Whetstone Cutlery Full Tang Rubber Grip Machete with Sheath

This is a good machete, well designed and made, with a full tang and a much larger handle than any others I've seen that have a knuckle guard (most I simply can't grip comfortably). You'd have to have extremely large hands before it would pinch. It's a tool, not a weapon, the blade is stainless steel rather than forged high-carbon steel (which requires much more care and would corrode and chip if used for hacking brush). The saw on the back side is good for occasionally cutting branches too thick to simply whack through, but you wouldn't want to make heavy use of it (it's a little awkward to grip the handle in the right way to use the saw). The knuckle guard is plastic, which is fine for keeping vines and light branches from ripping up your fingers. It's not razor sharp as delivered, but again this is a tool, you don't want something that will lay your hand open if you simply slip while picking it up.This is a good tool for camping, remote hiking, or heavy yard work. It's not a weapon, except in extremis. You don't want to draw it from the hip with the provided sheath, the saw blade will catch (a leather scabbard or a canvas one with a brass guard would probably cost more than the machete). People that are dinging it for not being designed to fight with should ask themselves when they expect to be in a sword-fight that nobody thought to bring a gun to, and why they expect a $20-25 tool to be their go-to choice in that situation.

Very great machete. Bought two of them on a whim and I do not regret it one bit. These make my other machetes look like toys. These are super heavy and once you swing these, you have to commit. You can't stop mid-swing since the balance is about 7 teeth up from the bottom. Very heavy steel. Took the saw blade back to a palm tree I didn't like anymore. Took about 50 strokes back and forth for me to get deep enough to push the tree over and expose the center. Then with two chops, CHOP! CHOP! down the palm fell (maybe a minute to cut down a 8" thick tree).Also has knuckle guards. Ever seen a knuckle guard on a machete? Yup, these are a rarity I love! You don't have to hold the handle the whole time. You can splay your hand and use the back of your hand to hold the weapon.Lastly, it has a wrist strap. I bought a Smiths pocket sharpener with the carbide and ceramic sharpeners and the honing tool. I put it on the strap so I always have a sharpener for them. Weren't that sharp off the rip, but with a few minutes of sharpening you have a 2 foot razor blade. BE VERY CAREFUL!!!MY ONLY CON!!!The sheath is cloth and the saw back is tearing up the top inside part. Maybe a plastic shim sewn inside there could prevent that, but well worth the price! I paid 30$ for 2.

The overall quality of the machete is great. Even though the blade is stainless steel and not carbon steel, it is very strong. I struck it against a 3ft diameter tree and the blade went in about half an inch (after sharpening the edge), No bend, no break, no chipping.The blade is shipped in what i consider to be a dull state. Typically you do not want a razor sharp edge on machetes because that can cause it to chip and also dull itself quicker, but I prefer it to be razor sharp, so if you are like me, spend 20 minutes with a grind stone.The saw back is great, I haven't used it much, just once to see how good it is, and it works decently.The rubber grip is amazing and the hand guard is good. The lanyard on the end is quite annoying so i recommend cutting it off.The sheath is the worst part, the nylon is easily caught on the saw back so always draw it with gravity pulling towards the straight edge. I plan on making a new sheath from leather and adding in a protection side for the saw.The weight is very good.Pros:- Nice stainless steel blade- Saw back is good- Rubber Grip and guard- Weight is goodCons:- Lanyard- Sheath

My wife's reaction when she saw this Machete! Had to enclose that in the review.. NOW on to the machete itself:First KUDO's to Whetstone Cutlery for getting it shipped and delivered ahead of schedule & for a fine piece of cutlery that I look forward to putting to some heavy use camping and around the house!I read the many reviews and a great many complained of the saw teeth ripping the sheath up from pulling this machete out. Simple enough to fix, I used the world famous Duct Tape and put a piece over the teeth then trimmed up the excess off the blade so now it goes in and out of the sheath with no problem. When I need to use the saw I will just remove the duct tape, wipe it down and put another piece on it.The blade was sharp, NOT as sharp as some may want but sharp enough for right now. The rubber grip handle has a super feel and with the full tang into the grip it offers a nice balance. With 3 removable nuts and bolts in the handle, clean up will be a breeze! I bought this for camping and the possible Zombie apocalypse.(Hey you never know right?) Anyway It is a nice addition to our camping gear and I look forward to putting it to work in May.The sheath is a typical one with rivets placed every few inches. Nylon construction. The belt loop is long and narrow. It has a snap closure strap that snugly fits around the handle to keep it in place.For the price and for what I plan on using it for along with the sturdy feel I have to give it 5 stars! After using it a few times I will come back and update my review to see if it still will keep my 5 star review.

Sharp, strong and easy to use. Borrowed a friend's and after a full day of using it, decided to get one of my own. Great product for the price. Highly recommend.