I've used the Brit Martindale (not the new junk version by Webtex or whoever..) 'Golok' army machete and occasionally borrowed kuks of dubious quality.. The golok spanked the kuks at splitting due to the straighter cutting edge- I think the curve of the kuk keeps the edge off or out of the wood so they bind rather than elbow their way through. If you are thinking of ordering or have ordered the DF your splitting problems will be over- that'll be awesome at it, but I figure the black coating won't last that long!!