Top positive review
Great machette, good quality, saw is a bonus
By Thomas M. Mcdonnell on Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2011
I ordered this machette with the goal of using it primarily to prume off the sucker branches/shoots that are so numerous on flowering crab appple trees in my shelter belt. It will also be used for pruning other trees and overgrowth as needed. I received it earlier this fall when it arrived in a huge, 12"x24" box! Seems like a little overkill on the packaging as a 2"x2"x24" box would've been all that was needed. As far as the blade itself, it arrived with a good edge on it already. It wasn't razor sharp, but you wouldn't want a real thin, fragile edge on something that is going to be chopping at branches an inch thick as that fine edge would get bent and folded over too easily. I used it for about two hours straight while cleaning up 30+ flower crab apples trees and a few other wayward branches in the shelter belt. The blade sliced through them easily and when I ran into some thicker branches or branches at odd angles that I couldn't chop easily the saw came in very handy! I just reversed the blade and a few saw strokes later the branch was cut through, nice and cleanly. Some of the other reviews mention that the handle is weak, separated easily, etc. Granted I haven't used mine a ton yet, but so far the handle is still perfectly attached, is not loose or wobbly and I have no worries that the blade will go flying out of the handle and hit anything other than what I'm aiming at. If in the future I notice mine loosening up I will post an update. When all was said and done, after the two + hours of pruning crab apple trees, the machette still had a nice sharp edge on it. I did have one spot where I got in between the trunk and a thicker branch that did bend the blade in one spot just slightly. I considered returning it, but figured it was more my fault/technigque on that branch that caused the problem, than a weakness of the blade. It still works just fine and is barely noticeable unless you are running a gloved hand down the blade feeling for such imperfections. All in all, I am satisfied with this machette. It certainly made the job easier (and more fun) than working away at all those shoots with a bypass pruners or loppers!
Top critical review
1 people found this helpful
For cutting heavier brush look at other machetes.
By Amazon Customer on Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2018
Just bought this since it was low priced and didn't rate too bad. Now that I've used it I would not buy a second one. The pros are it is sharp, it comes with a decent sheath, the handle is comfortable, and the saw back is a really nice feature. The con is it cannot handle heavy cutting using the blade. It works fine for small diameter brush with branch sizes less than the diameter of your first or middle finger, but anything larger and you run the risk of bending the cutting edge. The blade itself did not bend it was the edge that bent on me twice after two sessions with it. After both I straightened as best I could and resharpened. I may look into tempering after doing a little research. I'm disappointed since I thought it being a Gerber it would do better than this. I have a couple of old cheap no name (< $10) machetes that have taken far worse abuse and have not bent. They of course do not have a saw back which is one of the reasons for purchasing this one.
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