Cold Steel Leatherneck Change

S

Sheckey

Joined
Sep 14, 2010
Messages
113
I just got my new Cold Steel Special Projects catalog and was shocked to see they changed the steel on the Leatherneck from their high carbon SK-5 to their (what I perceive to be) kitchen knife steel; German 4116. Now I have a knife in 4116 and while it is impressive for what it is, it is NOT a hard use steel. Seeing this was a shock but then when you see the change of the SRK from HCS to AUS8 I guess Cold Steel has now fully adopted their style over substance philosophy.
 
I think they had some problems with the heat treatment of the sk5 Leathernecks and thats why they switched the steel and grind.
 
They had similar problems with the Voyagers a few years ago but instead of putting out an inferior product, they cancelled the product for a year. This is a much preferred option over putting out a lesser product.
 
Sheckey said:
I just got my new Cold Steel Special Projects catalog and was shocked to see they changed the steel on the Leatherneck from their high carbon SK-5 to their (what I perceive to be) kitchen knife steel; German 4116. Now I have a knife in 4116 and while it is impressive for what it is, it is NOT a hard use steel. Seeing this was a shock but then when you see the change of the SRK from HCS to AUS8 I guess Cold Steel has now fully adopted their style over substance philosophy.
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1) They stopped using Carbon V because their supplier (Camillus) went out of business
2) They are switching to 4116 Krupp because they have military contracts (non-US) that require stainless steel.

As for 4116, it is pretty close to 420HC...not the latest super steel, but if HT ed right, it is perfectly fine. My Buck 110 has been through alot and keeps on cutting. Also I own a few CS 4116 blades (tanto lite and pendleton lite) and they exceed all you would expect if you were to consider things like cost and carbon content
 
I gotta slow down. I read the thread title as "Cold Steel Leatherman Charge" and had to see just what the heck was going on.
 
res1cue said:
1) They stopped using Carbon V because their supplier (Camillus) went out of business
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And so they used SK-5 instead. The Leatherneck was never made in Carbon V given it only came out last year... ;)

As far as 4116 goes I find it performs very similarly to Swiss Army knife steel. Highly stain resistant, moderately impact resistant, moderate edge retention, super duper easy to resharpen.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
And so they used SK-5 instead. The Leatherneck was never made in Carbon V given it only came out last year... ;)

As far as 4116 goes I find it performs very similarly to Swiss Army knife steel. Highly stain resistant, moderately impact resistant, moderate edge retention, super duper easy to resharpen.
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The first iteration of the Leatherneck came in SK-5 which is far closer to Carbon V than 420HC.

That is the perfect way to describe 4116. I wish I would have thought of that. As you describe it, that is in no way how I would describe a hard use backcountry blade. Clearly, the Leatherneck was created as a competitor to the Ka-Bar. This steel choice, at the very least, puts it in a completely different category if not removing it all together.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
And so they used SK-5 instead. The Leatherneck was never made in Carbon V given it only came out last year... ;)

As far as 4116 goes I find it performs very similarly to Swiss Army knife steel. Highly stain resistant, moderately impact resistant, moderate edge retention, super duper easy to resharpen.
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Yeah, I was referring to how the OP was talking about the SRK change from Carbon V to AUS8
 
Howdy folks,

I have some interest in this knife as well. But I'm kind of confused. All you guys are talking Full Flat Grind. I just looked at Cold Steel's site and they are calling it and showing it as a Saber grind knife very similar to the original Ka-Bar. Anyone know when it changed? How do you like the saber grind version.

They show it as being available in SK-5 and not available in the German Stainless.

Feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks.
 
LostViking said:
Howdy folks,

I have some interest in this knife as well. But I'm kind of confused. All you guys are talking Full Flat Grind. I just looked at Cold Steel's site and they are calling it and showing it as a Saber grind knife very similar to the original Ka-Bar. Anyone know when it changed? How do you like the saber grind version.

They show it as being available in SK-5 and not available in the German Stainless.

Feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

the full flat ground SK5 leatherneck has only been out since 2011, and they changed it in 2012 to the 4116 Krupp saber grind. I would be happy to give you an opinion on it but its not out yet!
 
SK-5 Leatherneck is a great knife with the flat grind. Get 'em while you can, because the short time availability is going to make the price go up when the stainless models are the only ones you can get.
 
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