Better chopper: kukri machete vs magnum kukri machete ?

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noviomagus

Joined
Dec 25, 2007
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Which is the better machete for chopping thicker branches.

I think the longer blade of the CS Magnum kukri machete will have more power when chopping. Even though the kukri machete has a little bit wider blade, but not much.
The Magnum is 2 oz / 57 gram heavier, and 4 inches / 10 cm longer than the regular CS kukri machete .
 
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Nobody?
Not even a member of the Cold Steel crew?

I read somewhere (at some place on the internet) that a person thought his Cold Steel kukri machete does better than his Magnum kukri machete.
My experience is otherwise. The Magnum kukri machete hitting with more impact. Not that the kukri machete is a slouch. But there was a noticeable difference. Length made the difference , is my thought.

Just wanted to hear other people's experience on this.
 
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noviomagus said:
Nobody?
Not even a member of the Cold Steel crew?

I read somewhere (at some place on the internet) that a person thought his Cold Steel kukri machete does better than his Magnum kukri machete.
My experience is otherwise. The Magnum kukri machete hitting with more impact. Not that the kukri machete is a slouch. But there was a noticeable difference. Length made the difference , is my thought.

Just wanted to hear other people's experience on this.
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I had a Magnum Kukri, and the length let it travel fast and hit hard. The force is generated on more of an inward traveling path, where a convex curved blade cuts on traveling outwards. It makes more sense to shorter, easier to control power chops when the blade is more likely to come back at you. Between that and the fact that my Magnum Kukri wouldn't take a good edge or even hold a mediocre one, it got relegated to the junk pile.
 
I have a magnum kukri machete. Be advised that it will be utterly useless on arrival...might as well call it unsharpened. Once sharpened though it is a workhorse in the thicker stuff (it sucks in lighter stuff - just gliding off, or breaking rather than cutting, depending on the size/ thickness). If you've got a bunch of stuff in the 2-4 inch range, it will do a great job. Over or under that, there are better tools to choose.

(edited because I hadn't realized this was in the CS subforum)
 
Yes, these machetes need to be sharpened thoroughy before they perform well.
A work sharp or some other kind of belt sander does it more quickly.
But the metal file works fine too.
 
LukeTheSpook said:
What about the Guhrka kukri plus?
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The kraton handles sometimes get loose from the tang (play), so I read on several accounts. When they get used real hard, not put behind glass for show.
And when you take the price in consideration..
A good low priced machete is hard to beat in my opinion.
 
BitingSarcasm said:
I had a Magnum Kukri, and the length let it travel fast and hit hard. The force is generated on more of an inward traveling path, where a convex curved blade cuts on traveling outwards. It makes more sense to shorter, easier to control power chops when the blade is more likely to come back at you. Between that and the fact that my Magnum Kukri wouldn't take a good edge or even hold a mediocre one, it got relegated to the junk pile.
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Mmm, your experience is not everyone's.
Maybe sharpen until the overheated/burned metal is gone and you get to the 'good' metal might have worked?
 
noviomagus said:
Mmm, your experience is not everyone's.
Maybe sharpen until the overheated/burned metal is gone and you get to the 'good' metal might have worked?
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That assumes there was any good metal to be found in the thing. I agree that my experience does not seem to by typical, but I have only ever purchased 2 CS machetes and both of them had the same poor heat treat. Both were from reputable dealers and separated by couple of years, yet both were junkers. By contrast, the POS Gerber parang I bought from a sporting goods store only because I had a really good coupon takes an edge and holds it, and we can all agree Gerber QC is extremely wonky. CS offers a lot of great blade shapes that I would otherwise like to try, but I just can't muster up the enthusiasm to roll the dice again.
 
I would actually take a Cold Steel machete over their more expensives blades.
Their machetes are extremely tough.

I like them.
Especially the CS Panga machete and the CS Heavy machete.
The Bolo machete is also nice.
They cut deep.

On the kukri/magnum kukri machete it takes more effort to put a good edge on the blade.
You really need to bring the edge back more. Give it a more wider bevel.
Cliff Stamp and TheKopassus, have some nice videos on youtube showing the effect of doing that. On the Panga machete as well.
Very interesting stuff.
 
