Cold Steel SRK

G

Ghost93

Joined
Nov 30, 2004
Messages
114
Looking to see what people who used the SRK in the field thought of its preformance. Thanks All.
 
Alot of people have problems with CS, but they do make some good knives. I've had a SRK for five years and it has been outstanding. No complaints at all. Holds an edge and sharpens easily. Over all, it's a good size for almost everything, self defense, hunting, backpacking and such. I highly recommend it. The only reason I don't carry it now is cause I found Busse knives and I carry a badger attack. Hope this helps....Jim :D
 
I've owned an SRK for about 5 years and have used mine primarily as a camp and trail knife. It's a good value for the $$. It's easy to sharpen and takes a very keen edge but does not hold it for long when used heavily. Not too much of a problem though as it's EZ to touch up in the field. It does most chores with little problem. It has a strong spine without being too thick. Mine came with the Concealex sheath which I liked because of the variable mounting options. I would recommend it as a general camp/trail workhorse.
 
ive had mine since they first came out it has the old cordura sheath and i have a kydex one also great knife
 
No one I know has anything bad to say about the SRK, especially when you remind them that they go for about 50 bucks from a discounter.
 
The SRK is a good "sharpened Prybar", It's tough!!!!! BUT, it is also very thick at the edge, so it isn't much of a slicer. I too, have had one since they first came out, and I find it's overall usefulness limited.
Dan
 
as friendly banter...
what do you plan on slicing in the field?
I guess one could desire to slice salami real thin...
 
MelancholyMutt said:
...they go for about 50 bucks from a discounter.
Click to expand...
To get an SRK even cheaper, consider a factory second SRK (has cosmetic flaws, which most buyers say they can't even find) out of the Special Projects catalog from the folks at Cold Steel. The catalog for the 2003 Christmas timeframe had factory second SRK's on sale for $35 cheap.
 
Decent knife all around, as long as you're willing to work on the edge some to thin it out. I did NOT care for the handle material - still don't - but for the money it's a good buy. Given the choice between the SRK and, say, a Becker, I'd probably go with the Becker.
 
i am also interested in this knife and like the reviews i've read here. but my main problem in not having ordered this knife yet is my cheapness diesese, you guys were saying you can pick this up for 50.00, RokJok even said 35.00, when i checked there website it says 89.99 now i am willing to pay 90 for a knife but if i can get it cheaper by god i will. could you guys tell me where your seeing/getting these prices?
 
Two things; 1) Cheaper than dirt has them on their website for less than $50.00. and 2) Jeff Randall of Randall Knives fame used to have an excellent (and very favorable) review of the SRK on his adventure training website - went to look a min ago but I didn't find it though (?)...
 
I have had mine for about 2 years and love it, I have put that thing through through hell, running my traps,prying,slashing chopping I love it!!!! If I ever do destroy it I will buy another....does anyone here have the old cordura sheath for the SRK they are willing to part with?
 
logoboat said:
i am also interested in this knife and like the reviews i've read here. but my main problem in not having ordered this knife yet is my cheapness diesese, you guys were saying you can pick this up for 50.00, RokJok even said 35.00, when i checked there website it says 89.99 now i am willing to pay 90 for a knife but if i can get it cheaper by god i will. could you guys tell me where your seeing/getting these prices?
Click to expand...
I've suffered with that myself. Here's a site I've ordered from numerous times that has SRKs (Model 38CK) for less than $44.00 http://www.ultout.com/coldsteel-knives.htm
 
I'm pretty hard on camp knives and my SRK has held up great for the last 8 years or so. It's one of the few knives I have that I can dig my arrows out of tree stumps without worry, and it holds a great edge a very long time. I ended up thinning mine out also, but I found the factory edge *very* useable. If I'm going to do intricate slicing, I've got slipjoints and other blades for that.

