Cold Steel 97BWM12S Bowie Machete with Sheath

Don't be fooled by the price or people who say this is a novelty knife. The bowie design is obviously well proven as an outdoor knife and the 1055 steel on this is very strong and functional. Easy to sharpen but holds a good edge. This thing is built to take a beating. It has a just the right amount of flex if thats what you want to call it but it's still thick enough and stout enough to stab. Its also full tang. The factory edge on mine was not that great but after running it through my work-sharp I hacked down 2 oak saplings about 8inches in diameter and then several limbs just to see how it held up and you could tell no difference on the edge at all. Ive done a lot more chopping since then and after putting that first good edge on it I can resharpen it with just a stone in a few minutes. It would make an excellent and durable survival knife because while a full size machete would be much better for constantly chopping a ton of vegetation this blade CAN do it while also being stout enough and sharp enough to do tasks that you'd use a bowie knife for like skinning or defense. It's still really light for what it is (less than a pound) and I carry it every time I'm in the woods. It's just a good all around workhorse for whatever comes your way. The finish on mine has actually held up great so far and none of it has come off. I also see some reviews where people didn't care for the sheath but I was pleasantly surprised by it. It's stitched and riveted together with a tip guard that's also riveted. It's not floppy or thin like a lot of machete sheaths, it's thicker and feels well made. I haven't had the knife move around at all. I would like to see the retraining strap positioned lower on the handle so that it eliminates the possibly of it sliding upward in the sheath and exposing any of the blade but so far that has not been an issue at all. I have a lot of knives in different styles and price ranges but if I could only have 3 this would have to be one of them for the durability and ease of sharpening. No complaints from me for the price! **2 year update** Still loving everything about this knife. I've used it for 2 years now and most of that use was splitting lighter pine for fire building. And believe me I have split a ton of it and used it to process wood while camping. I also used it when skinning a deer and hacked the leg bones off at the joints no problem. This knife is still going strong and has held up great. No chipping on the blade or damage to the handle at all. The finish is actually still looking good on mine too which is rather shocking. I've touched the edge up on my Worksharp maybe 4 times in the last 2 years. A belt sharpener will put a convex edge on a blade which makes it a great chopper that won't chip. I've been impressed with this knife to the point that I purchased 2 more. I haven't used them, I just wanted some extras incase they ever stop making them. The sheath is still working great and this blade so light weight and easy to carry on your belt but packs a ton of usefulness. For the money this is probably my best knife purchase ever.

Any cold steel blade holds an impressive edge and this knife is so sharp its dangerous. This item is basically a machete, with a quality polypropylene handle that has been ground into a bowie knife and as such is flexible and a flat blade without the raised back edge or articulation of the blade, however this makes it light. This weapon is a utilitarian blade that you can use without fear of scratching as its inexpensive, yet serves as a reliable weapon when needed and is very light. The black matt finish and grip does not reflect light, only the ground razor sharp edge does making it a good stealth knife that can serve as a machete in a pinch. The drawbacks to the knife is that is a ground down machete, the shape is not a perfect bowie knife shape, it has no cross guard, and is similar to a Saxon knife or native American pioneer scalping knife- it is light and fast but doesn't have balance weight of an actual knife- the fulcrum balance point is about four inches forward of the hilt but it is so sharp and the steel so tough it compensates. After all in a fight, often a knife is wrenched from your grasp when an enemy is struck, muscles tensing in the wound or bones trapping the blade and having multiple knives is needed, which is why inexpensive workhorse knives like this one are useful. It doesn't measure up to a cold steel Laredo Bowie, which is over 150 bucks but can inflict the same amount of damage and if scratched or lost isn't as upsetting.

I can see this being very helpful for Fall camping chores, and it looks great! As the title suggests, it's not a fine knife for delicate work, and it's a bit small for heavy chopping...it falls somewhere in-between. I wish the handle was more of a rubberized feeling material and had more of a finger guard, but with a piece of 550 para-cord through the lanyard hole, I don't worry much about losing grip and/or possibly cutting my fingers. It came sharp on the back edge as well as the primary edge, but not as sharp as it will be with minimal effort. All in all, a fine purchase that will serve well and should last a long time. :)

Wonderful, one the best bowies I have ever owned. I have six other bowie knife, as well as the Marbles bowie machete. This is better than any of them, Comes sharp, has nice blade thickness with little flex, and has reach at almost 18" overall. This will be great for self defense, it is long, menacing looking, and the sharp tip can penetrate thick clothing. Even though it comes sharp, it does not hurt to give it a few strokes with a knife sharpener. It's made of high carbon steel, 1055 medium grade, and is easy to sharpen.. Was not planning to buy it at the time, even though I had always wanted one, but It was only $15 when I saw it though, and I could not pass that up. I suggest everyone who wants one buy it at this affordable price. UPDATE: So I have had an opportunity to test this knife with other bowie knives and machetes of all types, I have over 30 in my collection. It may not be as large, it fits better in the hand than the Cold Steel Magnum Kukri, larger and tougher than the Marbles Jungle bowie knife machete, even better than the replica machete used in the "Book of Eli" movie, in fact, if I could only have one knife in the "zombie Apocalypse", this would be the one. Sharp, heavy, and well proportioned, almost 18" long, double sided blade, and made out of 1055 hard carbon steel. I will handle almost any demand of the bush or urban combat, even just yard work at your house.

