- Joined
- Aug 7, 2007
- Messages
- 2,588
Cold Steel Black RHINO!!!
Impressed by the Espada and Rajah clips in youtube I decided to purchase a CS Black RHINO. I was mostly impressed by the lock performance in youtube but I wanted a more utilitarian blade and the Black Rhino looked like it fitted the bill.
I have used it for a week and this is a review of the pros and cons of the Black Rajah.
Pros
Clip point blade
Sharp out of the package and I think it's over 4 inches long (we use metric and I have no ruler handy). The blade is quite thick and hollow grind. The tip (a weakness of the voyager and recon 1s in my experience) is also quite thick and could be used for stabbing if the need arises. I had to reprofile the edge to be a thinner (and symmetrical) edge for day to day use.
The blade shape is useful for cutting and the weird little 'rhino-tusk' where the two back edges meet is visually appealing. gives a nice sense of balance since the handle is quite hefty (big). The Aus-8A steel is easy to sharpen and does not need to be sharpened too frequently to maintain the edge. Did I mention the grind is quite high?
Handle
In your hand it feels heavy, in a sort of strong type of heavy. The bolsters are polished nicely and come with some sorta plastic protection sticking on it. The G10 is dovetailed (which is a nice touch) but there were some rough edges in the dovetail (nothing the average joe cannot solve). The pommel is also a solid piece of 7075 aluminum and can be used to hammer-fist in case of emergency.
Gripping until my fingers hurt the handle does not flex (if it did, I didn't feel it). There were no rough edges and the whole handle was smooth. The handle lends itself to a couple of grips like reverse (thumb on pommel is nice), choke hold (ergos is quite good for this) and maximum stretch (holding on back portion where pommel is) is nice due to the curve of the handle.
Unscrewing the G10 shows you the backspacer is secured by 3 torx screws. The pivot screw is also a sturdy design. I like this cause it's not going to fall apart anytime soon even under hard use.
Lock
Very thick stop pin for this folder's size. Initially the lock was kinda stiff and hard but it soon wore out. The thunk of the lock is very pronounced. Like when my Extrema Ratio folder's locks in place. Very reassuring. I am very very sure this lock will take a good beating for a long time and still tick.
Conventional lockbacks transfer forces to the lockbar pivot pin for both cutting and closing directional forces. Conventional lockbacks are quite weak cause there is only a small steel which will shear under high loading even though it may be adequate for day to day use. The Tri-Ad lockback transfers the forces to the fat stop pin. Under super mega heavy loading when the stop pin deforms enough then the lockbar's pivot pin also contributes in the strength. I really like this lock and the thunk of the lock is addictive.
-Cons to be continued in next post-
Impressed by the Espada and Rajah clips in youtube I decided to purchase a CS Black RHINO. I was mostly impressed by the lock performance in youtube but I wanted a more utilitarian blade and the Black Rhino looked like it fitted the bill.
I have used it for a week and this is a review of the pros and cons of the Black Rajah.
Pros
Clip point blade
Sharp out of the package and I think it's over 4 inches long (we use metric and I have no ruler handy). The blade is quite thick and hollow grind. The tip (a weakness of the voyager and recon 1s in my experience) is also quite thick and could be used for stabbing if the need arises. I had to reprofile the edge to be a thinner (and symmetrical) edge for day to day use.
The blade shape is useful for cutting and the weird little 'rhino-tusk' where the two back edges meet is visually appealing. gives a nice sense of balance since the handle is quite hefty (big). The Aus-8A steel is easy to sharpen and does not need to be sharpened too frequently to maintain the edge. Did I mention the grind is quite high?
Handle
In your hand it feels heavy, in a sort of strong type of heavy. The bolsters are polished nicely and come with some sorta plastic protection sticking on it. The G10 is dovetailed (which is a nice touch) but there were some rough edges in the dovetail (nothing the average joe cannot solve). The pommel is also a solid piece of 7075 aluminum and can be used to hammer-fist in case of emergency.
Gripping until my fingers hurt the handle does not flex (if it did, I didn't feel it). There were no rough edges and the whole handle was smooth. The handle lends itself to a couple of grips like reverse (thumb on pommel is nice), choke hold (ergos is quite good for this) and maximum stretch (holding on back portion where pommel is) is nice due to the curve of the handle.
Unscrewing the G10 shows you the backspacer is secured by 3 torx screws. The pivot screw is also a sturdy design. I like this cause it's not going to fall apart anytime soon even under hard use.
Lock
Very thick stop pin for this folder's size. Initially the lock was kinda stiff and hard but it soon wore out. The thunk of the lock is very pronounced. Like when my Extrema Ratio folder's locks in place. Very reassuring. I am very very sure this lock will take a good beating for a long time and still tick.
Conventional lockbacks transfer forces to the lockbar pivot pin for both cutting and closing directional forces. Conventional lockbacks are quite weak cause there is only a small steel which will shear under high loading even though it may be adequate for day to day use. The Tri-Ad lockback transfers the forces to the fat stop pin. Under super mega heavy loading when the stop pin deforms enough then the lockbar's pivot pin also contributes in the strength. I really like this lock and the thunk of the lock is addictive.
-Cons to be continued in next post-
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