Cold Steel K5 Kitchen Knife

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Nov 1, 2004
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I don't normally review kitchen knives because I just don't have anything important to say about them. They're fixed blades designed to slice and dice food in the kitchen, enough said, right? For a long time, I thought so. I have my Old Hickory knives, my Opinel paring knives, some Victorinox and Forschners, the cheesy Forever Sharp knives, OXO brand, and a handful of knives I've never heard of. I decided to try out the Cold Steel hocho-style kitchen knives, mainly because they're made of VG-1 steel and I like that. There is a four-inch blade, a five-inch blade, and a seven-inch blade version; what size to choose? I decided to get the one with the 5" blade, as that would accomplish most of my kitchen chores without being too large. It's made in Japan and costs around $20. The model number is 45KL5P.

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The Handle: The K5 is a full tang knife, although the tang is hidden underneath the handle. The handle is one-piece Kraton, colored black, with a checkered surface and ridged front and back. It's 4-1/4" long and 1/2" thick.
The lanyard hole is large enough to slip a shoelace in, and it shows the tang.
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The front and back of the handle have ridges textured in, and are quite comfortable.
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The handle makes this the most comfortable kitchen knife I've ever used. It's soft enough to grip your hand and ensure a safe usage, yet it doesn't feel flimsy or too cushy. The front of the handle is grooved on the undersiade, and I'm only guessing that this is to give your index finger a little area behind the blade to rest without touching the cutting surface.
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Actual use of the knife was very, well, comfortable. The combination of blade and handle materials really makes this a winner for slicing meats and fruits, as well as dicing vegetables for a stew. Probably the best-feeling handle I've held in a kitchen knife.

The Blade: The K5 has a blade made of VG-1 stainless steel, hardened to around 59 on the Rockwell scale. I like the idea of using a good steel in a kitchen knife without the exorbenant price, and the K5 does this nicely. The blade is technically 5-1/8" long and just a hair under 1/16" thick; it's very thin. It's also full flat ground, and for a blade this thin, that makes it an excellent slicer (did I say that already?). The blade is a hocho-style shape and lends itself perfectly to kitchen tasks, as it should.
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The blade came extremely sharp, and was ready to slice and dice right out of the box. It also came with a black plastic cover for the blade, so you can keep it in your kitchen drawer or backback without fear of injuring yourself. I like this idea, and wish more kitchen knives would come with something like this; for now, I'm stuck making sheaths out of cardboard and tape.
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Again, the blade is extremely thin and sharp. Here it is in comparison to an Old Hickory boning knife (which is 1/16" thick)
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Fit and finish were perfect. I understand that there isn't much to wrapping some Kraton around a handle, but I've got knives like this that had gaps or just plain shook around in the handle - right out of the box. After using the K5 for a while, there was none of that. There were no overlaying mold lines or uneven seams.
 
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Close-up of left side blade markings...
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And the right side...
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The blade's full flat grind and thinness makes it an ideal slicer for fruits and meats.
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With a Tramontina santoku and Old Hickory boning knife for comparison...
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With a few other similar-sized kitchen knives...
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Out of all the kitchen knives shown, the K5 is by far the best slicer. The white-handled Mundial is a close second...
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This tag comes wrapped around the handle...
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I like the looks of the coldsteel. I have a bunch of old useless kitchen knives made of cheap steel that I wouldn't mind replacing with one of two good knives.
 
Interesting.

Have you had to touch up the edge yet? How well does it sharpen?

I haven't had to touch it up from kitchen use, but I got curious the other day and started slicing cardboard with it. The blade held an edge for a long time, and resharpening was a two-step process to get it back to shaving sharp: first a fine ceramic stick then a stropping on the polished side of a belt. Dulling the blade on cardboard took about fifteen minutes, and getting the edge back to shaving sharp took about two minutes.
 
Nice review of the Cold Steel knife, for 20 bucks it's a great value, no doubt.

And that Opinel of your looks like a collector's item by now, I don't think they still make those.

I'm looking for a supplier of similar, extruded plastic to supply with my own kitchen knives to protect the edges. Several companies use something like that. It's made narrower for office supply stores and sold as document binders for letters.

If anyone knows who makes the darn stuff, drop me an email!
 
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And that Opinel of your looks like a collector's item by now, I don't think they still make those...

I can get those Opinels (the version shown as well as the stainless version) all day long. The local knife store bought way too many and is selling the boxed two-pack of carbon steel ones for around $12.

...I'm looking for a supplier of similar, extruded plastic to supply with my own kitchen knives to protect the edges. Several companies use something like that. It's made narrower for office supply stores and sold as document binders for letters. If anyone knows who makes the darn stuff, drop me an email!...

I can't E-mail through BladeForums (I've notified the appropriate people) but these might help. They're called Blade Savers.
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That little wooden-handled knife with the exposed tang on the back, bottom center--My fiancee has the fully serrated variant of it and uses it for everything. She's scared to use mine. :D
 
That little wooden-handled knife with the exposed tang on the back, bottom center--My fiancee has the fully serrated variant of it and uses it for everything. She's scared to use mine. :D

That's by a company called "The Master Carver" and mine won't hold an edge at all. It did come with a carving fork of the same style though, and that fork is great.
 
i bought my wife the k4,5 & 7.i bought the k5 in serrated & she likes it best. k4 pe. is nice little paring knife.have not used k7 yet.
 
I can get those Opinels (the version shown as well as the stainless version) all day long. The local knife store bought way too many and is selling the boxed two-pack of carbon steel ones for around $12.



I can't E-mail through BladeForums (I've notified the appropriate people) but these might help. They're called Blade Savers.
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I'll have to find out where- I'm in Ohio, too.
 
c.s. ran these same style knives quite a while back made from aus 8. they wre discontinued & recently reissued in new alloy V.G.1. i checked the specs & this new stuff should outperform aus8 by 15 to 20% my serrated version is scary sharp. will pick up straight edge models soon, great value.
 
does anyone know or think if the k 5 would serve as a light outdoors camp knife. I know they make a k 4 neck knife, but the k 4 kitchen knife has the same dimensions as the k 4 neck knife.:confused:
 
does anyone know or think if the k 5 would serve as a light outdoors camp knife. I know they make a k 4 neck knife, but the k 4 kitchen knife has the same dimensions as the k 4 neck knife.:confused:

Nothing to be confused about; the K4 Kitchen Knife is the same exact knife as the K4 Neck Knife. The only difference is the sheath.

I don't think the K5 would be good as an outdoor knife; it's too thin. I can't really figure what outdoor tasks you'd do with the K5 as opposed to a Mora or a Finn Bear. The K5 is for slicing foods, and won't work too well on bone or wood; you'll probably damage the edge that way.
 
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