Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I was excited when I came home and opened the package. I thought this Machete would be awesome because it is made of 1055 Carbon Steel, and the Bolo design is supposedly proven, because that's what is used in South East Asia. The natives hack the Vietnam, and Phillipino Jungles with the Bolo blade.
I took this out of the package, noticed the machete has no blade markings (no SAE1055, Carbon Steel, Cold Steel, USA). So essentially it could have been made anywhere and of any material. Except for a sticker placed on the blade which had the Cold Steel Company Logo and said it was made in South Africa. South Africa!?? In that part of the world they use a Panga style blade. Bolos are made to split coconuts! Including the coconut that is above your neck.
Anyway, I was still excited and ran out to my back yard to reclaim some land there. It hacks through weeds, tall grass, and thin branches, less than a 1/4" diameter in one stroke. So its not that bad. But then I tried to hack a Thorny plant whose stem was about 3/4" to 1" in diameter and this Cold Steel Bolo Machete bounced, it barely chiped the plant. So then I bent the plant's stalk and held it tight... And tried to hack through it. Focused deeply and beyond the stalk, because I wanted to slice through with one stroke. This bolo failed miserably. It took about 8 strong strokes to slice that stalk, with one hand holding the plant firmly bent.
When I went home and cleaned the blade, the blade was not damaged, but then i tired to feel the edge and realized that this bolo has no real edge. Cold Steel didn't ground an edge on it. Major Bummer! So I took my sharpening stone and spent half an hour putting a good hair cutting edge on it. Also I noticed that the handle is crappy plastic and that the tang is not full tang, maybe half tang. The handle isnt even glued on so that it is butt against the blade. You can see that if you look at the picture closely there is about a 3/8 inch gap between the base of the blade and the glued on handle. The Machete blade is also very thin. Cold Steel says 5/64.... but essentially its just a litle bigger than 1/16 of an inch. 5/64" is 0.07" very thin, even for a machete, its about as thick as a letterman blade.
The Sheath provided is made in Taiwan and doesnt fit the blade properly. It is junk. The blade is not snug in the sheeth, because the cordura sheath has bulges and pockets forming when you button it close or try to put the point into where it is supposed to go. SHEATH DOES NOT FIT THIS BLADE!
Today, I bought two coconuts for a dollar from the supermarked and tried to split them open like in the movies. LOL. What a joke. This Bolo just barely cracks them. The blade only went about 1/4 inch into the coconut and got stuck. How lame. I'm better off with my Chinese Meat Cleaver!
Very Disappointed in this Cold Steel Machete. Then I went to their website. Cold Steel always have cool videos to demonstrate how impressive their products are. But Cold Steel did not do any videos on their machetes. HMMM???? Maybe they know that their Cold Steel Machetes are crap! Think about it. Every other product Cold Steel sells show how they can slice slabs of meat, cut through hakama straw mats, punch through car hoods and doors, slice through rope ... but there is none on their Machetes.
DO NOT BUY COLD STEEL MACHETES... any of them... be it the Bolo, Panga, Latin, Bowie, Barong, Kukri, etc. All of the Cold Steel Machetes must be JUNK! I just now purchased the Ka Bar Kukri Machete... the Ka Bar is 1085 Carbon steel, which is a stronger and harder Carbon Steel, and it is thicker. Hopefully the Ka Bar Kukri machete is better. I'll let you know and review that when I get it.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Cold Steel Bolo Machete with Polypropylene Handle
Known throughout Asia and Pacific Rim, the Bolo Machete features a "fat" point that shifts its weight forward where it can do the most good when heavy chopping or slashing is called for. It's an excellent survival tool and will open a coconut or chop down a tree with equal ease.
Click here for more information about Cold Steel Bolo Machete with Polypropylene Handle
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