A Tale of Two Recon 1s

[Pàdruig]

Many years ago (at least 16+), I decided to splurge on a new pocket knife. I wasn't new to Cold Steel at the time, having previously purchased a Vaquero. I thought it looked cool then but quickly found that its fully serrated edge was pretty worthless to me at work so I opted to get a Recon 1. I had wanted a stout folder that I could put to work. The videos of stabbing through car hoods and using the knife as a step when climbing had me pretty convinced (marketing, right???).

For the next several years, that knife was my daily companion, it never failed me. I worked in telecom at the time and I used that thing every day in my work, stripping mainline cable, digging around in pedestals, and fending off squirrels when I was spiking poles (I'm only slightly exaggerating on that last one...).

At some point, I decided to get a new knife and I bought a ZT0301. Aside from some chipped handle scales, the Recon 1 was still plenty serviceable. With grand aspirations of making new scales, I took it apart - completely - and then stashed the parts away in my gun cleaning kit.

That is where it remained until today.

I received a new Recon 1 today and thought it would be cool to note some of the differences between the old design and the newer one.

(I am not a Cold Steel guru so please pardon any mistakes that I might make - I will correct wherever necessary.)

Aside from steel choice, lock design, and a complete redesign of the frame, they are both rather similar...

Here is my old friend in all of its pieces.

It had been so long that I wasn't sure if I would remember how to put it all together. A couple of "Aha!" moments and it all came together rather well. I was only missing one screw - the one that held the thumb plate on. I dug through my stash and found one that will work - it's a wee bit long but facilitates the action just fine.

Here are the two of them, side by side - similar, yet quite different.

I haven't had a folder with the Axis-style lock since this old Recon 1 but the action came back to me soon enough and it was fun going down memory lane a bit. The lock back on the newer version won't pose a problem, it just lacks the fluid nature of the older style.

Overall, the newer version presents a lot of big improvements, in my opinion. The steel is better, the handle design is far superior, and the tanto shape of the blade is more aesthetically pleasing.

I only have a couple of nitpicks with the newer design - I don't know why you would have a sharpening choil if you aren't going to bring the edge bevel all the way back to it. I also don't like the small pocket clip - I like them to be bigger and not so rigid.

Aside from that, it is an excellent redesign that I am experiencing more than a few years too late. I am looking forward to putting this one to work.

 

[Gizler00]

Great story there!! I love the Recon 1 and want to pick up another one. It’s a toss up between the spear point and the tanto. I can’t decide.

 

[oldmanwilly]

Thanks for your walking through the process and the comparison. It reminds me of lusting after my cousin's original Recon 1 spearpoint years ago. When I was a kid I thought it was the coolest folding knife on earth. I finally saved up enough to order one when I was 16 (same model, spearpoint with partial serrations) and thought I was high on the hog. It was a great knife and I carried it for a good while until my eyes wandered and I ended up trading it for something else. Sure wish I'd held onto mine like you did.

 

[3fifty7]

Helluva knife !
Glad you are doing it justice.

 

[d762nato]

Great pics and knife as well, Thanks for sharing. I need one of those tanto bladed recons myself. Do you know if the tanto blade is thicker than the spear point bladed recon.

 

[Ruari]

Awesome, I still think the Recon 1 is the best hard use folder out there. I have an even older made in Japan Recon 1 with FRN scales. Still grafting hard to this day. Agreed about the blade grind not meeting the choil on the new ones, just daft...

 

[unklfranco]

Which lock do you prefer? I am partial do the Tri-ad.

 

[jbmonkey]

very cool. dig on the new style looks wise and tri-ad, but...the old one is so cool. sorry I missed those when they were around. thanks for sharing.

 

[jux t]

The hollow ground portion of the current tanto recon 1 blades cut very well.

 

[sharp_edge]

Cool story.

Aesthetically I also don't like the blade not being sharpened to the choil. I remember someone on this forum said it is for a safety reason: if it were sharpened all the way, the blade can more likely nick your index finger when closing it. I tend to agree though if you place your finger a bit more forward and make that a habit, you should be fine.

 

[Pàdruig]

I kind of dropped this thread here and went wandering off - sorry about that, folks.

Great story there!! I love the Recon 1 and want to pick up another one. It’s a toss up between the spear point and the tanto. I can’t decide.

I plan on getting another Recon 1 as well - I will probably get the clip version if I can.

