For more than a decade I wished for a tactical cleaver to hit the market. This year, Ka-bar has given me my wish.
I first saw the Zomstro when it was revealed it on the YouTube channel “ZombieGoBoomTV.” I was immediately impressed. I’ve been a fan of the Ka-Bar Zombie Killer line since it debuted a couple of years ago. Ka-Bar was one of the first, if not the first major knife company to come out with a line of tools dedicated to decapitating the walking dead. What I liked about the designs was that Ka-Bar took proven bushcraft designs and turned up the attitude.
For 2013, the company added a couple of knives to the line. More importantly, they started manufacturing the entire ZK line right here in the United States. Ka-Bar also switched from SK-5 steel to their 1095 Cro Van. To me, as a fan of their steel and heat treatment, this a big improvement.
The Zomstro is one big slab of metal. My scale puts it at 26 ounces. It has a 9.25-inch cutting edge with an over all length of 15 inches. It is supplied with Ka-Bar’s Acheron skeletonized knife, which rides in a small pouch in the sheath. You also get a zombie knife patch and some cord.
The factory sheath is one of the most functional offered by any manufacturer. It has MOLLE attachment points along the back and a large pouch in the front. Be advised that the wide blade of the Zomstro has a tendency to slice into one of the retaining straps as the blade enters and exits the sheath. This issue can be resolved by simply removing the affected strap (which the knife will do for you eventually). While the Zomstro is not as sharp out of the box as some other Ka-Bar blades, it still has a very usable factory edge.
I really like the way this knife handles and the way it cuts. It swings naturally. I used it to clear some light vegetation, chop some downed branches into kindling, and cut through a few 1″x4″ boards that I had laying around. The boards were old and pretty hard oak. The Zomstro went through them easily enough in about 8-10 chops. It cut through some one-inch tree roots in one whack.
The blade shape is very interesting. A traditional cleaver is usually totally flat or curved like an axe blade. This knife has what I’ll call, for lack of a better term, a guillotine shaped blade. At full arm extension, the farthest part of the edge is roughly in line with your elbow, allowing for a good transfer of force and excellent penetration of the tip. If you hit farther back on the blade, as you pull through the cut, it compresses the target and runs it against the edge. Having an oblique blade allows you to swing straight, but still get the benefits of a diagonal or draw cut.
After about an hour of yard work and chopping up whatever was handy, the blade was just as sharp as when I received it. I twisted it out of the wood a few times on purpose and never had the tip of the edge bend or warp. Obviously, you could probably baton the hell out this knife, but I did not bother to test that out.
I even used the Zomstro to cut up a few two-liter bottles full of water. It zipped right through them in one shot. It wasn’t really much of a work out for a beefy blade like this (the name of which, between you and me, I really hate), but the exercise gave me a really good feel for the knife. I can’t wait to get off the beaten path and really put the Zomstro to work. Of course, should any ghouls cross my path, I know my new blade will be up to the task of putting them back in the ground.