CS Laredo Bowie Handle construction

I don't know if it is common, but this is how laredo is built.

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I'd look at getting a full, visible tang blade if I were you. Maybe a Busse, Swamp Rat, or Scrapyard (I'd get a Swamp Rat). I personally have had some bad experiences with Cold Steel (HORRIBLE warranty, and customer service), so I will never buy another CS for as long as I live.

Habe Sie ein Gutes Tag, Jared :D
 
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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Bark River Bowies... ANY length-Bark River Bowie will absolutely shun the hell out of those Cold Steels, and they actually HAVE a WARRANTY (and a damned good one at that). When I tried to have them (CS) fix/replace my Recon Scout that completely snapped at the tang from splitting wood, I heard nothing but "well, you were not bottoning the right way." and "you're not supposed to split anyhting over 3 inches." When I heard this, all I could think is :jerkit: ...Cold Steel has horrible Customer Service, and I'm not the only one who thinks so.
So, in my opinion, Bark River all the way!!! :cool:
 
knives-n-stuff said:
Bark River Bowies... ANY length-Bark River Bowie will absolutely shun the hell out of those Cold Steels, and they actually HAVE a WARRANTY (and a damned good one at that). When I tried to have them (CS) fix/replace my Recon Scout that completely snapped at the tang from splitting wood, I heard nothing but "well, you were not bottoning the right way." and "you're not supposed to split anyhting over 3 inches." When I heard this, all I could think is :jerkit: ...Cold Steel has horrible Customer Service, and I'm not the only one who thinks so.
So, in my opinion, Bark River all the way!!! :cool:
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:eek:
 
idaho said:
I don't know if it is common, but this is how laredo is built.

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Cold Steel customer service aside, how many of you "Full tang or nothing" guys would refuse to drive on the Golden Gate bridge because of fears of structural strength., and impact and flex resistance? They couldn't build that bridge out of girders and it would fall apart from wind and earthquake movement, anyway. We're talking the same kind of structural arrangements here. Steel is strongest in tension. The governing factor in failure would be how loose you'd left the end nut. If it's too loose, then (and only then) you're relying on the half tangs inherent resistance to bending moment. With the end nut tightened up, you have the structural equivalent of a pre-tensioned concrete beam. Plenty strong and better resistant to flexion and shock than a solid tang.

EDIT: The only other strength issue would be the quality of the welding at the cable ends, but it don't look like much of an issue judging by the photo.
 
knives-n-stuff said:
Bark River Bowies... ANY length-Bark River Bowie will absolutely shun the hell out of those Cold Steels, and they actually HAVE a WARRANTY (and a damned good one at that). When I tried to have them (CS) fix/replace my Recon Scout that completely snapped at the tang from splitting wood, I heard nothing but "well, you were not bottoning the right way." and "you're not supposed to split anyhting over 3 inches." When I heard this, all I could think is :jerkit: ...Cold Steel has horrible Customer Service, and I'm not the only one who thinks so.
So, in my opinion, Bark River all the way!!! :cool:
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Not sure why you used my photo... but it's funny you would mention Bark River. No doubt they make a fine knife, and they do nice custom work on production knives as well. I had a carbon V TM rehandle job they did in leather stacked washers before convexing the edge. Guess what, they reduced the tang and welded a rod onto it! I would taper the tang on my user before I fit it with the new handle to reduce the weight and improve the balance, if I could go back in time. The balance on the factory model knife is such because kraton weighs next to nothing. Live and learn.
 
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Wolf_1989 said:
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.
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I know that this is a bit of thread necromancy, but ounce for ounce, A steel cable is stronger than a steel rod. Why do you think that if a bridge needs to be RRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY Strong, they use cables to support it.
 
idaho said:
Tang construction is classic. There is a tang, then a welded steel cable with a nut on the end. Cables, large screws welded to the tang aren't anything new.
It won't be as strong as full tang, but strong enough. Especially if you think about broken rtaks, rats, and other full tang knives. You can abuse anything..
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This is silly. CS say the knife is a pure fighter; they won't warrant any knife for batonning; and the blade and handle are kept together only by a thing wire!

"You can abuse anything.." is true, but it's knife fan boi insanity - different things can take different levels of punishment before it becomes abuse.
 
Picksmith said:
Not sure why you used my photo... but it's funny you would mention Bark River. No doubt they make a fine knife...
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Especially if your definiton of fine includes "We forgot to use expoxy on the handles" and "We destroyed the heat treat so the edge chips on a chopstick."
 
ursamajor said:
I know that this is a bit of thread necromancy, but ounce for ounce, A steel cable is stronger than a steel rod. Why do you think that if a bridge needs to be RRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY Strong, they use cables to support it.
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The level of I-have-no-clue in this post makes my head hurt.

1. Suspension bridges are not the only type of bridge in the world - and there are bridges designs that use solid steel under tension rather than cables.

2. The wire that holds the Laredo's handle on is much smaller than the slab tang on eg the Trail Master - so it is weaker. This is how strength works - big things of the same material are stronger that little things, which is why a steel girder is stronger than a steel pin.
 
Wolf_1989 said:
How similar? If it's a genuine full through internal tang with no welded rod monkey business, I'm good.

And I've pretty much given up on finding a traditional production Bowie. Virtually everything is Tacticool stuff now.
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pay a bladesmith to make you one. There are a number of qualified guys over on the 'for sale' section, that can make what you want.
 
Mannlicher said:
pay a bladesmith to make you one. There are a number of qualified guys over on the 'for sale' section, that can make what you want.
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Or you can take a $25 MTech 151, sand off the black gunk on the blade, and fit a leather washer or micarta handle. All you need is the ability to use epoxy, sandpaper, and a craft knife. Or choose a Trailmaster instead if you life spending more money for less knife.
 
meanwhile said:
The level of I-have-no-clue in this post makes my head hurt.

1. Suspension bridges are not the only type of bridge in the world - and there are bridges designs that use solid steel under tension rather than cables.

2. The wire that holds the Laredo's handle on is much smaller than the slab tang on eg the Trail Master - so it is weaker. This is how strength works - big things of the same material are stronger that little things, which is why a steel girder is stronger than a steel pin.
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The lack of reading comprehension displayed in your reply makes my head hurt.

1) Nowhere did I say that suspension bridges were the only bridges-just the strongest bridges-which they are.

2) Cable of the same diameter as rebar shows a much higher level of tensile strength.

3) The Greatest stress on a tang is the point where the ricasso ends, and the tang begins. The most important aspect to the design of a tang, is how that transition is made. If it is stamped at a right angle, like the Trail Master, or the USMC Combat Utility Knife, the failure will happen there 99% of the time.

The Glock Field knife does not even have a full tang, yet I have NEVER heard of the knife suffering a failure because of it. The ricasso to Tang transition is done right. Same as on the Laredo Bowie. I have yet to see the tang fail there either.

Your fluffing of full tang knives (and then even comparing an MTech knockoff to a trailmaster) leads me to believe that your knowledge of knives has come from "tacticool" reviewers on YouTube.

Good Luck
 
I had a thread that related to this afew weeks ago. Basicly the blade has a partial tang that then is connected to the butcap with a braided wire. It sucks
 
I think Martin knives apocalypse survivor bowie is a neat one. The Martins make good, reliable, knives and have for years.
 
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Not sure if it's been mentioned, but check out the Svord Von Tempsky Bowie. Might be pushing your length limit a bit, but it's a very traditional bowie with a full-width tang that can take a heck of a lot of abuse.
 
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