Yeah, my understanding is that the Kukri's were designed to swiftly remove the arm of a British soldier and the firearm he was carrying by Gurkha Indian soldiers, so clearing brush might not be its strong suit.
But Cold Steel is one of the few cutlery/knife companies that make a variety of machetes and I really like their folders and own several of them.
They used to use AUS-8A as their default steel on most of their folders, but have since upgraded to the CTS-XHP Alloy "supersteel" on many of their knives.
I will likely sell my Spyderco Civilian and buy the Black Talon II once it becomes available: 
When I bought my first Cold Steel Kukri, they included a booklet on the history of the knife. It actually goes all the way back to Alexander The Great’s army which invaded India.
The Greek soldiers used swords which looked similar to the Kukri. Some Indian soldiers liked them and produced their own version which in turn made it’s way to Nepal.
I can’t recall all the details.