Zombie Tools Urban Bone Machete 2012
Mar 2, 2013 17:14:42 GMT
Post by Pogo4321 on Mar 2, 2013 17:14:42 GMT
Zombie Tools Urban Bone Machete 2012
Review by John Tomasetti
Introduction
I became aware of Zombie tools about a year ago and found their blades intriguing, but was concerned that they were more gimmick than go. As I heard more and more good things about them, I decided I’d try one out but still hemmed and hawed trying to decide which one to buy. I was able to try out the Vakra and the Hellion at one of our meet ups here in Northern California. And while I liked them well enough I had some reservations—the weights and balances weren’t to my liking and the edge geometry didn’t thrill me. Then I got to try out Ray’s D’Capitan and I was sold. These guys do know about swords. The issues I had about the Vakra and the Hellion were as much to do with the blade types as with ZT’s execution of the styles.
Now, I get a bit nervous about “pre-orders” having been burned a few times when ordering products that weren’t on the shelf. I began haunting classifieds and ebay. And that is how I got my Urban Bone Machete 2012. I bought it on ebay for ZT retail, just without the wait.
Here it is next to Razor’s D’Capitan.
Historical overview
There really isn’t any historical precedent for this one. It is a departure from previous models of the Bone Machete, though. The two most recent Bone Machetes had forward curving blades, this one doesn’t. While ZT calls it a machete, it really isn’t. If anything it most closely resembles a tactical interpretation of a falchion or dao.
Full Disclosure
I’m a backyard cutter and have owned and handled a lot of swords of various styles and makes. I have no martial arts training.
Initial Impressions
It was a relatively pleasant ebay experience—no major issues. When I unpacked the sword my first thought was, “Heck yea! Let’s go destroy things!” This sword begs to be to be used against heavy targets.
Statistics
Blade Length: about 18 inches
Handle: about 4 1/8 inches of grippable area
Overall Length: 25 1/8 inches
POB (Point of Balance): 4 7/8 inches from the part of the scale closest the grip
COP (Center of Percussion):
Weight: 2lb 14.5 oz with scabbard; 2lb 4.6 oz without scabbard
Components
The Blade
The blade has ZT’s usual ferric chloric acid finish “flavored with the pan drippings from the ZT Thrive Couch”, Yuck! The flat of the blade has been left with the rough finish it had after heat treatment, while the primary bevels have been sanded to a nice smooth finish. The blade has a narrow secondary bevel which leaves it short of the sharpening level found on many of the other swords I own. It is, however, sharper than the other ZTs I’ve handled. The blade shape speaks for itself. While it looks like it might have a false edge on top it doesn’t and the spine is quite flat.
The blade is 5.2-5.1 mm thick. It has some distal taper starting where the profile widens out (unfortunately I lost the exact measurements).
The Handle
It has the standard ZT aluminum scales wrapped in good quality leather—very comfy and grippy. The handle has a lot of flair I think. It can be used in quite few grips comfortably and Razor assures me that the short knuckle guard is enough to be effective in most classical guard positions (it probably also helps pull the POB back slightly).
The pommel can be used as a skull crusher and a glass breaker. It also has a lanyard hole.
The Scabbard
It come with a well-fitted kydex sheath. It even holds the sword upside down.
Handling Characteristics
This is a sword with authority! Once it gets moving it wants to go until it destroys something. I’m a hobbyist not a martial artist, so for me it is a little more difficult to handle than it is for someone like Razor who trains regularly with his swords. In the video you can see the differences and how we can both handle it pretty well. At one point Razor employed a Chinese form with it and it looked like it worked really well.
Test Cutting (if applicable)
We test cut on milk jugs, soda bottles, double and triple rolls of beach mats and single rolls of tatmi (I think it was omote might have bee mugen dashi). Milk jugs were no problem. Soda bottles were a little tougher but it handled them—no silent cuts though. On all the mats, I needed to put a little more muscle into the cuts than I’m used to with swords that have a narrower edge geometry.
And we chopped a bit of wood with no edge damage—there was some lightening of the acid finish, though.
Conclusions
Overall this is a great, tough chopper, but don’t let the name Bone Machete fool you. This ain’t some wimpy piece of sharpened sheet steel. This is a brutal sword with well thought out handle design and blade geometry. For my purposes I would probably like an edge with a better cutting geometry, but if you want a sword that you won’t be afraid to whack and armor plated rhino with this is it.
The Bottom Line
This is an American made, destroy it first ask questions later, “heck yeah!” sword. If you like tactical type, low maintenance, not afraid to get ‘em dirty weapons, I think you’ll love this one.
