Sure looks like it would cut! I don't know what the distal taper is like, but it looks as though it carries some weight forward. I sure don't see anything to stop it once it starts slicing through something.
I like that lanyard hole in the top of the guard too. It's hard to picture that handle slipping out of my hand, but I did have a machete slip out of a sweaty hand once when trimming a shooting lane and it scared the living daylights out of me.