aware I am probably saying 'Bowie' wrong, but I don't particularly care 😬😬

If Jim Bowie was alive today, He would Love this knife. Although this blade is thin and light enough to cut bushes and vines with it all day, it is battle ready if need be for self-defense and 1055 is strong and durable steel. It is a good mix of both bushcraft and combat. I'm very happy I bought mine. It has the traditional Bowie look, sharp on the swedge like they had in the old days, and certainly perfect for combat. I haven't seen this Bowie break but I have seen the Buck Hoodlum break, and THAT knife there is an expensive, gimmicky piece of garbage!!!

not all CS products make sense, but they still can be lots of fun

Light clearing and self defence. It has a point which is good in self defence since you can stab with it. It is short, even shorter than oldtime weapon made for confined spaces like cutlasses and short philipino like Moro blade, so in confined spaces indoor or vehicle. Coughars, wild dogs, bears, feral pigs, wolfs, bigfoot amongst trees too perhaps...

I Just got mine delivered about 10 minutes ago, I absolutely love this Bowie! I know that the blade is thin, but the Heat Treated 1055 high carbon blade makes up for it plus it's light to swing and hack things with it. It came very sharp. Crocodile Dundee ain't got shit on me man!!! I recommend this knife, and I own many different knives like Kabar, Ontario, etc and this is a good one!!

I have one next to my bed for self-defense. This is really not a machete or a knife it's a weapon

The original bowie was designed as a large butcher knife that excelled at fighting. It was also the all-purpose knife for the frontiersman. This was mostly cooking, butchering, dispatching animals like chickens or the aforementioned two legged targets, with a bit of bushcraft and bush clearing thrown in and prioritized in that order. If you thinned out that edge a bit I bet it would absolutely excel in that role! I like that design alot honestly, my only gripe is it comes only in that ugly handle and not something more traditional

Its a short machete mimicking the aesthetics of a Bowie, in the same way their Smatchet machete mimics an actual Smatchet. If one likes that particular style and finds that size machete useful then why not? Personally i prefer machetes in the 14 inch blade range but i might be tempted to mod one of these to play with,lol. Pretty much any machete on the market can do with a little modding in the ergonomics department. I've modded all my Imacasa, Tramontina and Cold Steel machetes to some degree. They are cheap enough where theres no modders remorse over modding them. To me they are mostly just inexpensive brush clearing/utilitarian tools i don't expect them to be Busse Battle Mistresses or Fallkniven Tors. I'm guessing Australian wildlife might be too tough for the average machete though eh? lol.

I'm getting one.I like the way it looks and it could be used as a tool for making kindling.It doesn't make sense to me to pay over $100 for any pocket knife...but it happens a good bit.I think it's a good value.

I ought one (in the US )at the beginning of 2022 and used it for the same things I used a 10 inch blade machete for which is cutting stuff and trimming stuff around the yard. I bought it because it was about the same cost as a 12 inch US made Ontario Knife Machete (I have 2 eighteen-inch Ontario Kinfe machetes but there is a need for a shorter one). And just today my 2nd Black Bear Bowie Machete arrived but it had no point to it. Someone at the factory buggered the grinding of it. So it is just another tool. I wish I had had these smaller machetes when I cut down the bunch of trees that were on my property years ago but at that time I had on only the 18-inch Ontario Knife machetes. Cutting limbs off up to and including 3 inches is much faster using a machete than with an axe or chain saw. Both of mine came with a sheath. Best wishes to all.

some CS stuff is just meant to be fun, face it ;)

"Well made, doesn't make sense." = 90% of knives in the market! ;)

It's a cheap fighting Bowie. That's why the back is sharp. It's for back cuts

Not only cheap and crude but also pretty much indestructible if you watch the joe x destructive testing. It is very well built and reliable.

