CS Laredo Bowie Handle construction

Good welds hold together motorcycle frames and all types of metal transitions in implements that endure more stresses in a single day than most people's blade will in a lifetime. No amount of log busting can break that cable free of the knife's tang. It's inside the end of it almost 1", not just welded onto the end.
 
LOL that's one of the most chintzy things I've ever seen. I'd expect that from a BudK knife, but not Cold Steel. A half tang. With a steel cable.

Sorry, I'm buying it even less than before.
 
Picksmith said:
Good welds hold together motorcycle frames and all types of metal transitions in implements that endure more stresses in a single day than most people's blade will in a lifetime. No amount of log busting can break that cable free of the knife's tang. It's inside the end of it almost 1", not just welded onto the end.
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There's a difference between stress from support and stress from shock. I've seen welds which were plenty strong for support and load bearing completely fail from a strong shock. It's not pretty and depending on what the weld is on, it can be downright scary.
 
Tensile strength of most stainless steels is about 600 N/mm[SUP]2[/SUP]. Considering the weld is about 2 inch long and 5/16th thick, it shouldn't be too hard to calculate weather you're strong enough to break it or not.

8mm * 50mm * 600N = 240 000N
 
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A production bowie knife that fills the role of general utility beater better than a Laredo. Over 1o", and less than 12". I'd like to hear a suggestion.

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Picksmith said:
A production bowie knife that fills the role of general utility beater better than a Laredo. Over 1o", and less than 12". I'd like to hear a suggestion.

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Not really a fair question because there essentially are no traditional production bowies being made anymore. They are very rare. The industry no longer cares about those of us who are old fashioned. They'd rather cater to the wanna-be commandos and mall ninjas apparently. This is one additional reason why I hate this knife so much: I was thrilled to see someone *FINALLY* was making a nice big, affordable, traditional looking bowie... and found out, they made it with a horribly designed tang. FAIL.

And just because there are no other alternatives, doesn't mean I'm going to buy one of those crappy half-tanged wall hangers. I don't care what anyone says or tries to prove to me, I would never trust that thing for anything other than decorative uses. Ever.
 
Wolf_1989 said:
I was thrilled to see someone *FINALLY* was making a nice big, affordable, traditional looking bowie... and found out, they made it with a horribly designed tang. FAIL.
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I'm very curious why you think this tang design is so horrible. In theory this tang can still stand a few metric tonnes, and in reality I have seen people chop down trees with it. I have yet to see an example of a broken one on the internet. I've seen more broken full tang cs trail masters.

Of course, it's your money so you don't need to like it, but I'm just curious of the why.
 
Gobbo_the_civet said:
I'm very curious why you think this tang design is so horrible. In theory this tang can still stand a few metric tonnes, and in reality I have seen people chop down trees with it. I have yet to see an example of a broken one on the internet. I've seen more broken full tang cs trail masters.

Of course, it's your money so you don't need to like it, but I'm just curious of the why.
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I don't need to explain anything. Theory means nothing. The fact is a single solid piece of steel is stronger than any weld. I've seen welds break numerous times from a hard shock. I don't trust them.There is no good reason for Cold Steel to have designed this knife the way they did. There are other ways to alter a knife's balance other than a shoddy half-tang with a cable welded to it then threaded into the pommel to trick people into thinking it's a full through tang.

Additionally, if this tang design had been a much longer tang, say about 80% then with a welded rod which was threaded in order to secure it at the pommel, that would be a bit better. But only a half tang? No. I'll never trust that thing.

I have personally seen a knife of similar construction fail years ago, and it failed spectacularly.
 
I do not think they tried to trick people into thinking its a full tang. It would have been much cheaper and easier to just stamp out the blade + a full tang from a single sheet and slap a piece of plywood on in instead of this tough epoxy wood. CS certainly must have had their reasons to make something this complicated and relatively expensive.

But I do understand where you're coming from. Seeing a clear and spectacular failure speaks so much more than a ton of dry theory and deductive reasoning.

I believe I've seen a complete copy of the laredo around with a full tang. I don't remember the brand or anything but if I find it I'll PM you about it.

-Bart


EDIT: Forgot only paying members can PM. The knife I was talking about was cheap junk anyway I see now that I've found it. Sorry I got your hopes up.
 
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Browning Crowell/Barker competition knife...for $120ish bucks, it's the best big knife I can imagine taking into the woods :D and it would really ruin someone's day if you had to fight with it (for some reason)
 
Browning Crowell/Barker competition knife isn´t the same as the Laredo - shorter, w/o a guard and of different shape.
 
Picksmith said:
A production bowie knife that fills the role of general utility beater better than a Laredo. Over 1o", and less than 12". I'd like to hear a suggestion.
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Himalayan Imports Cherokee Rose. Maybe a little longer than you want, but not by much.

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isn't the cherokee rose a rat-tail tang? I have an HI crow bowie with the same tang, & I have chopped hella (hard) wood with that knife without any problem.
But what good are mere facts, when faced with dearly-held opinions? (I knew a guy who had a lemon Honda, therefore all Hondas are and forever will be lemons . . . . )
 
I can't help but chuckle when people object to welded tangs. When two pieces of metal are joined by a weld, the joint is stronger than either piece is on its own. And, if a strong handle material (like Micarta, for example, or even wood) is fitted snugly to the tang, or at least epoxied in place, it's a package that is nearly as strong as a Becker-style full tang. Stacked leather may be a little less structurally solid than something hard like Micarta or wood, since it can compress, but even that compression is on a microscopic level, and there is something to be said for the vibration damping effect that stacked leather offers; it more than makes up for any "loss" of rigidity.
 
Puukkoman - the whole idea of Welded tang is that it is NOT rigid. It is steel cable, it works under stress and transfer stress to handle material. For me - it is very nice design.
But as I said before - modern "plywood" handle material doesen't fit to classic bowie design.
 
I missed the part where the OP mentioned traditional. Seems like the requirements for this "traditional" knife fit such a rigid definition that nothing qualifies. They still make bowie knives in sheffield england in much the same way as they did in 1850... do they fit the criteria?

The crowell and barker competition cutter is a very nice knife. Though it lacks a honed clip, it is certainly worth a look if you like big knives. The HI Cherokee Rose I've handled was more massive than a Natchez, and honestly the F&F on it was not great and the balance was very forward of guard. For the money I'd go with one of the fighting Kukri's they make instead.
 
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idaho said:
Puukkoman - the whole idea of Welded tang is that it is NOT rigid. It is steel cable, it works under stress and transfer stress to handle material. For me - it is very nice design.
But as I said before - modern "plywood" handle material doesen't fit to classic bowie design.
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I think we're talking about two different types; welded tangs can be (and often are) rigid, in which case a softer piece of threaded steel rod is attached to the blade steel at some point inside the handle. You have one that's a piece of cable welded to the tang? I've never seen this before, is it common?
 
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