1 X Haidragon Coconut Knife

This is a great little tool. Well-built; works well. Arrived in a timely fashion, although the seller didn't think so. They sent me a peronsalized e-mail advising me of a delay due to increased holiday business. That's great customer service. My first experience of drinking coconut water on a regular basis (I think many call it "milk" here in the U.S.) was when I lived in Puerto Rico. Vendors in areas where coconut palms grew would harvest them and keep them in salvaged-from-the-junkyard, 30-year old electric soda pop coolers on the roadside in front of their humble house, to sell to thirsty travelers. Some locals would mix it with Scotch whiskey, or rum. Pretty tasty, but it definitely cancels out some of the health benefits of the unadulterated coconut water. With about four skillfully-placed strokes, (coconut in one hand, the other wielding the machete, (scary until you got used to seeing it), the vendor would chop out an opening in the end of the coconut to open it up, stick a straw in it, and hand it to the customer. Delicious, cool, mineral-packed, sweet but not too sweet refreshment! Later, when I lived in Brazil, many of the food stands on the beaches in Rio de Janeiro and elsewhere offfered this natural liquid delight. They would normally use a tool similar to the one here, but wider in diameter. Then I started to see franchised kiosks in shopping centers, where the sale of fresh coconut water was semi-automated, the nut being perforated by a manually operated punch, and the water emptied out and stored for ready delivery to the customer in containers ranging from a six-ounce plastic cup to a liter container. Nowadays, we see coconut water in stores here in the U.S., packaged in liter boxes, and probably filtered, pasteurized, and who knows what else, in order to be able to ship it 5000 miles and meet sanitary requirements for imported foods. You don't need a tool to get into those packages, but the taste of the water does not compare the real thing. Long story short, (or already too long, perhaps), if you or a friend are lucky enough to have coconut palms in your yard, as I am, or you love coconut water and have the $$$ to buy coconuts in the grocery store, you need a tool like this one! I was throwing out coconuts because it was too difficult to get at their liquid treasure. No longer. This coconut knife makes it safer, faster, easier to get at the water, even if you are dealing with the husked nut from the grocery store. The only thing I would suggest is that this tool should have a bigger diameter, about twice its current size. As it is, I have to make three holes in order to be able to pour the water of several coconuts into a container for a couple of day's supply. It's fine for sipping one coconut's water with a straw, but not for pouring. It's also a minor challenge to get the piece of coconut husk, shell and meat out of the knife after each use. A larger tool would make that easier.

I bought this for my mother who was punching holes in her fresh young coconuts with a screwdriver and hammer (messy and risky)! This works much better, I can punch a hole in the top of a fresh young coconut in less than 20 seconds typically - and then she inserts a straw into the hole and enjoys her drink. She's unable to use this tool because she has severe arthritis (if I don't open coconuts for her, she goes back to the hammer and screwdriver) and it requires a turning or rocking motion and some strength. I find this tool easier to use if I place the coconut at about table height instead of counter height and then I lean into it and push down while turning until the knife breaks through the shell. It's easy to clean too (but I'm not sure if it's dishwasher safe- we handwash it). I suppose the only negative is the cost. It's a really simple/cheap tool and I am not sure how durable it is. At a cost of $12-$16 (depending on the vendor), it's overpriced. On the other hand, if you like fresh coconut water and have the money to the buy fresh coconuts... this tool does the job quickly and doesn't take up much space.

live in the dominican republic, we have coconut sellers riding around the city in their tricycles and this is what I needed to be able to open them from my home instead of buying a machete, normal knives are a nightmare for coconuts. this is a safe and well thought product. Would recommend it. UPDATE (AUGUST 25, 2013) IT BROKE!!!!!! CUT MY MIDDLE FINGER DONT BUY!!!! I think this is the second review that mentions that this tool breaks, the other review has a link to a picture, I made a picture and a video but can't upload the video. Link to image http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/B005G0D5II/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_dav Please read another bad review from a costumer and look at the image of the broken product he uploaded. You can see his and mine broke at the same place. DONT BUY THIS PRODUCT!!! IM SO MAD.

