I would have to concur with Chris. The Tramontina machete (AKA: the brazilian cane knife which I used to see frequently on Ebay)
when sharp cuts very clean. The small or medium you can swing for quite a while without tiring (it makes an interesting singing sound when you swing it.) The handle is pretty comfortable too. About the same time I was buying the Tramontina machetes, I got a Cold Steel machete with a bolo style blade. I sharpened up the CS Bolo & put it to work on some deadwood. The edge rolled & I figured I had made the edge too sharp. Even so I would still like to pick up the CS small Bushman knife someday.

Tim

dougwalkabout or anyone else with dirt time using the CS Special Forces shovel:

Any updates on durability, performance, etc.?

Thanks.

Hello,

A lot of to say about the CS marketing, paticularly from an european point of view...

But, in my experience, the CS shovel is a good item for non specific job.

It is better for chopping than the US one because it's quite straight (bevel and handle) when you rise the shovel.
It's better than German one or Switzer because the steel is quite better (0.5 C) and perharps better heat treatment. You could maintain it with a leatherman or SAK file, good on outdoors activities.
You must improve some parts of this item (fluted handle, erasing screw, linen oil handle....) to make it more accurate. Good advice also to change bevels.

You could see a photography about a session animated by some europeans (and one originated from Quebec) instructors about using tools. I was here but not on the picture:

Most military E-tools and civilian spades that I've tested are either made of low carbon steel (which cannot be heat treated) or in rare cases soft medium carbon steel that has not been heat treated. So the Cold Steel version of the Russian shovel is far better made technically but falls a bit short in the ergonomic department because it's overbuilt and heavy.

There is a similar problem with many other Cold Steel products - they follow the basic design of a well known, highly efficient tool and make it "stronger" and more "rugged" - the downside being that the Cold Steel version ends up heavier and somewhat unwieldy.

I continue to be pleased with my CS shovel. It's held up very well over a summer of digging and chopping. It certainly stands up to a fair bit of (ab)use -- I didn't baby it one bit, though I didn't set out to destroy it either. Based on this, I bought two more, one for each car.

As an all-in-one tool, it's a compromise. It doesn't dig as efficiently as a spade, or chop as well as an axe. But it gets the job done. So it's like a Leatherman -- not as effective as individual tools, but darned handy to have with you.

It's also a lot of fun to use. Or maybe that's just me.

Random notes:
- I wrapped the handle in hockey tape (sticky cloth tape) to get a better grip and reduce hand fatigue.
- For sharpening, just about anything will put a crude working edge on it, including Leatherman files or even a rough stone.
- It doesn't need to be razor sharp to chop effectively; I've gone to sharpening only one of the four edges, or the tip, based on the job I want to do next.
- It cuts heavy sod like butter.
- It cuts off weeds, grasses and shrubs very well at the base. But for cutting off seed heads or light branches, it's hard to get the high-speed snap of a machete. I guess it's the weight.
- You have to watch out for the double edge when you're chopping.
- I need to make an old-time-gunfighter-style leg holster so it's handy to carry in the yard.

Cheers,
Doug

Thanks for the review, Doug. Going to have to add yet another CS tool to the kit.

Can you get Collins machetes in the US? I've lived in northern Argentina where having a machete with you is an everyday thing. Brazilian machetes are not bad, but the Collins is much better. I believe they no longer make them in Connecticutt. I am sure they have a plant in Colombia. They are dirt cheap and last forever.

And thank you for that bit of info. I've followed some macheteros around for awhile outside of Salta, but was clueless enough to not pick up on their hardware, though they were very generous with sharing their technique (much more important in my opinion).

More things to add to the kit. Just have to pick one up locally if necessary. Como se dice, "Can I get a Collins?"

Absolutly !

You could see on the "picture with CS shovel" that most of your modifications was already made.
*It's nice also to have a different bevel on each sides (one for chop work, one for cutting) depend if you are a lefter or righter. Due to the curve of the shovel one side is better for heavy work.
*I agry with you for speed, but you could have a double hand grip.
*You could see also see on picture that some of these guys had a CS cordura holster + rope with a loop.

The CS shovel is like a russian WWII shovel who are like germans WWI shovel. Improvement is in using martensitic steel (SK5).
After WWII, most of western army adopted "trench tool" like US shovel of WWII....and kept them until now.

Didier.