Just a great all around knife/machete. Came shaving sharp on both the main blade and the top as well. I will be ordering another.

Sixteen dollars! I paid sixteen dollars for this thing and I am amazed that you can get this much knife for such a small amount. Out of the box it had what I would call a "machete edge". That is, it was ground, but not sharpened. And the grind, both bottom and top, was even and well done. It turns out that the 1055 steel is quite easy to work with. The top edge was really rough and I used my AccuSharp to work the edge into shape. But I also had to go over it lightly with a small triangular file to smooth out the burrs. Not wanting that upper portion of the blade to be too sharp, that little bit of clean up work (five minutes) brought it into the condition I wanted. The bottom edge was more finished than the top, but not very sharp. So the AccuSharp came into play again and when I thought it had done all it could, I reached for my favorite sharpener--the Rada. (Actually, when used in tandem, those two little beauties will handle almost any blade you have.) I pulled the edge through the wheels of the Rada, oh, maybe 50 or 60 times, slowly and deliberately, not using much downward pressure. End result: an edge that glides through paper with that nice, "swishing" sound that a keen edge will make. You can shave your arms, etc., if you want, but I will stick to the paper test, thank you very much. The handle is quite comfortable and "grippy", although I did need to trim off a little flashing along the mold line, hardly enough to notice. The sheath is of good quality--heavy fabric with several rivets, a nice plastic tip (no drain hole, but you could drill one easily enough ) and a retaining strap with a real button-snap. I have a knife collection of modest size (assuming that several dozen fixed blade knives can be called a"modest" collection) and I think I am reasonably qualified to give an opinion on this CS product. Here it is: You won't find a better knife for $16. Ever. Period. This is an amazing product that can be had at an almost ridiculously low cost. I put maybe 15 or 20 minutes of my time into bringing those edges around, and this thing is sharp! Devoting a little time and effort in cleaning it up, you'll be very happy with what you bought. For sixteen dollars!

I absolutely love this thing. It's one part machete, and one part gigantic knife. I took it on a woods walk, and it did an amazing job of chopping up briars, bushes, and tree limbs. The amount of abuse the blade took without dulling is quite amazing (though it did take a fair bit of work to get a good edge on there in the first place). It's shorter than most machetes, and a little bigger than most bowie knives, which makes it the perfect size to conveniently carry without being cumbersome, and still being big enough to do a machete's job. Like a real bowie knife it has a clip point blade which takes some weight away from the tip of the blade and brings the center of balance back, and that makes it easier to control this thing than your typical machete. Unlike a bowie where the back of the clip point is typically just a false edge, this has a sharp edge on both sides giving you a good backstroke to hook and cut away more vegetation. The sheath it comes with is fairly nice for a machete. It's made of nylon, but the seams are riveted for strength and hard plastic reinforces the tip. It's a nice thick and stiff sheath that won't give you trouble getting the blade back in. My only real complaint is that there was a little flash left over from the molding process on the grip, but that's easily shaved away. Considering that this is much less expensive than many of Cold Steel's other machetes I think that's a fair trade.

I mean, it's a machete, so the steel is not a very strong steel, the blade is fairly thin, and it is pretty lightweight. But it;s kinda good for a short machete. I repeat, its a short machete, a little shorter than the 14 inch tramontina and longer than the 12 inch, so in the range. it does hack pretty nice, and stabs good, but the tip broke off when I stabbed a pine tree about 3 times. broke about 2 mm maybe? so I just sharpened the whole blade to sharpness. anyways, I havent tried it out too much yet. the $39 it goes for now is high for a price, I would say about $20 or 24 or so would be the right price. less than $30 though.

Great deal thinner guage steel overall pleased ! Cold steel product can't go wrong

Für eine Machete zu kurz, für ein Messer ist die Klinge mit 2,8mm Stärke zu schwach und zu flexibel. Die Schneide war mit Lackflecken verschmutzt, welche ich mit Lacklöser entfernen musste. Auf dem Klingenrücken befand sich ein Grat, welchen ich abpfeilen musste. Zudem Musste ich ein paar Plastikfransen vom Griff abpfeilen. -Altbekanntes Prozedere bei Macheten von Cold Steel. Die Schärfe ist ab Werk super gewesen, die Spitze ist sehr spitz. -Ich denke aber, dass die Spitzte beim ausgiebigen Gebrauch abbrechen wird.

She's straight & ground well....I'm happy Update Nov/2025...I quickly ordered 2 more....2nd one was from SA as well however the 3rd one was the Chinesium Mn65 instead of 1055; that being said the Chinese one was flawless...thicker blade steel and perfectly ground & finished....I'm gonna beat the Chinese one mercilessly and make Joe X proud lol ;)

Its a good machete retains sharpness but the tip should be treated properly it bends easily

buy it