Anyone OWN a Cold Steel Urban Dart?

V

Vanguard.45

Joined
Sep 22, 2002
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I realize that they "look cool" and seem "wicked", but what I don't know is an opinion coming from someone who actually OWNS one!

If you do own one, give us your impressions!

How is it to handle? How is the grip and what grips do you favor? Where do you think the best place to carry such a blade would be (i.e. what location on your body)?

I typically carry a Shivworks Disciple and find it to be a great SD blade with a great sheath, but have looked at the Urban Dart as another carry possibility.

Thanks in advance!

Vanguard.45
 
My wife likes her 'dart'. It fits her hand even if a bit small, but she likes the shape of it. She carries around her neck and strapped down to underclothing.
 
I have one, I had it taped to my bed in Boston when I was in college, but its kind of useless because I forgot it was there.
 
I have a coold one and it is great used it over seas and it worked great. mane reson for peurches was that it was used and recomended by team mattes. and was cheaper then some of the others. (strider) but mine is really heavey so i am making one with koster that is light.
ps carried it on my kit
 
I agree that the Urban Dart is potentially lethal, but what knife carried for Self-Defense ISN'T?

I LIKE the fact that the Urban Dart is a thrusting weapon and could do a very efficient job in getting one out of a bad situation. If the bad guy bleeds out because the blade I used to defend myself happens to encourage this better than the blade HE chose, then so be it!

My question is mainly about how the thing HANDLES? How does it feel in the hand? What grips do people favor with it? How does one carry it?

Thanks for the replies thus far!

Vanguard.45
 
Cali-T said:
I have a coold one and it is great used it over seas and it worked great. mane reson for peurches was that it was used and recomended by team mattes. and was cheaper then some of the others. (strider) but mine is really heavey so i am making one with koster that is light.
ps carried it on my kit
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What are you talking about???:confused:


Strider doesnt make a dart.

What possible porpuse could it serve?:confused:

Welcome to bf.
 
I had a master hunter that was carbon V . It was a good knife and held a good edge. Loved the way it felt in my hand. Wish I would have kept it. I have two ready edges and they are a decent utility knife. I would love to have one in a carbon V or other high quality steel. I have a dart too, but it stays in the house. (don't want to get into carrying prohibited knives)
 
considering the dart is marketed specifically for self defense, i don't see why it has any benefits over a good, heavy, fixed blade.

if you use either one in combat, they will both be considered a weapon. i doubt they'd let you carry a dart in any place where you can't have a knife.

the dart just doesn't appear to me as anything spectacular. it's a heavy piece of metal good for only one thing, while a fixed blade is good for lots of things.
 
Midget, I agree that the fixed blade knife is generally more useful all around. However, the Urban Dart seems like it would be a bit more concealable and less bulky than something like a KaBar knife or the like. For most daily chores, I have a Swiss Army Knife that does just fine. However, it certainly would be slower to deploy than a well concealed Urban Dart.

I like the styling of the Urban Dart as well, but need input as to how secure the thing is in the hand when stabbing. Is there a significant danger of the hand slipping down onto the blade, or is the grip designed well enough to avoid this???

Thanks for all of the replies thus far.

Vanguard.45
 
Afraid I don't own one, but I have toyed with one. The grip is fairly secure for me, despite my smaller hands it's fairly simple to keep between the thumb and forefinger. The Dart's owner braced the back of the handle against his palm and the handle between his thumb and forefinger, then had no problem stabbing into a phonebook to show off, then did so again with the knife between his pointer and middle finger.

It felt pretty natural to use. Not as automatic as a conventional blade, but the light feel gives you a lot of extra responsiveness. Stabbed very cleanly, no extra resistance on one side of the blade and not the other. Wouldn't advise slashing with it, it feels too light or too easy to jar out of your fingertips, nevermind potential damage to the blade. As self-defense goes, it seems fairly limiting to stabs, while a conventional push dagger would seldom be much heavier or harder to conceal and at least allow horizontal slashes (and the Dart is covered by the same laws regarding 'dirks' as push daggers are, it seems).

