American Lawman... Wow.

230grains

230grains

Joined
Jul 10, 2009
Messages
3,094
Just got an American Lawman, for the price I figured you can't go wrong.

I have to say this knife represents probably the best value i've yet to see in the knife world. In fact, the only negative comment I can say about it is, the coating they use is quite possibly the worst I've ever seen. After cutting up two boxes, it looked like my knife had seen several world wars. This knife is going to be my beater so I decided not to do my usual satin finish on it, I opted for some steel wool and scotchbrite. I also opted out on convexing with my grinder like I do with most of my knives and went free hand with some DMT stones. Finished up with some 1 micron diamond spray and .5 micron for both the lawman and the izula. I have to say, the linerless design is wonderful, for such a thick knife it feels like ti weighs nothing.

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Sorry for the crap lighting, didn't want to have to use a softbox for quick pictures.

Now I think I might pick up a recon 1 too.
 
Good job in removing the black crap off of the blade. How long did it take you?

I wonder why they don't offer them without the black stuff on the blade.
 
Didn't take long, didn't use any paint stripper either. Usually when I strip a knife it goes from the chemical stripper to the belt grinder for a satin finish. This knife is so cheap and will get beat up pretty bad so I used some coarse steel wool and finished it up a little bit with a red scotchbrite pad. It took a lot longer to sharpen than to strip, probably 25 minutes.
 
Very nice. I am a fan of the American Lawman as well. I like the finish you put on that knife.
 
That's good looking knife. I am a long time Cold Steel user. Their Voyagers are a favorite of mine because they are so light. That Lawman looks pretty tough. :thumbup:
 
Demkos lock test videos sold me. I am ordering a mini when I get the chance. Not too interested in the large one as I can't carry it at work, 3" limit, but the mini looks nice.
 
Nice! Looks so much better without the cheap paint, doesn't it?

I kind of wish I could find one of the linerless ones...mine is the older version.
 
Does anyone know exactly why CS won't just offer up the AL with a satin or stone washed finish considering the blade steel is AUS 8?
 
I'm just not too crazy about the aggressive G10, would have liked it a bit less aggressive. But, a great knife for sure.
 
Reeek said:
Does anyone know exactly why CS won't just offer up the AL with a satin or stone washed finish considering the blade steel is AUS 8?
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Maybe it wouldn't be tactical enough for them if it didn't have a coat of black paint slapped on it? I'll never know... They offer plenty of other knives without blade coatings.
 
The American Lawman is a great value.

Out of the current crop of Cold Steels, that and the Rajah II are the ones that I would look to first.

It's a pity that their marketing strategies and politics here on BladeForums have cast such a negative light on Cold Steel. It ruined the brand for me. I still buy some of their knvies because I love large folders (Vaquero Grande, X2 Voyager, and Rajah I)....but hey, they discontinued all those, so problem solved.

I miss the old days of Carbon V. The SRK, Trailmaster, and Laredo Bowie were all nice knives.
 
TKAZ said:
I'm just not too crazy about the aggressive G10, would have liked it a bit less aggressive. But, a great knife for sure.
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out of the box they feel like 120 grit sandpaper.

i've sanded all my cold steels with that style g10.
 
The teflon blade coating is re-tar-did, they go through the trouble of stone washing the blade then put a crappy coating on it! doesn't make sense.
 
The AL is undoubtedly one of the toughest knives ever made. They really need to refine it, though, in virtually every other department:

1. Clip - the clip absolutely sucks.
2. Ergos - the ergos can be much better
3. Profile - I think it's unnecessarily wide
4. Thumbstud - it sucks

Not a horrible knife. It just lacks a lot of things I like to see in an EDC knife.
 
230Grains; did you remove the blade to sand it? I am thinking of doing this to my Recon 1 and Aus 8 SRK as well. Not a fan of the CS's coatings really.
 
I agree that the Lawman is one of the best values in knifedom; and its my favorite Cold Steel. The spring is pretty dang stiff, but you get used to it. And 3 minutes with some sandpaper and the G10 won't eat your pocket. Good stuff for those who want a seriously heavy duty knife with a killer lock for a moderate price.
 
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