These are actually very good blades for places like swamp and pine thickets. That steel is 1055 carbon spring steel which is extremely strong and meant to take a beating. It's also very easy to resharpen like a razor. The factory edge sucks but once you sharpen it up they are great choppers. The 2.8mm thickness with that steel is definitely stout enough to stab through some tough stuff which is just an added bonus when you're in the woods. These would actually make outstanding survival knives because of how strong and easy to sharpen they are. I've bought 3 because they are a steal at around $20. Lots of people carry short machetes like the Gerber Gators but this thing could probably split one of those in half

I would prefer the military machete…I have the CS bolo…I had to change the handle right away…the handle didn’t absorb any impact…all the vibes went straight to my hand..after I changed to walnut slabs it was really good…good video…subbed.

ATV beater knife.

It's for cutting foo's....and cheap enough to carry like 10 of them at the same time!

It comes with a nice Core-Ex sheath in the US. It's my favorite knife.

Technically it's a short machete, but it's largely a novelty item, in the line of novelty machetes Cold Steel makes that draw from or mimic famous knife and sword designs. It can be made into a useful tool with some cheap modifications to the swedge, guard, and handle though. Cut/grind off the top guard so you can choke up, wrap the handle with tennis racket tape, and dull the swedge with a bastard file. Voila - a serviceable, packable, hiking machete - lighter than your Martindale golok, with more reach and chopping power than your survival knives, and ready for any swashbuckling sword fights you might have while on the trail. Sucks that you didn't get a sheath though; they're part of the package as far as I can see on US sites.

Presently what I would use the Cold Steel Black Bear Bowie Machete for if I took it camping would be replacing a hatchet with some that except for the hammer use a hatchet has as a more useful tool than a hatchet. The CSBBBM can process wood for fires as a hatchet can and it is easier to hack bush with and do some knife-like tasks within a camping setting and you could even dig with. In a city where you don't need to process wood for fires your CSBBBM can be put to use in a garden or property where a hatchet would be useless.

I like it. Its good for a short hike where you may need to clear light brush and want something with a bit of a combat design for feeling a little safer vs a standard machete design but dont want the wait of like a Ontario raider bowie or tops Armageddon. I think this would make a great lil minimal carry back packing hike tool. Pair it up with an SRK and you would be good too go

I love Bowie knives so this caught my eye with ease. I enjoy the hell out of mine. I carry it in my truck everyday.

Well it's the coolest weed whacker I've seen. Thanks for the review

Your best knife is the one you have on you when you need it the most....

I have the black bear for bush craft will be getting the serrated marauder one to be in my car with my bugout bag.

It’s a good knife if you want some to use for bush work or beat around and it’s not breaking the bank

vines and bushes my arse. That thing is designed with the sole purpose of wrecking somebody. Preferably a home invader/burglar.

Movie prop, I expect to see on The Walking Dead.

It's no longer available now. But, if you can find one for a decent price, get it. It's awesome, as long as you put some grip tape on the handle.

It is a cheap sturdy blade you came take to the woods and abuse. It is rugged and mine came with a decent sheath.

I want it to compliment my dual blade m48 hatched. I want it for combat close quarters.

It's excellent once you make a Kydex sheath

Used a short machete very much like that, from marbles. At the start I was unsure as to its usefulness. Its currently one of my fav, outdoor tools, and with a little know how, very little I can't do with it.

I carry a Condor Dundee sometimes instead of an axe (its great for bikepacking). The Dundee is a similiar design and very useful but its significantly thicker and heavier - this one seems too light and flimsy for such tasks. Looking at light, big blades a Mora pathfinder comes to mind. It works out because it compensate for weight with a razor edge and scandi grind and is still managable for smallers tasks. This one doesnt seem to have that going for it either so I think its not very useful as is. My first thought was to modify this one into a similiar shape of a mora pathfinder. Perhaps leatherwrap the handle with an old leather dog leash or belt. .

The thing look Bad a$$ , it is for survival in the jungle. I gotta get one of those babies for the zombie apocalypse and bad folks that break in homes.

I use it to chop longbows out of small tall trees

Apparently a replacement for Cold Steel's Bowie machete. Also made in South Africa and a bit fun but equally of questionable use.

