Laredo?

Waldganger

Waldganger

Joined
Dec 16, 2006
Messages
1,180
Hey all

I'm putting some serious thought into getting myself a Laredo in SK-5, and was wondering about a couple of things.

I know this is a fighting knife, but would it do alright in a bush role? I plan on having a knife that I am very familiar with in a combat role so when/if the whole joint goes to crap I have a very capable knife that will take me off the victims list. I like to have multi purpose items, and I can handle something that doesn't build shelter very well because it fights really well.

I believe the standard sheath can be horrible to the blade. Is this still the case? If it is can someone recommend a sheathmaker who excels at these same style sheaths? Ideally I'd like kydex with leather outer, but it could be too bulky so I'm just looking for makers who have examples I can compare with other makers.

Cheers in advance

Glenn
 
Hi Glenn
Thanks for getting in touch.
IMO The Laredo is first and foremost a fighter.
I personally would choose a Trailmaster for that all-round role that you are looking for.

I can highly recommend the work of custom-sheath-maker Mike Sastre. He has made several sheaths for people here at Cold Steel and they have all been excellent
This work is first class

I hope that helps

CS
 
thanks for the advice

I have many big all round bush knives, I'm more specifically looking for a fighter. Will the cable tang of the Laredo hold up to the impact of chopping?

Thanks
 
I've never seen a cable tang fail, even under brutal conditions, but anything made by man can certainly be destroyed by man.
My personal opinion of course - The handle of the Laredo is probably not ideal for an outdoor / bushcraft knife, and neither is the sheath.
I recommend the Trail Master as it is an awesome all-round Bowie knife but with the added advantage of that durable and weather resistant handle. It's also available with a Secure-Ex sheath which makes it much more versatile for bushcraft etc.

The Laredo is my favorite Cold Steel knife, I can't praise it enough, but I think if I'm going to be 100% intellectually honest, the Trail Master is a better choice for the tasks you describe
 
While I love my Laredos for their classic look and the kind of edges that you just look at and it makes the hair on the back of your neck "cringe", I have to agree w/ the "boss" in this case.
The CSTM was the knife that made a believer out of me 20+ yrs ago.

IMHO the CSTM and the SRK are the best "duo" for any outdoor excursion, to anywhere, any time.

Add on a Clip point XL Voyager, and if you can't somehow survive, I would suggest giving Les Stroud a call, or at least buying his books, because you needed training in any form you can get LOL!!

I have used my Carbon V Laredo in some limited fire-lay construction in NC, and while I never baton ANY limb, log etc. over 4in. in diameter, the Laredo presents problems:, it "chews" a softwood baton.

I "baton" in small "chapters", from the outside in, instead of across the work.

The sharpened false edge, while wicked in SD application is the variable that needs consideration in bushcraft.

Oddly enough, Ive got an early 90s CV CSTM with a factory razor sharp clip too???

If a CSTM can sever 2in. plus of green bamboo, depending on human variables, of course, it will solve the SD/SHTF situation.

Especially if you are as big and well trained as Lynn Thompson, or Rob---Oh my Lord, I wouldn't wanna meet those guys in a dark alley if I was THAT STUPID.

Take a chunk of poplar wood, 1x1, or some human bone equivalent, about as long as a thigh bone.

Mount that sucker so it can't move, and in 1 or 2 strokes, attempt to fracture it, using the back/edge of the blade of your choice.

Just hard enough to break it.

Kinda like limbing a maple or such. If your outdoor knife cant limb a small maple and prep kindling for a fire, its time to ask questions. (Thats why they call it a "Trail" Master! Its used "on the Trail".)

If it breaks clean, and your knife holds up, I wouldnt want that to be my forearm!

The Laredo in my experience, CAN perform those tasks, but to me the TM is better suited.

The San Mai Laredo is just too damned gorgeous to risk playin' around, but let me assure you, pig ain't no match for that lady!!....barbecue!

The CSTM has NEVER let me down, I have one by my bedside.
If you are still confused, buy the Gurka Kukuri in SK-5...no more worries. Watch Nutnfancy's Youtube vid on the GK-SK5.

