Daab
98 835 Dumbea, south province, new-Caledonia

Dec 03, 2024

Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Finish, Handle Material, Materials, Overall Quality, Sheath/Scabbard, Weight

Cons: None

Cold Steel addicted .

Since the year 2020 until now, it' my second Black Bear Bowie machete by Cold Steel that I purchased without regrets at all... Used for my workout and as a personal item I love included already in my small armoury... Great blade from Cold Steel...

Ronin65
South Carolina

Jul 22, 2017

Pros: Weight, Blade Material, Blade Sharpness

Cons: Sheath/Scabbard

Great blade for the money.

Used this today to clear a Jeep trail. Cut through saplings and limbs like hot butter Though grip not textured didn't have any issues in hot , humid ,sweaty weather. Shaving sharp even after 100 yards of trail was cleared. Actually quite shocked.

Chris
North texas

May 14, 2019

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Finish, Blade Sharpness

Cons: Sheath/Scabbard

Works

Cold steel has come a long way on the edge quality of their machetes i own several of them. I purchased this one along with a wakisashi for my wife .one will be used for kayaking the other for general brush busting they both preform well for her both required no more than ten min stoning each to clean up and deburr the edge almost all the previous ones I purchased in the past required at least 30 minutes per to make usable

Trapper
Oklahoma

Sep 11, 2017

Pros: None

Cons: None

Worth it

For the price it is worth every penny plus it's cold steel

Jungle Dweller
PR USA

May 05, 2018

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Sheath/Scabbard, Materials, Finish, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

Good deal

This is a very nice bowie Knife / Chopper. I already own one but couldn't pass up on buying another one for such a good price. It's a very good quality tool for the money. Since it's made in South Africa that was another Plus for me. It would make for a mighty fine Camp knife. And it does have serious defensive capabilities. While having excellent chopping abilities. I really like the grip. The sheath will suffice. For the cost you can't complain plus you could always make another one if you want one. But it works for me. I'll be going in the jungle soon and this is the knife /chete I usually take all the time. knifecenter the best place to buy your knives.

Frank
Yorktown Heights New York

Jan 13, 2018

Pros: Weight, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Sheath/Scabbard, Materials, Finish, Blade Sharpness

Cons: Weight, Handle Material

Cold steel black Bear Bowieknife

Very nice handle and blade a bit to smooth Could have stippling on handle Kind of slides in hand It is a comfortable design but needs more grip. And also could have a little bit more weight in the blade overall it’s a Nice tool I’m happy with it

Pierce
Seattle

Jul 12, 2017

Pros: Overall Quality, Blade Material, Sheath/Scabbard, Blade Sharpness

Cons: Handle Material, Finish

What the heck is this thing for?

While I'm not really sure what to use this for in its current form, I've been looking for something like this for years. A big thin cheap Bowie knife in carbon steel. BUT, had I known that the clip edge was actually sharpened I probably would not have bought this knife. I was mistakenly under the impression that the clip would sport a false edge, which while not the best for battoning, would still be acceptable. I plan on using this knife for camping, as a light chopper, and kindling splitter. I know a hatchet is a better tool for this, but I couldn't refuse such a large Bowie for around $30 shipped. So I had to justify the purchase... The quality is as good or better than other cold steel machetes that I own. Nice heavy nylon sheath. The edges are both sharp, but not shaving sharp. The grinds, both main the clip, are uneven as all get out, But it's really only a cosmetic issue. The handle is one point that I'm not very happy about. It is huge, it has no texture what so ever and really just looks terrible. So I'm planning on cutting it off and replacing with a more classic Bowie handle. I've yet to use the Bowie, so these are just first impressions. I hope that you have found this review helpful.

Nw Guy
northern Michigan

Jul 24, 2017

Pros: Weight, Blade Material, Finish, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

"...Now THAT'S a knife."

WELL... I saw the knife as I was going through the website and saw the size and price and decided "What the heck." As I have previously reviewed and stated before I am a huge fan of the BUSHMAN knives. Probably the best buy ever for an edged weapon you don't worry about losing in the bush. Received the BBB(Black Bear Bowie) and it was pretty much as expected. Semi sharp, smallish grip and a sheath of interesting design. Following my usual protocol I grabbed my sharpening stones and decided to see if it would get as fine an edge as the Bushman. After figuring out the correct angle for working the blade...WOW did that thing get sharp. I mean shaving sharp. How sharp? Holding the blade above a piece of paper about an inch I let the blade drop and it cleanly sliced the full width of an 8.5 x 11 copy paper with just the weight of the blade and gravity providing the force to cleanly cut the paper in half. I took it out back and started to work on some saplings and then some dead oak limbs. It is no ax but it will chop and cut with better capability than you expect for this blade design. Finished beating on the blade, it still cut paper but not as cleanly. A few runs on the ceramic stone and it is back to scalpel tune. The sheath is an amorphous thing that lacks any relationship to the design of the blade other than being capable of right or left mounting with equal usage. As I have stated before though, you cannot expect a $50.00 piece of leather craftsmanship with a knife that costs the price of a lunch at Applebees. The knife grip is too small for my paw and while I usually wrap my Bushman knifes with a layer of snare wire under layers of paracord built out to my comfort size, because of the safety strap position on the sheath I will have to rethink the grip thing. The strap wraps around the grip instead of over the hilt. For most folks though the plastic grip may be a fit and just not slick enough to cause a problem. The sheath is long enough that you can drill a hole through the end for a leg or gear attachment point if needed to keep it from moving since it is a fairly noticeable weight when in motion. I have dragged the CS Bushman knives all over Canada and recently Alaska, but if I can figure out a fix to the grip/sheath situation I can see the BBB going into the bush later this year with no great worries if it is lost because they are just soooo danged reasonable and a really great bargain even with the dumb sheath.

Frank
Yorktown Heights New York

Jan 15, 2018

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Sheath/Scabbard, Materials, Finish, Blade Sharpness

Cons: Handle Material, Sheath/Scabbard

Cold steel blackbear Bowie

This is my second review on this knife what I did with the handle was cut a piece of bicycle tire inertube and put it over the handle for more grip after looking at the blade I noticed the grinding / sharpening process bevel was off-center and uneven . Wish it was made in the USA not South Africa .