Just received my American Lawman

R

richw

Joined
Jan 28, 2010
Messages
436
This is my 2nd cold steel knife. My first is a Black Rhino that was dirt cheap on the close out.

I am totally confused by this knife.

The handle in regard to the size of the blade is overly big.

The knife is very light and it feels cheap. I mean really cheap. However, ironically it is a lot smoother than my BR was and is. It opens very nicely compared to the other Tri-Ad.

Came very sharp and looks like it will be a great cutter.

I can't tell if I like this knife at all.
 
this is a hard use knife. its very simple and basic in the design, yet very stong and effective. this knife is meant to be worked hard.

i sanded the g10 handles on mine and removed the black coating and i like it much better.
 
richw said:
This is my 2nd cold steel knife. My first is a Black Rhino that was dirt cheap on the close out.

I am totally confused by this knife.

The handle in regard to the size of the blade is overly big.

The knife is very light and it feels cheap. I mean really cheap. However, ironically it is a lot smoother than my BR was and is. It opens very nicely compared to the other Tri-Ad.

Came very sharp and looks like it will be a great cutter.

I can't tell if I like this knife at all.
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It's light weight and extremely strong and will take anything that you can throw at it. ;)
 
I love the handle size since I've got big hands. Don't let its light weight fool you. It can handle just about anything you ask of it. I've used mine hard the past 5-6 months I've had it and it still locks up solid. MOF, it's holding up better than some high-end knives I have.
 
I am not saying its poorly made, I am just saying aesthetically it feels poor, if that makes sense.
 
richw said:
I am not saying its poorly made, I am just saying aesthetically it feels poor, if that makes sense.
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Yeap , it does. It is easy to equate a lightwieght knife with little heft to a 'cheap feeling'.
I felt ( and still sort of do ) the same way about my Mini-Grip , even though the opposite is true.
I had an Endura that was the same , the FRN was light and flimsy feeling , felt like it was 'worth' about $15 but the knife worked hard and never failed me once.


Tostig


oh , yea I will be adding one of these to my stock :)
 
Tostig said:
Yeap , it does. It is easy to equate a lightwieght knife with little heft to a 'cheap feeling'.
I felt ( and still sort of do ) the same way about my Mini-Grip , even though the opposite is true.
I had an Endura that was the same , the FRN was light and flimsy feeling , felt like it was 'worth' about $15 but the knife worked hard and never failed me once.


Tostig


oh , yea I will be adding one of these to my stock :)
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hmmm, i dont think my frns are cheap feeling, but they are all lone wolf knives. In terms of weight, I never felt my mini grip felt cheap, but now that you mention the weight relationship, i do think my full size grips do feel cheaper.

What i think does it for me is the texture of the handles, the bulk/weight ratio. My kulgera, which i don't love, doesnt feel cheap and that thing is very light.
 
ironically, the removal of the liners and subsequent weight, was supposed to be an improvement on the lawman.

i didn't feel as you did when i got mine, but i think i understand your position. i think the blade-handle ratio is pretty good, and i was pleased with the feel of the handle.

this coming from someone who for years badmouthed cold steel.

that damn ankerson!
 
I felt the same way about my first FRN Spydie, a calypso junior. After carrying a stainless scaled Police, the caly junior felt like a cheap plastic toy. Nothing could be further from the truth. Welcome to the space age. Fasterlighterstrongertoughersmarterslimmerfasterlighterstrongertoughersmarterslimmerfaster, well, you get the idea.... :o

Look at the old Vietnam era Rayban aviator's sunglasses for example. Fantastic gear. Wear 'em for a while. You won't want to give them up. Then get a pair of Oakley half jackets. Almost weightless. Stays PUT on the bridge of your nose (or the bill of your cap). Has straight earpieces for easy wear with a helmet. The list goes on. The Oakleys feel like a cheap plastic toy but they outperform the old raybans in every aspect. Plus they have interchangeable lenes. These sort of examples abound. Plastic is pushing back new frontiers every day. Weight is a drag dude. Get with the times... :cool:
 
richw said:
This is my 2nd cold steel knife. My first is a Black Rhino that was dirt cheap on the close out.

I am totally confused by this knife.

The handle in regard to the size of the blade is overly big.

The knife is very light and it feels cheap. I mean really cheap. However, ironically it is a lot smoother than my BR was and is. It opens very nicely compared to the other Tri-Ad.

Came very sharp and looks like it will be a great cutter.

I can't tell if I like this knife at all.
Click to expand...

Um if you equate light weight with cheapness than you pretty much consider the entire Spyderco lineup as well as a huge chunk of Benchmades "cheap" as well... The Lawman weighs 4.6 oz which is pretty hefty for a 3.5 inch blade. I just recieved my Lawman on Monday and it impressed me by how strong it felt from the moment I took it out of the box. Suprising because it doesnt even have steel liners in the handle and yet felt pretty rigid in my hand. The lockup was intense and felt rock solid. I do agree with you on the handle size and it looks a bit unproportional but thats ok with me because its probably more practical that way and easier to use with gloved hands.

