Cold Steel Recon Tanto vs. Cold Steel Leatherneck Tanto

retzius

retzius

Joined
Sep 17, 2009
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Which of these would you pick if you HAD to pick from one of these two?

Its a gift for a nephew and he wants one of these, go figure...

The Recon Tanto is AUS 8A steel, 10 oz., $75
The LeathernecK Tanto is 4116 steel, 12 oz., $50

Im leaning toward the Leatherneck because the 4116 steel might be tougher and Im not sure what the heck hes gonna do with this thing.. think teenage boy in woods.. he will probably throw it at trees :p
 
I wouldn't buy the Leatherneck just because of that Krupp stuff... if he's not overly concerned about edge retention, I would say the Leatherneck, because it looks a lot cooler.
 
Goosey said:
I wouldn't buy the Leatherneck just because of that Krupp stuff... if he's not overly concerned about edge retention, I would say the Leatherneck, because it looks a lot cooler.
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Hes probably more concerned with his complexion that edge retention :)

I think the Krupp steel is supposed to be pretty tough stuff. Im thinking the Leatherneck has the "cool" factor too.
 
retzius said:
I initally thought this too. But when I showed it to him he wasnt convinced. He wants the Recon or the Leatherneck. Kids...
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I have the SK-5 Leatherneck and have handled a GI Tanto... the handle on the Leatherneck is MUCH more grippy and comfortable, so that's one thing going for it. I think the tanto Leatherneck looks great, though. Much better looking than the Kabar Tanto.
 
What's the deal with the 4116 German Krupp? How would it compare to the AUS8 stainless?

My guess would be that the AUS8 would be a much better steel than the 4116. Carbon steel tends to be very susceptible to rust and corrosion when exposed to the elements, but is manageable when coated with BreakFree CLP. I know people love carbon steel these days, but stainless does have its benefits. AUS8 is a pretty nice steel for outdoor knives. I have some Recon Tantos made from Carbon V, but I don't know how they compare to the versions made from AUS8. I'm not sure how much a little corrosion makes when it's along the edges of the knives. It might be a little unsightly, but practically? Who knows?

The Leatherneck appears to be a great little knife, but at seven inches the tanto version is not much different than the Recon Tanto.
 
Confederate said:
Carbon steel tends to be very susceptible to rust and corrosion when exposed to the elements, but is manageable when coated with BreakFree CLP. I know people love carbon steel these days, but stainless does have its benefits.
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Carbon steel is good for the function of outdoor knives, depending on what you are going to do with it. A big tanto implies that you are going to be using it for something other than opening envelopes and slicing apples, meaning chopping and prying and such. This is where carbon steel has the advantage. Certainly stainless steel has the advantage if you are worried about corrosion but it will fracture when carbon steel will keep working. And this where you see the beauty of the GI Tanto- it seems to be as close to indestructible as a knife can be made. Kabar makes their own similar tantos that you might consider but I'll offer another option here- look at the Becker knives, specifically the 7 and the 9. These are carbon steel and are good for hard use such as chopping and so forth, and are about the upper limit of your price range.

Don't get me wrong, I like the Cold Steel tantos and I bought a Kobun model to use around my garage, but I would like to have a Becker 9 to play with outdoors in addition to my Cold Steel SRK.
 
Cant say for the leqthernexk, never owned one, but the recon tanto is a serious workhorse. If you can shell out qnother 20 bucks and get the sm3 version, its totally worth it
 
I would pick Leatherneck. its handle is too thick for me: I would prefer Recon's one. But Leatherneck can cut. I think that is important for a knife. I had Recon Tanto. And I have Leatherneck now, not tanto though. I like it more.
 
With blade lengths that small (7 inches), I'm just as happy with my 5.5-inch Voyager folders. The clip points are excellent cutters and the Tri-Ad locking system makes it easy to tote. The tanto Voyager has a heavy spine that would make it a decent wood splitter, so CS has put a lot of thought into this series of knives. If I wanted to do more heavy batoning, I'd get a 10+ inch fixed blade knife.
 
Just my thoughts on the matter but I'd go with the GI Tanto. The Leatherneck Tanto looks a great deal like the KA-BAR and that's desirable, but for a stainless steel blade that price seems kind of high. The Recon Tanto looks very slim and svelte, but again the price is high for a stainless steel blade. The GI Tanto meanwhile costs less than both, it uses actual carbon steel, the quillons are integral to the blade for durability, and the scales are removable should one desire something different.
 
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