Cold Steel97KMS Kukri Machete,Black

This is just a first impressions review of the Kukri Machete. It seems really great and has a nice minimalist design. It feels solid, is decently sharp out of the bag, has a nice forward heavy weight to it, the handle is grippy and comfortable, and the sheath is actually pretty good for a $21 machete. The only negative for me was I was expecting two of them for the $21, but that's not Cold Steel's fault so it doesn't reflect in my rating. I have plenty of other Cold Steel products that have been fantastic so I'm certain this will be too. Lots of hard use reviews on Youtube and plenty of good feedback online as well.I will say this first, Amazon is great at addressing any issues. Mine was a fulfillment issue on this item. Be cautious if ordering it via the Amazon Smile 2-Pack listing. I ordered this and only received one machete not two as expected. There was a mix up with the order fulfillment I guess. It had the Amazon Smile 2-Pack symbol on the order page and it was verified by me and a Customer Service Rep thru a Chat prior to ordering that it was definitely for a 2-Pack offer at that price. However only 1 item was received. Customer Service was great and said they would credit the account for the missing item, but it was disappointing to not receive both ordered items as expected. But for half price it makes this machete even better.

I can honestly say I have waited over 3 years to write this review. I bought the Cold Steel Kukri Machete based on what I had heard online and my own experience with the Cold Steel GI Tanto. I can say that after 3 years of pretty hard use, occasional neglect and then more abuse this thing is still a SOLID buy.For the money you cannot beat this thing. I have cut down small trees. Split wood and even pounded in a tent stake with it sideways, which is like...one of the worst things you can do with any knife/machete. It personifies the word "Chopper". The steel is some combination of adamantium and mithril. I actually make knifes as a hobby and I can say that cold steel got this spring steel JUST right. It holds a decent edge and bounces back from just about anything.I have heard and seen a lot of gripping about the factory edge on it. Yes it's not the best. It's rough, and depending on what your chopping the angle may not be the best. HOWEVER I honestly believe there is a method to Cold Steels madness. If you take it out and start using it, you'll notice that the rough factory edge starts to polish it's self with use. The edge starts to smooth with each subsequent chop and in essence the more you use it, the sharper it gets. Now if you don't want to wait for that then, go nuts as soon as you get it, I used a simple file and a good old sharpening stone and had the thing slicing paper in no time. That edge has stayed on it pretty well considering what I've done to the poor thing.If you are worried that the handle will break, don't be. If you are worried that it's too thin for hard work or a survial/ bug out bag etc. don't be. If you are worried about it not being a good chopper, don't be. For the money it's superb.

I actually bought this by accident, thought i was getting the larger 17" blade, once I realized it I also ordered the larger model before i received this one. These are imported from South Africa not manufactured by Cold Steel, which if i would have known (ordered via the phone app and didn't see the origin) i probably would not have purchased them.As stated in other reviews the edge is not all that great, mine came with a decent enough edge to take chunks out of an old table made from 2x4s with out a problem and you could probably do some damage with it as is. The grind on the edge was uneven (the grind on the larger version was better) but after some file work it sharpened up pretty nice (did get it to shave hair of my arm) and stayed sharp even after destroying an old 6x6 i had laying around. I even accidently tried to stick it into a cement floor with no noticeable damage to the tip (wouldn't suggest testing that however).The blade has minimal flex, handle is comfortable and it is fairly well balanced (actually throws pretty nice). I have never owned a Kukri style machete and i haven't really gotten this one out in the field yet, but after using it a bit i can see where it could be much more functional and preferable to a hatchet.comparing it to the larger 17" version (23" over all), this 13" version (18" over all) feels like the prefect size to weight ratio and unless you are chopping zombies, seems much more functional than the larger blade. This would also be a great inexpensive blade to throw in a get home bag to just leave in a vehicle. Aside from being imported i would probably pick up another one.The sheath is functional but not a whole lot to talk about, i will probably cut the lower snap off as it seems unnecessary.PRO: Functional, nice weight, handles nice and throws decent, good for the price.CON: Imported, not actually Cold Steel, needs edge work.

You're getting what you pay for here, seriously. Don't go shelling out 20 bucks and expecting anything amazing. That being said, this thing is a great, cheap little workhorse. I use it all the time no holds barred mostly because it's cheap to if I chip the tip or mess it up on a rock or what have you I don't need to worry about it.Pros:Cheap, solid, good weight, good construction.Cons:Not a great edge out of the box, feels a little cheap, handle's a little awkward, sheath is definitely cheap.Every one of the cons is kind of abated by the fact that you're paying 20 bucks for it. Just for the record, I've put this thing through serious abuse testing, IE: cutting roots by shoving the blade into the ground and getting them that way, and with a new edge this guy works just fine again. Don't expect anything much and you won't be disappointed. Just remember you're only paying 20 dollars for it.