"It's cheap and crude" Like women I've known.....

Don't mistake that 1055 steel for a "junk" steel,it's about as though as you'll ever need even when abused it preforms, sure It needs sharpened a little more but in big blades like this you don't need a razor edge the power you can generate from the size will get the job done on a less than paper cutting edge..as far as pointlessness I see a good tool,or a plain old get out and have some fun blade that is a bargain!..NOW LET'S SEE A CUT TEST ON IT!!. and thanks for the videos I enjoy them.

I think the bowie knife was made for piercing human limbs not tree limbs...

Check out Junglecrafty's videos regarding machetes. He's got an interesting perspective from his ongoing experience in Malaysia (I think that's where he is). He seems to have a strong preference for very light thin machetes in that environment, where you are mostly just using the flick of your wrist to cut through fleshy vines all day. Much different to the heavy chopper one tool option philosophy that seems popular in North America for obtaining and processing firewood in their cold forests. I guess this CS ugly hybrid would be geared toward jungle use where you also want thrusting attack capability for whatever bears live in the jungle... Pandas?

This knife was designed to kill as quickly as possible not to be a machete to clear brush

I've got one...nice knoife

When you cracked the golok out for comparison, I had to wonder if you've ever seen or handled any wares from Valiant Trading Company or Saudara Kaum?

i got one for 10$. its basically a bowie you buy to toss in the river after you deal with bipedal predators....allegedly.

Ontario Spec Plus Gen II SP50 Knife i got this just to baton fire wood and hack at things wile out bush.

I know people in Texas that use this blade to dispatch hogs when the dogs catch them

Its cheap enough that one could change the handle & then it might be alright.

You got ripped off they all come with a sheath from the factory

It is designed to sell to people who will never use it. It's supposed to look badass nothing more.

It's meant more for combat

I have one, I carry it in my motorcycle, just in case. I'm mexican so I can own guns but I can't carry them, that makes stuff like this my main option for self defense.

2.8 mm is a ninth of an inch. thats not wide. A fifth of an inch is a good sturdy bushcraft knife.

THIS O THE gi tANTO?

if nothing else--use it as a main gauche with a longer cut and thrust blade

Too thin and soft to be a bushcraft knife, but too small to be an effective machete.

That machete is for when somebody breaks in your house at 2 a.m. and they're not collecting for the Goodwill

Good tough hunting knife, for those who hunt in big bear country. Long enough to get to vitals.

It's not made for brush or backwoods - it's basically a cheap, fast blade to use against a person.

Like said before, for fighting.

If you want to know what the purpose of this bowie is just check out cold steels KZfaq kzfaq.info/get/bejne/i9Gjg8hilaymoI0.html

I don't know why anyone would buy this knife but yeah what ever makes you happy i guess. xD

Why's everyone saying this is for fighting? This is the exact opposite of a fighting knife. A fighting knife is small, like a Kabar. This is for utility. You can carry this around the property for bushes and saplings. It's too flexible to stab and too large. All you can do is chop and I doubt the people who buy this will ever sharpen a knife to a point where a cut is even possible.

Eh.... Looks like one of those knives you see at the gas station (petrol station / servo / selfie) or as some would say a wall hanger. I do appreciate the variety of item you review. Don't wanna sound too snobby. But I wouldn't use it lol.

My Shrade Half Machete is better than that...If you want Bowie knife try OKC SP-10 Raider...$100 bucks but lasts lifetime...

Nah pass. Could of almost have been redeemed but with not even a cheap nylon sheath, nup.

I never like cold steel anyway but that's just ugly.

Easy to surmise its true purpose. It's to capture a certain buyer who wants something made by Cold Steel and who has no idea what this really is. They are often not sold as machetes. Just" Cold Steel Bowie knives. Made in S.A. not Taiwan? For $30? I'll put that in my cart".. LOL. They are made to make money, not happy customers.

THIS IS NOT A MACHETE!!! Machetes in no way resembles a bowie knife! Bowie knives are genuinely large blades, but not as large as a machete!