Colt Cobra

[Thomas J Ekman]

I saw an ad in Tactical Knives about Colt Cobra. It has serrations which are laser cut and seems like "cuts". What about the quality of the Cobra - has anyone handled one or own one?
It's only about 50 bucks on knifecenter.
One thought that came to my mind is that the special serrations might catch small fibers etc, which regular serrations don't.

 

[Thomas J Ekman]

...anyone seen it, used it, handled it????

 

[Cougar Allen]

That's the first I've seen of it. Looking at the pic it's hard to imagine how you would sharpen those serrations ... it's hard to imagine how the manufacturer sharpened them ... it's hard to believe they did; it sure looks like they just cut some slots....

I went to www.knifecenter.com to see what they have to say about it:

CT49 Cobra Series with Drop Point Laser cut serrated Edge Blade
One of the most advanced folders available, this knife is constructed using precision laser cut parts with CNC machinery. The design features a liner locking blade, a lightweight 6061 aircraft aluminum handle with an anodized military gray finish, and a stainless steel bead blasted pocket clip.
The half serrated blade utilizes a revolutionary patent pending laser-cut serration that does not require special tooling to resharpen.
Closed Length: 4-1/2
Blade Length: 3-3/16
Blade material: 440 Stainless Steel
Handle Material: 6061 Aircraft Aluminum

Beats me. I still suspect they're just unsharpened slots, but who knows....

 

[Razoredj]

I think that's the whole point -- I don't think they intend for you to sharpen the slots at all. It looks like you'd sharpen it as if it were a normal straight edge, though I'm not sure what benefit is then gained by the existence of the slots.

If it helps, there was a positive review of the knife -- odd serrations and all -- in Soldier of Fortune a while back.

I'd disregard any hype regarding CNC manufacturing, however. That has no real bearing on the quality of the knife, though of course it helps make each knife more consistent with the ones that came before and after it. I mean, you have to program the machinery to do what you want it to do.

 

[Cosmic Superchunk]

On the adverts I've seen for this knife in Blade, TK, etc... United Cutlery states they can be sharpened with conventional stones. How do they cut? I don't know, but as far as quality, I'd say it's not bad for the money. My first "Colt" knife was the Ken Onion designed Python. The quality is pretty basic and I would probably compare it's quality to CRKT's Commander series. The only other Colt knife I own is the German made CSAR. The Cobra seems to be a little higher in quality than the Python, but I don't own one. I also noticed that United is also marketing Fred Carter designed knives, some of which look exactly the same as the ones produced by Gigand.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

Razoredj :

I'm not sure what benefit is then gained by the existence of the slots.

Increases slicing ability. You can see this for yourself by just chopping a harder knife into a softer one a few times, and then just sharpen all the damaged steel out of the way (it will work even if you don't do this). Even though the notches are not sharpened, they will still increase the cutting ability on strong slices through heavy rope for example. They also don't dull so you can dig a hole in rocky soil with the blade and then still slice through a piece of rope as the notches will tear it apart while the rest of the blade just glances along it.

I have seen this on machetes many times. After enough work to dull them, when I need to slice up some harder material I will just use a section of the machete blade that has a notch/chip in it. While the "serrations" in that area have an unsharpened geometry, they will still allow the blade to slice up material fairly easy providing you can haul the blade through it. I would suspect however that Colt is just doing it for looks, and anyway it is hardly the optimum finish for that class of knife.

-Cliff

 

[fishface5]

Cliff beat me to it. My folks have an OLD kitchen knife that has lots of tiny chips in it, and it is a SAVAGE cutter. Somehow the gaps increase the "traction" that the blade is able to grab on the material it is cutting. I still think that having a continuous edge, like Spydie serrations for example, provides more cutting power - but this "slot" design will work ok. And it means that the serrations don't have to be sharpened - just sharpen the blade normally - which I guess is more convenient, although I find that as long as Spydie serrations are even moderately sharp they are very effective, & anyway they aren't hard to sharpen on a 204.

As an aside, "440" steel could be anything, probably 440A, which means for a similar price you could easily get something with better blade steel. Spend a few extra bucks for a BM mini-AFCK, with real serrations, for example. Or a Spydie Native, or any number of other options.

 

[Thomas J Ekman]

I think I'll buy one. Those serrations sure look strange.

 

[Holden]

I think you might regret buying that knife... I sure do. I am not impressed by this knife in any way. At first glance, it's a really cool looking knife. The "serrations" are only unsharpened slots in the blade. They do help cut things but tend to hang on fibrous materials and also tend to choke on cardboard. They just fill up with material and are a real pain in the butt. The steel isn't that great either. Really hard (or impossible) to get an edge on it. It was very dull out of the box, so I re-sharpened the blade down to the 600 grit stone on my Lansky. Didn't do a damn thing. Still barely shaves. The same sharpening job on my BM 722 resulted in a scary sharp blade. If you want a cool "gadget" knife, this might be a good buy for you. It's got those cool "serrations" and it's also got a "Carson Flipper" type device on it, although it's hard to use since the action of the knife is really coarse. The last and most inexcuseable fault is that the liner lock is very thin, almost reminicient of the Schrade Cliphanger's, which someone on these forums aptly described as being like tin foil. If you're looking for a knife that looks impressive, go for it. However, like Socialism, this knife really only works great on paper.

-Holden-

 

[Thomas J Ekman]

Ahhh, the thing about the serrations catching into small fibers was true, just as I thought it would be.
Maybe a different knife then...

 

[Thomas J Ekman]

I went ahead and bought the knife from knifecenter. At a price of $50, it's not much to think twice about. I bought the spear point semi serrated version, just curious about the serrations. Normally I hate serrations, but decided to give these new kind of serrations a try.
I have to say that the folder came rather dull right out of the box.
I'll try to put a decent edge on it tonite.
Other than the edge, the folder seems solid, and comes with adjustable screws. There is no blade play whatsoever, which surprised me for a knife at that price tag. I think it's 440 A steel, so it should be able to hold an edge.
The opening is smooth, could be a little easier perhaps, but once the liner is engaged, I've not been able to make it fold shut. I've hammered the back of the edge against various body parts, leaving nothing but bruises. Sort of unusual spine whack test.

I'll give it the Sharpmaker treatment and let you know if it "survived"!

 

[Thomas J Ekman]

After the Sharpmaker followed by Isler Poli-cut and Puma strop it is now shaving sharp.

I think that for 50 bucks you should at least get a sharp knife. Aside from that, the knife seems solid. It will be my daily carry for some weeks to find out more about it.

The steel is 440A, isn't it?