- Joined
- May 3, 2002
- Messages
- 6,192
AHEM! (First-time newbee review on BF. Go easy on me.)
I've been carrying a 'tactical folder' for about 10 years and collecting them for a few years. Until now, I've only owned ONE Cold Steel knife.
I once bought a Medium Voyager and I HATED IT! It was this AWFUL
little thing with a flimsey, Zytel handle. It had this tiny opening
stud that broke off when I tried to unscrew it to reverse it. so the
screw slot was on the other side. The screw that held the stud was
tinier than the screws that held the clip on. The clip, by the way,
snapped off when I tried to bend it out a bit because it was SOOO
tight I could barely get the knife on of off my pocket. The main pivot
pin was permanent without any kind of hex or torx head to loosen and
adjust, so if I didn't like the action I was stuck with it. I DIDN'T
like the action. I would have liked to loosen it because a lockback,
since there's the resistance of the spring while opening, should have
either a hole for better purchase to open or a screw to loosen it like
my SOG Autoclips which are just wonderful.
Out of morbid curiosity, and because I really like BIG folders, I just
got my new Cold Steel Pro Lite. I'm IMPRESSED! This is a GOOD knife! I
can't believe it!
First of all the knife doesn't FEEL that sharp to the touch, but if I
shave my arm with it, the hair leaves my arm easier than it would with
a new disposable razor. Pretty good. As far as productions go, only
SOG knives, in my experience, are sharper.
Great fit and finish.
Even though the handles are Zytel (YUCK!) they're pretty good for
Zytel. There's a LOT of material there and the liners must be strong
ones, because it's TOUGH to make the knife flex by pinching. There's a pretty good
G-10-like texture on them that gives the knife a good feel and good
grip. They're nicely shaped and comfortable with a fake choil to keep
you from sliding up on the blade. I don't think I'd be able to pry a
car door open with it or anything, but I think it's be at LEAST as
strong as any of the better Timberline, CRKT or Kershaw knives I have.
One of my more trivial complaints of bigger knives (like my new
Spyderco Lum Tanto) is that when they're clipped on your pocket it's,
often, near impossible to get your hand in your pocket to get
something ELSE out. This knife sits nicely in the back corner and lets
my hand slide by without taking up too much space in my pocket
opening.
I LOVE the liner lock. It's got a wide part that extends out of the
interior and is checkered to give you a good grip to disengage it.
It's got a nice, big hole in the blade for opening and it's tip-up
carry. These things combined, just like my Axis AFCK, make it
lightning fast to deploy. (I use my index finger on the right side of
the hole as the knife clears my pocket with an upward flick.)
The stainless pocket clip bent out a bit (like I like it) rather
easily.
I love the blade shape. I bought the plain clip-point version and it's
one big continuous curve. It has a nice brushed satin finish and is a
nice 1/8th thick. It also has a Torx screw to adjust the action, which
I loosened a bit to make it a tad faster.
If I had a complaint about this knife it's that Cold Steel must be
very generous when listing the length of the blades. They list it at 4
inches. I measure the cutting surface of mine at 3.375. It's only 4"
if you measure straight down the spine from tip to where it enters the
handle. As I said, I like big folders and when I find a 4" folder I'm
happy, but I want it to REALLY BE a 4" folder!
In any case, I was previously prejudice against Cold Steel, so I
thought I'd give this knife an honest review. Perhaps, since I've only
owned one other, I should check out some of their other knives.
I've been carrying a 'tactical folder' for about 10 years and collecting them for a few years. Until now, I've only owned ONE Cold Steel knife.
I once bought a Medium Voyager and I HATED IT! It was this AWFUL
little thing with a flimsey, Zytel handle. It had this tiny opening
stud that broke off when I tried to unscrew it to reverse it. so the
screw slot was on the other side. The screw that held the stud was
tinier than the screws that held the clip on. The clip, by the way,
snapped off when I tried to bend it out a bit because it was SOOO
tight I could barely get the knife on of off my pocket. The main pivot
pin was permanent without any kind of hex or torx head to loosen and
adjust, so if I didn't like the action I was stuck with it. I DIDN'T
like the action. I would have liked to loosen it because a lockback,
since there's the resistance of the spring while opening, should have
either a hole for better purchase to open or a screw to loosen it like
my SOG Autoclips which are just wonderful.
Out of morbid curiosity, and because I really like BIG folders, I just
got my new Cold Steel Pro Lite. I'm IMPRESSED! This is a GOOD knife! I
can't believe it!
First of all the knife doesn't FEEL that sharp to the touch, but if I
shave my arm with it, the hair leaves my arm easier than it would with
a new disposable razor. Pretty good. As far as productions go, only
SOG knives, in my experience, are sharper.
Great fit and finish.
Even though the handles are Zytel (YUCK!) they're pretty good for
Zytel. There's a LOT of material there and the liners must be strong
ones, because it's TOUGH to make the knife flex by pinching. There's a pretty good
G-10-like texture on them that gives the knife a good feel and good
grip. They're nicely shaped and comfortable with a fake choil to keep
you from sliding up on the blade. I don't think I'd be able to pry a
car door open with it or anything, but I think it's be at LEAST as
strong as any of the better Timberline, CRKT or Kershaw knives I have.
One of my more trivial complaints of bigger knives (like my new
Spyderco Lum Tanto) is that when they're clipped on your pocket it's,
often, near impossible to get your hand in your pocket to get
something ELSE out. This knife sits nicely in the back corner and lets
my hand slide by without taking up too much space in my pocket
opening.
I LOVE the liner lock. It's got a wide part that extends out of the
interior and is checkered to give you a good grip to disengage it.
It's got a nice, big hole in the blade for opening and it's tip-up
carry. These things combined, just like my Axis AFCK, make it
lightning fast to deploy. (I use my index finger on the right side of
the hole as the knife clears my pocket with an upward flick.)
The stainless pocket clip bent out a bit (like I like it) rather
easily.
I love the blade shape. I bought the plain clip-point version and it's
one big continuous curve. It has a nice brushed satin finish and is a
nice 1/8th thick. It also has a Torx screw to adjust the action, which
I loosened a bit to make it a tad faster.
If I had a complaint about this knife it's that Cold Steel must be
very generous when listing the length of the blades. They list it at 4
inches. I measure the cutting surface of mine at 3.375. It's only 4"
if you measure straight down the spine from tip to where it enters the
handle. As I said, I like big folders and when I find a 4" folder I'm
happy, but I want it to REALLY BE a 4" folder!
In any case, I was previously prejudice against Cold Steel, so I
thought I'd give this knife an honest review. Perhaps, since I've only
owned one other, I should check out some of their other knives.
)