Cold Steel Recon Tanto

C

Confederate

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Sep 5, 2005
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It used to be that it was made in Carbon V steel. Now, rather than being made from another carbon steel, all the Recon Tantos are being made of AUS8A. After calling Cold Steel, I was told that the company could no longer get Carbon V because the outfit that was doing their heat treatment went out of business.

I don't know a whole lot about steel, but I know that Carbon V is much, much, better than AUS8A. It's tougher and holds an edge much longer. True, it isn't as resistant to rust, but that's what the teflon's for. (My father also spent a few years in the Pacific in World War II with a carbon knife, and he brought it and another back with no rust whatsoever.)

The only Recon Tantos I've seen on eBay have all been AUS8A models, and the carbon steel blade models have either dried up or are commanding premium prices.

What are the performance differences one would see between the two in terms of toughness, sharpness, etc. I've understood carbon steels are generally harder and have better edge retention than even the better stainless steels. Is this true?

Thanks!

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It's true that carbon-V is better stuff than AUS8, however on a knife of this type - sharpened prybar not slicer or chopper - I'm not sure how much difference it will make. The recon tanto is a brute force blade & AUS8 should be ok for that (I keep an old Carbon-V model in my car trunk for emergencies).
 
KeithH, A.G.Russell's website has a good data sheet on steels commonly used in knife making. Also try Spyderco's website.
 
Well, you can't always trust what you read on the Cold Steel website. Still, it's a starting place. When I called CS today, their tech person conceded that the Carbon V Recon was tougher than the new AUS 8. "You can literally beat it to death and you can't hurt it," he said. As far as the AUS 8 version, it's apparently softer, doesn't hold the edge as well, but it does stand up to corrosion much better. Well, I have many other AUS 8 knives floating around and, though I think it's much maligned, it soft enough that I would want to do a lot of cutting with it, nor would I feel comfortable banging on it, though it's thick enough that it shouldn't be a problem.

The Carbon V blade on the Recon Tanto does feel like a slab of rolled steel, but that's what it is. It's not terribly refined or well crafted. Still, for combat conditions or severe outdoor use, I'd much rather have the Carbon V blade.

For more about knife steels, Google "knife steels" and see what you come up with. You'll get much more than I could possibly reference and it's changing all the time.

Cheers, and thanks, all, for your comments.
 
Confederate said:
It used to be that it was made in Carbon V steel. Now, rather than being made from another carbon steel, all the Recon Tantos are being made of AUS8A. After calling Cold Steel, I was told that the company could no longer get Carbon V because the outfit that was doing their heat treatment went out of business. . . .
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The consensus is that Camillus made the entire knife. Camillus went out of business. Cold Steel is a brand placed on knives made by others. That is a tradition in the knife business -- many more brands than makers.

What are the performance differences one would see between the two in terms of toughness, sharpness, etc. I've understood carbon steels are generally harder and have better edge retention than even the better stainless steels. Is this true?
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All things being equal, yes -- whenever one can get all things equal.
 
Well, the Cold Steel person told me that they couldn't get the company that did the heat treatment to do it like they, CS, wanted it done. I didn't mention that because, frankly, I don't believe it. I tend to believe there is more involved. That's often the case with Cold Steel.

I do respect the fact that for all its hype, CS isn't totally prostituting its products like CRKT, Gerber and others. Some of the better brands in the past are now out and out lying, substituting junk steel for better steel and putting no marks on them to differentiate. My Recon Tantos all are marked "Carbon V" on the blades. With CRKT and Gerber, you're left to guessing or putting your trust in the mini-catalogs that come with the knives.

CS may bend the truth, but it doesn't throw their customers to the wolves. There are knives that used to be made with AUS 6 steel that are now being made with "400-series stainless" and they have the same looks and model numbers as the better knives. That's unconsionable.
 
Confederate said:
Well, the Cold Steel person told me that they couldn't get the company that did the heat treatment to do it like they, CS, wanted it done.
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Indeed. Camillus could not do the heat treatment -- being totally out of business. So not a lie. Just disingenuous. (Company motto?)
 
Confederate,

I have one of the Carbon V models and have been quite impressed with it. It is a slab of steel but I don't worry about breaking it. I did reprofile the edge bevel with a lansky and it cuts much better now. Actually got the Recon Tanto and my SRK (which I love) to both shave.

I have not been overly impressed with the coating but I'm not a huge coating fan anyway. On my SRK it is mostly come off after a couple time batoning some firewood but doesn't worry me since I oil my knives occasionaly with Balistol.

If you can find one I would definitely get the Carbon V version. I really wish they would have switched to a different carbon steel for this knife. I've thought about selling mine since I really don't use it, it just sits in a drawer but now that they are in Aus8 it would be hard to get rid of, even though I still don't use it. :-)

Charles
 
KeithH said:
Is data on steels on the internet? I want to learn!
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Yes, although you won't find any data on Carbon V. Carbon V was Cold Steel's name for the steel their subcontractor's used. It has been suggested that several steels were used, all identified by Cold Steel as Carbon V.

Here is a good place to start, Joe Talmadge's Steel FAQ sticky.:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=368828

There are other references available on the web. Some Googling will find you plenty. If you are persistent, you can google a steel you are interested in and find the steel mfg's website. Their tech data sheets can be useful. For instance, here is Crucible's
http://www.crucibleservice.com/products/knife/index.cfm

And if you get really ambitious, Here is a free textbook
Metallurgy of Steels for Bladesmiths and others who Heat Treat Steel By John D. Verhoeven
http://www.feine-klingen.de/PDFs/verhoeven.pdf
 
I probably own more Cold Steel knives than any other manufacturer in my collection. I have been consistantly pleased with their performance, and I've been tough on a few. Carbon V is good strong steel that takes and keeps a wicked edge. Only downside is that it can rust easily (those blades aren't covered in a black epoxy coating to look "tactical").
However, AUS8 has been used in many of Cold Steel's best knives, including their Original Tanto line. I wouldn't sweat it too much.
I know that some people get turned off to the company because of their marketing style, and I can see why they might. Still, despite bold claims, it has been my experience that they live up to them.
 
i own the UWK myself,and i'm very pleased with it also.
the carbon v steel is tough,real tough haha
the only thing i have to mention is the coating,it comes off so fast :(
 
My Recon Tantos are Carbon V. IMO Carbon V is better than AUS 8 but AUS 8 is OK. I wouldn't worry about a loss in toughness becuase their other tantos that they abuse in the "Proof" DVDs have been made from AUS 8 for years.

I probably won't buy one myself because I already have two in Carbon V and there are many other knives I want but don't have yet.

If you want tantos of comparative size and cost in carbon steel Kabar and Ontario have their own models.

Since the switch was recent the prices on used knives might be high, but they've made the Recon Tanto in Carbon V since the early 1990s so there are probably many out there. The prices should go down eventually.
 
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