Cold Steel Dropforged Survivalist?

[y53p]

I’m interested in buying this thing, the black teflon version, seems pretty solid, like the fact that it’s one solid piece of steel.

About the knife, to whoever knows it, how is the steel used? I’ve never heard of it, how does it do in terms od edge retention, does it tend to chip or roll, how’s the corrosion resistance, and if it’s bad does the coating hold up or does it wear off? I’ve seen that the silver version’s coating wears off very easily (can literally be scrubbed off with a finger) and reveals a black color coating underneath that doesn’t wear easily.

 

[19-3ben]

About the knife, to whoever knows it, how is the steel used? I’ve never heard of it, how does it do in terms od edge retention, does it tend to chip or roll, how’s the corrosion resistance, and if it’s bad does the coating hold up or does it wear off?

52100 is one of my favorite carbon steels. Very tough stuff. Very low corrosion resistance though. It's an excellent choice for that application.

seems pretty solid, like the fact that it’s one solid piece of steel.

I don't buy into that making it any stronger than an other full tang knife.

 

[y53p]

52100 is one of my favorite carbon steels. Very tough stuff. Very low corrosion resistance though. It's an excellent choice for that application.



I don't buy into that making it any stronger than an other full tang knife.

So how’s the coating then? Does it wear off easily, hence do you need to regularly maintain it from rusting?

 

[unwisefool]

So how’s the coating then? Does it wear off easily, hence do you need to regularly maintain it from rusting?

I gave my friend the gold coated version and the coating wears off quickly on that, but it's a pretty tough knife overall.

 

[y53p]

I gave my friend the gold coated version and the coating wears off quickly on that, but it's a pretty tough knife overall.

Yeah I know that coating is pretty bad, it’s more like paint. How is the black one though? Cause as I said in the post even those gold/silver ones have that same coating underneath that the black version has and I’m curious of whether or not that coating, hence the one on the “native” black version, wears as easily or not.

 

[unwisefool]

Yeah I know that coating is pretty bad, it’s more like paint. How is the black one though? Cause as I said in the post even those gold/silver ones have that same coating underneath that the black version has and I’m curious of whether or not that coating, hence the one on the “native” black version, wears as easily or not.

That seems to have been ok

 

[Alone]

52100 is bearing steel. From my experiences, it will take a helluva' beating and still hold an edge.

The coating is actually more like a dark steel grey color and will come off with heavy use.

 

[jbmonkey]

I have the gold and black or grey version. grey comes off as easy as the gold from my experiences. sheath get sand or slivers of plastic cut by not perfect placement pf.the knife into the secure ex sheath, it will scratch it off easily.... see pic....

edge retension is good. mine hasnt chipped or rolled on wood use. havent tried other materials with it.

corrosion hasn't been bad. maybe some coloring of the edge is all I've seen. I dont knownwahts under the grey as I can't really tell from the scratches I've gotten on mine.

 

[tltt]

The gray - black coating is reasonably tough, certainly way better than old gold - gray version. It's a great buy at $65 - 85, and would still be a good buy at a decent bit over that. The only minor quibble is that the all steel construction can get hilariously cold in winter .

 

[DocJD]

does the coating hold up or does it wear off?

Not as bad as that terrible gold wash crap .

But this on the drop forged lineup is not DLC , so expect that type of toughness .

So far the black coating has not been too bad , but don't expect miracles at this price .

This steel is very tough if HT is correct . Used in ball bearings !

I believe that the whole drop forged series is an excellent value and very tough for the money .

 

[MolokaiRider]

The steel is great. The coating wears easily.

I would recommend getting the model that has the handle scales. I have the one that does not, and find the grip to be uncomfortable. The blade itself however, is a very nice flat grind that cuts great!

 

[HexY3co]

Yea I had one, the coating isn't durable but I wouldn't worry about that. As it scratches you can use gun blue to coat the scratches.

 

[y53p]

The steel is great. The coating wears easily.

I would recommend getting the model that has the handle scales. I have the one that does not, and find the grip to be uncomfortable. The blade itself however, is a very nice flat grind that cuts great!

Does the spine throw sparks from the factory or do you need to grind it?

 

[shane45-1911]

Does the spine throw sparks from the factory or do you need to grind it?

Mine does, but sparks a LOT better if you remove the coating on the spine.

PRO TIP - everyone worries about the spine being able to throw sparks. Here's a tip - use the sharpening choil (on any knife). The radius suits most ferro rods very well, and you get more surface contact on the rod as you scrape (ie, more sparks).

 

[Blue Sky]

The older model with the goldish coating, there is also a black coating underneath? Any way to get the gold off without ruining the black? Or is the black just as weak as the gold?

 

[Alone]

I thought I'd throw this here just in case anyone was interested...


A few months back I ordered a coated Scrap Yard Knife Company offering in bronze. In the sunlight, the knife was a very brilliant bronze color. However, in muted light the knife would look almost black, depending on what angle you were looking at it.

When I began to use the knife, the coating peeled in kind of a two-stage process. Parts of it were still bronze, parts were black, and then there were parts that were stripped to the bare metal. I'm not wise enough to know everything about powder coating but almost began to think that the bronze application might be a two-stage process. Almost as quickly as I thought that, I remembered that I'd (*coincidentally) discussed the color bronze with another custom maker about four or so months prior. He told me to pick the color and he would order it. When I went looking, at that time, it was just a matter of ordering a pound of the bronze. So, as far as I could remember it was a single stage type thing.

With the above question, this has me thinking that bronze/silver/gold may be some kinda' black base with a colored "fleck"/additive that shines and contrasts against the black...giving the illusion of the color of the fleck.


I'm probably completely wrong, but just wanted to share.

Happy hunting.

 

[scdub]

I got this one for my son and he’s beat on it pretty good through a few backpacking trips.

I’d suspect that these knives are actually tougher than most similar full tang knives due to the extremely robust transition between the handle and blade. They are heavier than a similar full tang however.

The older model with the goldish coating, there is also a black coating underneath? Any way to get the gold off without ruining the black? Or is the black just as weak as the gold?

As you can see in the picture, the gold comes off quickly but the black coating underneath is quite durable. Don’t know how you might remove the gold but leave the black… (But you could easily just spray paint it black…)

Overall an excellent knife for the money I think. Edge retention/toughness is also excellent in my experience with this knife.

 

[y53p]

The older model with the goldish coating, there is also a black coating underneath? Any way to get the gold off without ruining the black? Or is the black just as weak as the gold?

From what I know you have to use nitro thinner, a sponge and a rag and the gold coating will come off in about 10 mins of scrubbing, while the black coating will stay on. I’ve checked out a couple more reviews and the black coating, at least the one underneath the gold/silver version, seems to be way more resistant, hence it won’t scrub off with the nitro thinner treatment and will stay on through further hard use of the knife.

What I was curious about is wether the black version with the handle scales features that exact black coating that the sikver version has underneath, which is quite tough, or just a wholly different coating that may scrub off more easily.

 

[Chris_Texas]

The entire Drop Forged series is a fantastic value. I don't know of anything else that is even close.

 

[herisson]

And no other handle is even close in discomfort ! I'm just joking here, but honestly CS used this type of handle on many of their budget bigger blades 12 years, or so, ago. I still like those knives, and use them, but honestly it's the most uninspired (and bad) handle I have ever gripped !
The two upper in the picture. The 4 and 6 lower in the picture are surprisingly ergonomic :