- Joined
- May 15, 2008
- Messages
- 512
Good day to all. I got a new "Sharpie" and this is my review(so far). This is the Cold Steel Rajah 2, 6 inch "kukri" blade,7&7/8ths inch handle, app 3/16ths thick in the spine..First impression: very massive!..and very sharp right from the box. Does not come with a sheath or belt pouch..(bad.)..instead has a pocket clip(comes with a spare and extra screws for the other side). INHO the pocket clip is useless on a folder this big, you would'nt want to carry a 13 oz folder in your pocket!! I took mine off. I then worked up a belt sheath/pouch made from seat-belt nylon that can be attached horizontal or vertical. The knife also has a "thumb-stud-plate" near the base of the spine for rolling the blade open and according to Lynn can be used to snag the lip of the pocket to open the blade.. I tried this and I did not like it, The recurve blade was too close to my leg and the technique was slow. I removed the plate and put the screw back in the hole..now I can roll that big mother open in the blink of an eye with one hand. It locks open with a solid click and the design(as shown in CS's catalog) is a fine example of mechanical design. The lock spring is thick and the lock holds the blade with no motion side to side or up and down. First let me say that I have been looking and waiting on a kukri blade in a folder for some time, it is my favorite shape and style of blade. I took it to the kitchen for a start, it peeled spuds and sliced squash,onions,celery,tomatoes,carrots and sliced and diced deer meat for a nice pan fry,about 30-45 minutes of non stop cutting. it has a decent grip when wet/slick. It held its edge and give the arm a fairly close shave afterwards. Some of the thicker and more solid veggies tend to wind up as "chunks" but this is common with thicker spined knives. Then out to the yard where I cut handfuls of bunch grass at the base where there is dirt involved,then dry twigs and sticks up to about 1/2 in diameter,made some dry cedar "fuzz sticks",and trimmed limbs from bushes and undergrowth. I then removed some dock plants from the ground but cutting thru the soil and roots all the way around and pulling them from the ground and on a whim decided to enlarge the hole to a size suitable for "cat-sanatation". Turned the edge 90deg and scraped shavings fron fatwood block.same angle for scraping/polishing of trap triggers,notched triggers as well. About a 3 hour test and blade was fairly dull and knife was extremely dirty. Contiued to open and close without malfuntion and dirt/crud did not affect lock funtion. a good rinsing with the garden hose and dried in the sun,a tiny drop of veg oil on the moving parts and it worked slick as can be. The edge was good and dull and suffered some very small dings from tiny rocks in the soil I'm guessing, 20 strokes on the coarse rods and 25 on the fine rods in my lansky pocket hone and it will clean shave my arm once more. I say without prejudice that every product I have ever bought from CS cut like a razor right out of the box and was just about as tough as they said it would be. The Rajah is HUGE for a folder and some will not like it just for that reason. I intend to put mine in its new pouch on my EDC bag as a companion to my V-TAC and have started training with it in my right hand and the VTAC in my left.( Kudo's to Dwight McClemore for the revival of this form.)I like this knife..I think it will serve well as a multi purpose outdoor tool..I look forward to taking it out and finding new things to cut up. Best to all, Ankrst6973
