CS SRK vs Recon Tanto

B

barber oregon

Joined
Nov 19, 2000
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234
I've decided on purchasing a fixed blade knife for my large BOB. The choices that I've narrowed come down to either the Cold Steel SRK or Recon Tanto(these choices are a result of both cost and availablity).

A quick search yielded expected results: the SRK is an excellent "do-all" knife while the Recon is an excellent combat knife. However, since the purpose of the knife is for a BOB, I'll need it to be able to do duty both as a do-all AND combat/defense knife.

My quetion: can each of these knives perform the duty of the other (ie can the Recon Tanto be used as a general purpose survival knife and the CS SRK be used for defence)? Is there a significant trade-off?

Which knife would you suggest and why?

Both knives are identically priced at my dealer.
 
I have the recon tanto and my friend has the SRK, and we've both camped and hiked many times with these knives. I think they are pretty much interchangable in terms of outdoors/utility usage. We have had a good chance to see both knives in action doing various camp chores, and neither has seemed particularly superior to the other except that the recon tanto chops slightly better than the SRK due to its greater length. At home I use the recon tanto daily to chop kindling and even larger wood for my woodstove. The recon tanto might be a better combat knife because of the extra inch of reach it gives you, but the SRK wouldn't let you down I'm sure. They really are very similar knives; the grinds are the same, the blades are the same thickness, the handles are identical, the steel is the same. It's only the shape of the tip and the length of blade that really differ. That being said, I prefer the extra length of the recon tanto for the extra chopping power it imparts, and quite frankly it looks cooler to me....

I would recommend getting a Cold Steel factory second as they are very cheap and no less capable than the regular retail versions. My recon tanto is a factory second, and as far as I can figure the only thing that caused it to be so was a very shallow scratch in the original billet the blade was cut from.
 
Possibly look at the Becker Combat Utility knife - under $50 (US) from knifeworks.com (not including shipping), good steel, excellent ergonomics, 7" blade, good edge, same thickness as SRK or Recon Tanto. Do a search for it - it's gotten pretty good reviews from just about everyone.

Sam
 
barber,

Call Cold Steel and ask for a Special Projects catalog. The seconds are listed there.
 
I have a SRK, and have a recon tanto on the way :) I use the SRK for mainly camp type chores in which it functions fine. It would not make an effective fighter IMO, its to thick to slash well, but thrusting would be fine, i guess it depends how you fight. But if i was in a fight I would hope i had my Ka-Bar 1245 over either the SRK or the Recon tanto.
 
I've owned both. I recommend the SRK over the tanto. Quite simply the tanto shape just isn't as useful as the SRK. The smaller size is also more practical.

Both would work fine for a BOB.
 
Rather than say which one is better overall, I'll compare the key differential features and let you decide -- since in the end, it's the user technique and preferences that make more of a differnece than blade profile in this case:

Tip: SRK weaker, but pierces skin/hide more readily. Tanto -- thicker, secondary point on tanto design makes skinning a little trickier, but easily doable with adapted practice. The secondary blade at the end of the Tanto is great for small whittiling jobs when you put a lnyard on, loop it up over by your elbow, and hold the top of the blade, using just the little secondary blade. It also works well for scoring wood pieces for fish hooks, arrow shafts, etc.

Belly: obviously more belly on the SRK for skinning and overall work, but the Recon tanto does have a nice, but not steep, curve on the main part of the blade, causing it to be a surprisingly good draw knife. It's one factor turns it into a better chopper , too.

Blade Length and Weight: Both these factors make the Tanto work better as a chopper, but either knife used with a wood baton will take down 6" diameter trees readily, without too much sweat.

Thickness: Either will pry well, but the Tanto wins here, mainly because it stays thick almost all the way to the tip.

Handles: identical size, shape, and materials.

Overall, for me only, the Recon Tanto wins, but only because I might use it for more prying tasks than the average user. It takes a little practice to get used to it as far as utility efficiency goes, but then you become a more versatile knife user...:)

Both are excellent fighting blades except for the guard being kraton. In the stress of a real fight, it could be easily cut through by another blade, unless it's in military combat, where that kind of thing is less likely to occur than in a filipino macho match.

Hope this helps!

Best,

Brian.
 
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