Cold Steel CS SRK ColdSteel

T

Tweakmeister

Joined
Jan 17, 2005
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91
Was in the market for an inexpensive multi-use fixed blade, and bought one of these on eBay for about $50 shipped. I already have the Sog Seal Pup, and was also considering a basic Ka-bar design (your typical Vietnam era bayonet).

Initial impressions are very good. Blade is sharp as advertised, and "feels solid." Scabbard is well designed, although right-hand oriented only (edit: appears it can be reversed!). Handle on the blade has the brass eyelet that I'm not crazy about, but the handles are a really nice textured rubber.

Coating on the blade is an epoxy of some type - when I first cleaned the factory oil, I was very happy to see none of the black coating rubbing off...it's really baked on there.

If you're in the market for general fixed blade, give this a look. It's a great price, and the company has a good warranty. I'll use it for a bit and give my impressions of the blade steel further down the road.

srk.jpg
 
It's a good solid knife the SRK. I have a long standing relationship with mine.

- It's the first 'good' knife I ever bought and did so after doing a search on bush camp knife on google and ended up here:o

- It's responsible for the worst knife wound I've ever had. Plunged more than an inch into my left vastus lateralis (quadricep, ok, thigh) muscle. I was cutting some foam with it and it bound up in the foam because of it's thickness (one of it's drawbacks) and then let go suddenly. I can understand why stabbing victims always describe being 'punched' because the muscle contracted so powerfully when it was cut that it felt like being kicked by a horse.

- It's now my lending knife, for when one of my un-knifed mates comes on an adventure with me. It's always lent with a warning about how heniously sharp is it. A thick, very sharp, knife is a dangerous beastie.

- It's also a champion ruster. In fact it's best not to even think the word 'rust' while you own this knife. The rust spots you can see on the edge of mine are a result of using it to chop some branches a few days ago and forgetting to wipe it down with an oily rag before putting it away. Looks like I've got some work to do repairing that edge:mad: . Lucky this thread prompted me to take it out or it could have been much worse. Use it and wipe it with an oily rag before you put it away each and every time.

Here's mine. Still in good nick after a few years.

SRK.jpg


Here it is in action. I bet my brother would have thought twice about wearing that gay white wetsuit on our paddle trip if he knew the photo would one day appear on the internet:D It's a very good chopper for it's size/weight.

SRKbuildingshelter.jpg


Overall it's a good camp/feild knife that is a bit thick for easy food prep but will do so in a pinch.

ps - did I mention it rusts very easily?
 
Hahaha, great blackmail pic.

Many SEAL students are (or were?) issued these for BUD/S training - surprising to hear it rusts so easily. You might consider rubbing it down with a nice motor oil like Mobil1 full synthetic.
 
I just got an SRK recently. I agree with most of the comments.
I was not that impressed with the black coating; it wears off real easily when batoning through a log.
Also it was not as sharp as I had hoped. The Cold Steel DVD shows their knives to be razor sharp but my SRK did not shave right out of the box. I think their video is "fixed".
It is a real thick sturdy blade that I am sure will take a beating. A little trade off of sharpness and durability.
Oh and after a little work on the SharpMaker the SRK shaves now.
Bill
 
I'm a big fan of CS, but this thread has put me off carbon-V. Will stick to the stainless knives that don't stab you.....
 
'It's responsible' - poor wording because of course I was responsible for breaking the 1st commandment of cutting - never cut towards you. The SRK was just a unwitting accomplice.

Also if you like the knife I wouldn't let it's rustaholism put you off. Take it on an adventure and you'll be using it every day, which will keep the rust away. Just make sure you clean and oil it before storage (every single time)
 
Speaking of cold steel products, dont they have a new magazine with new products coming out soon?

Btw, nice knife!:D
 
I wouldn't let it's rustaholism put you off.
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I'm sorry, but it does, my field carry knife is a stainless ODA.
This is a 'fire and forget' knife, only when it gets dull does it ever come off my archery belt, (which is left in the car for months), super knife!!
 
GarageBoy said:
Well, he IS in Oz..which isn't among the drier climates..
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Actually mate it is, officially, the driest continent.

camelsinwesterndesert.jpg


But there's still plenty of places to get wet.:)
 
Carbon steel will always be tougher than stainless all things being equal. And stainless will always be more... well, stainless. :o

I really love my SRK - I have one of the older ones like the above with the ambedextrious sheath. I like the grind and heft better than my UWK but they are similar. I agree that they'll rust easily but minimal care to the edge is all that's necessary. ...This in exchange for a ~$50 knife that is strong enough to throw make the SRK just about my favorite knife. ...Put it this way, when we lost power for more than a week at a time several times in 2004 the SRK was the fixed blade I carried on my belt the whole time :thumbup:

As far as stainless knives go, none of the above offerings compare to the Blackjack Grunt IMO - get the kydex sheath with it & you have one of the best factory EDC knives in AUS8 on the market IMO...
 
The SRK was the first fixed blade knife that I purchased and overall I am very happy with it. It has a very solid feel to it and it is the perfect weight. Heavy enough to abuse and light enough for backpacking. I would have no worries about using it as a prybar it feels that solid :) . For the price it is very decent knife. I was a little disappointed that it didn't hold an edge as long as I expected while chopping. It was outperformed by my swamp rat and a D2 ontario. But then that probably isn't a fair comparison.
 
billym said:
I was not that impressed with the black coating; it wears off real easily when batoning through a log.
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Are there any coated knives out there (in this price range) that can take this kind of abuse without damaging the coating? If so, let me know because I want one.

billym said:
I think their video is "fixed".
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It's advertising. But with respect to the coating, if you watch their video the blade coatings are damaged by what they do with the knives. So statements to being shaving sharp out of the box need to be taken with a grain of salt, but the abuse they put their knives through is real and I don't think it's fixed.
 
Of the two SRK's I've had, first one was returned for poor quality blade, second was given away before I tossed it in a dumpster. Great ergonomics, nice size, blade thickness and decent point. Camillius makes cold Steel's SRK. Carbon V is just a company name and probably 1095 or 1085 carbon (Same as a KaBar). I'm in the minority regarding displeasure with SRK's. most folks like 'em. Their edge holding and overall quality didn'y impress me at all. Nice thrower though, my buddy kills a few rats with his every month.For the same price I can get a KaBar short bowie and be much happier.
 
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