Cold SteelSword

It's cold steel, and that says all it needs to for those familiar with the company. The scabbard is of excellent quality leather and is well made. The sword comes with a British proof test certificate. The blade is sharp right out of the box, so be careful while cleaning the grease off, household De-greaser like you use on the stove and oven works well. It features a full tang that is of a solid piece with the blade, not a tack welded add on like so many companies use. The blade and guard are blued and the finish is excellent. It is a true combat ready blade and is heavier than the training weapons you may have used before. But despite it's weight it is fast and agile in the hand and responds to the slightest movement of your hand and wrist. It won't win any beauty contests, but it will do it's job reliably for a very long time, it will probably outlast it's original owner and then some. It's an excellent piece for sca and renaissance use, or for use in martial arts training. It will also hold up to abuse and serve well in an emergency or survival situation. I highly recommend cold steel's videos on the cutlass and saber, and if possible finding a local fencing school that teaches saber.

I am pleased with Cold Steel’s hybrid version of the US Navy M1917 cutlass. Though I have only moderately large hands, I’m glad I ordered the “hybrid version” with the longer handle and more substantial basket. I’ve read various criticisms of the sword on Amazon and on other sites and do not have the same complaints some others report. The package was substantial, discreet, and arrived on the early side of the predicted range. The black leather sheath was wrapped separately and is of excellent quality, thick, and a good fit. As many have noted, it is a heavy blade for its length; supposed experts say it is heavier than it’s US Navy model and the similar Dutch klewang, and it is certainly not a lady’s blade at 1.012 kg; it is not very fast, but it feels agile and serviceable to me, and is secure in my grip. The entire sword was slathered in a brown grease and wrapped in plastic. The coating was easily removed in 5 minutes with mineral spirits and paper towels. All the metal but the edge was “blued” jet black, with no scratches and no rust spots. The edge was nearly sharp, and less than a half hour’s work made it keen enough to slice soft bread without crumb. I pity the fool who boards my ship without my leave!

This is not a decoration to hang on the wall, even though it would look great there, it's made to be used as a sword was meant to be used-to fight and kill an opponent. This is Cold Steels' usual high quality, this time from India, and comes with a hand signed and stamped British Proof Test Certificate, which describes the tests performed. One of the tests is to "Set the point on a heavy wood block and flex the blade 5" to the right and then to the left, and it has to go back to true straight without taking a set. They do some other mean things to it also.Comes packaged for long term storage, entire sword, including the grip,covered in a light grease (not cosmoline),then plastic wrap, and has the look of arsenal storage. In the box is also a leather sheath with blued steel fittings. Blade is also polished and blued, like a firearm, as steel that can take a spring temper like this and strong enough to hold up to the abuse a real sword could see, is not stainless steel and need rust protection.Keeping stored in the leather sheath also is not a good idea, as leather attracts moisture. I might try treating the sheath with the same leather conditioners I use on my hiking boots.For the price(now listed here $20 less than I paid a week ago) is excellent for a blade of this quality. This is a working sword, and an excellent addition to any collection or arsenal.

The cutlass and scabbard were well packed, with the cutlass metal parts being coated in cosmoline and well wrapped in plastic. The items were packed in styrofoam and a heavy cardboard box, packed in a second box.The cutlass took about 10 minutes to unwrap and clean of the cosmoline, I used Hoppes#9 and a couple of paper towels. The cutlass is well made, the fitting are tight and the blade strait and sharp. It sliced cleanly through s sheet of paper. The scabbard looks nice, the seam is flat and the finish is good. The ferrule cam off in my hand, the glue used was poorly applied. And the work under the ferrule removed to much leather. Cleaned the glue out of the ferrule and of the leather used duct tape to wrap the end of the scabbard then force the ferrule on, makes a good temporary fix, until I get some contact cement.Have practiced with the cutlass, the weight takes a little getting used to, or maybe just building up the strength in the wrist and forearms.Found the guard metal is a little to thin took a hit from a boken and bent the guard into my knuckles. Took a pair of vice grips to pull the guard out enough for the hand to fit. The guard needs to be a couple of gauges heavier, and the holes need to be removed, they keep catching my fingers. This would protect the hand better and move the point of balance closer to the grip.Beside the guard I like the cutlass, and would recommend it.

It's hard to find functionally usable blades these days for non-exorbitant prices, with almost everything else being 'decorative' or 'display' quality. Well, this hits a super-sweet spot where a great price point meets usability.This cutlass is not super-fancy or have any extra bells and whistles, but it comes sharpened, oiled (a little too much as a matter of fact), and with a very sturdy scabbard (a nice bonus that most other offerings do not include).My only two nit-picks (that are not even enough to drop my rating from the fifth star) are 1) that it was over-oiled; I had to spend several minutes wiping off excess oil after unboxing, and 2) I did not particularly care of the aesthetic of the basket-guard.But this is by far my favorite functional blade in my collection, and it didn't even break the bank to acquire it! Kudos to Cold Steel -- will definitely by my first stop when I'm ready to expand my collection next.