Cold Steel 97MKM Magnum Kukri

For the past 15 years, I've had the bittersweet fortune to get more time behind machetes than most folks. I live on a large park property that's got tons of palmettos and scrub oaks and general overgrowth. The marsh and water views are spectacular, but only if you keep things thinned and trimmed...and something always needs trimming. That's where the machetes come in...and my love/hate relationship with them.I used to think one machete was as good as another...no more. Living in Florida, all I ever saw were latin machetes and so that's what I used...and the best one was the 18" one I got from Harbor Freight a few years back for about $5. It has decent steel and an OK grip...or so I thought until now.Accidently while shopping for a knife on Amazon, I saw all the killer reviews on the CS Magnum Kukri machete and knowing that a particular clearing job was due again, decided to see if it was all that up against my current 'keeper'. It was and more and here's why:I divided up the current job into halves and last week used the HF latin machete on the first half and finished the chopping and clearing in about 3 and a half hours...and I was whipped. I started the job with a good edge from my Presto Eversharp (another amazing Amazon review discovery) and had to touch up the blade twice with my Leatherman file to keep the edge sharp. The chopping seemed about normal for a latin with good performance, but not many one-stroke cuts. Most cuts on the fronds took at least two good cuts to sever the frond and the cuts didn't look very pretty. A lot of vibration is felt when the cut doesn't pass clean through and after several hundred strikes, your hand is quite sore. Not to mention all the extra strokes and effort. I was too tired to pick up the debris and left it for two days later.Fast forward to today. I used the 17" CS Magnum Kukri and the job took 3 hours. That doesn't sound like much difference until I tell you a few things: Easily 60 - 70% of the cuts were one stroke clean through with the identical edge from the Presto (5 min job tops) that I put on the other machete. And they took much less effort, it was like the blade was helping me...even lame off angle hits did vicious damage to the stringy fronds. Consequently the chopping was going much faster with more progress using less energy and with less hand shock. Machete users will know what I mean about hand shock...either it or fatigue will end your session and both were much, much less with this blade. Who knew a little physics and geometry could make such a difference. There were times when I was actually laughing after light elbow/wrist flicks would lop a frond clean off. I had to learn to pull back the juice and let speed and the blade work. This allowed me to get into smaller areas with less room for a full swing and work. As such, I actually cleared well outside my intended area, and did a much more thorough and better looking job with neater results...clean cuts look much better than hack offs. I easily removed dozens of smaller palmettos that would've been too much trouble before. It looked so much better that I went back into the latin-done area and redid it too and now it all looks good. Only two hours had passed at this point...I still had enough energy to haul off my debris, which I did and in fact I was done and showered in less time than just the chopping took with a decent latin machete. Oh...the edge was still scary with no touch ups after hundreds of palmettos, some scrub oaks and vines, and plenty of misses and carryovers into the dirt. This thing is a beast!I didn't think the design mattered so much in machetes, but apparently it does. I'm sure the steel quality helps. I know I'm comparing a $23 machete to a $5 one, but hey they're both dirt cheap and how much is your time and sweat worth? I saw the insane tests on this blade at[...] after I had already bought it, but needless to say if it stands up to more abuse than most survival knives costing hundreds, its all good.I know this is running long, but a couple of other thoughts: The sheath is OK...not great, but it works and survived my thoughtless romping through waist-high brush without any sign of damage and holds the blade securely when snapped and releases it cleanly without requiring you to slice the edge-side stitching. The huge and goofy CS sticker came off cleanly using a blow dryer on high once it got really hot and the glue melted. Also always oil your brush blades (machetes and saws, esp.)...with real oil, not WD40. They will go through material much more smoothly and not gum up as bad and will be easier to clean and rust less. Always use gloves and a lanyard that is just long enough that when looped in front of your knuckles will prevent your hand from sliding onto the blade if it gets pushed back hard. Why just in front of the knuckles? Because if your blade gets caught in something and starts to pull you with it, you can fold your fingers and it will slip off and not cut your hand off at the wrist.So, if you wanted to hear from someone who actually uses machetes a lot, then here you are. This thing rocks! Its my new 'keeper'. If someone knows of a better one in this price range, please comment.This was a long review, so thanks for taking the time to read it and I hope it helped.

Just get this thing. It's perfect for camping trips and general purpose work, as it will clear small brush while also having enough heft to chop up your firewood. By firewood I don't mean twigs. This thing will go through two inch branches like butter, thanks to the geometry of the blade. That's really the main reason I got it. It has the benefits of a kukri and a latin machete. In other words, it has the belly of a kukri without the curve (for chopping), but also has the length and balance of a latin (for clearing brush and momentum).Most complain about the edge, and yeah, it sucks out of the package. This was my main concern with it based on the reviews I read. However, I was able to take my small Lansky Pocket Sharpener and use the angled carbide part to instantly strip all the extra crap off of this blade. It comes with a "utility edge," so it has a bunch of the black coating on the edge and some of it had extra metal, but all of it came of pretty easy with a few passes of the sharpener. I'm no expert at sharpening, nor do I have a belt or file or grinder or any of that, but that's the good thing about the Lansky, you don't need them, at least not for this. Run the carbide part over it, then follow it up with the ceramic part and you will have a hair shaving edge in about 15 minutes tops. As far as the blade goes, this thing is definitely worth the money. It has good geometry and is thick enough so it won't bend when you're chopping.The sheath isn't as weak as I thought it was going to be either. I watched some videos that showed this big floppy sheath. Well, they must have improved it because it's actually pretty solid. The snaps are good and it holds the blade well. What more do you want for how much you pay for this thing? Also, the handle is relatively comfortable. It's made of tough, rugged, hard plastic, but as long as you don't have soft baby hands you can deal with the texture. I could easily see myself having this for a good 30 years without anything failing. That's saying something, because I go camping once or twice a month, and I don't necessarily take it easy my gear. I like to get stuff that last, and this thing is a beast.Really the only negative thing I can say is the edge out of the package. However, this negative turned into a big positive in 15 minutes with the Lansky. Chances are if you've been looking at blades on Amazon you've seen the sharpener, and you should pay the 7 or 8 bucks and get it, especially if you are planning on getting this kukri/machete, or really any other knife for that matter. It makes quick work of the crap edge that comes on this thing. I had my doubts, but once I saw the burrs and coating start shaving off with that carbide all my worries went away. You'll read a bunch of reviews on this thing I'm sure, but don't let all the edge comments deter you. It's an easy fix and it's definitely worth it. Like I said before... Just get this thing. Let me know if this helped y'all out.