Cold Steel AD-10, opinions?

TheTourist said:
I've only seen on this knife is one or two promotions, but not in the flesh. I like four inch folders for weekend work, but I don't know much about this folder. What's your opinion?
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It's a tank, just like the 4-Max. Tri-Ad lock, S35VN, and comfortable G10 scales...what's not to like? For carry though I prefer the AD-15 as it's not as bulky in the pocket.

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It's one of my favorite folders...

Given that it's a tank; takes up a good amount of pocket real estate.

But it's about as comfortable in hand as a folding knife can get IMHO.

If you care, the earlier models were hollow ground and can slice much better than you would expect.

Size comparison:

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They are tremendous knives, and I love mine. It cuts very well for such a large knife (I've got one of the hollow-ground models from the first wave). Definitely worth the price. Actually, like many CS knives these days, it's a pretty incredible bargain.
 
I have one of the first runs of the AD-10, when it was still hollow ground. I haven't felt a more comfortable folder in hand, and the blade manages to cut effectively considering the stock thickness due to the deep hollow grind. It sharpens nicely, seems to hold a good edge, and is built to last. I replaced the pairs of teflon/PB washers with larger diameter and thickness PB washers and dremeled the clip down to be a more reasonable stiffness, and now it's everything I could ask for. I didn't need to do this, but I always prefer to do it on my CS folders as I've had one of the teflon washers rip in the past. Now the action is very smooth, the blade has zero play, and it can be shaken shut to close one-handed.

The closest thing I have in comparison to it is a ZT 0303, which is a burly folder in S30V with rounded handles and a broad dropped point blade shape. But that knife cost twice as much, doesn't have as nice of a blade, has an assist which is not satisfying, and likely has an inferior heat treat to the CS. Also I think CS's Triad lock on this model is perfectly executed; bomb-proof but not difficult at all to actuate. For $150, it is the best burly folder out there. Just be aware that the snubby, bulldog-esque tip is not well suited to fine cutting. If you do that a lot, you might be annoyed with the AD-10.

Edit: also, it's 3.5", not 4", if that makes any difference to OP. You'd be better off with a 4 Max if you really want 4".
 
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I had one and sold it. It was incredibly well-made, no doubt. No complaints at all. But it is a massive knife and was a bit impractical for my EDC needs. But as they say, ymmv.
 
I had one of the early hollow ground ones as well. Awesome in hand, but too big and heavy in pocket. If they made a slim lighter weight version with 1/8 inch stock I’d be all over it.
 
The only thing I don't love about mine is the clip. It's so tight. I plan to mod it to make it smaller as I've seen others do. Other than that, it's an exceptional knife, and if you can get one of the early hollow grinds (as I did) you'll be amazed how well such a burly knife can slice.

I wouldn't say no to a flat ground version either though. They are definitely worth it.
 
goldie said:
And the price has come down too ive seen them as low as 110.00 which is an incredible price for it.
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Is that for supposedly brand new ones? If so, I would be wary, could be fakes. But if secondary market I could maybe see that.
 
jlauffer said:
Is that for supposedly brand new ones? If so, I would be wary, could be fakes. But if secondary market I could maybe see that.
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It’s no fake. There’s no known fake of these yet, and triad lock is hard to fake.
A very popular discount site owned by another very popular huge ecommerce site had been doing a few rounds of promo for cold steel and AD10 went for $108. I bought a few and can validate that all of them are legit.
 
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