So easy to use, as long as you have a young coconut. When the hard shell starts to develop inside, you can no longer use this. So it's perfect if you just want clean young coconut water, and will be throwing the coconut away. When we go to the beach, we toss several coconuts in the back of the truck, instead of bottles of water, and I use this tool to get quickly inside. One hole to drink from and another for air flow. My husband prefers the machete, which is also helpful if you end up with a more mature coconut that this tool won't punch through, or if you also want some jelly or meat to snack on. IMPORTANT: The blade cap has a plastic rod that helps you push the little plug of coconut husk out - this cap is very important for covering the sharp tip and for removing the plug of husk. I recommend writing something with permanent ink on the cap, and educating your family! Someone threw ours away, thinking it was the cap of a old or lost pen. Now I have to be careful when tossing it into my beach bag, because it's so sharp, and I have more difficulty getting the plug removed.

I got this product before the expected delivery time. That means either the estimation is really expanded on dates or may be delivery was fast. I open the package and tried on tender coconut with green outer layer intact. I tried to pierce it from top of the coconut, where generally there is soft surface. It didn't help much. when poked it from the lateral side, it went just perfect. I have been using it daily since then and i would say i am satisfied with this product. It works really well. Thanks,

Firstly, I do not recommend this tool for full-husk green coconuts, hard brown coconuts, or even the very soft Thai coconuts. I feel there are better and safer tools (or methods) for these type of coconuts. For young Thai coconuts, a sturdy kitchen knife (punch & pry method) will make short work of these, easily removing the entire top at it's point. For the young white coconuts (a bit more mature than Thai coconuts, and all husk is removed), I use this tool to punch through the 'mouth spot' (the two 'eye spots' will have brow-like ridges), relieving them of their refreshing water. Is this tool necessary? No, because the mouth spot is generally very soft. Many tools will do the job, but this tool keeps the job clean, and sanitary. If I were to suggest an improvement, I think the manufacturer could make the tool with a slightly larger size diameter. Though it will punch through cleanly, the hole is a bit too small for the water to flow-out freely. Frequently, you will find yourself having to shake, shake, and shake that coconut, and I believe a larger diameter could alleviate this. Furthermore, I see where some have reported the shaft shearing, and a heavier shaft would reduce the risk of snapping or injury. Also, this tool is listed as a 'coconut knife', but I feel 'coconut punch' is more descriptive..... since this tool does not actually aid in getting to the coconut meat. For this (and again, the young white coconuts), a few good whacks around it's equator (with the back of a heavy cleaver), will easily crack it round into two halves. To access the water of full-husk, fresh green coconuts, I recommend the 'Brazilian' coconut opener (Mfg: INOX, P/N: PI-9704151-3, looks like a sharp-pointed knife blade, with a T-handle), as it will cleanly and easily penetrate, and remove the core from these coconuts..... through husk, and all. Since opening coconuts is not without risk of injury, I recommend a review of the many YouTube videos on the topic. This is helpful for ideas on both methods, and tools. In closing, I should note that I have not used this tool for the much older, and much harder brown coconuts (commonly found in local grocery stores), as I prefer the fresher quality (both water & meat) of the younger coconuts. For younger coconuts, I generally find these available at my local Hispanic or oriental markets. To your health, and good shopping! Over all, the build quality of this tool is good, and for what it is, yes, I would probably buy it again. :)

This thing is a huge improvement over our old method of opening husked young coconuts (knife and a hammer), which would certainly have led to me stabbing myself. There's some technique to using it - do not go straight down from the top! Go at a slight angle and off-center, press firmly and spin/wiggle the handle back and forth. You don't need to do full 360-spins, just small quarter-turns are fine. You also don't need to slam a ton of weight onto the handle. Calm, steady pressure and small turns will get your coconut open in just a few seconds. My wife has no problem using it either. Practice makes perfect!

Somewhat useful, punctured about 12-15 coconuts with some muscle required but it finally broke today. The cleaning tool is useless too