Cold Steel San Mai series ?

H

harrybobble

Joined
Oct 5, 2006
Messages
76
Hi,
I was wondering if anyone had any knowledge on the new cs san mai? I am looking to get a general survival knife and am stuck between a cs recon scout or cs tai pan to carry on me all the time.I want at least 6" fixed and figure a harness should make it less annoying. Seen a pretty cool link by the way for shoulder harness at http://www.survivalsheath.com/sheaths/index.htm

anyways getting side tracked... I am definatly getting a gurkha for heavy chopping etc and figured cs new gurkha san mai was probably the best out there unless anyone knows of better ? I have a cheap imitation right now with crap steel but its a hell of a thing.


Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated

Thanks Chris

ps. before anyone gos off on one how bad they think cs is due to marketing blah blah blah I`ve just read 8 pages of it lol and still I disagree and no I am not a sales man for cs !
 
Welcome aboard Chris.

If you want to go CS, I think you would get more bang for your buck if you went with the SK5 version instead of the San Mai. SK5 is roughly 1085 carbon steel. I think it would be pretty darn good for the heavy chopping you want to do. I don't know how long the epoxy coating would last, but lots of folks use uncoated carbon steel for their big choppers with no problems.

That San Mai version is pretty pricey unless you absolutely gotta have a stainless blade. I don't think any of the new San Mai has shipped yet, so I doubt that anyone can give you actual performance info.
 
Hi,
Thanks for the info. I thought that it was strange that noone was mentioning it ! I am relatively new to this site and my knowledge of knives is not that good. One thing that always throws me is the grading of the steel that manufacturers go on about and have no idea which is the best/most durable. I was wondering does anyone else produce san mai knives ?

Thanks Chris
 
I don't know if they are san mai per se', but check out Fallkniven knives and mcusta?(folders in sanmai) knives. The fallkniven series has sandwiched steel like san mai, but I don't know if this is the same process with a different name or what, but the fallkniven has pretty much the same idea behind it, namely a harder core for edge holding and the stainless outer layers.
 
Thanks I will check that out.......... I had a look at the fallkniven series and they look like a really good quality knife. They say they are hand built apparently. Do you reckon cs mass produce there knives with CNC robots and grinders ? Just a bit wary about the handles, the cs look like they would be a really good grip for skinning whereas I guess a hyde handle would get hard to deal with when you r covered in blood. I could be wrong I have never owned one. I really like the look of the handles on the randall knives http://www.randallknives.com/catalog.php?action=modeldetail&id=27 the model 14 attack especially but I dont think its suited for skinning. I need a knife about 7" to 8 1/2 " blade, strong enough to give a bear or cougar a run for its money but also be good for skinning/digging/prying whatever. So many choices and so little knowledge lol
 
The Fallkniven knives are (usually) less expensive than CS's San Mai knives, and I'm sure most would say far superior. I would be one of those people.
 
The new San Mai Recon Scout is on the market currently. I believe I can pick them up for like $170.
 
if you like the looks of the Randall by all means check them out. I have carried my Randall 15 for over 30 years purchased 1974 and it has done everything including skinning and boning moose. Have recently purchased a model 14 from A G Russell not that it was needed but was available.
 
harrybobble said:
I need a knife about 7" to 8 1/2 " blade, strong enough to give a bear or cougar a run for its money but also be good for skinning/digging/prying whatever. So many choices and so little knowledge lol
Click to expand...


Hey Chris, You might spend some time hanging out on the "Wilderness and Survival Skills" forum. You'll find it By clicking "Training" at the top of the page.
Or go here:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=692

Lots of good info there.

Might be good to see what those folks say before you plunk down a lot of cash on what might not be the right blade for you.
 
Thanks, would sure be nice to find a huge knife store that stocked all these different knives. I have searched google for stores in B.c. Canada and there seams to be nothing out there. I will check up on training, thanks for all the info I appreciate it.
Chris
 
My apologies for repeating this post as I have started a new thread but I thought it would be applicable to cs San Mai also.


Hi,
I am pretty new to these forums but over the last week I have spent hours and hours reading new and old posts on different quality of steels and good knives out there. I have come to these conclusions cs san mai series is not as good a quality as fallkniven northern lights series due to the higher carbon core if you like in the cs is VG-1 which has had several bad reviews for its properties + a heck of alot of people have made bad reviews with regards to the shape of the handles and how quickly they detiorate where as Fallkniven use a VG-10 steel core which has had a whole lot of good reviews especialy with the smaller knives, specifically- spyderco who use this steel alot. I therefor think fallkniven will hold an edge alot longer whilst being as strong as the apparent cs due to the 2 outer layers of the laminate are made of the same 42OJ2 steel.

I could be wrong but cs strikes me as a mass produce company that use cnc robots and grinders where as Fallkniven seem like more family oriented craftsmans. I have not found many reviews of Fallkniven but the ones I have, have been good.

Therefor my own opinion, be it that of a novice is that the best knife I think is the Fallkniven NL2 that said I am a little wary of the hyde handle when I am skinning animals for getting to slippy and loosing grip. I owned a limited edition estwing hammer I used at work for a while and I took it back as I could not keep a hold of the bloody thing when it was raining out. Ideally I would like to have a handle fitted to it more like the Randall Model 14 if anyone knows of a good knife maker who deal with micarta handles or a link to a thread as I do not know where is best to go.

Just to add I e-mailed randall knives asking them a few questions about there products that they do not advertise and the response was blunt they had disregarded part of my e-mail and quite frankly as a first impression I would not deal with them again. Where as Fallkniven were friendly and helpful.

My apologies for going on and on I hope at least a little is helpful

Chris
 
You may want to head over to the Himalayan Imports sub forum in the manufacturers sub forums and gather some knowledge on Khukiris. Those are the real deal and guaranteed for life. Hard to beat.
 
Harry, I have five Fallknivens -- all made in a very modern factory in Japan. I like each one of the five.
 
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