Gerber v. Cold Steel

I went nuts a week or two ago and ordered not one but TWO machetes. They arrived today. Here is my review.

I got a bolo-shaped macheted made by Cold Steel, plus a classically shaped machete made by Gerber. The Gerber came with a sheath. I ordered a sheath to go with the Cold Steel. The Cold Steel machete is made in South Africa. The Gerber is Chinese.

The Cold Steel machete is a little short for my tastes. A machete is supposed to be long enough to whack brush with. I would say this thing is around 15″ long, which is more like a big knife than a machete. The weight and balance seem fine; having weight near the far end is good. The blade is dull, and the black oxide coating covers the edge as well as the sides. The handle is a very plain plastic job. It’s a little on the thick side, and it doesn’t feel all that natural in the hand.

The Gerber Gator machete is a few inches longer. The blade seems heavier. The back of the blade is a tree saw. I haven’t tried it, but people who have say it really works. The handle of the machete is maybe eight inches long, so I suppose you could put both hands on it if you needed to. It’s made of some kind of hard rubber over plastic, and it’s attached to the blade by two bolts. The oxide coating on the blade does not cover the edge, which is pretty sharp by garden tool standards. The blade has an eye toward the far end, so you can hang the machete on a nail.

The Gerber looks very nice, and it seems to be well made. The Cold Steel looks like something someone made in shop class. The Gerber sheath seems nicer, although they are both made of heavy nylon, and I assume they would wear equally well.

I am too lazy to go out and test-whack the hibiscus bushes, but as things stand now, the Gerber seems like a very nice deal, and the Cold Steel is a lot less appealing. You can get the Gerber and the sheath delivered to your door for about twenty bucks. The Cold Steel and sheath cost maybe six bucks more, depending on the breaks, and you get less. I have had two Cold Steel knives, and they were both great. Not sure why their machetes are so boring.

These things were both very cheap; much better than Home Depot, where they charge $22 for a Chinese machete with no sheath and a dull blade and no oxide coating.

The sad thing is, I really didn’t need a second (or third) machete. But I was bored, and I was not happy with the Home Depot job. And how can you turn down a ten-dollar machete? It’s impossible.

I’m thinking I may reserve the Gerber for pig-slicing. It looks ideal for the job. That saw on the back will make short work of the stubborn bits. If I sharpen the knife edge up, it should slice pork really well. And while I love my 14″ Forschner scimitar knife, a machete sends a message a kitchen knife just can’t equal. It says, “Men are eating. Go back in the house until the police come.”