gsm strikes again.....Gladius machete oh boy......

jbmonkey

sure sure
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so saw a dealer got new stock in...missed this in my cold steel machete collection in the past......so grabbed 2....

so what cold steel shows......

A17-CS97GMS.jpg

what i got.....

20220418_214705.jpg
20220418_214634.jpg

no its not a trainer. its just unfinished. not a sharp edge anywhere and when i say not sharp I mean zero edge just a primary bevel and flat edge that has to be finished. notice the point area. got 2 the same way. isn't a one off issue.

now I seem to remember back when Lynn owned it they brought these in from South Africa like this and sharpened them in Cali at cold steel. well guess gsm didn't realize this.......so this is what ya get now.

good news is I have a belt sander and can put an edge on it.....
 
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Imagine the 1-2 thousand other people who bought one and how upset they are, they’ll probably hesitate to buy anything cold steel moving forward. What an unacceptable cheap trick they pulled on this one. This will only end one way…..
well so much for cold steel making the sharpest knives anymore......

yeah it would be very disappointing to most people id imagine. im disappointed, but its just some work to fix it. I did let the dealer know....I figured it was the right thing to do. least they can decide to list as unfinished if they want to or just deal with gsm.

I'll have fun with the two I got putting my own edges on them.......I usually have to fix the machete edges anyways regardless. these will just take more time is all.
 
I bought a few several years ago.

I saw that they were back in stock at a reasonable price and was thinking of buying some but instead went with the Master Tanto.

The one in the pic was either bad quality control or if they were really stupid, a new design.

That doesn't even rate as a factory second.
 
I bought a few several years ago.

I saw that they were back in stock at a reasonable price and was thinking of buying some but instead went with the Master Tanto.

The one in the pic was either bad quality control or if they were really stupid, a new design.

That doesn't even rate as a factory second.
have 2 like this. it's not a one off issue. they just aren't finished from South Africa....but if my memory is right they never were...cold steel here in usa California used to put the final edges on them.

my money says gsm has no idear and has never looked at them, themselves.......who knows though.
 
I've been waiting for the Bowie and Black Bear Bowie Machetes to be restocked. Seems like they've been gone for the last year or two and have doubled in price during that time! To think that they may no longer be sharpening them makes one wonder just what's going on at GSM!
Cold Steel Black Bear Bowie Machete 12 Clip Point 1055 Carbon Steel Blade Polypropylene Black
 
have 2 like this. it's not a one off issue. they just aren't finished from South Africa....but if my memory is right they never were...cold steel here in usa California used to put the final edges on them.

my money says gsm has no idear and has never looked at them, themselves.......who knows though.
This item is hand sharpened in our warehouse prior to shipment. Please allow 14-21 days for shipment due to the sharpening process.
 
well that didn't happen. wonder if they even have sharpening equipment there or anyone who knows to do it.....
I'm not sure but they advertise that they will sharpen any Cold Steel knife at no charge. Just include $10 shiiping and get a return authorization number.

Send in any Cold Steel brand knife and we will sharpen it for free*! Just pay *$10.00 for Shipping and Handling. We do not sharpen other makes/manufacturers knives under any circumstance, as well as counterfeit knives or knives found to be fake. Cold Steel reserves the right to deny sharpening service to any knife that is unsafe or unable to be sharpened.

To return a Cold Steel brand Knife for sharpening. You must receive a Return Authorization number received from our Customer Service Team. You can reach them at 877-269-8490.
 
I don't own any machetes from CS, but other machetes like Tramontina come with a blunt tip. That's a "security" feature.
 
I'm not sure but they advertise that they will sharpen any Cold Steel knife at no charge. Just include $10 shiiping and get a return authorization number.

Send in any Cold Steel brand knife and we will sharpen it for free*! Just pay *$10.00 for Shipping and Handling. We do not sharpen other makes/manufacturers knives under any circumstance, as well as counterfeit knives or knives found to be fake. Cold Steel reserves the right to deny sharpening service to any knife that is unsafe or unable to be sharpened.

To return a Cold Steel brand Knife for sharpening. You must receive a Return Authorization number received from our Customer Service Team. You can reach them at 877-269-8490.
yeah I've dealt with gsm more than a few times....id rather not again. its that bad. plus it shouldnt have come this way, the two I have. i shouldn't have to pay to ship and pay to return the 10 bucks. also and more importantly the enormous amount of time dealing with them..and getting no where in the past.

I don't own any machetes from CS, but other machetes like Tramontina come with a blunt tip. That's a "security" feature.
yeah not this one. see the cold steel pic first post....this is a mistake at gsm....old cold steel would never send it out like this unsharpened. ya might get a lopsided sharpening job or one not great, but you'd get a useable edge and point.

they call these machetes cause they are made by a company that makes them in the carbon steel they use 1055..or used to be. they re low cost too like a machete...but they are more low.cost replicas of weapons....that could be used as a machete for fun.
 
I looked up reviews on a bookstore site that also sells knives.

Those from 2022 mostly have one and two star reviews and complain about the lack of an edge.

Weirdly some give three stars and give the same complaint.

Even cheap Walmart and Harbor Freight machetes have better edges since having some type of edge is better than no edge.

It is one thing to have to touch up an edge on a new machete, but having to grind your own edge is pretty dumb.

It would be funny if someone made a video comparing new GSM machetes to Fiskars and Ontario, doing various chopping and clearing tasks, and used GSM machetes right out of the package.

Maybe they can claim it is a new feature.

"Our machetes will never have chipped or rolled edges because they have no edges!"
 
yeah not this one. see the cold steel pic first post....this is a mistake at gsm....old cold steel would never send it out like this unsharpened. ya might get a lopsided sharpening job or one not great, but you'd get a useable edge and point.

All of my Cold Steel machetes have working edges and my Gladius Machetes I bought in 2014 have very sharp (for a machete) edges, and do my Bowie Machetes.
 
All of my Cold Steel machetes have working edges and my Gladius Machetes I bought in 2014 have very sharp (for a machete) edges, and do my Bowie Machetes.
yep used to be that way...all of them.......but not these new ones which came from an authorized dealer.....
 
I looked up reviews on a bookstore site that also sells knives.

Those from 2022 mostly have one and two star reviews and complain about the lack of an edge.

Weirdly some give three stars and give the same complaint.

Even cheap Walmart and Harbor Freight machetes have better edges since having some type of edge is better than no edge.

It is one thing to have to touch up an edge on a new machete, but having to grind your own edge is pretty dumb.

It would be funny if someone made a video comparing new GSM machetes to Fiskars and Ontario, doing various chopping and clearing tasks, and used GSM machetes right out of the package.

Maybe they can claim it is a new feature.

"Our machetes will never have chipped or rolled edges because they have no edges!"

other than being steel its perfect for a trainer, but not on people. ya can train hitting logs with only blunt force damage, I guess......🙄

I blame gsm. they've consistently let me personally down, time and time again. they aren't gonna make cold steel better...if they continue on this track. so far it been same at best on somethings and worse on most other stuff.
 
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