try to stalk wild boar with my Hoyt bow. Some people would follow, some would say it's risky, I'd say it's fun. So if a boar wants to charge at me, drawing the bow and "sighting in" is unlikely, but dropping the bow and having a rear had quick draw with the Kukri is the next best thing to something that goes bang. . I don't know. Try it for yourself and be amazed. this review went on too long. see pro's and con's below. Take care.

Pros:
-Weight
-Balance
-Design
-Visual pimpedness (looks)

Cons:
-Online price is sketchy. I paid 20.00 to vendor booth at a gun show and he had dozens of them. So look harder or pay the extra. knowing what I know now, I'd be fine with paying the extra.
-Sheath seems to be unintentionally loose. Thankfully it works out better like that in my opinion. (See Story)

In all, amazing buy.

Got this just before deploying to Afghanistan. Like others here, the handel felt loose after the first use. I've had sharper butter knives out of the box. Spent over an hour with a file and diamond stone and still not even close to cutting paper cleanly. If I'm able to secure the handel and sharpen it properly, it looks unbeatable. Never used it down range, No trees wher I was.

Bought this for my son for Xmas. He loved it and worked to take down a few saplings and small tree branches. He knows how to handle a knife and would never abuse one. We had a very mild winter day (47 degrees!) and so there was no excuse for the blade to shatter on him. Actually, it could have been VERY dangerous. One chop caused the blade to shatter in TWO places! The tip came off about an inch down and the main break (about 3") came off about a third of the way down. My son never found the tip piece, but luckily it didn't wind up in his eye! I took photos of the blade to show the seller that there was no blade abuse (no lateral bowing and not even a nick anywhere along the edge!) Looking at the cross-section, one can see that the blade is nothing more than cast steel. I'd been sold on the Smith & Wesson brand name (big mistake!) and one I won't make again. Luckily, the seller has been very honest and promised a full refund.

I bought this for a amping trip, it works better than the damn hatchet i just bought for almost the same price. Easily took out branches, good for clearing small saplings, wines, thorn bushes, works really well because of its shape. I would recoomend this for the job, im even going to be buying another, one for the house and around the yard, one for my truck, camping and anything like that, its a great tool.

Very much worth the money. Blade came sharp. Chops excellent. Case is nice and the price was good, this quality I would have expected it to cost more. Definetly worth every cent.

I own a number of large knives, but this Bush Hog is certainly one of my favorites. I have beaten the crap out of it for the past three years, and as a survival knife, it literally shines. When you compare its price with some of the other knives out there, it becomes even a greater value.
I've read a number of reviews in which owners claim the blade snapped in half, but nothing like this has happened to me in the three years that I have owned it. I will admit that I had to take a rasp to the polymer handle since it felt a little too "boxy" for my taste, but all I did was round off the points and soften the edges of the handle.
When I received it, the first thing I did was to test it on a couple of dead tree limbs after touching up the edge. This allowed me to make sure the heat treating was correct and that the blade edge would not roll. I was surprised after chopping with it on four inch trees as to just how well the edge stood up. At that point, I knew that it was a keeper. I have had one of the early models, as mine does not have a logo on the blade. The sheath is the same.
I heartily recommend that because it is made in China, one does test the blade on dry wood to see if the edge is properly heat treated. Because the knife is warranted, if it is bad, you can return it to the seller and obtain another. But for the price, it is a great chopper and a tremendous value.

I didn't buy this from Amazon, I've had it for years and I like it a lot. I carry it every time I venture into the woods. I cuts deep and hasn't need sharping since I first did it.

OK Again...

So now I have tried out several different brands of the kukri style machete/utility knife.

This S|W has a particularly nice handle. The sheath is OK, not spectacular but it sure isn't the worst I've got off of Amazon lately, either.

Getting pretty close to the best deal per dollar on here for something of this design. There are cheaper low grade import knock-offs with horrible sheaths and miserable solid square hard handles. I've bought some of those, too. And they will eventually turn into something worthwhile and useful. Just going to take some extra tender loving care.

If you want/need/desire a better than average kukri design knife? This one is really good. And having that snappy hot shot name brand S&W box is cool. Nothing like walking in to work and asking everyone if they want to come out to the truck to look at my new Smith and Wesson!

G.

Cut down trees for hours and its still sharp. I like it so far, the rubber handle is nice for absorbing blows. used it on only one outting so i may revise my review if my feelings change towards it

Great knife thus far. Decent price. Really sharp out of the box, but could be sharper.Has a nice rubbery grip too it, and the sheath isn't too bad either. Havent tested its durability but I'm sure it's pretty solid.