CS American Lawman Incoming

I believe that you will be pleasently suprised by your CS American Lawman. While the AUS-8 isn't high speed steel by any means it has a decent heat treat and will be more than serviceable also the Triad Lock is something else and is one of the most secure feeling locks you'll ever see.
 
I've been lurking around the American Lawman myself, but can't pull the trigger because of the price and combination of Aus8/no-liners.

I'm not bashing Aus8 either - I've got plenty of knives that use it, but let's face it - it's not an expensive steel. The Triad Lock is an amazing lock, but it's like having a Ford 9" rear-diff in a go-cart in my opinion. The American Lawman is neither the size, nor the type of knife that I'll ever abuse or use to the extreme that it needs anything other than the strength a lock-back or liner-lock would provide (especially with no liners).

At the end of the day, the lack of liners in the new model is what does it for me. I'm not really that weight-conscious with knives at this size, and I do occasionally use my knives for twist-cutting type actions (similar to Ankerson's test where he cuts the wooden 2-3" stick to a point) and I'm always afraid of the steel-G10 contact loosening up (at the pivot, stop-pin, or lock-bar-pivot).

I've seen it happen to more expensive knives that rely only on G10, but I also understand that it probably does not cause as many issues in lock-back/Triad-lock models as it is in Frame-locks.

Also, I wish they made an uncoated version.
 
I've had no problems with mine. It's been around the block a time or two. I even used it and a 4lb cross peen hammer to batton through a 2x4 once.
It is the one and only folding knife (of hundreds) I have owned that I have absolutely no reservations about using for whatever it is I need or want to do.

Here it is pictured with one of my newest edc tools
2012-02-10135815.jpg
 
I handled the American Lawman at the Fall Parking Lot Sale that Cold Steel had and was instantly impressed. It has excellent ergonomics and is a very sturdy feeling knife. Only reason I skipped it was due to on-the-spot pricing being higher than online. Definitely on my list -but only after picking up that new spear blade Recon 1. :thumbup:
 
OrdnanceBubbaUSMC said:
In the range of the CS American Lawman, Voyagers, Recon 1's, etc. there isn't really anything with better edge retention and as good, as rugged build quality and design. It's the same tired, easily worn liner lock or traditional lock-back thrown in to keep costs down and the great innovation is a slight change of blade and handle shape.

You can sharpen the AUS8 CS folder a bit earlier but what can you do to beef up the build and blade of an Endura, Vantage Pro, or even Paramilitary 2? Going longer without a sharpening touch up doesn't mean much for me. Dependability and quality out the box is way up there compared to what forumites would like to believe are better without actually buying new CS folders, ergonomics - handle shape and thickness reflects someone who really uses knives designed it instead of someone who just holds and pockets knives a lot.

I could go on about this stuff for a long time but it really depends on the person, if you use folders a lot, very heavily without babying them you actually appreciate the soft, average quality of AUS8 and other outdated blade steel. If an important quality for the folder is how it will/might do as a back-up weapon the designs and build are much better than most. Every time I see a tactical folder with handle that intentionally troubles a thumb capped grip I shake my head in silence for the shameless way it is marketed as if the designer knew jack.
Click to expand...

You speak the truth as usual fellow knuckle dragger. :thumbup:


For people complaining about the steel:

Learn how to hone your steel already? The difference between Aus8A and Vg10 is slim at best and you strop it back into sharpness using a micro bevel in a matter of minutes. Are you really going to tell me a performance difference of 10-30% depending on what lower end "super" steel you're using is absolutely without a shred of a doubt going to make more of a difference to you than the extra $$$$$$ and many times overall worse hardware you're getting from it? You can buy a knife from another manufacturer for 3x the price (if not more) and not even be able to service it because the screws are so poor they will strip on you for god's sake. Some will give you teflon washers, plastic backspacers and tiny pin sized pivots at absurd prices. You may not even get a proper G10 handle...

