Recommendation? Cold Steel Air Lite loose blade

[sean2021]

I’ve always liked the Air Lite design, but like many others have stated…I feel they are overpriced. Glad to hear your Air Lites turned out well.

 

[daybd]

I’ve always liked the Air Lite design, but like many others have stated…I feel they are overpriced. Glad to hear your Air Lites turned out well.

Well I got mine for 50 bucks. That seems not too bad.

 

[sean2021]

Well I got mine for 50 bucks. That seems not too bad.

That’s a fair price. Normally they’re sold for $70-$80.

 

[burnside]

I'd consider picking this up if it weren't for these known issues. As it is, I wouldn't want to pay more than 30 or 40 bucks for one.

 

[DocJD]

Recently bought one ~$50 . Zero issues .

It's a less sturdy construction , but lighter weight than most CS . More compact, easy carry .

The whole point !

 

[SwissHeritageCo]

Recently bought one ~$50 . Zero issues .

It's a less sturdy construction , but lighter weight than most CS . More compact, easy carry .

The whole point !

Do you think the triad lock would hold up to stabbing?

 

[DocJD]

Do you think the triad lock would hold up to stabbing?

Not sure if you are joking , but I'll pretend you are not .

The Tri-ad lock per se , should be fine , but the supporting structures , handle scales etc , are minimal .

So the overall strength of the folder is much reduced , from e.g. the 4 Max or AD-10 .

Stabbing into soft tissue should be fine . Into bone and twisting forces , IDK . Maybe not .

I wouldn't expect to do much prying either .

 

[SwissHeritageCo]

Not sure if you are joking , but I'll pretend you are not .

The Tri-ad lock per se , should be fine , but the supporting structures , handle scales etc , are minimal .

So the overall strength of the folder is much reduced , from e.g. the 4 Max or AD-10 .

Stabbing into soft tissue should be fine . Into bone and twisting forces , IDK . Maybe not .

I wouldn't expect to do much prying either .

I wasn't I like to carry a minimum 3.5" bladed folder that's sturdy, as folders go. The need to stab is always a real consideration for me and I'm not sure why it isn't for others... but it's mainly for dogs (I walk and jog a lot) and hopefully not humans. Carrying a pocket fixed blade just doesn't work for me.

No prying isn't a problem and you're absolutely right that the locking mechanism is only one point of failure, although I want it to be as solid as possible. I was recently enlightened by J. Doyle that a pocket knife is probably more likely to fail at the blade then the locking mechanism (I was complaining about small stop pins on a cross bar lock). I guess if it ever comes down to it, I'll have to keep the soft tissue in mind.

In any case, thanks for the accurate reply

 

[johnnytoxin]

I wasn't I like to carry a minimum 3.5" bladed folder that's sturdy, as folders go. The need to stab is always a real consideration for me and I'm not sure why it isn't for others... but it's mainly for dogs (I walk and jog a lot) and hopefully not humans. Carrying a pocket fixed blade just doesn't work for me.

No prying isn't a problem and you're absolutely right that the locking mechanism is only one point of failure, although I want it to be as solid as possible. I was recently enlightened by J. Doyle that a pocket knife is probably more likely to fail at the blade then the locking mechanism (I was complaining about small stop pins on a cross bar lock). I guess if it ever comes down to it, I'll have to keep the soft tissue in mind.

In any case, thanks for the accurate reply

I carry mine for similar reasons, it’s my running knife. It’s plenty strong for “stabbing” and it’s even better when you remove the ridiculous bill board. There is a video on YouTube of Demko testing it against the bug out. I believe the airlite held 250lbs

 

[SwissHeritageCo]

I carry mine for similar reasons, it’s my running knife. It’s plenty strong for “stabbing” and it’s even better when you remove the ridiculous bill board. There is a video on YouTube of Demko testing it against the bug out. I believe the airlite held 250lbs

That's good info, and you're absolutely spot on about the ridiculously large billboarding! It's been a real deterrent in my overall CS folder interest.

What grit did you use to remove it? Looks great

 

[johnnytoxin]

That's good info, and you're absolutely spot on about the ridiculously large billboarding! It's been a real deterrent in my overall CS folder interest.

What grit did you use to remove it? Looks great

I think I used 220 grit, then I stonewashed it by putting it in a plastic bottle with some stones from my front yard and some wd40. Threw it in the dryer for an hour and a half.

 

[whp]

My first Air Lite spear point had a small bit of lock rock. After opening and closing it about 100 times, the lock settled in and has been solid ever since. After a year or so I began to carry it more and decided to get a back up. After looking at some destruction tests on Youtube, I got a tanto. This was well built with no problems whatsoever. This is a surprisingly strong knife even with its thin g10 scales, and with my knife uses, I can t imagine ever breaking it.