Cold Steel Finn Bear: Deconstructed

C

ColdDeadHand

Joined
Nov 5, 2014
Messages
141
It's a sad time in a man's life when his daydreams are dashed and reality comes crashing in. It's sad, and it's exciting too, because daydreams are not all true, often they just help you imagine where you're going.

Anyway, I used to be a hardcore Cold Steel fan. This forum and experience with better quality products are surely eroding the confidence this once completely satisfied customer used to have.

Now, I'll still say that for the money, they are a pretty darned good knife. The Finn Bear is obviously a very inexpensive knife. They are retailing for around $20 today but when I bought mine it was closer to $10 than it was to $20. I have several of them (probably 8) and none have failed me in any way.

I do think it's good to see the following pictures. I'm taking this knife apart, doing away with the handle so I can repurpose the blade and put on a wood handle.

I'll leave the rest of the commentary to this: if it doesn't say "full tang" it's not.

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That tang is more than enough for anything you'd do with this knife.

I love this series of Cold Steel knives. Put it right up there with Mora.
 
I also bought a Finn Bear a while back. The only thing I've found it good for is cutting hard vegetables and thick meats in the kitchen. Not one I'd ever take into the woods. I'll take an old Mora (don't like the new plastic/rubber handled ones) any day.
Rich S
 
Rich S said:
I also bought a Finn Bear a while back. The only thing I've found it good for is cutting hard vegetables and thick meats in the kitchen. Not one I'd ever take into the woods. I'll take an old Mora (don't like the new plastic/rubber handled ones) any day.
Rich S
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Would you please explain why?
 
Simple, IMHO blade won't take a decent edge and feels bad in the hand.
The old Mora with laminated blades are MUCH better and have real wood handles with metal fittings.
Rich
 
I've beat on finn bears for years. I find the handle comfortable and the steel decent. I always recommend these as an inexpensive fixed blade. It's a great tool for the money. I have always been happy with cold steel in general.
 
I bought all three designs. The bear, rousch(?), and canadian skinner. They have all been great knives. Alot of bang for the buck. I used them to train my boys on wood craft skills.
 
thanks for the pictures.
way i see it, there are far worst tangs out there.
this looks sturdy enough.
 
ColdDeadHand said:
It's a sad time in a man's life when his daydreams are dashed and reality comes crashing in. It's sad, and it's exciting too, because daydreams are not all true, often they just help you imagine where you're going.

Anyway, I used to be a hardcore Cold Steel fan. This forum and experience with better quality products are surely eroding the confidence this once completely satisfied customer used to have.
Click to expand...

It looks well-made to me. Appears from the photos that you had to work like heck to get the handle off; it would have been easier to knock the slabs off a full-tang knife. :)
Current price at a major retailer is $12.

Quite frankly, for twelve bucks I'd be thrilled as long as the steel's OK and sheath is secure.
 
When I use an expensive, quarter inch thick, high grade steel, fixed blade. I marvel "how do they do it? ".
When I use cold steel I wonder "How do they do it for this price?"
We all move on to more expensive knives, but I have kept my cold steels and use them regularly. I'll pull out my rig to go in the woods. But I keep my pocket Bushman on the table in my garage. A fin bear in the kitchen drawer. I do whatever the hell I want with them and if something where to break (nothing has) I'll just buy another one. Cold steel and their videos and catalogs and tantos and wild owner are what brought me into knives as a hobby and collecting and appreciating. A decade before I was on a forum. Before that I just would have a knife. One.(a buck, a spyderco) For years. Now I'm overloaded with brands and makers I fallow and want.
Thanks alot Cold Steel. Cold steel is bad ass!!
 
That tang is about right for this kind of a knife and it's intended uses. The plastic handled moras have similar tangs. I have a Finn Wolf, which I use in the kitchen, I think the steel is the same, 4116. It touches up easily and is very stain resistant. It has a very good geometry for cutting, and is perfect for the rough kitchen handling that my family puts knives through. I think the geometry for cutting is far superior to a mora, and it is at the same price point. YMMV.
 
Bob W said:
It looks well-made to me. Appears from the photos that you had to work like heck to get the handle off; it would have been easier to knock the slabs off a full-tang knife. :)
Current price at a major retailer is $12.

Quite frankly, for twelve bucks I'd be thrilled as long as the steel's OK and sheath is secure.
Click to expand...

Agreed Bob. I've seen the opposite of what ColdDeadhands has seen. I had my dreams smashed when I realised how well the "starter/newbie/cheap" knifes performed against some of the more expensive blades. Lots'o'dollars down the drain:D

ColdDeadHands, thanks for the post. I used a similar post with pics on the Hultafors GK as a guide when re-shaping the handle on mine. It looks like the Finn Bear maybe a good candidate for that as well. There's plenty of room around that tang for shaping. Take care.
 
I have been a Finn Bear user for years. Durable, inexpensive, easy to sharpen and IMO it will do just about anything a knife if it's length should be able to do. It is the knife both my boys have as thier fixed blade(8 and 12).
I have drilled a paranoid sized lanyard hole in all of our and pur a small loop of brightly colored cord in there.
Nice knife. I have 4 NIB just because is such a great deal.
 
Angus McGunnigle said:
I have been a Finn Bear user for years. Durable, inexpensive, easy to sharpen and IMO it will do just about anything a knife if it's length should be able to do. It is the knife both my boys have as thier fixed blade(8 and 12).
I have drilled a paranoid sized lanyard hole in all of our and pur a small loop of brightly colored cord in there.
Nice knife. I have 4 NIB just because is such a great deal.
Click to expand...
Freudian slip? :D I had to LOL at that one!
 
The cheapo plastic handle Mora uses a similar tang and it can be beat like a rental car. People don't realize that tang doesn't mean a lot compared to design. The Glock field knife has about a quarter tang and I didn't break it with actually hammering with the bloody handle. It finally broke from my ham fisted power-over-accuracy throwing, many of which hit rocks. If a stronger partial tank knife exists, it is made of magic.
 
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