Look out for the Lawman

BellaBlades

BellaBlades

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Jul 12, 2013
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I have been waiting some time to try the American Lawman. I was hyped up about the manix 2 S110V. But now that I have this in hand. This is my first choice for an affordable edc. Even if it were twice this price I would get one.
The lock is perfect as usual. Zero blade play and extremely tough to disengage. The way I like it. A few mm of room to wear in over its lifetime.

The grip is top notch. I used it a bit with the choil to cut some wood. This hollow grind really cut like a lazer for out door needs. I have owned a few other CS knives including the AK and Recon. This for me, is more of a realistic EDC and I see this now that I have it in hand.

Even the bevel is near perfect from the factory. About 17DPS. The AUS8 is my favorite "low end steel" next to sandvick or 440C. Tough and gets scary sharp.
For sure durability, I would take the Lawman. Also not thick since it only has G10 handles which feel great.
You can see below some comparison shots of it with the Manix 2.

I payed 44$ what a value


 
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I completely agree with you on this. I've been running my ALM for about 7 years now, and regardless of what other new folders I get, I always gravitate back to this.
A couple of critiques I have on this knife (feel free to disagree)
The coating on the blade wears off way too easily. I believe they call it a teflon coating in the advertisements. It just has not held up to my expectations in the role that i put my knife. I ended up sanding off the coating from the edge to the flat and gave it a nice satin finish. I'll be posting pics of it when I get a camera to do so.
My only other critique about this knife is the pocket clip. Ive had very many issues with the clip catching on something and bending out of shape, ruining the pocket retention until I get home to bend it back in a vice. This one's just a personal pet peeve, more than a ding on the knife itself.
Overall its a super beefy knife. Ive used mine for everything from whittling twigs to batoning kindling and even as a can opener! It has performed outstandingly in every task I've put it up to. and the AUS8 steel holds an edge wonderfully and comes back rather easily.
Anyone else have CS ALM stories to gloat about?
 
I agree. The coating looks ok but I really like Spydercos DLC coating. I always like to get some battle scars on the finish and then do away with it.

Is there a liquid stripper available. I usually do all my finishes by hand and with machinery. What would one use to not damage the coating. Or do I just go slow with scotchbrite?
 
I used 320-2000grit sandpaper by hand to get the coating off and finish the steel surface. the coating comes off unnecessarily easy with just a little abrasion.
 
Thanks for the heads up. I will keep that in mind

For now I will keep the coating. I do like black blades after all. Just needs a good leathering.
 
The lawman is a pretty awesome knife. My only problem with it is how wide it is when closed. It's such a huge profile in the pocket compared to a lot of knives with similar blade lengths. I ended up giving my stripped-lawman to my friend.
 
having the lawman & ak47 in my hands and I will also prefer the ergonomic of the ak47 more .. be it the normal or mini version,
 
Flat grinds are more popular nowadays, but high hollow like cold steel does it cuts much better, most materials.Grind on American Lawman is very good.
 
Since I saw a few of you bump the old lawman thread I made before getting one. Here is the one I wrote after it came in for a little extra reading.
 
Just got mine yesterday. Glad you started these threads, and even gladder that I stumbled back on the other one the other night. LOVE this knife! I'm gonna do the obligatory light sanding under the clip. Other than that, it's pretty near perfection for my tastes. :thumbup::cool:
 
I've owned 3 lawman and sold them all due to #1 ugly scratched up coating, #2 g10 checkering too aggressive.

If CS brings out he lawman in XHP with less aggressive G10 I would buy 3 of them instantly!
 
Neomentat said:
I've owned 3 lawman and sold them all due to #1 ugly scratched up coating, #2 g10 checkering too aggressive.

If CS brings out he lawman in XHP with less aggressive G10 I would buy 3 of them instantly!
Click to expand...

I agree with this statement 100% although I like the aggressive G10. It is the AUS8 that bugs me. It just does not last long enough without needing sharpening for me. I usually have to sharpen it almost after each use (I do a lot of cardboarding cutting in one session). Cold Steel really does not know what they have. If the American Lawman had a better steel like XHP or S30v it would hands down be THE most popular production folding knife on the planet. I have no doubt it would easily surpass the hype and following that the PM2 has.

Honestly, a upgraded steel version of the American Lawman would make me sell each of my knives and carry that knife for life without a doubt. The second Cold Steel releases the Lawman like that, I would be 5! No matter the cost!
 
Humint said:
I agree with this statement 100% although I like the aggressive G10. It is the AUS8 that bugs me. It just does not last long enough without needing sharpening for me. I usually have to sharpen it almost after each use (I do a lot of cardboarding cutting in one session). Cold Steel really does not know what they have. If the American Lawman had a better steel like XHP or S30v it would hands down be THE most popular production folding knife on the planet. I have no doubt it would easily surpass the hype and following that the PM2 has.

Honestly, a upgraded steel version of the American Lawman would make me sell each of my knives and carry that knife for life without a doubt. The second Cold Steel releases the Lawman like that, I would be 5! No matter the cost!
Click to expand...

I don't think you'll have to wait much longer. Check out the new Ultimate Hunter they're going to drop in XHP. Not a bad stand in for the Lawman.
 
This is what I get from staying away from Cold Steel for so long. This is amazing! So is the AK47 Field Knife in 3V! I just wish the Ultimate Hunter had a deeper choil like the Lawman. But I will for sure be picking those up as soon as they are released! I need to start looking into Cold Steel again!
 
Humint said:
This is what I get from staying away from Cold Steel for so long. This is amazing! So is the AK47 Field Knife in 3V! I just wish the Ultimate Hunter had a deeper choil like the Lawman. But I will for sure be picking those up as soon as they are released! I need to start looking into Cold Steel again!
Click to expand...

Their 2015 lineup looks really, really good. And more is still coming, so you may still get your XHP Lawman.
 
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