Cold Steel SRK Carbon V

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rlewpolar

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Oct 4, 2022
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Just bought a NOS Cold Steel SRK Carbon V made in the USA knife. Should be here in a few days. Paid $150 for it. I feel like I overpaid, especially since I bought the 3v version about a year ago for about the same price. Anyway, hoping some Cold Steel experts can tell me a bit more about the Carbon V version which is apparently desirable and rare these days and reassure me a bit that I did not get completely fleeced 😬
 
rlewpolar said:
Just bought a NOS Cold Steel Carbon V made in the USA knife. Should be here in a few days. Paid $150 for it. I feel like I overpaid, especially since I bought the 3v version about a year ago for about the same price. Anyway, hoping some Cold Steel experts can tell me a bit more about the Carbon V version which is apparently desirable and rare these days and reassure me a bit that I did not get completely fleeced 😬
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What’s the condition?
 
quoted from post by Paul Tsujimoto on it....

"1) Cold Steel Carbon V was first produced in the Alcas Factory (Cutco and KA-BAR) Mid 1980s, Carbon V was originally 1095CV/0170-06/50100B.
2) Cold Steel moved to Ontario early 1990s. Carbon V started out as 1095CV/0170-06/50100B but while at Ontario, Dan Maragni removed the small amount of nickel from the formula.
3) Cold Steel moved to Camillus approx. 1995. Carbon V stayed 0170-06 minus the nickel.
How do I know all of this?...I worked at all 3 factories.

Paul Tsujimoto
Sr Eng
Prod Dev and Qual
KA-BAR Knives"


likewise pretty sure Dan Maragni developed the heat treat for carbon v, and suggested Lynn use the carbon v for this knife....
but im going by memory and I could be off on that. I know Dan worked at cold steel for awhile though and was involved in testing and such , back then...late 80s early 90s.

Dan's still here on the ontario forum as he's working with them now.
 
jbmonkey said:
quoted from post by Paul Tsujimoto on it....

"1) Cold Steel Carbon V was first produced in the Alcas Factory (Cutco and KA-BAR) Mid 1980s, Carbon V was originally 1095CV/0170-06/50100B.
2) Cold Steel moved to Ontario early 1990s. Carbon V started out as 1095CV/0170-06/50100B but while at Ontario, Dan Maragni removed the small amount of nickel from the formula.
3) Cold Steel moved to Camillus approx. 1995. Carbon V stayed 0170-06 minus the nickel.
How do I know all of this?...I worked at all 3 factories.

Paul Tsujimoto
Sr Eng
Prod Dev and Qual
KA-BAR Knives"


likewise pretty sure Dan Maragni developed the heat treat for carbon v, and suggested Lynn use the carbon v for this knife....
but im going by memory and I could be off on that. I know Dan worked at cold steel for awhile though and was involved in testing and such , back then...late 80s early 90s.

Dan's still here on the ontario forum as he's working with them now.
Click to expand...
Good info, thanks
 
Its got the markings all on one side, so it's an early one. But it's got the epoxy coating, so it's not the earliest version, which was parkerized.
 
jlauffer said:
Its got the markings all on one side, so it's an early one. But it's got the epoxy coating, so it's not the earliest version, which was parkerized.
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Thanks. So made in the 1990s? Possible to know who made it for Cold Steel? Was one factory better than another (i.e. Ontario vs Camillus)? Not that it really matters but the early Cold Steel stuff was interesting.

Question about sheaths; will the Carbon V version fit into sheaths made for the later Taiwan made versions? This Carbon V one does not come with an original sheath so thinking of having one made from kydex. Wondering if I can just order a sheath made for the 3v version (or San Mai or SK5) and avoid having to ship the knife out. Or maybe it’s unavoidable 🤷‍♂️. Guess I’ll wait to get the knife in hand.
 
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PsychoSword said:
$150 is pretty reasonable for that rare knife. A lot of people would have paid more. I wouldn't, but only because I've never been huge on the SRK.
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Thanks. $150 today buys you a pretty nice knife and this thing is 30+ years old and simple carbon steel. Doesn’t really make sense but on the other hand, it’ll be a nice addition to the other two SRKs I have. I’ve always liked (not loved) the SRK but the knife I REALLY like is the Recon Tanto. Like an SRK but with a very robust tip. The SRKs have a bit of a fragile tip comparatively and the Recon Tanto does away with that problem completely
 
If it had the sheath and box, I would say you did ok. But for just the knife I think you overpaid a bit.
 
jlauffer said:
If it had the sheath and box, I would say you did ok. But for just the knife I think you overpaid a bit.
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Yeah, it has a Western sheath that comes with it (not familiar with that, we’ll see if it’s a POS). The original sheath would have been good although on principle, not a fan of Cold Steel sheaths, especially the Secure EX ones. Not sure what they were back in the 90s
 
That's a good price for one in new condition.

The Secure-ex sheaths probably won't fit if they are anything like the Recon Tantos.

The Carbon V Recon Tanto has a larger ricasso than the SK5 version so it won't fit the sheath for the SK5.
 
Benjamin Liu said:
That's a good price for one in new condition.

The Secure-ex sheaths probably won't fit if they are anything like the Recon Tantos.

The Carbon V Recon Tanto has a larger ricasso than the SK5 version so it won't fit the sheath for the SK5.
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Exactly right, I’m looking at the pics of the Carbon V version of the SRK vs. the 3v and SK5 ones I have and the ricasso on the Carbon V version looks several times bigger. Thanks for the input 👍
 
rlewpolar said:
Just bought a NOS Cold Steel SRK Carbon V made in the USA knife. Should be here in a few days. Paid $150 for it. I feel like I overpaid, especially since I bought the 3v version about a year ago for about the same price. Anyway, hoping some Cold Steel experts can tell me a bit more about the Carbon V version which is apparently desirable and rare these days and reassure me a bit that I did not get completely fleeced 😬
Click to expand...
You absolutely did NOT overpay! It is a knife of a specific vintage and steel composition and it performs beautifully. I am a huge fan of Carbon V and if I were in the market for another Carbon V SRK, I'd have jumped at the opportunity. Well done!

iBmkuq4.jpeg


Zieg
 
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