CS Ultimate Hunter or American Lawman?

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I just gave my son in the Army my Benchmade Rift. He was eyeing it longingly and asked about it, so I gave it to him. I need to replace it but don't want to spend too much on a new knife, so I have come down to the Cold Steel American Lawman or Ultimate Hunter. Does anyone have any experience with either of both of these that can provide any input?
TIA.
 
i have the hunter and like it quite a bit. that said, it doesn't get a lot of EDC use as the handle is pretty thick and the rubber handle makes it hard to draw from the pocket. locks up solid and the AUS blade is good for the price. thought of getting a new one in VG-1
 
The ultimate hunter is an excellent working knife. The blade is easy to get wicked sharp and is easy to maintain. In fact it takes only about 5 minutes to get the blade shaving sharp after some use. The handle is very comfortable and almost molds to your hand. The lock is solid and I have never had an issue with it, or heard of any issues. My only complaint is the pocket clip. It is nice and small, but very stiff even after having it for a few years. This is easily fixed, just haven't felt like doing work with it.

Overall it is one of my favorite folders and is an easy choice for a good working knife. :thumbup:
 
I wouldn't waste my money on cold steel, I would suggest a spyderco or another benchmade though.
 
Put me down for another Ultimate Hunter vote. The lock is bomb proof. The Japanese VG1 steel is excellent. I like the rubberized grips. Good sized if you have larger hands. The one complaint I have is the clip was way too tight. It took me a while to spread it carefully. I just kept slowly working it onto progressively thicker material. Steve Rice warned me that the clips snap easily if you simply try to bend them. I like this knife a lot. Large size at a relatively light weight and arrived razor sharp from the factory.
 
knifenut1013 said:
I wouldn't waste my money on cold steel, I would suggest a spyderco or another benchmade though.
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The poster obviously did'nt read the thread title clearly enough. If you dont like cold steel thats fine but the OP was asking advice about two CS models.

If you liked the Rift you'll like the Ultimate hunter.

Shawn
 
Nope, I read it. I have owned my share of cold steel knives and while not bad, you can do better for the money.
 
Thanks for the input guys. I appreciate it, and will have to find one in a retail store or gun show to handle it before I buy one, I am a bit concerned about the rubberized grip.

Knifenut1013, I thank you too, but I didn't title this thread "What would Knifenut1013 buy?" for a specific reason. Because I don't care what you prefer, I was asking about users who have used two specific models of knives I was wondering about.
 
I think that the Ultimate Hunter is one of the better knives Cold Steel offers---it should be in contention as a classic like the Voyager and Vaquero lines. It has a solid backlock, usesable blade shape and geometry, and the Thermorun handles are simply awesome. It is a bit thick to carry, but worth it in the long run.

Although I'm a Spyderco/BM kind of guy in the production realm, I'd whole-heartedly recommend it. :thumbup:
 
You probably don't care what I prefer either, but for the $75 dollar range, I'd get a BM 551 Griptillian, or Spyderco Endura In ZDP-189. My beef with the lawman is that I don't know a single LEO that would want to carry something so bulky in their pocket while on duty.
 
Out of the two choices, I'd go with the American Lawman.

I've owned the ultimate hunter and handled the lawman a few times and the American lawman is a tad slimmer and has G-10 for the handle. It's a lot smoother on pulling it out of your pocket and putting it back in.

The American Lawman also has a finger choil which helps you choke up on the knife. To me it is a better built knife than the ultimate hunter. It also has the tri-ad lock, it's supposed to a stronger version of a lockback.

The Lawman's handle is probably comparable to the thickness of the Rift's handle, whereas the ultimate hunter's thickness is a bit wider towards the rear (by the pocket clip) and the palm swell.

May God bless your son and thank you and your family for his service, J.
 
The Hunter is Nice! While Thickness has never been a Negative matter in my lifetime... You might want to try to find a Store where you can actually get your grubby little Hands on them. Then Go home and Buy it on Ebay.
 
Same price range and close in dimensions... I would choose the G-10 and AUS-8 (Lawman) over the Themuron and their VG-1 (Ultimate Hunter)... I have a Couple of CS knives with AUS-8 and they do pretty well with it. Not so sure about the VG-1 though. Either knife could do the same task with no great gain or loss of performance from either... My 2cents... Have Fun!!!
 
I am leaning towards the AL. It does have the beefier grip, like the Rift. And the rubberized grip of the UH doesn't thrill me too much. I guess I have to handle both before I plunk down some cash.

By the way, Jake, I am a LEO and the bulk of the knife doesn't bother me a bit. After lugging around a full sized Glock, 46 rounds of ammo, cuffs, radio, 2 flashlights, telescopic baton, and whatever else I carry for 12 hours a day, a pocket knife doesn't faze me a bit. Maybe the LEO's you know are in the Village People? ;)
 
I would probably go with the American Lawman over the Ultimate Hunter. The UH is an excellent knife and I owned one a while back, but I sold it. The bulky handle combined with aggressively textured thermorun made it very annoying to draw out of the pocket because it would grip on pretty good with the pocket clip.
 
I have owned neither, but really like the lines and look of the American Lawman. I think that if I ever had the opportunity to design a folder, it would be much like that one.
 
Did the lawman undergo a handle change? While at Bass pro today, I looked at one and it had a thinner handle than I thought it did. The first time I handled a lawman a year or so ago, I thought I remembered it having really fat, rubber handles.
 
Jake Bauer said:
Did the lawman undergo a handle change? While at Bass pro today, I looked at one and it had a thinner handle than I thought it did. The first time I handled a lawman a year or so ago, I thought I remembered it having really fat, rubber handles.
Click to expand...

It's always had the flat G-10 handles :thumbup: Perhaps it was a different knife that you were thinking of :p
 
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