powernoodle
Power Member
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2004
- Messages
- 11,972
Here's the deal. I've been around here a while, but for whatever reason never paid a bit of attention to Cold Steel. It was probably the throwing stars, "Special Forces shovel", and other mall ninja horsecrap. And the videos of tough guys jamming folders through chain mail and cowboy boots. Its just not my kind of thing.
But for whatever reason, maybe it was Brother Ankerson's work, or nutnfancy's excellent youtube reviews, I decided to try a 2010 Recon 1.
Its pretty good stuff. Big folder. Built tough. Real tough. Light weight. Killer solid lock. And not spendy at around $60 to your mailbox if you look around. And the shape really grips your hand.
The new flavor of Recon 1 for 2010 is linerless. From what I have seen from others who have abused the knife, and my own experience, I find no downside to the linerless configuration. And as important, it saves a couple of ounces.
Minor downsides: the G10 is really grippy, which is fine and dandy for the most part. But it shreds your pocket in short order, especially with the very tight clip that comes on CS folders. So I sanded mine down with 150 grit. You can see it in the photos, but its not too noticeable unless you are looking for it. And it makes a big difference, especially if you loosen the clip just a tad. Deployment is easy, your pants are safe, and the knife is still secure enough that you won't lose it.
The black blade coating, which Cold Steel says is teflon, is not particularly durable. A little usage, and it starts to go. Thats ok with me, as I love a battle-scarred blade. But if you are looking to use a blade but keep the black intact, you might want to look elsewhere.
Top to bottom: CS mini-Lawman, Lawman and Recon 1 clip point. Each is the 2010 flavor with tri-ad lock. Edit: the Lawman shown is the older version, though I did review the 2010 version.
A few things about the mini. Its a small knife, about the size of a Delica. And like the Recon 1, the shape really makes for a good grip. More than good. But there are a couple of downers that make this one a no-go for me. First, the clip is positioned in such a way that about one-third of the knife sticks out of your pocket. Being a small knife, that doesn't leave much ballast below the waterline to keep the knife in your pocket. There is just no way I'm going to carry this one using the clip, because it feels to me like its going to jump out of my pocket. And that would make Powernoodle sad.
Additionally, the convergence of the small blade, positioning of the thumb stud and the arc through which the blade swings, places your thumb very close to that killer sharp edge when you open the knife. So close, that I peeled my thumb as if a cheese slicer had touched it. No blood, but a missing layer of dermis. I'm very lucky that I did not fillet my thumb.
So, for me, the combination of the clip position and the skin off the thumb thing makes this one not recommended. But dang it, it still feels really good in the hand once deployed.
The Lawman falls somewhere in between. Ergos are good, though not as good as the Recon 1. And on my version, the Lawman is more difficult to open and to unlock than is the Recon 1. I don't know if all of them are like that, but the Lawman is just a little stiff to open, and sometimes the lock is a little sticky to disengage. Compare that to the Recon 1, which opens like a dream, thwacks loudly to signal engagement of the lock, and feels great in the hand.
Punchline: the Recon 1 may find itself on the highly coveted Powernoodle Top Ten List. If such a list existed.
It has a lot going for it, and the rough G10 under the clip is a quickly corrected matter. I much prefer it over the Lawman, based primarily on the stiffness of opening and disengaging the Lawman. As for the mini-Lawman. Eh, no thanks. Nice little knife, and it feels great in the hand. But the clip position makes it a no thanks for me.
All this has made me a Cold Steel fan, and I look forward to the Voyager in 2011.
But for whatever reason, maybe it was Brother Ankerson's work, or nutnfancy's excellent youtube reviews, I decided to try a 2010 Recon 1.
Its pretty good stuff. Big folder. Built tough. Real tough. Light weight. Killer solid lock. And not spendy at around $60 to your mailbox if you look around. And the shape really grips your hand.
The new flavor of Recon 1 for 2010 is linerless. From what I have seen from others who have abused the knife, and my own experience, I find no downside to the linerless configuration. And as important, it saves a couple of ounces.
Minor downsides: the G10 is really grippy, which is fine and dandy for the most part. But it shreds your pocket in short order, especially with the very tight clip that comes on CS folders. So I sanded mine down with 150 grit. You can see it in the photos, but its not too noticeable unless you are looking for it. And it makes a big difference, especially if you loosen the clip just a tad. Deployment is easy, your pants are safe, and the knife is still secure enough that you won't lose it.
The black blade coating, which Cold Steel says is teflon, is not particularly durable. A little usage, and it starts to go. Thats ok with me, as I love a battle-scarred blade. But if you are looking to use a blade but keep the black intact, you might want to look elsewhere.
Top to bottom: CS mini-Lawman, Lawman and Recon 1 clip point. Each is the 2010 flavor with tri-ad lock. Edit: the Lawman shown is the older version, though I did review the 2010 version.
A few things about the mini. Its a small knife, about the size of a Delica. And like the Recon 1, the shape really makes for a good grip. More than good. But there are a couple of downers that make this one a no-go for me. First, the clip is positioned in such a way that about one-third of the knife sticks out of your pocket. Being a small knife, that doesn't leave much ballast below the waterline to keep the knife in your pocket. There is just no way I'm going to carry this one using the clip, because it feels to me like its going to jump out of my pocket. And that would make Powernoodle sad.
Additionally, the convergence of the small blade, positioning of the thumb stud and the arc through which the blade swings, places your thumb very close to that killer sharp edge when you open the knife. So close, that I peeled my thumb as if a cheese slicer had touched it. No blood, but a missing layer of dermis. I'm very lucky that I did not fillet my thumb.
So, for me, the combination of the clip position and the skin off the thumb thing makes this one not recommended. But dang it, it still feels really good in the hand once deployed.
The Lawman falls somewhere in between. Ergos are good, though not as good as the Recon 1. And on my version, the Lawman is more difficult to open and to unlock than is the Recon 1. I don't know if all of them are like that, but the Lawman is just a little stiff to open, and sometimes the lock is a little sticky to disengage. Compare that to the Recon 1, which opens like a dream, thwacks loudly to signal engagement of the lock, and feels great in the hand.
Punchline: the Recon 1 may find itself on the highly coveted Powernoodle Top Ten List. If such a list existed.
It has a lot going for it, and the rough G10 under the clip is a quickly corrected matter. I much prefer it over the Lawman, based primarily on the stiffness of opening and disengaging the Lawman. As for the mini-Lawman. Eh, no thanks. Nice little knife, and it feels great in the hand. But the clip position makes it a no thanks for me.All this has made me a Cold Steel fan, and I look forward to the Voyager in 2011.
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