This is a machete designed for looks, not performance. It is heavy at 2lbs, and inexplicably, much of that weight is near the handle. The blade stock tapers - it is thickest at the handle. The design is clearly forward-weighted, but the blade stock taper counteracts that, resulting in a strange blade balance. The handle is too thick. I think it's designed for weekend warriors, who spend 10 minutes chopping a 2X4. It's too bad, because it's well constructed.