I forgot to reply to Melancholy Mutt, about the only thing I've ever needed to slice were fuzzsticks, and even then rarely.
 
my srk has been a good knife almost got threw skinning two hogs with mine before sharping was need that seems really good also has been put threw hell doing my primitve survival skills.
 
logoboat said:
...my cheapness diesese, you guys were saying you can pick this up for 50.00, RokJok even said 35.00, when i checked there website it says 89.99 now i am willing to pay 90 for a knife but if i can get it cheaper by god i will. could you guys tell me where your seeing/getting these prices?
Click to expand...
Hi Logoboat, Welcome to Bladeforums!! I've got that same cheapness disease. ;) :D

With the Cold Steel (CS) products, vernacular like model names & numbers, date of manufacture, steel it is made from, where you buy it (website vs Special Projects catalog) gets to be important. The good news on the SRK is that there isn't a lot of variation, since they are all made in the same configuration of Cold Steel's Carbon V steel with squarish kraton stick handles.

So the distinction becomes between regular SRK's (let's call them Factory Firsts, though CS does not use that name) versus Factory Seconds. Factory Firsts are what gets sold through Cold Steel's distribution channel (retailers, cutlery stores, online vendors, etc). Factory Seconds are available from both the CS website and from the Cold Steel Special Projects catalog. You can tell which SRK's are Factory Seconds by the number "2" that is stamped (melted?) into the butt of the handle.

In the Special Projects catalog the Factory Second SRK knives may be listed with both a standard Factory Second SRK price and an even lower "on sale" price that typically has an expiration date. I would expect that the price you see for Factory Second SRK knives on the website would be the standard price for the Seconds as listed in the catalog.

The $35 SRK instance I quoted was from the 2003 Special Projects catalog. In that particular edition of the catalog the standard Factory Second SRK price was about $45 IIRC. But there was also a separate "on sale" listing for Factory Second SRK knives at a price of $35 until the end of January 2004. That expiration date was about a month-and-a-half after the catalog reached me, so I had plenty of time to decide whether or not I wanted to buy an SRK at that price.

IIRC the $90 price for an SRK is the full MSRP retail price for what we are calling a Factory First SRK.

To get the Cold Steel Special Projects catalog sent to you, you can click on the link below. You can also call the CS customer service folks at 1-800-255-4716 or 805-650-8481.
http://order.store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/wg-request-catalog?csstoreonline

Two other options on getting a cheaper CS SRK knife:

1. watch the "for sale" forum here on Bladeforums.com because SRK's do occasionally show up for sale there.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=746

2. post a "want to buy" ad in the Knives Wanted To Buy forum here on BFC to see if anyone out there has one they'll sell you at a price you're willing to pay.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=683

FWIW, I think a SRK factory second offers good "bang for the buck" and is a decently tough knife in that <$50 price range. The kraton stick handles are the single most objectionable part of the SRK knife in my usage of them. With extended use the rather squarish corners and rrelatively aggressive checkering of the kraton dug into my hand more than I cared for. Putting some curves & lessening the depth of the checkering would make for a better handle IMHO. Or we could just think of the SRK as a good beginning to a re-handle project for the "do it yourself-ers" in the crowd. ;)
 
After taking a fall landing on my Kabar marine fighting knife which at the time I thought it was a stout mofo till I pulled it out of the sheath. It had broke two inches from the hilt. It ended up as an improvised spear during the rest of that trip. I then bought a new (2nd) SRK for about 35.00 a few years ago. It has been heavily used, butchered countless deer/ wild hogs with it. I have size 11 hands and find the SRKs handle to be very comfortable for me. I recently purchased a Fallkniven S-1 Forest knife which has a 5" blade. The S-1 came super SHARP and so far is staying that way longer then the SRK does. I don't like the smallish handle on the S-l or it would be my # one knife. The SRK is easy to bring the edge back with my Sharpmaker. Go ahead and get one, you can't go wrong as it is one stout knife, heck if I had this one on when I fell it would have broken my leg instead...
 
I have had an SRK for about 3 years now and love it. I also have a Fallkniven S1. I have a smaller hand, so the S1 fits better, and I like the exposed butt tang. The SRK is less expensive than the S1. You will not go wrong with either. ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top