No I'm with Ernest Emerson on this one. The steel race is not as important as offering other values be it american made (or in my case swedish made) or good materials and fit and finish at a great price point that allows you to actually use the knife the way a knife should be used.

[video=youtube;PwJz3KgAuJ0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwJz3KgAuJ0[/video]

20:20 and onwards = the truth.
 
Last edited:
The difference in cuts between 154 CM vs AUS8 would be barely worth talking about if you were doing controlled tests cutting hemp or nylon rope. You might get 20 more cuts out of the 154 before it needs touched up over the AUS8 but it could be so close as to surprise depending on how many knives you tested using identical blades of different steels heat treated to the normal set we see in most knives.

As for hard use. The Cold Steel linerless models do not sacrifice a thing to one with a liner in it. I thought that at first, no I knew that at first but it turns out that test results show there is really no benefit to adding liners. The G10 is strong and durable capable of taking one hell of a beating and I don't care which knife you grab out of that Emerson case and test against the Cold Steel American Lawman I can tell you that Lawman is among the toughest folders made. The thing is a tank in a small size.

I carry a Mini AK 47 quite a bit and love beating on the thing. Way back some time ago I put down my thoughts on the Triad lock after buying my first Cold Steel knife using it. That was a liner model which ended up being the first generation of the American Lawman. A fine knife and I was disappointed with the second one I bought the same day the first arrived because it was one without liners. My thoughts at first were that it was a pretty cheap trick by CS to do this but you know what? I kept the linerless and got rid of all the ones with stainless liners because in the case of this lock all they did was add unnecessary weight.

I've added to my thoughts since its first writing some but not that often. I was just there the other day and cleaned this up some but its been out there on my blogger for some time. While I favor small frame locks over anything else I do own and use quite a few Triads now. The sense of security and confidence they bring to the table is hard to deny once you actually handle and use one. My mini A47 is a little giant of a knife in my opinion. I have grown very fond of it since getting it and tend to do things with it I hesitate to use others for so that fact makes it easy to carry and keep on me. Anyway, for anyone interested..... http://strsbackyardknifeworks.blogspot.com/2010/06/cold-steel-mini-ak-47-triad-lock.html
 
EZ Bake, another doubting Thomas here, not about AUS 8, I already know what that can do when heat treated properly and I'm impressed. The cold steel AUS 8 holds it edge almost as long as my Bos heat treated S30V in my Buck Mayo TNT. My main concern was first and foremost is was CS and second the lack of liners, no worries this is essentially a lock back done Demko style, the lack of liners is NO problem whatsoever. You nailed it when you said it was not a frame lock, I'm with you will not ever buy a frame lock with just G10 on one side, your asking for problems if you ever torque the knife good rather purposely or by accident. This however is not a frame lock and you will be amazed how rigid, tough and just flat out solid this knife feels.

I never carried anything but titanium frame locks with solid titanium handle slabs on both sides, no liners but solid titanium handles. However, I respect Ankerson and his reviews and after his review bought one, guess what I now own 5 of them. 1 is in my EDC rotation and the other 4 are in the armory for future use by either me or my sons, etc.

Get 1, you will not be disappointed.
 
Bought one at a gunshow yesterday and I'm very impressed.

It's larger than I expected - like a thicker Spyderco Para2 really (I don't know why but by the description and video reviews I watched, I was expecting something the size of the Sage). This is definitely a stout knife. The construction and materials alone make it worth the money. The scales are .185" thick (each) and the blade-stock is right around the Para2's.

My only complaints are that the Black paint on the blade is absolutely garbage and I wished they put even a tiny bit of jimping on the spine of the blade or at the lock-bar (where the scales are jimped on the sides of the lock-bar).

I'm stripping the paint off of mine this week and I may take a dremmel to it to get my jimping.

