cold steel laredo bowie

I own a number of Cold Steel products, and have generally been very impressed with quality as well as performance. The Laredo Bowie is the first Cold Steel knife I've been disappointed with.

On the positive side, this is a beautiful knife -- even though I'm not partial to brass fittings. The leather sheath with brass belt-stud is of high quality. The blade is THICK, the heft is substantial, and the balance is good -- if properly sharpened, I'm confident one could easily cut through several taped hemp ropes with a single powerslash -- just like in their promotional video. This had the potential to be one of the greatest knives Cold Steel has ever offered. . .

. . . On the negative side, it wasn't sharp. Every other Cold Steel knife I've owned has been hair-splitting sharp right out of the box -- this one was nearly dull. Furthermore, the "fully sharpened false edge" they tout in their marketing materials hadn't been sharpened at all -- I contacted Cold Steel to ask about this, and they confirmed that they do not sharpen the false edge of the Laredo Bowie (contrary to their advertising), and were surprised to hear that their own catalog stated otherwise! As their advertising went on and on about the extra-special-super-duper-miracle-steel used for the blade, I expected it to be even sharper than their AUS-6 and AUS-8 blades, but it wasn't. This is not a full tang blade, either -- and the synthetic wood handle is smooth and slippery.

If the blade had been properly sharpened, if the false-edge had also been sharpened, if it was of full-tang construction, and if they offered a version with a Kraton, stag, or "dogbone-style" handle, this could've been the best Bowie commercially available.
 
Is Cold Steel known for accepting sub-par blades? If so, I've never seen any sign of it. I've bought dozens of Cold Steel knives and no rust anywhere. Edge retention is outstanding, not that there aren't better steels and better knives. I open a lot of boxes and plastic casings and rarely have to sharpen a blade. I bought a used Vaquero one time that had worn serrations, but a Lansky dogbone sharpener made for CS serrations breathed new life into it and the datgum thing bites better than a bulldog.

Even my plain 440A knives cut well and hold their edge. Tough, too. Haven't tried it, but I 'spect it would do a fair job at prying should a situation require it.
 
I hate to say this, but there is a big note of bad news in the knife industry. There is a new nation wide law now stating that the back cut on a blade is now illegal. I was informed by ka-bar as to why my new knife did not have a sharpened false edge, and they gave me the bad news. I’m sorry to be a joy kill but that’s probably why your false edge was not sharpened on your knife. :(
 
I have heard of no such Federal law. Such legislation would require either: 1.) an act of Congress, or 2.) A Presidential Executive Order.

Please clarify, and/or provide a link.
 
I've had a CS Laredo for over two years with no issues of rusting in the custom kydex sheath from RiverCitySheaths [ Mike Sastre ].

It was not as sahrp as I like em, but it took a good edge for me. Fit and finish was not subpar for a commercial knife on this one. The handle is a little smoother than I'd like but acceptable in design.

Perhaps the newer ones are having QC issues now.

Brownie
 
My Laredo came back from a custom sheath maker with a big rusty fingerprint on the blade, but once that was removed & the blade left very lightly oiled, no problems since.
Anybody else heard anything on that KaBar statement? I don't doubt that KaBar said it, just wondering if they're perpetuating the error.
Denis
 
1917cutlass said:
There is a new nation wide law now stating that the back cut on a blade is now illegal. I was informed by ka-bar as to why my new knife did not have a sharpened false edge, and they gave me the bad news. :(
Click to expand...

:rolleyes:

No such law exists.

From my past experiences, I've noted that many cutlery dealers (retailers, mostly) seem to be profoundly ignorant of the law pertaining to their wares -- sometimes selling unlawful items to customers, and othertimes stating that non-prohibited items are "illegal".

As the police are often similarly misinformed -- as well as the courts themselves (!) -- it is very important that anyone who carries a knife be familiar enough with the laws in their particular state & municipality that they're able to quote from the pertinant code, if required.
 
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