The current production 6" Zytel scale Ti-Lite has an AUS-8A blade, although CS's catalog still says 440A. If you haven't seen one of these knives in person, you might not realize just how big these knives actually are. With an overal length of thirteen inches and a closed length of about 7", this is just about the largest sized knife you can carry in your pants' pocket. They're thick, and people will notice this thing in your pocket unless your pants are really baggy. I'm 6'1", and I find that my hands are too large to get a good grip on most tactical folders because they're too thin. This knife fills my hand properly and the holes and grooves in the Zytel provide a very sure grip. I find it works much better for me than the thumb grooves on a lot of tactical folders (like Gerber's Covert). Mine was pretty stiff when I got it, but with a little work it now opens easily. The tang surface, where it engages the liner lock, is rough to help prevent the lock from disengaging. It passes the spine whack test on my workbench. If you hold this knife near the pommel, instead of the quillion, the point of the blade will be about eight or nine inches from your hand (and you can do this because you don't have to line your fingers up with any grooves to have a sure grip). This is a much longer reach than the vast majority of tactical folders, and it provides a distinct tactical advantage. The stilleto-like blade will probably be seen as a disadvantage by many, and the switchblades of the '50's had a reputation for loosing their blades under lateral stress. But the Ti-Lite VI is strongly made, with reasonably thick steel liners, and I think it should hold up to lateral stress pretty well. Hopefully, someone with the financial means to do so can test this for us and compare it to a couple of popular tactical folders. It's nice to see a knife that doesn't "squish" in your hands when you squeeze the scales like a lot of knives do these days. Another advantage of this knife is that the blade can be deployed by hooking the quillion on the edge of your pocket when you draw it. This provides a split second advantage in a self-defense situation, but practicing it is hard on the pockets. The only real disadvantage I see (other than blade shape, which I don't see as much of an issue since I like spear points) is that the knife isn't ambidextrous. All in all, I feel this knife is one of the better tactical folders out there for the reasons I've mentioned. If you disagree, I'd like to read your comments.
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Cold Steel Ti-Lite VI review
- Thread starter buckg
- Start date
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2005
- Messages
- 313
Very nice review, and i agree with you for the most part. I dont really like spear point knives, especially for a folder, but for what it is designed for, quick deploy for self defense, and it's price. It is a very reasonable knife at a very reasonable price.
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2005
- Messages
- 239
I have know a guy who owns one and I was not at all inmpressed. I think it is all show no go. The blade shape is not at all good for utilty and I think it would snap very easily. And who needs a 6 inch stilleto blade? just my 2 cents.
TBG
TBG
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2005
- Messages
- 149
thebladeguy said:
I guess most of us carrying blades like this will be glad if we're never forced to use them. Combine it with a small utility knife like the Becker Necker and you have a great utility/self-defense combo.
@buckg
Fine review. It really made me looking forward to the 6" Ti-Lite I ordered last week.
tyr_shadowblade
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2006
- Messages
- 12,776
thebladeguy said:
1.) You are correct that this knife is mostly for "show" -- it looks really cool!
2.) You are also correct when you say the blade shape is not designed for utility.
3.) Snap easily? It's not gonna be able to withstand the same amount of abuse as a Trailmaster or Battle Mistress, but it's decent steel and fairly thick. It likely won't "snap" unless you're deliberately (or ignorantly) subjecting it to excessive abuse.
4.) Who "needs" a 6 inch stilleto blade? No-one "needs" something like that -- but I wanted one, so I bought it and carry it fairly regularly, as it's legal for me to do so. Does this upset you?
Also, the Ti-Lite VI is ambidexterous, as I am left-handed, and can open it with one hand fairly easily.
Yeah, it's a fairly "useless" knife . . . just like the Fairbairne-Sykes was "useless." It may work good at opening up the renal artery or abdomenal aorta, but you don't want to try opening up tin cans or shipping crates with it.
If you're looking for "utility", get a SAK or a Sharpfinger instead!
Just wanted to add one thing. When new, they're very stiff. Don't lubricate them right off the bat, I'm pretty sure that would make the break-in process take longer. Open them a few hundred times first, then loosen the pivot and lubricate. Open it another couple of hundred times and then you'll be able to tighten the pivot back up without making the knife stiff. This is how I broke mine in. If you're not as patient, I'm sure you could take it apart and polish things up. You'll need a T-10 driver for the pivot and a T-6 driver for the others. These are the same driver sizes as my Gerber knives, so I'm thinking that's some sort of defacto standard.