It's well worth the money.
 
swegeek, right on man. how many people can appreciate (or would even notice) the slight differences in edge holding between AUS8-A and something like vg10 or 154cm? I don't know about anybody else but I touch up ALL of my regular users (vic steel, D2, s60V, aus8a and lately M4) on a weekly basis and do not expect to be without use of stones for extended periods of time nor do I loathe maintenance. A knife is the sum of it's parts, how many people recommend the Endura against the CS Lawman or Recon 1 when the SPyderco lockbacks are notorious for vertical play? So, you get a slightly better steel with blade play? No, I'll stick with the similarly prices rock solid CS lockbacks that have a perfectly acceptable steel in w what I consider to be, better build quality.
 
It's funny, no one's bashed AUS8A in this thread yet several posters jump to defend it and even go to the Tri-Ad lock vs other locks to show why CS is the better knife :)

I've got nothing against Cold Steel or AUS8 for that matter, my only point was that the cost of AUS8A, G10-only on the liners (and whatever the lock-bar and spring are made of) didn't necessarily justify the price in my head before handling this folder.

Especially when you look at the fact that the blade-coating isn't great (which I assume means not costly), there's no jimping (which means less machine-time), and the Tri-Ad lock isn't exactly difficult to machine (not even counting the fact that I bought this at a gun-show with no receipt, so my understanding is that I'm screwed if it ever comes to warranty-work).

If AUS8A offers barely less retention than something like S30V or 154CM, then cool. But that same line of logic means that it offers barely more than one of the Sandvik steels (or even the Chinese 8CR13MOV). Again, not bashing, just saying that there's usually a give/take relationship on features/materials/QC/etc. and not everyone wants the same thing, but we all want it for the best price :)

So when you look at not getting expensive steel (not saying its not as good, just not expensive), not getting extra machined jimping (aside from the spots on the G10 at the face of the lock-bar), not getting steel-liners, and not getting stone-washed/bead-blasted/good-coating on the blade/lock-bar... it just looks like I'd rather get something with a little more work/materials in it before spending $50 or more.

Here's another example of an over-priced knife for what it is - the Benchmade Emissary. Aluminum, S30V, and the Axis lock don't add up to $170 worth of knife in my book. Is the Emissary a great knife? Absolutely, but is it worth the money? Not without Benchmade's recent 25% discount :D (and even then it hurt a little).

Cold Steel has a few home-runs out there that happen to be really great knives for the money and I'd say that the American Lawman is one of them. Before owning one, I was skeptical that it was worth the money though and the Tri-Ad lock alone isn't enough to convince me (I haven't ever had a lock-back or liner lock loosen up on me, and I would put the compression lock up against both the Tri-Ad and the Axis lock as being stronger than the liners/scales and pivot of the knives they live in).

This American Lawman is about the same size as the Para-2 and the blade-stock is .136" on the American Lawman and it's .146" on the Para-2. The Lawman's tip is thicker due to the hollow-grind but to be honest, I've abused the crap out of my Para-2 and never broken the tip. I'm not looking for a 3 1/2" folder that is "tough" to be honest. This American Lawman is a good knife, but it won't do nearly what a Buck Alpha Hunter (or other fixed-blade around the same size/price) will do for the same money.

I still think it's a great knife though and plan on stripping this black paint off of it and putting it through its paces (just in the light work I've done so far, the coating is wearing off).
 
You make some good points EZB, but their is probably more that determines the final cost of a knife then meets the eye. Look at the Spartan. Cheaper then the lawman, but much bigger. Zytel handles, sure, but a massive blade and aluminum liners under the handle. Doesn't make too much sense. Obviously cold steel is making a profit off of the price, but it goes to show how things aren't how they seem.
 
I stand corrected if I'm wrong but I think cold steel charges for Ergo and convenience.
Also wandered about the spartan. (got one due to the price)

If you think about it It's not as easy to carry and use for edc as the recon 1 or lawman for edc due to the attention it draws.
Also opening with the thumb stud without waving is clumsy as hell imo compared to the smaller voyagers, recon1 or lawman and takes practice unless you have large hands which I don't.
 
i too have a cs lawman and that knife will take a beating. I carry it when im hunting and have cleaned many hogs it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top