Cold Steel Kobun Knife

I have the Kobun, and have used it very much, both at work in construction, and in the National Guards.
I really like it, good value for the money, though little knife.
Almost forget you carry it, because of the light weight, and they come "fairly" sharp from the box. (I say fairly, because I allways put a new edge on all my knives)..
Shaves out of the box, but I like it to whittle moscitoe-hair, LOL...

I don`t think you can go wrong with this sazzy little blade, almost think everyone should try it atleast once...
 
I've had one for well over a decade, if I remember correctly.

Thin, flat and light. I don't remember what steel mine is. I don't use it much anymore, because the blade shape is not the best for many tasks.
 
I am a big cold steel fan.

That being said, I'm not a fan of the kobun. It is pretty thin and has a cheap feeling to it. Subsequently I have used it (read: abused) quite a bit as a beater, and holds up just fine. But I still dont like it.

What would be better is if you could tell us exactly what you were looking to use it for
 
I've had a couple. Very light and thin. If you have a very large hand, the skinny handle may not be the most comfortable, but it's fine for small and average hands. The major beef I've had with this knife in both iterations I've owned (4116 and AUS-8) has been the sheath. The plastic boot clip (I use it as a pocket clip and carry the knives in my right front pants pocket) doesn't stay put under the super shallow retaining lip that's supposed to keep it in place, so it slides all the way up until it hits the bulges near the top of the sheath that hold the guard of the knife. The clips won't come all the way out, but I still find this annoying. It looks like the 2013 models are coming with an improved sheath with a steel clip that's more securely attached to it and is also tek-lok compatible. I'd really recommend waiting for those to come out (if they aren't out already. I'm not sure). Download the catalog here: http://dealerscorner.coldsteel.com/ and check page 11 for pics. :thumbup:
 
I think it's a great back up blade, thin, light and fast in hand. The tanto tip is very strong and perfect for this application but not suited to everyday utility tasks.
I carried it on my right thigh attached to my drop leg holster next to my side arm as a back up for a short time before switching it out for another blade.
 
I've got one that I carry as a defensive blade (gun carry is severely restricted where I live). It's thin and light while still having a good blade length. I've never used it to cut anything, I think there are much better options for utility tasks in the same price range (Moras, CS Bushman, etc.).
 
the kobun is an outstanding knife for the money. It was not made for hard use. It is a thin light weight tactical knife made for screwing people up with. And for that it is great, I almost carry mine in the waistband everyday.
 
just got it today and its very light like you guys said its great and looks great only thing i gotta complain about is the clip when i put it on my belt i have to take to belt off just to take the knife off other than that its great
 
I was a huge fan: I like thin handles, it isn't that thin for a normal knife (everybody's into these crow bar like knives), it has that strong tanto point (which I'm nit usually into), it has ok steel, and its cheap. (I hatred the sheath with a passion though.) However, I was recently using it to baton, just for fun not heavy duty, and UT straight snapped in half where I hit the spine. I did get 30 dollars use out of it, but I was surprised and mad. I would nit buy another because I now know of many better knives for what I used it for, even in its price range.
 
ALLHSS said:
I was a huge fan: I like thin handles, it isn't that thin for a normal knife (everybody's into these crow bar like knives), it has that strong tanto point (which I'm nit usually into), it has ok steel, and its cheap. (I hatred the sheath with a passion though.) However, I was recently using it to baton, just for fun not heavy duty, and UT straight snapped in half where I hit the spine. I did get 30 dollars use out of it, but I was surprised and mad. I would nit buy another because I now know of many better knives for what I used it for, even in its price range.
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If you send it back to CS they will send you a new one. I can't remember how many times I've had to do this.
 
ALLHSS said:
I was a huge fan: I like thin handles, it isn't that thin for a normal knife (everybody's into these crow bar like knives), it has that strong tanto point (which I'm nit usually into), it has ok steel, and its cheap. (I hatred the sheath with a passion though.) However, I was recently using it to baton, just for fun not heavy duty, and UT straight snapped in half where I hit the spine. I did get 30 dollars use out of it, but I was surprised and mad. I would nit buy another because I now know of many better knives for what I used it for, even in its price range.
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I don't think the Kobun is meant for batoning. The new sheath isupposeded to be better, at least it has grommets in the right places for a Tek-Lok (I hated the plastic clip on the old one and modified mine to take a G-clip).
 
res1cue said:
I would save another 25 bucks and get the recon tanto in AUS8, well worth the upgrade
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Definitely. Check your laws for blade length before doing that though. The Recon Tanto is a bit longer, though a much beefier knife.
CJZ said:
*chuckles* As a defensive weapon or a utility blade? Both?
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Isn't your utility and defensive blade against zombies the same? Killing as a utility action, killing to defend yourself. Zombies are a lot of work!
 
Back when I owned one, they only came in one flavor. Fully serrated in AUS 8A. CS might be the only knife company that has actually downgraded their steel in their lineup. Mine also cost about 60-70 also. This was about 15 years ago. I need to go to the Special Projects site and see what they have now.
 
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