Hey, here's another "budget" knife review for your reading pleasure. This one is another of Cold Steel's 4116 Krupp series of outdoor blades. It's the Finn Wolf, model 20PW. The Finn Wolf is made in Taiwan and sells for around $15 in stores. Upon first glance, it looks like a steak knife with no serrations. Let's find out...
Handle Details: The Finn Wolf has a black polypropylene (hard plastic) handle, which is 4-1/4" long and 3/4" wide. It's contoured well, in that you get a palm swell and a slightly hooked butt. There's no guard, and there's just a small swell in the front to keep your fingers off the blade. The handle is textured in a very light cobblestone pattern, which does nothing for the grip. The handle is still slick, even with dry hands. The palm swell and flared butt help out a little bit with that though. There's no lanyard hole, and that would be okay if it weren't for the sheath (more on that later). The butt is flat, but slanted. If you're using this as an outdoor knife, a little grip tape might help, but is not necessary. Overall, the handle is manageable. It's not the worst I've ever used, but it screams "STEAK KNIFE!" to me in every way.
Blade Details: The blade is 4-3/4" long and 1/8" thick. It's 4116 Krupp stainless, which I've found to be similar to AUS-6 or 420HC. It's got the edge retention of 420HC while having the softness of AUS-6, if you can picture that. The blade is clip pointed, with a nice sweep. It's a nice satin finish, and has the standard Cold Steel icons painted onto the blade. I removed mine with some sandpaper, but they'll wear off by themselves over time. The blade does a good job at light outdoor work, but that's about it. You can't baton with it and you can't chop with it (both activities resulted in damage to the blade and / or handle). It skins pretty well, but it might need a touch-up before you're done if you're skinning something the size of a deer. The Finn Wolf isn't the knife to whittle with, although it will do fine for making an occasional trigger for a trap. Kitchen work is a breeze with the Finn Wolf; carrots and meat for stew just fell apart when lightly pressed. Oh yeah... it's hollow ground. I thought at first that it's flat ground, but it's really a hollow-ground blade.
The Sheath: Arrgh! The bane of the 4116 Krupp fixed blades has got to be the sheath. I understand that this is about all we're going to get in a $15 knife, but I'm still going to be fair about it. The sheath is black Cordura, and is 8-1/4" long (not counting the belt loop). It's both stitched and riveted, and is of decent construction. There's a black nylon loop double-stitched into the back for belt carry, and it will accomodate a belt up to 2" wide. When the knife is inserted, the whole package is 9-1/2" long. That means there's only 1-1/4" of the handle sticking out. Without a lanyard, that's not a lot to grab onto. Yes, it makes knife retention great, but it's just not enough of the handle sticking out for me.
Before I end the review, I've already gotten a request to compare this to a Mora. I understand this; they're both inexpensive knives, both meant for outdoor use, both are competitors against the Finnish puukko. I already did a comparison between the Mora Craftsman and the Cold Steel Finn Bear, and I think that I can speak from that experience as to how the Finn Wolf would stack up. In short, I don't think the Finn Wolf is a better value than the Mora. Everything considered, I just don't. Maybe I'll do a size-by-size comparison and testing in the future, but right now I can't.
The Finn Wolf is another good bargain from Cold Steel. It's not a groundbreaking design with the best laminated steel, but it's a great user for food prep and light camp chores. Check it out if you can.
Between a Long Hunter (above) and a Finn Bear (below)...
Handle Details: The Finn Wolf has a black polypropylene (hard plastic) handle, which is 4-1/4" long and 3/4" wide. It's contoured well, in that you get a palm swell and a slightly hooked butt. There's no guard, and there's just a small swell in the front to keep your fingers off the blade. The handle is textured in a very light cobblestone pattern, which does nothing for the grip. The handle is still slick, even with dry hands. The palm swell and flared butt help out a little bit with that though. There's no lanyard hole, and that would be okay if it weren't for the sheath (more on that later). The butt is flat, but slanted. If you're using this as an outdoor knife, a little grip tape might help, but is not necessary. Overall, the handle is manageable. It's not the worst I've ever used, but it screams "STEAK KNIFE!" to me in every way.
Blade Details: The blade is 4-3/4" long and 1/8" thick. It's 4116 Krupp stainless, which I've found to be similar to AUS-6 or 420HC. It's got the edge retention of 420HC while having the softness of AUS-6, if you can picture that. The blade is clip pointed, with a nice sweep. It's a nice satin finish, and has the standard Cold Steel icons painted onto the blade. I removed mine with some sandpaper, but they'll wear off by themselves over time. The blade does a good job at light outdoor work, but that's about it. You can't baton with it and you can't chop with it (both activities resulted in damage to the blade and / or handle). It skins pretty well, but it might need a touch-up before you're done if you're skinning something the size of a deer. The Finn Wolf isn't the knife to whittle with, although it will do fine for making an occasional trigger for a trap. Kitchen work is a breeze with the Finn Wolf; carrots and meat for stew just fell apart when lightly pressed. Oh yeah... it's hollow ground. I thought at first that it's flat ground, but it's really a hollow-ground blade.
The Sheath: Arrgh! The bane of the 4116 Krupp fixed blades has got to be the sheath. I understand that this is about all we're going to get in a $15 knife, but I'm still going to be fair about it. The sheath is black Cordura, and is 8-1/4" long (not counting the belt loop). It's both stitched and riveted, and is of decent construction. There's a black nylon loop double-stitched into the back for belt carry, and it will accomodate a belt up to 2" wide. When the knife is inserted, the whole package is 9-1/2" long. That means there's only 1-1/4" of the handle sticking out. Without a lanyard, that's not a lot to grab onto. Yes, it makes knife retention great, but it's just not enough of the handle sticking out for me.
Before I end the review, I've already gotten a request to compare this to a Mora. I understand this; they're both inexpensive knives, both meant for outdoor use, both are competitors against the Finnish puukko. I already did a comparison between the Mora Craftsman and the Cold Steel Finn Bear, and I think that I can speak from that experience as to how the Finn Wolf would stack up. In short, I don't think the Finn Wolf is a better value than the Mora. Everything considered, I just don't. Maybe I'll do a size-by-size comparison and testing in the future, but right now I can't.
The Finn Wolf is another good bargain from Cold Steel. It's not a groundbreaking design with the best laminated steel, but it's a great user for food prep and light camp chores. Check it out if you can.
Between a Long Hunter (above) and a Finn Bear (below)...
Last edited:
