Cold Steel – Chinese Sword Machete with Sheath

Cold Steels Dadao Machete is an excellent way to harness the ferocious cleaving power of the Chinese Dadao at a budget price; the blade is tempered 1055 high carbon steel and it possesses a sharp edge and a black, baked-on rust-resistance finish. The full tang is fitted with a tough polypropylene handle with molded cord detailing for an improved grip. The sword comes with a nylon Cor-Ex sheath with buttoned retaining straps and a hard impact plastic tip. It has a long, adjustable strap which allows it to be worn on the back.

Practical and utilitarian, the Dadao had its origins as a no-frills peasant tool and weapon designed to chop into and split a target in a single, powerful blow. A favorite weapon of Chinese peasant militias and rural patrols, the Dadao naturally found itself wielded as a standard weapon of the Chinese forces resisting the Japanese Army in the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945).

Making the most of their territorial knowledge, the Chinese found the Dadao to be exceptionally useful in ambushes and nighttime raids where the harrowing close-combat capabilities of the Dadao could be used to full shock effect. In these situations, soldiers with Dadao sometimes found themselves crossing blades with Japanese officers armed with Katanas.