My only gripe is the blade steel. AUS8 was not very impressive and dulled on me rather quickly after only a few minutes cutting cardboard. But I can live with that and it literally took me less than a minute to get it back razor sharp on the Sharpmaker. One other minor gripe is the pretty intense G10 texturing which kinda tears up your hands but I'm sure most people will actually prefer that to weak texturing so its preferance.

All in all it felt like a decent value for 60 bucks and it definitly feels like a beater that can handle abuse. I'm glad I picked one up and I do have a better opinion of Cold Steel now. It's commendable when a company strives to improve their designs constantly (think Spyderco) whether you think the owner is an idiot or not doesnt matter as much as the product they produce.
 
kawr said:
Um if you equate light weight with cheapness than you pretty much consider the entire Spyderco lineup as well as a huge chunk of Benchmades "cheap" as well... The Lawman weighs 4.6 oz which is pretty hefty for a 3.5 inch blade. I just recieved my Lawman on Monday and it impressed me by how strong it felt from the moment I took it out of the box. Suprising because it doesnt even have steel liners in the handle and yet felt pretty rigid in my hand. The lockup was intense and felt rock solid. I do agree with you on the handle size and it looks a bit unproportional but thats ok with me because its probably more practical that way and easier to use with gloved hands.

My only gripe is the blade steel. AUS8 was not very impressive and dulled on me rather quickly after only a few minutes cutting cardboard. But I can live with that and it literally took me less than a minute to get it back razor sharp on the Sharpmaker. One other minor gripe is the pretty intense G10 texturing which kinda tears up your hands but I'm sure most people will actually prefer that to weak texturing so its preferance.

All in all it felt like a decent value for 60 bucks and it definitly feels like a beater that can handle abuse. I'm glad I picked one up and I do have a better opinion of Cold Steel now. It's commendable when a company strives to improve their designs constantly (think Spyderco) whether you think the owner is an idiot or not doesnt matter as much as the product they produce.
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I guess I should have split out the sentence where I say cheap and weight. I don't equate weight with equaling cheap. Though on some level I think it doesn't help. As above, I don't think my kulgera feels cheap.
 
The G10 allows it to be light. It does feel cheap if you have not handled one before or when comparing it to one built differently and I'm sure its inexpensive to make due to the final price point to the end line user. That doesn't keep it from being a real world performer that a working man can afford though. Give it your best shot. Chances are it will just continue to impress you the more you beat the crap out of it. For the price point if you break it look on the bright side. You aren't out much. Get another one and you still haven't spent what another name brand would run you just for one knife. In some cases you'd be able to easily get four of the American Lawman folders for the price of a high dollar model from another company that would not really do any more than the AL is capable of doing.

I've always felt that the Griptilian knives felt cheap and I've never liked the plastic look of them. The FRN never bothered me like the Griptilians did for the look of plastic. Yet, the Griptilian knives have proven themselves quite capable and many outdoorsmen and bushcrafter folks like them a lot. Still though I felt the same way about my first Glock pistol wondering if I'd lost my mind buying a plastic gun. It felt cheap to me. But the more you use one, the more you realize its a great gun and the American Lawman is a great knife in much the same way.

STR
 
STR said:
The G10 allows it to be light. It does feel cheap if you have not handled one before or when comparing it to one built differently and I'm sure its inexpensive to make due to the final price point to the end line user. That doesn't keep it from being a real world performer that a working man can afford though. Give it your best shot. Chances are it will just continue to impress you the more you beat the crap out of it. For the price point if you break it look on the bright side. You aren't out much. Get another one and you still haven't spent what another name brand would run you just for one knife. In some cases you'd be able to easily get four of the American Lawman folders for the price of a high dollar model from another company that would not really do any more than the AL is capable of doing.

I've always felt that the Griptilian knives felt cheap and I've never liked the plastic look of them. The FRN never bothered me like the Griptilians did for the look of plastic. Yet, the Griptilian knives have proven themselves quite capable and many outdoorsmen and bushcrafter folks like them a lot. Still though I felt the same way about my first Glock pistol wondering if I'd lost my mind buying a plastic gun. It felt cheap to me. But the more you use one, the more you realize its a great gun and the American Lawman is a great knife in much the same way.

STR
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i have g10 on other stuff. This definitely doesn't feel as nice. In fact I got a g10 tini coated cheyenne with this order.
 
Beyond You said:
Thanks, I looked at some cold steel stuff, just seemed cheap to me also.

Id send it back.
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Actually, I reread the box. I am not sure where it was made. ****Edit, on the knife blade it says Taiwan, though on the site the Aus 8 steel is made in Japan.


Having said that, there is nothing wrong with the knife. It was delivered as described. To me, it doesn't seem fair to return it.

Like I said, I am not sure how I feel about the knife.
 
I got my first Cold Steel - a 2010 Recon 1 - a couple of weeks ago. I dig it. Light weight, super strong lockup, grippy G10, and not spendy. And now sports a mirror edge. The black finish wears off quickly, but I like the look. I don't know how I made it this long without getting turned on to CS. I have a Lawman and mini-Lawman arriving tomorrow.
 
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