Now, I just need a SM3 SRK...
 
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The angular style of the Laredo is made for balanced point manipulation. It will eat your hand alive if you intend to chop up fire kindling with it. Stick with Trail Master, hawk, or any of the fine and low cost machetes for clearing brush or camp cutting.
 
Waldganger said:
thanks for the advice

I have many big all round bush knives, I'm more specifically looking for a fighter. Will the cable tang of the Laredo hold up to the impact of chopping?

Thanks
Click to expand...


The Laredo is an excellent fighting Bowie, an a lot more easy to carry than people think. I wind up carrying one of those quite often, actually a little more than my custom Bagwells. I've never known of a problem with the cable tang, and put this to the test when the SK-5 Laredo "China Dolls" first came out. I did everything I normally do with a Bowie, only much harder. I was trying to find out how the SK-5 compared to Carbon V and how the cable tang handle would hold up. I got tired of seeing everyone who never used one, complain about the knives being put together in China and the handle construction. I did snapcuts against small tree limbs, cleaving cuts, stabbed the knife into a pell, and made little pieces out of big pieces of yard waste. Very satisfied with the results (very close toCarbon V in performance), so much so that I called them China Dolls and that name has stuck with anyone who actually used one of the China produced SK-5 knives.
 
Mike Sastre said:
The Laredo is an excellent fighting Bowie, an a lot more easy to carry than people think. I wind up carrying one of those quite often, actually a little more than my custom Bagwells. I've never known of a problem with the cable tang, and put this to the test when the SK-5 Laredo "China Dolls" first came out. I did everything I normally do with a Bowie, only much harder. I was trying to find out how the SK-5 compared to Carbon V and how the cable tang handle would hold up. I got tired of seeing everyone who never used one, complain about the knives being put together in China and the handle construction. I did snapcuts against small tree limbs, cleaving cuts, stabbed the knife into a pell, and made little pieces out of big pieces of yard waste. Very satisfied with the results (very close toCarbon V in performance), so much so that I called them China Dolls and that name has stuck with anyone who actually used one of the China produced SK-5 knives.
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more. Ive never had a problem w/ any of my CS cable tang knives, but I too had questions about durability for say the Natchez Bowie, if I got stuck out in a fix due to a vehicle malfunction, and HAD to use her in a survival emergency.
I swear, one or two guys skrew around "batoning" stupidly in a Youtube vid, break up a knife handle, and it all goes to hell like a debate over the national debt at "zero hour"!!

This is NOT the place for a political discussion, rather just to make the point that if you THINK before you ACT, it usually drastically reduces the chance of failure where ANY knife is concerned! "What is going to happen to my knife if I strike it w/ a heavy object and its "bound up" in this position?!!" If you have negative mental images, and not sugar plums dancing in your head, its really simple. Use a wood wedge to help you "pry" the log open, REMOVE the knife, and start over.

An experienced woodsman realizes that if the knife he is using is the ONLY tool he has until he reaches "Fort living room" that he must guard the KNIFE as well as himself. It is no sin to improvise another tool to help accomplish a given task.
 
I've heard that the handle is a little sharp out if the box, I plan on rounding it off for comfort. When I take to the bush I tend to take an axe for the serious chopping, but lighter stuff like saplings I like to use a knife. I try to avoid batons but I will do it initially just to see if the knife holds up under these conditions just in case one day I'm in a position to do this.

Primarily I want a fighter. I prefer the look of the Laredo over the Natchez although the Natchez is a touch lighter than my Junglas and I guess the balance is better. The junglas is reasonably nimble in hand, so now I'm also thinking of the Natchez.

Is the larger knife just as easy to carry?
Will a bloke 5'11 and 90kg be better off with the Laredo?

Mike does River City Sheaths still sell Laredo/southern comfort packages? do you ship to Australia?

Thanks for the responses everyone

Cheers

Glenn
 
Neither do I, but in an honest to gods survival situation, however unlikely, I like to know what my tools are capable of.
 
