Cold steel SRK?

That Benchmade really looks very nice. It could be an improved SRK mark 2 :D

It looks like it will be a better cutter also. If I didn't already have an Fallkniven A1 this knife would be at the top of my list.

What does CSK II stand for? Cold Steel Knife?;)
 
My $.02, FWIW

I tried two of the early ones - sharpened prybars, terrible cutters. They were designed to take abuse and are very strong. The old grind didn't go as high which meant a more obtuse edge. You could get them to shave hair without problem but for actual work, poor cutting performance. My Cold Steel Outdoorsman seriously outperformed them (more $$ though). With the edge thinned out and the rough coating polished off they were decent but that meant rework of a new knife.... I did like the basic proportions and the overall durability however and would recommend them as a beater. Throw 'em at trees, stick them into the ground, split kindling, etc...
 
Couldn't disagree more. My SRK was shaving sharp right out of the box and could easily shave the hair off a nat's butt. In fact the SRK is my only knife, sold off everything else. Furthermore, I use the SRK every morning to shave with, prepare my breakfast and break up concrete blocks at my construction job, not necessarily in that order. Don't even have to sharpen it either. Same edge as when I bought it in 1998.

Merwin sounds like the kind of armchair warrior that only dreams of pushing a knife to its limits. Cliff Rules!!!
 
Actually merwin is right, at least in regards to my old carbon V SRK, sharp for sure, shave all day with it, but the edge is way to thick to cut well. Anyone who thinks busse patented sharpened prybars has obviously never handled an old Tops or Cold Steel SRK. Compared to those even my fusion battle mistress has a scalpel thin edge. The recon tanto on the other hand has a decent grind for a heavy duty knife, the srk was just too thick at the edge.
 
I have the Recon Tanto and it feels a bit blocky, kind of like my Smith & Wesson 659, but it's light weight and cuts very well. I also have my father's Ka-Bar carbon USMC knife from WWII. My dad was an ensign at the time and he carved his name and military rank in the middle of the sheath with two horizontal lines, one above, the other below. Then, every time he went somewhere with it, he carved the name on it. Mindoro, Guam, Tinian, Indo-China, Mekong, and so forth. On the front of the sheath, he scrawled 43, and under that, 44, and under that, 45.

That's quite a collection piece and a great heirloom. Anyway, despite the hard use the knife's obviously seen, there's no doubt it could still go through a couple of more wars and still provide fit duty.

Anyway, there's nothing like a great knife, and there are some excellent ones being made. I even spent thirty bucks on a S&W Homeland Security Tanto and was surprised that it was built like a brick outhouse. Perhaps it's too heavy, though it's capable of clearing small patches of land and is a great weapon, but it could pry the gates of hell open if it had to.

I've never had problems with a Carbon V blade, but Cold Steel's knives are tough, light and dependable. The SRK has a good balance and will do what it's designed to. None of these knives is good for all types of cutting. They're mostly designed for hacking brush, prying things and, of course, as a weapon. My father said that anything a knife could do, it usually did at one time or another.

I guess that's why it's a good idea to carry a Frosts Mora (or two...or three) with you when you venture out into the wilderness.

SWCKSURC.jpg
CS80FTT.jpg


Though often maligned, the S&W H.S. Tanto (left) could easily
survive a nuclear war without a scratch. Despite its weight, it
has its place, though lighter knives will always be preferred when
hoofing it over hills and through the dales. On the other end of
the spectrum, Cold Steel's $22 dandy little G.I. Tanto (right)
is a bargain blade that can withstand almost anything anyone
can dish out.
 
D R E,

I guess that saves you humping the weight of a Lady Schick when going fast deep and light..:D

Perhaps if you wore boxers instead of bikinis you could reduce the shaving...:barf:

Also, I'm not full of balogna, I'm full of smoked sausage (had some for lunch)!

Tounge planted firmly in cheek,
Mike

P.S.
Yoda4561,
Don't let him fool you, he has enough Bark Rivers to choke a horse. If I remember right, he gave away his last SRK to a young man that needed a decent first knife.
 
The handles are less durable than shit. The whole handle is made of rubber, and barely attatched. The tang is also pretty skinny.
(( Find a more technical term. ))

Go with an Ontario RAT5.
 
KTMGUY said:
The handles are less durable than shit. The whole handle is made of rubber, and barely attatched. The tang is also pretty skinny.

Go with an Ontario RAT5.
Click to expand...
Well now, isn't that a well thought out review...:rolleyes:
 
merwin said:
D R E,

I guess that saves you humping the weight of a Lady Schick when going fast deep and light..:D

Perhaps if you wore boxers instead of bikinis you could reduce the shaving...:barf:

Also, I'm not full of balogna, I'm full of smoked sausage (had some for lunch)!

Tounge planted firmly in cheek,
Mike

P.S.
Yoda4561,
Don't let him fool you, he has enough Bark Rivers to choke a horse. If I remember right, he gave away his last SRK to a young man that needed a decent first knife.
Click to expand...

