Combat Commander Gladius
Oct 14, 2021 22:37:32 GMT
Post by pvsampson on Oct 14, 2021 22:37:32 GMT
Received a United Cutlery Combat Commander Gladius a week ago. I have seen plenty of mention here about the Cold Steel Gladius Machete but not so much this model from UC.I paid $78 AUD shipped from Global Gear,Australia and waited just on three weeks before it was shipped which is common for many items from the retailer. I am unsure whether they have a warehouse where much of the stock is stored or whether they order direct from suppliers overseas which accounts for the shipping times and with actual delivery the item took four weeks to arrive. Most things ordered here take around two weeks with our poor postal delivery times.
The "sword" arrived in the box from UC that was wrapped in a heavy brown paper and undamaged. It was in plastic sleeves,one on the handle and one on the blade which was then in the scabbard. There was a light film of protective grease on the blade which was easily removed with a paper towel and household cleaner.
First impressions were that the sword was balanced quite well,not blade forward like the Cold Steel Cutlass machete and the CS Kukri machete I have. Also,this style blade just screams weapon. Arm hair shaving sharp hollow ground edge,a vicious point geometry and with an exaggerated mainz gladius blade shape there are no illusions as to what this is designed for. Yet,it is a machete style blade at 16 5/8" (42.2cm) and 24" (60.9 cm) overall,3.2 mm thickness and is 1lb 5oz (611 grams) according to my scales. P.O.B. is just over 3"(8cm) .I performed a quick cut test on lantana and it handled the weed easily on the widest part of the blade edge without any sign of damage or dulling after around twenty good strikes. The sword wants to be swung and handles very well and easy to recover.
The handle is of a type of plastic with three risers at equal spacing and sits well in the hand being flattened somewhat which makes edge alignment easy. It has a brass hollow fitting in the centre which I am unsure of the purpose,and on the pommel end is a lanyard hole and a protruding angular piece of metal that I assume would be for a hammer type strike. Handle feels like it could get a bit slippery with sweaty or wet hands but the risers would help with slip prevention,but I am going to put some grip tape on it.
The blade is coated in a black paint of some sort to prevent corrosion,no distal taper which is expected being a machete type and the hollow grind shows machining marks/chatter. One thing I am really annoyed with is that one side of the tip grind is off centre. I know these things are not high end and are mass produced but the grind should be even and it was a let down. Otherwise no issues,and as mentioned before it is definitely sharp. Scabbard is a nylon with plastic reinforcement on one side only at point end and a retention strap with press stud.It could use some plastic on the back side and I feel that the blade will eventually end up cutting through at some point. Oversight from the company.
I was looking at the Cold Steel version but they were unavailable anywhere here at the time I purchased and I checked out reviews and videos on both and the general consensus seems to be half and half with preference to either. Overall except for the uneven tip grind I am happy with this. It feels great and as I have mentioned it just wants to be used. Blade seems tough enough for what I want,but I will not be using it so much as a tool and will mostly use for bottlegiri fun. Worth buying.
The "sword" arrived in the box from UC that was wrapped in a heavy brown paper and undamaged. It was in plastic sleeves,one on the handle and one on the blade which was then in the scabbard. There was a light film of protective grease on the blade which was easily removed with a paper towel and household cleaner.
First impressions were that the sword was balanced quite well,not blade forward like the Cold Steel Cutlass machete and the CS Kukri machete I have. Also,this style blade just screams weapon. Arm hair shaving sharp hollow ground edge,a vicious point geometry and with an exaggerated mainz gladius blade shape there are no illusions as to what this is designed for. Yet,it is a machete style blade at 16 5/8" (42.2cm) and 24" (60.9 cm) overall,3.2 mm thickness and is 1lb 5oz (611 grams) according to my scales. P.O.B. is just over 3"(8cm) .I performed a quick cut test on lantana and it handled the weed easily on the widest part of the blade edge without any sign of damage or dulling after around twenty good strikes. The sword wants to be swung and handles very well and easy to recover.
The handle is of a type of plastic with three risers at equal spacing and sits well in the hand being flattened somewhat which makes edge alignment easy. It has a brass hollow fitting in the centre which I am unsure of the purpose,and on the pommel end is a lanyard hole and a protruding angular piece of metal that I assume would be for a hammer type strike. Handle feels like it could get a bit slippery with sweaty or wet hands but the risers would help with slip prevention,but I am going to put some grip tape on it.
The blade is coated in a black paint of some sort to prevent corrosion,no distal taper which is expected being a machete type and the hollow grind shows machining marks/chatter. One thing I am really annoyed with is that one side of the tip grind is off centre. I know these things are not high end and are mass produced but the grind should be even and it was a let down. Otherwise no issues,and as mentioned before it is definitely sharp. Scabbard is a nylon with plastic reinforcement on one side only at point end and a retention strap with press stud.It could use some plastic on the back side and I feel that the blade will eventually end up cutting through at some point. Oversight from the company.
I was looking at the Cold Steel version but they were unavailable anywhere here at the time I purchased and I checked out reviews and videos on both and the general consensus seems to be half and half with preference to either. Overall except for the uneven tip grind I am happy with this. It feels great and as I have mentioned it just wants to be used. Blade seems tough enough for what I want,but I will not be using it so much as a tool and will mostly use for bottlegiri fun. Worth buying.