Cold SteelTactical Wakizashi Machete 25" Length, Black, 18", One Size

Nice balance, very sharp, worth the price for what it is. Fun to play samurai warrior with!

Ok. Just finished testing it out. So lets get this started.Cold Steel Tactical Wakazashi tanto review:First off Id like to commend Amazon for another speedy delivery. I ordered this on the third. Got it on the 5. Five stars for amazon yay. 😁.Why did I buy this?: well I was looking on a cheap alternative to replace my Condor el Salvador. I needed something that needed more combat oriented capabilities. Something of the same size as my Condor, or close enough, easy to carry, easy to maintain, and could keep a sharp edge for a reasonable amount of time. So how did it do?Steel: 1055 high carbon steel tempered to, what my best guess is, a spring temper. Maybe it says so in the discription and a I missed it. It happens.1055 is an incredibly tough steel and when its tempered correctly as a knife the result is a tool/weapon that will survive most anything. Cold Steel's work with 1055 is legendary. So no worry there. So how good an edge does it take? Well, when it came to me It was extremely rough, jagged in places. Two passes with my accusharp later and it has a nightmare inducing edge. Seriously, this thing gets wicked sharp so be careful.Edge rentention, um, how bout phenomenal? I just got back from smacking the edge against a red oak tree for two solid hours. (my arm and hand are killing me) and its STILL razor sharp. It has good flex, the tip is very strong. The sheathe is nice. On par with the sword itself. Yes, this is every bit a sword. See, cold steel makes weapons. I know how that sounds but bare with me a second. A normal machete is a tool that can be used as a weapon. People wont think of it much if they see one. It can defend your life if you have nothing else but its primary function is as a brush tool. However Cold Steel, makes machetes as weapons that can be used as tools. Philosophy of use is important. And in this product, and many like it, it shows. A tool is built sturdy enough to do its job and not much else. You can use a wrench as a hammer if you have to but it wont last as long because thats not what it was built for. A normal machete is built solely for clearing vegetative growth. Meaning in combat, while effective, it wont last all that long. This thing on the other hand is built for combat, it was made for the intention of self defense and martial arts applications. Its built for extreme conditions, and because of that it could also be used as a tool. You get the point, moving on. The wide, curved blade and American tanto point make this a superb slashing and thrusting weapon. Now, I just have two problems with it. First off is the sheathe, it has no belt loop. The loop thats on it goes through the guard (which is also 1055. Score!) and snaps to the sheathe itself. Could you use it as belt loop? Sure, I do, and it works ok cept for the weapon being turned around with the blade up (like how a tradtional katana sits on the hip.) this makes me concerned about cutting through the sheathe. It also comes with a (cotton) cord either for a lanyard or to tie to a belt I dont know. Which brings me to the other problem I have with it. The handle is made of nearly indestructable polypropylene (I cannot believe I spelled that right.) it wont warp, shrink, rot, or fall off. Indeed the only enemy the handle has is intense heat like a fire or a blow torch either of those or sometbing similar will melt the handle right off the blade. Not sure id want to breath that stuff in to be honest. The handle is injection molded right onto the metal tang in the design of one of Cold Steels' many Katanas so it feels very secure in the hand. Which brings me to problem. The handle asborbs every bit of shock from a strike on a hard target. If your hitting something like, I dunno, a hard wood tree for hours at a time? Its like grabbing a pin cushion and squeezing as hard as you can. That being said. Small trees, brush, weeds, and the like offer no such issues. And Ive seen what this thing does to a piece of hardwood, so I know EXACTLY what it would do in defense of your life. It comes with a baked on black coating, pretty durable thus far if a tad uneven. So, is it worth 30 bucks? Absolutely. If you've got some extra cash or can otherwise rationalize getting this do so. And in case you were curious, its strong enough to do camp work like batoning. Very useful piece of kit. 5 out of 5 stars. 10 out of 10 would purchase again.

I like it, but I also got the <Cold Steel Latin D-Guard Machete, 18"> (18 oz weight), and that one is a better tool in most cases. I use it for trail work, and the extra weight of the Wakizashi (25 oz) wears me out faster.• Arrived very sharp. Construction looks fine for the price.• The handle on the Wakizashi causes blisters, it's sharp and bumpy. Wear gloves, wrap it in paracord, or wrap it in grip tape. I probably should have sanded it a bit before adding grip tape. It's still pokey through one layer of tape.• The tsuba guard provides some hand protection from thorns and things, and the way the sheath strap clips to the tsuba instead of the handle is cool. It also means you can make the handle thicker with tape or paracord, and it doesn't affect being able to snap the sheath.• I was hoping to be able to use it with 2 hands, and I can fit 3 fingers of my lower hand on. I filed the butt to round it where it hits the palm of my 2nd hand. I also filed off some of the ridges on the handle.• I thought two hands would be good for chopping thick wood, but it didn't noticeably improve the strikes (and tended to hurt my 2nd hand), it does improve removal when it gets stuck.• 2-hands does help for light brush - less likely to over-swing and hit yourself in the leg. Faster blade acceleration for short strokes. Improves control when you get tired.• Sheath didn't have a shoulder strap.Later I also got the Cold Steel Thai Machete (22" blade), and that thing is the most awesome! Super long and ergonomic handle, if you got em, you can fit 3 hands on it easily. Thai isn't super inconspicuous or portable at 36.5" overall, 29oz (lighter than the 35oz Tactical Katana). Thai is a foot longer than the 18" blade Latin, but great for clearing thorns.

The quality of the 18" version I received today is fantastic: Strait blade, perfect grind, level and solid guard, uniform coating. It was in factory sealed retail hang-card packaging. The blade was obviously machine ground, as there was still significant burrs of steel all along the blade. 10min with DMT stones for finishing and it was a perfectly sharpened, hair shaving edge.For the money, I don't think there is a better CQB deadly weapon. It's short enough for strikes in doorways, and to be carried concealed IWB with a little work, and easily comfortably carried externally on a belt via the supplied 550 cord, which functions as a dangler.Any longer of a blade and I feel it would become a bit too blade heavy, slowing it down and reducing mid-strike corrections. Any shorter and it starts to loose it's stand-off superiority to large Bowies and tomahawks.The handle length is near perfect, especially when snap cut grip requirements are taken into consideration. I could lose 1" of handle length for one handed strikes and be good, but that would significantly reduce grip on this when using a second hand, so Cold Steel nailed this handle length. The hole near the grip pommel is perfect for a 550 cord lanyard, which is highly recommended for a high retention grip while striking, especially snap strikes.As for the sheath, its quality, and it works well. Sure, I would much prefer a compact, taco kydex sheath with a bunch of carrying options built in, but that would double the price. (I plan on making one myself for $15 in supplies.).IMO, this makes a perfect low cost weapon for the car...if it gets stolen or lost, no biggy, but it has the ability to be used quite well defensively against all theats, and is fairly low key when hanging on a belt.If you are looking for low cost weapon with even a lower social profile, then look to both the 13" version of this, or the Bowie version, or the Black Bear...all great Bowie full-sized blades that you can sit down in your car while wearing!