Yah, can't wait for the 7" Bravo II. Choke a horse? You mean fillet it with a little Chianti . . .uhmm!:)
 
The SRK is really good, at least the Carbon V version is. I have no experience with the AUS-8 version, so I can't comment on it.

Regarding the SEALs, BUD/S, and Frogmen: There is no "offical issue" knife. Yes, knives are distributed to team members. Yes, the SRK in Carbon V was one of them, at least as recent as July of 2006. So were the Sog SEAL Pup, the Boker Applegate / Fairbairn Combat Knife, and the Spyderco Endura 4. The thing is, you can buy almost any knife you want from the PX on a military base. Just because there's a photo of a soldier / Marine / SEAL using it, doesn't mean the government gave it to them. The SRK is a great knife that requires care in a marine environment, and that's why some of the BUD/S students are given them.
 
Regarding the rubber handle.

One aspect I hadn't thought of was explained to me by Lynn Thompson at a gunshow. He pointed out that a kraton handle was much easier to replace under warranty than other materials. They could turn around a repair pretty quick. Do they end up needing to replace handles more often? Perhaps, but I can't say. Yes, cost must always be considered by the manufacturer. The SRK meets a price point pretty effectively.

They're not everone's cup of tea (I'm not crazy about them) but they aren't without merit. Depends on your circumstances and preferences.

Regards,
Mike
 
I have 2 SRK's. I like them. They were very good value for money spent(Carbon V)
 
Confederate said:
I also have my father's Ka-Bar carbon USMC knife from WWII. My dad was an ensign at the time and he carved his name and military rank in the middle of the sheath with two horizontal lines, one above, the other below. Then, every time he went somewhere with it, he carved the name on it. Mindoro, Guam, Tinian, Indo-China, Mekong, and so forth. On the front of the sheath, he scrawled 43, and under that, 44, and under that, 45.

That's quite a collection piece and a great heirloom. Anyway, despite the hard use the knife's obviously seen, there's no doubt it could still go through a couple of more wars and still provide fit duty.
Click to expand...

My deepest respects to your father. His knife and sheath is a kind of war museum in itself. :thumbup:

Anyway, there's nothing like a great knife, and there are some excellent ones being made. I even spent thirty bucks on a S&W Homeland Security Tanto and was surprised that it was built like a brick outhouse. Perhaps it's too heavy, though it's capable of clearing small patches of land and is a great weapon, but it could pry the gates of hell open if it had to.

I've never had problems with a Carbon V blade, but Cold Steel's knives are tough, light and dependable. The SRK has a good balance and will do what it's designed to. None of these knives is good for all types of cutting. They're mostly designed for hacking brush, prying things and, of course, as a weapon. My father said that anything a knife could do, it usually did at one time or another.

I guess that's why it's a good idea to carry a Frosts Mora (or two...or three) with you when you venture out into the wilderness.
Click to expand...
This is pretty much The Word on this topic. Use the knives for what they were designed to do. The good ones aren't always elegant or expensive.

By the way, did you get the right picture on the S&W? That looks like an Extrema Ratio. :p :D
 
JNieporte said:
The SRK is really good, at least the Carbon V version is. I have no experience with the AUS-8 version, so I can't comment on it.

Regarding the SEALs, BUD/S, and Frogmen: There is no "offical issue" knife. Yes, knives are distributed to team members. Yes, the SRK in Carbon V was one of them, at least as recent as July of 2006. So were the Sog SEAL Pup, the Boker Applegate / Fairbairn Combat Knife, and the Spyderco Endura 4. The thing is, you can buy almost any knife you want from the PX on a military base. Just because there's a photo of a soldier / Marine / SEAL using it, doesn't mean the government gave it to them. The SRK is a great knife that requires care in a marine environment, and that's why some of the BUD/S students are given them.
Click to expand...

Keep in mind too, part of BUD/S training is paying attention to the seemingly insignifigant "details" in each evolution. A rusty knife edge, whether an SRK or Ontario Mark 3 will not bode well for the student. Neither will a dull blade garner any positive attention from the instructors unless you consider going back into the surf refreshing and character building (which it is of course :))
 
yoda4561 said:
Actually merwin is right, at least in regards to my old carbon V SRK, sharp for sure, shave all day with it, but the edge is way to thick to cut well.
Click to expand...

That so. What cant you cut? Survival food like ripe tomatoes or truffels.

The SRK is a good solid blade. Dont like the edge angle 20 mins of work on a stone can change that. It cuts anything worth cutting out of the box, its a survival knife:rolleyes:. Anyone who says otherwise is full of it.

Skam
 
Like I said, it cuts, but it's no high performance cutting tool. Perfectly fine for what it is but I find it unnecessarily thick, the recon tanto is much nicer in that respect. The extra thick edge made it slow to resharpen compared to my beckers and busses and a Kabar USMC. There's plenty of other knives that can cut well without sacrificing strength or chopping performance, so an SRK isn't my first choice.

*speaking of the out of the box edge. Shaving sharp, too polished, couldn't cut half inch nylon rope with it because it would just slide off.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top