Cold steel?

K

Knifeforone

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May 1, 2016
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I have been doing a ton of research on the cold steel master hunter and srk. And I am having a hard time deciding on which one. I don't have the funds for both, But it will be my Primary knife for Camping. Shtf, Survival, and bushcraft, and a lot of Hunting. Anyone had Experience with these knives can maybe help me decide. Thank you.
 
The SRK is the better all around for the purposes you mention IMO. I have used one for years; still, it is no longer the best (again, IMO) of all for the money but you didn't ask that. ;)
 
katanas said:
The SRK is the better all around for the purposes you mention IMO. I have used one for years; still, it is no longer the best (again, IMO) of all for the money but you didn't ask that. ;)
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True. :thumbup:

The SRK is a all arounder that does just about everything, but none of it exceedingly well. The Master Hunter, just like the Fallkniven F1, on the other hand, has a more limited range due to its being smaller (it doesn't chop), but will do what it does better....like bushcraft. And its smaller size is going to allow one greater mobility in the "shtf, survival" situations you bring up.

We really don't know what you intend to do with the knife, or what your skill set is, etc, so it's hard to tell you which one is "better."
 
CS recently (several months ago) re-released some classics, including the SRK, in 3v steel. Great knife at a reasonable price.
 
As far as skill set I'm an avid camper, hunter. Above average bushcrafter. I've lived out in the bush before without any electricity for over a year before. Ex military. I've lived off the land many times in the sticks. I am by no means what I would call an all out professional in all these ereas. But who really is. Were all learning all the time. But From what your all saying I'm leaning more towards the srk. By the way. I've been into knives for over 40+ years I own Ontario kbar Kershaw crkt Gerber Mora and many others. Love em all. Just hard to make my mind up sometimes. But I Really do appreciate all your opinions. This is a Great site.
 
I've only had the master hunter (and an old carbon v one at that), so I can't really compare the two. That said it is one of my favorites of what I own in its size range and the one I keep coming back to as a deer hunting knife. I always have it in my hunting pack in case whichever "new and improved" knife I'm carrying doesn't work out as well as I'd hoped.

If hunting and bushcraft really outweigh the other tasks you mentioned in importance to you, it's a solid if more specialized choice. If not, the srk has a pretty good reputation as an all arounder and would likely be the wiser choice between the two.
 
I'm agreeing with the general feeling here; between the two you're looking at, for what you want to do with the knife, the SRK in any configuration is probably your best bet... having one in 3V would be pretty sweet though.
 
marcinek said:
True. :thumbup:

The SRK is a all arounder that does just about everything, but none of it exceedingly well. The Master Hunter, just like the Fallkniven F1, on the other hand, has a more limited range due to its being smaller (it doesn't chop), but will do what it does better....like bushcraft. And its smaller size is going to allow one greater mobility in the "shtf, survival" situations you bring up.
Click to expand...

I'll add to Marci's points... If you are going to do a lot of hunting, and this knife is to be used dressing game, then get the Master Hunter, and get it in 3V.

Get the SRK if you're mostly going to beat on it, because it will take it. But I wouldn't pick the SRK for game processing at all.
 
Had both. Master Hunter is better for dressing game. The shorter length and belly makes it easier. The SRK is better as an
overall bushcraft/survival knife.
 
Either will do in the right hands. The SRK is a great all-rounder, but a bit big for skinning/field dressing IMHO. I have used mine on moose and it worked OK. The Master Hunter with its drop point excels at field dressing/skinning/quartering etc. and also works well for food prep and camp duties like cutting cordage, whittling tent stakes, etc. Neither are choppers but I've hand split firewood (hand pressure on back of the blade) for kindling with both and they work fine. If you need to split big chunks of firewood, an ax would be a better choice.
 
The SRK was probably the better when you were with the military, now you are a little older and out then The Master Hunter would probably do everything you need to do now.
More specialist tools do a neater job than the old days when if it was hacked up a bit didn't really matter.

There is a lot of competition in the hunter/bushcraft class.
 
That master hunter will be a better cutter especially for hunting but it's is not as durable as the SRK which will not cut as good as the thinner master hunter.

Sounds like you would enjoy the SRK more.
 
I have to agree with some of the guys above. I haven't hunted in about 15 years, and when I did I mostly went after rabbit and quail, so I'm far from expert on the subject, but I think the Master Hunter would be better for game, while the SRK would be better for everything else. Since the SRK would also work for game, if not as well as the Hunter, and be more durable for your other tasks, I think I'd go with it.
 
I bought both in CarbonV and they are both nice solid knives.

But two knives not really for comparable use (asides from both being made by CS).

The Master Hunter is primarily a hunting knife - it excels at that.

If you want to wail on the knife, its the SRK you turn to as general camp/utility knife.

You can pretty much tell by the different grinds on the two knives - if you belong in the batoning club, you dont want the Master Hunter for that. You turn to the SRK for use like that.

If possible, get both, as your stated activities will let both get to good use.

If push comes to shove, I suppose you could use the SRK for all the activities you line up, it just wont be pretty or a breeze (zipping through a Whitetail or a mallard with the SRK).
I do not recommend the SRK as a hunting knife.

The Master Hunter on the other side might not take too kindly to batoning or other hard use, which it -as a hunting knife- might not be intended for. You could do it to some extent -as its a well built solid knife- but it and the edge wont like it.
 
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SRK in 3V..

Just to add I had the SRK in Aus8 (not that the steel matters) but with hard use the handle material would get extremely sticky and rub off onto my hands. Not that is was a huge deal, but mostly an annoyance.

I wanted to love the SRK and even though they have made them in better steel, I cannot bring myself to buy a new one unless the handle is made of different material.

At this point, with more knowledge in knives I doubt I would but one after owning some of the better quality ones made now. To each his own though.
 
I was in a similar situation to you some years back. I carried the combat/utility blade when in the military. A do everything blade in a medium package. SRK size. It does everything but everything badly. Now I can use more than one tool as I'm not weighed down with military kit.

More specialised for certain tasks.
I go for a smaller hunting cutting knife for personal carry and supplement it with additional tools. Three other tools are: a Silky Saw, a Skrama, and a Small Forest Axe. Normally the saw and one of the other two which go onto the pack, be it a day-sack or bergen.

All four tools are far more efficient at what they are intended for, and a joy for when getting some work done.

Certainly the Cold Steel knives are very good indeed and well priced but I d think there are other options and Cold Steel wouldn't be my preferred manufacturer. As said there is a lot of competition now. However, if I was handed one to use then I would be pretty happy. SRK for the emergency grab bag, a backup spare, rather than everyday personal pride and joy.

Well thats my take and more than you asked. Hope I haven't confused the issue.
 
I have an old srk I bought years ago. It's in Carbon V and needs a rehandle job as the rubber/Kraton finally ripped at the guard.

It's an OK and indestructible blade, but it's not my first choice for fine work. You can baton with it or pry open cans, but it's thick for pretty much anything requiring finesse. The grind on mine is an axe-like convex that can get razor sharp, but it doesn't glide through like a finer edge. Most of my camp knives are khukuris with a 3/8" spine and a narrow convex edge that would probably do a better job processing game than the SRK.
 
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