Cold Steel Military Classic R1 Info Needed

jca21

jca21

Joined
Apr 12, 2006
Messages
3,188
hey guys was in need of some info.. tried to do the search but only came up with a blank page.

i just recently purchased a cold steel military classic R1.

its a beautiful knife and i plan to take it out into the bush with me but i had a few questions and concerns so i thought i'd toss this up to the community for advice and knowledge...

this is the first time i've owned a knife with micarta handle. there arent any screwed or pins or anything securing the handle to the blade... does this make it weaker?

im not quite sure what the type of stone is that comes with it.. anyone know what type it is and possibly grit? (medium, fine, etc...)

lastly is this a strong knife? otherwise i'm going to end up taking something else with me into the woods for batoning purposes. the main reason i bought this knife was for the purpose of a good looking outdoors knife. didnt really know much about it just took a stab at it (no pun intended).

any info would be greatly appreciated from the best experts on the net :cool:

p.s. your experiences, adventures, pros/cons, about the knife would also be greatly appreciated.

p.s.s. i know that the randal R1 is a much better knife but i just dont have the budget to buy something that expensive as i am in between jobs.

thanks again

cheers
 
I have an R1. My stone is marked "Fine India" "Made in USA by Norton". I would guess that the handle is held on with some sort of epoxy which could be very strong. I have'nt used mine much but it seems to be exteremely well made. It also has a very nice leather sheath. I think you will be pleased with it.

John
 
I had an R1 until I could afford a nice custom, and considered it a fine knife.
 
i did some reading and was just curious... the R1 blade seems to be composed of San Mai III..

is it really good or just hype?
 
run a search on this forum on the R1. I took one through the jungles in Taiwan and in the Dominican Republic.
 
nope still getting the white page of death.
lol

oh well from what i can collect info about online it looks like a good blade steel, resembling more a samurai sword then a knife.

i plan to chop, baton, and do alot of other things with this knife so i guess i'll just have to write a review for it later on :D

cheers

p.s. thanks for the info guys
 
I have an old R1 and think it's a great knife (AUS-8A, RC 57). I would get a finer grain stone for the pouch then the one that comes with it. I actually cut the stone pouch off the sheath and like it better that way. I also keep cutting the sheath when I withdraw the knife and wish it had a little piece of Kykex sewn into the rear upper corner to prevent that from happening.

CS also has a less expensive model of the same knife in Carbon V steel, Kraton handle, and Kydex sheath. It's called the ODA. I have that one also and, even thought it's not as "pretty" as the R1, I must say I like it better. Lighter weight, love the Kraton handle, better sheath, and harder steel (RC 59).

Regards,
Gary
 
well guys its time to say screw it i'll do it me self=)

by that i mean im gonna go beat the heck outta this knife... btw this is the first and most expensive knife in my collection so lets hope if something happens cs will replace it :D

cheers
 
jca21 said:
well guys its time to say screw it i'll do it me self=)

by that i mean im gonna go beat the heck outta this knife... btw this is the first and most expensive knife in my collection so lets hope if something happens cs will replace it :D

cheers
Click to expand...

Check original - Randall Model #1 and also Black Jack Model #7 I guess, should be some with 1095 around. This is very well known and respected design.

And this one looks pretty impressuve with laminated VG1 (probably VG10?). Blade I guess same as for Fallkniven Northern Light line, probably by same manufacturer. Stainless steel guard and micarta handle should work very well...

Congratulations!

Thanks, Vassili.
 
unfortunately yea i have the san mai III model...

is san mai III bad or something?
 
jca21 said:
unfortunately yea i have the san mai III model...

is san mai III bad or something?
Click to expand...

No, I think it is better, for sure better then AUS-8. I am not sure is VG1 different then VG10, as well as I remember when I tried to trace down and find what is VG1 it turns out that it was typo and should be VG10 - I don't know.

You may check Fallkniven Northern Lights line with laminated blade. San Mai is name CS came up with (they have very creative marketing deprtment), normally it called laminated blade in Japan - warikomi. This means that hard steel core is sandwiched with soft steel sides. This make it less brittle, also it prevent corrosion, because soft less carbon steel is more corrosion resistant.

CS do not make knives but instead order them for different sources (US, Taiwan, Japan) and I guess this laminated clone of Random Model 1 was made in Japan, by some good producer like Hattory - they have many knife company in Seki City. Same way Fallkniven making their scandinavian laminated Northern Lights.

I think quality should be similar and this is well proven design, which was very hot during World War II. I think this is very good deal. Only improvement I can imagine - metal butt for handle - but it is not too important.

Thanks, Vassili.
 
thanks alot vassili i have to say thats the best info i've gotten all week :D
 
It's not a typo. The core is VG-1, not Vg-10. If you want to wade through it, here is a great post from last March concerning Cold Steel and VG-1. I'm still glad my R1 is all AUS-8A. Why would I want a 7" knife made from a medium grade steel (VG-1) sandwiched between an low grade steel (420). I have not done any testing but I don't see how it could hold a working edge as long as solid AUS-8A.

SOG uses a San Mai that is VG-10 sandwiched between AUS-8A. Now that sounds interesting and I wouldn't mind trying that. Anyway, here is the link....regards.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-396830.html
 
Thanks for the link, I did not know.

So compositions are:

VG-10

C=0.95-1.05
Cr=14.5-15.5
Co=1.30-1.50
Mn=0.5
Mo=0.9-1.2
P=0.03
Si=0.6
V=0.10-0.30

VG1
C 0.95-1.05
Cr 13.0-15.0
Mo 0.2-0.4
Ni 0.25 or lower

CM154
C=1.05
Cr=14
Mn=0.5
Mo=4
Si=0.3

AUS8
C=0.70-0.75
Cr=13-14.5
Mn=0.5
Mo=0.10-0.30
Ni=0.49
P=0.04
Si=1
S=0.03
V=0.10-0.26

Looking to this I will prefer VG1 over AUS8, I think I even prefer VG1 over VG10 because it has better hardness.

Yes I still think that this is very good clone of Randall #1, if not the best.

Thanks, Vassili.

P.S. VG1 looks like AUS8 with higher Carbon content and in laminated blade it will be better I think then AUS8. However only practie may prove it.
 
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