I just saw some of the catastrophic cable tang failures on here and elsewhere. I love your knives, (and thanks for the catalog Got it quick!) But, what are you guys thinking putting a cable tang on these knives??! You had to have known people are going to seriously put them to the test, and some flat out abuse them. Why not a full length tang with a screw on pommel, at LEAST?! C'mon, guys, I carry the Laredo as a survival/defense blade, I stake my LIFE on it. I have never seen a full tang fail, WHY not make knives with a full tang, it can only enhance your reputation as making great knives! I really would love a SK-5 Natchez too, but I think I will save my pennies and get a Carbon V Trailmaster on ebay or etc. At least I can bet on that one not failing or the grip falling off in "extreme circumstances" I had to get 2 drunk guys out of a car that drove off a road and went into the water once, what if I had the Laredo? What if the grip came off as I was using it to pry the door open or cut thru the car to get them out (as there was smoke, gas, sparks and burning electronics all in that car)
 
I've never seen a cable tang fail - ever - even during our notoriously brutal testing
Anything made by man can eventually be broken by man with enough abuse, but in every test I've seen the cable tang held true.
I've seen the handle break before the tang does.
Is it possible, yes...anything can be broken...but I've never seen it happen.

The Laredo and the Natchez are designed as fighting bowies - The cable tang not only distributes shock but it also changes the balance of the knife, making it much more "lively" in the hand.
If you want a full tang bowie I highly recommend the Trail Master. Another very tough knife that has been very popular for many years and I know it'd serve you well.
Thanks
 
Im 5'4" tall, 150 lbs. and I can tell you from experience that for someone my size, if I "pull" my Natchez or Laredos on anything or anybody, it looks like an elf pulling Ecxalibur from a stone! :) LOL!!

The Natchez Bowie is one "BIG effin' Knife", it don't matter how you "slice" it.

My only problem w/ all three of them is the fact that they just flat need better sheathes. The sheath provided for my Natchez Bowie was UNSAFE, IMHO, so I had my wife "alter" it w/ black paracord, until I can get the leather and materials and equipment to make another myself.
 
The sheath provided for my Natchez Bowie was UNSAFE, IMHO,
Click to expand...

I don't understand the unsafe I have other custom sheaths made just like my Laredo sheath . Ship thru belt or IWB with the stud is how use to be . What un safe can't hang upside down or do back rolls . Now of my carry pistol holsters have a thumb break or safety strap. When I need it. I need it ,and just might miss the thumb break or the silly safety strap.
 
michael t said:
I don't understand the unsafe I have other custom sheaths made just like my Laredo sheath . Ship thru belt or IWB with the stud is how use to be . What un safe can't hang upside down or do back rolls . Now of my carry pistol holsters have a thumb break or safety strap. When I need it. I need it ,and just might miss the thumb break or the silly safety strap.
Click to expand...

The ABSOLUTE key to my previous comment is the word "custom".

If I send my NB/LB to Mike Sastere or one of the excellent "scabbard" makers on this forum, they would of course make a sheathe that performs to my specs, with the individual knife.

If it were "belt stud" carry, the knife would slide smoothly when drawn, not fall off the blade when the sheathe is pointed downwards.

When a production company markets a knife like the Natchez nowdays, it is normally an "understood" idea that quality will suffer at some point, and that is often evident in the sheath.

If you want a Busse, plan on having your own sheath made. Sad but true.

I have a disability that limits my ability to carry the NB/LB safely w/o retention straps or other devices, so thats why I consider the NB sheathe unsafe.

If youre Lynn Thompson, big strappin' cape buffalo huntin' .454 Casull packin' natural can o' whooopass, you can "run" the LB peg sheath. If youre 5' 4", the "user interface" is different.

I proudly purchased my CSLB/CSNB **knowing**that if I was gonna carry either into a SHTF deal, I need to consider additional carry options.
 
I know I'm a little late coming to the table in regards to this thread, but to be honest I just got a Laredo San Mai and I had to tell someone how awesome this knife is! It is a dang work of art! No joke! I own a lot of knives and this one falls about in the middle of what I have paid for a knife, but as far as fit and finish I have NONE that top this knife! Rival it? Yes. Top it? No. It is just plain beautiful and I can't put it down!

KennyD
 
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