Great pics and knife as well, Thanks for sharing. I need one of those tanto bladed recons myself. Do you know if the tanto blade is thicker than the spear point bladed recon.

I can't answer that - perhaps someone here has both blade types and can chime in. I can't imagine that the blade stock would be any different in thickness between the two shapes but stranger things have happened, I suppose.

Which lock do you prefer? I am partial do the Tri-ad.

This is a great question. Honestly, having used the Axis-style for several years, I got pretty used to it. That said, there is no denying the bulletproof design of the Triad and after having carried a couple of folders lately with this style, I am certainly getting the hang of it. I would probably trust the Triad over the Axis-style if it ever really came down to counting on a lock design for my knife choices.

Cool story.

Aesthetically I also don't like the blade not being sharpened to the choil. I remember someone on this forum said it is for a safety reason: if it were sharpened all the way, the blade can more likely nick your index finger when closing it. I tend to agree though if you place your finger a bit more forward and make that a habit, you should be fine.

I don't really understand that reasoning. Even now, I am sitting at my desk, trying to replicate this scenario with the knife - I would have to make a pretty concerted effort to leave my finger in the path of the blade. I depress the lock with my thumb and gently tap the spine on my leg to break the line and then I nestle the knife in my hand and use my thumb to close it the rest of the way (not sure if that makes any sense...)

I operate it much the same way I would a slipjoint - which is something I carry everyday. It might just come down to how one operates a knife - it's hard for me to imagine that an extra 1/8" of sharpened length is the difference between blood or no blood.

 

[Bigfattyt]

I have the old Ultralock recon 1 in Zytel handle scales. Still works, though the springs are really soft at this point after nearly 20 years.

I have two of the Triad lock versions as well.

 

[sharp_edge]

I kind of dropped this thread here and went wandering off - sorry about that, folks.

I don't really understand that reasoning. Even now, I am sitting at my desk, trying to replicate this scenario with the knife - I would have to make a pretty concerted effort to leave my finger in the path of the blade. I depress the lock with my thumb and gently tap the spine on my leg to break the line and then I nestle the knife in my hand and use my thumb to close it the rest of the way (not sure if that makes any sense...)

I operate it much the same way I would a slipjoint - which is something I carry everyday. It might just come down to how one operates a knife - it's hard for me to imagine that an extra 1/8" of sharpened length is the difference between blood or no blood.

Right - your method of closing is safer so an all-the-way sharpened Recon 1 should not be a problem whatsoever. Many folks close a locking folder (Recon 1 included) by releasing the lock with the blade edge facing the ground so that the weight of it will make the blade fall; depending on how smooth the knife is, the blade may swing to your index finger, thus the possibility of it nicking the index finger if it is not placed forward enough.

 

[Pàdruig]

Right - your method of closing is safer so an all-the-way sharpened Recon 1 should not be a problem whatsoever. Many folks close a locking folder (Recon 1 included) by releasing the lock with the blade edge facing the ground so that the weight of it will make the blade fall; depending on how smooth the knife is, the blade may swing to your index finger, thus the possibility of it nicking the index finger if it is not placed forward enough.

Ah, I see now. That makes me cringe like hell, to be frank, but I suppose it comes down to different strokes and all of that.

 

[jux t]

Right - your method of closing is safer so an all-the-way sharpened Recon 1 should not be a problem whatsoever. Many folks close a locking folder (Recon 1 included) by releasing the lock with the blade edge facing the ground so that the weight of it will make the blade fall; depending on how smooth the knife is, the blade may swing to your index finger, thus the possibility of it nicking the index finger if it is not placed forward enough.

Yeah some recon 1 grinds differ toward the heel and do require a more finger forward approach when the blade is tuned to “drop shut”.

The clip points, for instance, have a longer ricasso than the spear and tantos, and are easy to drop the blade and catch the ricasso on the index finger.

The spear points are now sharpened all the way to the sharpening choil, and have a shorter ricasso than the clip points. These require a more finger forward one hand closing.

The tantos still have that weird unsharpened portion toward the heel, and are about as easy as the clip points to let fall on the index finger safely.

 

[d762nato]

Your right jux t, the spear point I just recently got is like you mentioned. I drop mine shut and your finger needs to be butted up as far forward as possible to keep safe. I haven't picked up any other Recons just yet so I'll go with what you say. I'd like a tanto maybe or a bowie type blade to compare to the Bush Ranger. So many knives