I will be buying more Zombie Tools.
A big thank you to Razor, without whom this review wouldn’t have been done (so you guys can blame him ).
Review by John Tomasetti
Introduction
I became aware of Zombie tools about a year ago and found their blades intriguing, but was concerned that they were more gimmick than go. As I heard more and more good things about them, I decided I’d try one out but still hemmed and hawed trying to decide which one to buy. I was able to try out the Vakra and the Hellion at one of our meet ups here in Northern California. And while I liked them well enough I had some reservations—the weights and balances weren’t to my liking and the edge geometry didn’t thrill me. Then I got to try out Ray’s D’Capitan and I was sold. These guys do know about swords. The issues I had about the Vakra and the Hellion were as much to do with the blade types as with ZT’s execution of the styles.
Now, I get a bit nervous about “pre-orders” having been burned a few times when ordering products that weren’t on the shelf. I began haunting classifieds and ebay. And that is how I got my Urban Bone Machete 2012. I bought it on ebay for ZT retail, just without the wait.
Here it is next to Razor’s D’Capitan.
Historical overview
There really isn’t any historical precedent for this one. It is a departure from previous models of the Bone Machete, though. The two most recent Bone Machetes had forward curving blades, this one doesn’t. While ZT calls it a machete, it really isn’t. If anything it most closely resembles a tactical interpretation of a falchion or dao.
Full Disclosure
I’m a backyard cutter and have owned and handled a lot of swords of various styles and makes. I have no martial arts training.
Initial Impressions
It was a relatively pleasant ebay experience—no major issues. When I unpacked the sword my first thought was, “Heck yea! Let’s go destroy things!” This sword begs to be to be used against heavy targets.
Statistics
Blade Length: about 18 inches
Handle: about 4 1/8 inches of grippable area
Overall Length: 25 1/8 inches
POB (Point of Balance): 4 7/8 inches from the part of the scale closest the grip
COP (Center of Percussion):
Weight: 2lb 14.5 oz with scabbard; 2lb 4.6 oz without scabbard
Components
The Blade
The blade has ZT’s usual ferric chloric acid finish “flavored with the pan drippings from the ZT Thrive Couch”, Yuck! The flat of the blade has been left with the rough finish it had after heat treatment, while the primary bevels have been sanded to a nice smooth finish. The blade has a narrow secondary bevel which leaves it short of the sharpening level found on many of the other swords I own. It is, however, sharper than the other ZTs I’ve handled. The blade shape speaks for itself. While it looks like it might have a false edge on top it doesn’t and the spine is quite flat.
The blade is 5.2-5.1 mm thick. It has some distal taper starting where the profile widens out (unfortunately I lost the exact measurements).
The Handle
It has the standard ZT aluminum scales wrapped in good quality leather—very comfy and grippy. The handle has a lot of flair I think. It can be used in quite few grips comfortably and Razor assures me that the short knuckle guard is enough to be effective in most classical guard positions (it probably also helps pull the POB back slightly).
The pommel can be used as a skull crusher and a glass breaker. It also has a lanyard hole.
The Scabbard
It come with a well-fitted kydex sheath. It even holds the sword upside down.
Handling Characteristics
This is a sword with authority! Once it gets moving it wants to go until it destroys something. I’m a hobbyist not a martial artist, so for me it is a little more difficult to handle than it is for someone like Razor who trains regularly with his swords. In the video you can see the differences and how we can both handle it pretty well. At one point Razor employed a Chinese form with it and it looked like it worked really well.
Test Cutting (if applicable)
We test cut on milk jugs, soda bottles, double and triple rolls of beach mats and single rolls of tatmi (I think it was omote might have bee mugen dashi). Milk jugs were no problem. Soda bottles were a little tougher but it handled them—no silent cuts though. On all the mats, I needed to put a little more muscle into the cuts than I’m used to with swords that have a narrower edge geometry.
And we chopped a bit of wood with no edge damage—there was some lightening of the acid finish, though.
Conclusions
Overall this is a great, tough chopper, but don’t let the name Bone Machete fool you. This ain’t some wimpy piece of sharpened sheet steel. This is a brutal sword with well thought out handle design and blade geometry. For my purposes I would probably like an edge with a better cutting geometry, but if you want a sword that you won’t be afraid to whack and armor plated rhino with this is it.
The Bottom Line
This is an American made, destroy it first ask questions later, “heck yeah!” sword. If you like tactical type, low maintenance, not afraid to get ‘em dirty weapons, I think you’ll love this one.
I will be buying more Zombie Tools.
A big thank you to Razor, without whom this review wouldn’t have been done (so you guys can blame him ).