I've carried a few of The Spikes around, as well as some homemade PoS shivs of similar size. A lot of where to keep them depends on your clothing and situation. The included sheaths seem to work very well for arm carry, but most individuals don't find that very comfortable or viable to draw. Neck carry is nicely concealable, but harsh to draw. I've heard of people treating them as boot knives, but that doesn't seem useful or comfortable to me.
For speed and comfort, 5 o' clock or 2:30 IWB carry seems to be fairly adaptable to most situations. It's hard to imagine a situation where a jacket, loose shirt, or blouse would be unacceptable.

Like most higher-end Cold Steel stuff, it seems a bit costly for what you get. And while it's an interesting and cool-looking design, it seems inferior in many ways to the conventional triangular push dagger. Unless concealment is a top tier priority, the benefits don't seem to outweigh the notable costs.
 
I'll be interested to hear what others have to say about the Urban Dart 'handling' too.
My first impression is very positive:
- It is very ergonomically designed, unlike may 'darts' I've seen. Because it's not really sided, all you have to do is grab the knob. Presented in classic stilleto manner (thumb in line with the point) it makes fairly easy to handle rapier- suitable for thrusts from below. Grasped in dagger hand (thumb on pommel) it's a formidable downwards stabber. Forget about using it to parry your opponent's blade as the lack of a guard make it a liability for such moves.
- The geometry of the blade seems to have been very carefully calculated to be the ideal compromise between on that minimizes thrust resistance (a round spike) and one that maximizes the entry hole (most 3 & 4 sided bayonets). It's pretty obvious it has been deigned to afford the maximum organ damage and bleed potential, while minimizing friction, binding (thanks to the blood groove) . The most fascinating part is how they may have gotten around certain knife laws.
-The official point to end of sharpened edge is exactly 3". However, given the blade design, the effective metallic puncture length is 5.73". If push comes to shove... you could burry all 8" inches into the adversary and leave it behind as a souvenir! Pretty clever. I like the way it hangs off my neck( minus the belt clip) but I'll bet this becomes a hit as a boot and waist carried blade as well.
Parting comment. I bet it would make an excellent spear head. It looks well balanced with a very aerodynamic profile.


Vanguard.45 said:
My question is mainly about how the thing HANDLES? How does it feel in the hand? What grips do people favor with it? How does one carry it?

Thanks for the replies thus far!

Vanguard.45
Click to expand...
 
Its useless for just about everything other than hurting people. Got a good blade shape for nasty wound channels. Its Kinda like a long thick broadhead with a piece of metal sticking off so you can hold it without getting cut. It doesnt handle all that well, but for a quick stab and run id say it would work very well.
 
Kohai i think you misunderstood my meaning. that was the custom i was refering to as opposed to the comparably priced cold steel. :D


Best regards, razorsdescent
 
razorsdescent said:
Kohai i think you misunderstood my meaning. that was the custom i was refering to as opposed to the comparably priced cold steel. :D


Best regards, razorsdescent
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Ok, got cha!

The only thing is that the DD by Crawford is 99% stabbing implement, the edges are not very sharp.

I would assume by the grinds on the Cold Steel dart that it has some useful cutting edges?

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
The 'cutting' edges are not really as effective as they may seem from pictures- at leats not for 'slashing' if that's what you mean. What the sharpened edges are effective at is continuing the trend of widening the wound cavity. It's amazing to behold it at work. the hypodemic needle point initiated the piercing and the combination of the blades taper and sharpened edges ensure that those two sides effectively widen the wound. the only real friction ridge is the top ridge, the bottom being a channel.So far I've only done paper and cardboard and the resulting pattern is really an inverted 'V' shape and not a triangular hole.I'm going to try it on some fruits soon and pumpkins in a couple of months:p
Kohai999 said:
Ok, got cha!

The only thing is that the DD by Crawford is 99% stabbing implement, the edges are not very sharp.

I would assume by the grinds on the Cold Steel dart that it has some useful cutting edges?

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
Click to expand...
 
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