Pros: Weight, Blade Material, Blade Sharpness
Cons: None
singing blade! best chopping blade... ever?!
I have somewhat a minor O.C. about collecting machetes and kukris... and this is by far the best! I took it out today along with a genuine, kami hand-forged (Nepal) kukri of greater weight... and after a few whacks on the usual oak and soft-wood branches for seasonal pruning, I found myself using the Cold Steel thin edged machete over the 6mm spine kukri... as usual. One of the reviews gave it a 1 star, said it couldn't chop... and that it sent hand-shock back through his hand upon chopping. I don't know what he is talking about! This magnificent blade slashes through fresh (green) 1" oak and 2" soft wood branches in a single stroke with ease, singing with a "ZING!ing sound as it does. Same with 2" oak - if you have a good precise swing and good angle of attack (towards the thicker part of the branch to provide resistance) - one-swipe chops are doable if not routine. Three-inch and thicker oaks might take a couple - two or three whacks. Now dried oak might be a lot tougher... but that's what a good Corona folding saw (i.e. a Japanese Silky style blade) is for. Between my CS royal kukri machete and an 10" folding (or 24" fixed) Corona saw, I can handle any and all branches up to 8" diameter, anything bigger I use a chain saw or large silky. The only exception is chopping roots... here, the dirt, rocks, and abuse on the blade, plus tighter chopping angles, makes a hatchet a much better choice. The one possible complaint on the CS royal kukri machete is that the handle is a bit thin/small/petite... but people with small hands would prefer that, and simply wearing some good leather work gloves (or wrapping the handle with proper soft tape) makes up for that easily. Sharpening is a breeze... simply a few strokes each side with a full-sized file and you're back to chopping perfection. This CS machete makes chopping so effortless, that instead of buying or renting an expensive, dangerous, maintenance intensive wood chopping machine, I simply drag branches across a stump I place end-up as I chop the branches to little bits, letting the down-hill swing of the blade do all the work in rapid, rat-tat-tat motion, leaving nothing but chips and 2" to 5" sticks 1 to 5 ft long which are easily dumped in a trash can for yard pickup. Oh, as far as sheath... it is designed to KEEP YOU FROM CUTTING YOURSELF when not using the blade! If you want to take a knife to hell and back where you might need it to fight for your life, you probably should spend a few hours crafting a combat sheath to suit your needs. Speaking of, the even larger Cold Steel KOPIS machete has the same angles and physics of a kukri blade, but because of its greater size and ferocious point, would make an even more deadly weapon. But for a war-weapon, the 2.8 mm blade should probably be beefed up to 5 mm for a light, short sword that would be hard to beat for both chopping and stabbing power.... but that's another story (and it's discontinued). I prefer the (slightly) softer steel and thinner blade of the CS kukri machete for brush clearing, pruning, & chopping chores to any of my thicker, heavier "real" forged kukris, far easier to sharpen, can cut through 5 inch oak branches in a matter of moments (if you don't feel like using your saw), what more do you want from a blade?!
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