I got a mag k. years ago. It's last use was clearing a trail through the bush during winter. I also got the regular version with the finger guard on it, the royal kukri or whatever, last winter. I actually haven't used the new one yet....too many toys. The Mag bites hard after a decent sharpening.
I'll try to dig up an old pic of taking down a bug dead pine with the mag in winter. It took chunks out of it.
 
Yes the Royal kukri machete and the kukri plus machete have the protrusion/guard .
The only reason I didn't bought it . I held the Royal kukri machete, and the guard rides a bit against the indexfinger. Some guy on youtube even got a little wound there because of repeated stabbing with that Royal kukri machete, which is not its main use , but still..
The blades with guard have a more pronounced curve than the kukri machete and Magnum kukri machete.

The pic of the Magnum kukri machete taking down the the dead pine tree would be interesting.
Especially in winter temperatures, having no problems with the edge/blade is a big plus.

edit; I have the cs kukri plus machete and the Royal kukri machete now and they are awesome, quite similar to the standard cs kukri machete, but having more curve in the blade than the regular kukri machete (works really well when hacking). And the guard isn't a problem at all.
 
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noviomagus said:
Yes the Royal kukri machete and the kukri plus machete have the protrusion/guard .
The only reason I didn't bought it. I held the Royal kukri machete, and the guard rides a bit against the indexfinger. Some guy on youtube even got a little wound there because of repeated stabbing with that Royal kukri machete, which is not its main use , but still..
The blades with guard have a more pronounced curve than the kukri machete and Magnum kukri machete.

The pic of the Magnum kukri machete taking down the the dead pine tree would be interesting.
Especially in winter temperatures, having no problems with the edge/blade is a big plus.
Click to expand...

I think that the pics are in an old review of the Mag Kukri that I did years ago. The review is nothing special but the pictures really tell the story. Look up Magnum kukri in the knife reviews section. And the other machete that I got last winter was just the simple kukri with the finger guard, not the fancier one.
 
upnorth said:
I think that the pics are in an old review of the Mag Kukri that I did years ago. The review is nothing special but the pictures really tell the story. Look up Magnum kukri in the knife reviews section. And the other machete that I got last winter was just the simple kukri with the finger guard, not the fancier one.
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https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/cold-steel-magnum-kukri-machete.814383/

I could only found this thread.
But the pics weren't visible..only when my account was updated or something like that.:eek:

Anyhow:)
I have a whole bunch of Cold Steel machetes at this very moment.
The magnum kukri, the kukri machete. The bolo machete, panga machete, slant tip 18 ", And the Heavy machete.
I really like them :thumbsup: .
Grip as well.

Though I have a couple of Condor Bushcraft Parang's as well.
Those are also really nice choppers. Comfy grip, nice balance.
 
noviomagus said:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/cold-steel-magnum-kukri-machete.814383/

I could only found this thread.
But the pics weren't visible..only when my account was updated or something like that.:eek:

Anyhow:)
I have a whole bunch of Cold Steel machetes at this very moment.
The magnum kukri, the kukri machete. The bolo machete, panga machete, slant tip 18 ", And the Heavy machete.
I really like them :thumbsup: .
Grip as well.

Though I have a couple of Condor Bushcraft Parang's as well.
Those are also really nice choppers. Comfy grip, nice balance.
Click to expand...

Ya I ditched P-bucket. These CS machetes cost very little and give back a lot. Yes, I have Condors also.
 
upnorth said:
Ya I ditched P-bucket. These CS machetes cost very little and give back a lot. Yes, I have Condors also.
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Exactly that.


Affordable for anyone who needs a good machete .

I like the Condor Bushcraft Parang, which is also a nice(not large) sized but very effective chopper.

Though I do prefer the Cold Steel kukri machete models. Put a good edge on them, and they perform very very good.

Edit 2021: I prefer the regular CS kukri machete over the Magnum kukri machete. I also like the CS kukri plus machete and the CS Royal kukri machete better than the CS Magnum kukri machete. With the Magnum I have more glancing of the blade, more vibration of the handle. The curved kukri machete's bite easier into the wood without glancing and are better maneuverable. The Magnum I feel to be a bit unwieldy.
This is my experience ofcourse. After several chopping comparisons.
The Magnum is good, but I prefer the other 3 CS kukri machete's.
 
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