Cold Steel Gunsite II

C

canotmaitre

Joined
Aug 8, 2005
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I just picked up a Cold Steel Gunsite II at a great deal and I am quite pleased with the initial feel. What do you think about the versatility of this knife, the quality of steel and strength of lock Blade.
I have an option to pick up a Land Sea Rescue which looks good, but how does it compare to the Spycerco Rescue series? The applications would be river running (canoes), racetrack (seatbelts) and emergency situations. Does anyone have any alternate suggestions that I should be looking at?
I'm looking forward to your usually diverse opinions, what a great forum.
 
Moved From traditional knives forum.
 
canotmaitre said:
I just picked up a Cold Steel Gunsite II at a great deal and I am quite pleased with the initial feel. What do you think about the versatility of this knife, the quality of steel and strength of lock Blade.
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Even the folks who otherwise don't care for Cold Steel will usually agree that their Voyager line is pretty dang good. The Gunsite is just a Voyager with an extra swedge on the blade spine, and the Gunsite branding.

I have both the Gunsite I (5" monster) and Gunsite II, and they're fine knives. Tanto blades, though, aren't the most useful shape for everyday use, but then, the Gunsites are intended more for self-defence than mundane EDC use.
 
Thanks for the reply. I'm pleased with the knife and the deal was really good.
The 50/50 serrated edge is good for the outdoor applications I will have it in, it's not designated as an EDC.
 
I had Gunsite 1 & 2, they were both excellent knives. Very sharp. I sold them to fund another Strider.
 
canotmaitre said:
I have an option to pick up a Land Sea Rescue which looks good, but how does it compare to the Spycerco Rescue series? The applications would be river running (canoes), racetrack (seatbelts) and emergency situations. Does anyone have any alternate suggestions that I should be looking at?
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I would NEVER, NEVER consider a folding knife for river running. NEVER!

I guess you've never been dumped out of a boat! It is panic stations, and can be life-threatening if you're caught up in rope or cord. It's hard enough just to keep your wits, let alone having to think about opening up a folder. You're a little bit too busy, trying to keep from inhaling water, while holding on to your partner or your boat or the logjam that flipped you. Good luck in those situations with trying to open a folder. One-hand opener? Again, good luck. Cold, wet thumbs don't work too well searching for a little thumb stud or blade hole. And before you can even try to line up your thumb with the opener, you have to manipulate your grip to get your thumb in position. Forget about it! Why take a chance with that extra operation, when a fixed blade, (that's attached to your PFD, of course) only needs to be grabbed? Why stack the odds of survival against you?

Here's an article for you to read: http://www.nswseakayaker.asn.au/mag/47/pfdknives.html

Stay safe, my friend!
 
Very cool, I actually just bought one off of a fellow forumite; it's arrived and I'm going to pick it up tonight from the post! I've never owned a Gunsite, but I do have an old medium Voyager, which is what prompted me to get the GII. I'm really looking forward to it. And, having owned the Voyager and edc'ed it, I say - don't undermine the americanized tanto point as an edc shape. It does take a bit of getting used to, but once adapted, I found that it was surprisingly versatile and could function in some roles better than a "standard" knife shape.

Good score on your knife!
 
I used to own one, but when I went to MEPS to join the Air Force, I left it there by accident. I carried it for a year, and it did everything I asked of it. At the time I was working for a lawn care company and it cut hoses, bags of fertilizer, roots, and whatever else I needed it for. I actually stabbed it through a 55 gallon drum(plastic one) to get some air flow to get the Iron moving. It took a couple of tries to get it through, but it went, and the lock on it held, and I did not have a bit of blade play after. I sure miss that one.
 
Pocketknife said:
I would NEVER, NEVER consider a folding knife for river running. NEVER!

Great article, thanks very much for this info. My PFDs have always sported a fixed blade knife of one sort or another and I'm now looking for a versatile folder to work in a slightly less immediate crisis situations, such as lining ropes, clothing, and close contact situations where a sheepfoot serrated blade would be of a good advantage. Salt water is not a consideration,most of my applications are lake and river running. A folder seems to make sense to me, if you remove the panic and hypothermia scenarios.
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I've got the Cold Steel Voyager, Gunsite I, and Vaquero Grande. Going by their performance, I don't know why I never picked up their Land Sea Rescue. :) The others are great beaters, they work well and hold up under rough conditions.

I generally like Spyderco better than Cold Steel, but each company has good knives for specific purposes. Right now, I've been EDCing an unusual knife for me, the Spyderco Rescue Assist. It reminds me of my first ever Spydie, the Mariner, a kind of stainless steel Rescue, fully serrated sheepsfoot blade.

You might like the Land Sea Rescue better than the Spyderco because the small CS serrations give you a bit of a boost cutting coarse or fibrous material, without hanging up on anything the way the more aggressive Spyderco serrations can. I use my Vaquero Grande in the woods, chopping back weeds and thorns, and it really shears them away.
 
my first tactical folder was a GS11, still have it, they are ok for the $$, if ya like FRN(i dont).

a perfectly functional knife though.
 
I've had a handfull of both the Gunsites and the Tanto Voyagers, and all are excellent folders. I think of the Gunsite models as the Rolex of the Cold Steel Voyager series of folders, and the Voyagers as the Seiko.
 
Trout Tamer said:
I've never owned a Gunsite, but I do have an old medium Voyager, which is what prompted me to get the GII. I'm really looking forward to it. And, having owned the Voyager and edc'ed it, I say - don't undermine the americanized tanto point as an edc shape.
Good score on your knife!
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Thanks for the post. The more I use it more applications come forward.
Very Sharp, Very Strong...
I dont's understand some of the negative CS people out there, except about the handles...

Dan
 
Hey, you're welcome! I just got my GSII in the mail today... :thumbup: man, is that thing sharp! It's got a lot more nice features than the old VOyager, too - dual thumbstud, solid metal clip, 4" blade, normal grinds (as opposed to chisel grinds). Yep, I'm definitely liking having a tanto to edc, again :)
 
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