Mini Recon 1 XHP spearpoint

353

353

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Feb 20, 2015
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I have a mini Recon 1 spearpoint inbound. I will share my opinions and findings in this thread.

To start of I have a question; I've read alot about this knife and it's mostly positive signals I get, but there are some owners that have found a rattling due to a loose pin between the scales. Was this fixed in the later versions of the knife or should I have this adressed asap?
 
353 said:
I have a mini Recon 1 spearpoint inbound. I will share my opinions and findings in this thread.

To start of I have a question; I've read alot about this knife and it's mostly positive signals I get, but there are some owners that have found a rattling due to a loose pin between the scales. Was this fixed in the later versions of the knife or should I have this adressed asap?
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Honestly, unless the noise bugs you, there's no reason to address this. It doesn't negatively impact the functioning of the knife.

I can tell you that none of the three I've owned have had a loose pin. I think those that do are in the minority.
 
I've been using my new Mini Recon 1 spearpoint for a couple of weeks now and wish to share with you guys my thoughts about it. I will compare it to my small Sebenza as I think the two knives are similar in size and expected performance.

This knife has a strong lock, no doubt about that. We have all seen the CS video regarding the Tri-Ad lock. I love how the lock makes you confident about it's strenght. Several YT videos even makes me me believe I can batton with it extensively without damage. I have not tried this myself but I do not believe this is a good idea with any folder.

I like how the knife opens, it's semi smooth and locks with authority. However I think it is way to hard to close. The spring is is very hard set. This makes it somewhat painfull to disengage repeatedly. Maybe it's necessary to make it safe enough? My thumb really hurt after using it for a day or two. When I play with my small sebbie afterwards it is, in lack of other words, such a sweet relief.

The grip is very agressive and I had to sand it down quite a bit to get it to pocket friendly texture. However I do not think of this as a flaw, each to their own and it is easy to customize to ones preferences. Just take it easy as you go along and be careful to not go to far. Otherwise the ergos are excellent.

The pocketclip I found to be pretty nice but a bit too tight so I bent it back to make it more loose. I also sanded the texturing completely off under the clip as the knife otherwise would have been a pocket shredder.

I will have to say this is the sharpest knife I have received by far. Nice and low angle bevel. It whiped the floor with the Sebenza in a cardboard cutting test I did with the two.

The only thing I'd like to change about this knife is the thumbstud. It has some sharp edges on both sides, the worst is on the slot for the screwdriver. Some pressfit ones, nice and rounded would be nice.

With all this said, I'm just not sure if it will be EDC'd all that much. The only thing it really excels at is the amazingly strong Tri-Ad lock. It think it could do very well as a hunting folder with the crazy sharp factory edge. But I don't hunt so I think it will have a hard time kicking the sebbie out of my pocket. It's also very hard to open/close, especially close, compared to the Sebenza.

All in all the Mini Recon 1 is really impressing and it has opened my eyes to the Cold Steel line of knives quality wise. The one problem I have with CS is the tactical/weapon design theme. It just isn't appealing to me. I will however keep looking out for any new CS releases.

 
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:thumbup:

I got the Recon 1 (4") in Spearpoint for a hard-use folder while camping/hiking/hunting.

I agree with your comments and, since I don't intend to EDC it, I find the aggressive G10 'just right' for my tasks. And the 'tactical' look isn't much of an issue while in the field.
 
It looks like you may have the AUS8 model. The new CTS XHP models have less aggressive G10.

As for the lock, it will break in. Mine is now the smoothest knife I own. Try this, open the knife half way and let it set for a week. That should fix it.
 
DocT said:
It looks like you may have the AUS8 model. The new CTS XHP models have less aggressive G10.
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Nope says CTS-XHP on the blade. Really makes me wonder how agressive the AUS8 must have been.

DocT said:
As for the lock, it will break in. Mine is now the smoothest knife I own. Try this, open the knife half way and let it set for a week. That should fix it.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip, I'll try that!
 
TravisH said:
I got the Recon 1 (4") in Spearpoint for a hard-use folder while camping/hiking/hunting.
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Just be aware that if the Recon has the same egde as the Mini Recon, it's kinda hard to make feathersticks with as the agressive edge just bites into the wood rather then make the fine shavings you'd want. Just my experience from a few tries, maybe it gets better when you get used to it, but for this task I much prefer a scandi grind.

But for hunting I believe it will do very nice.
 
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I noticed when I took my recon apart that there was a little thick grease inside the hole which houses that pin. This grease probably keeps it from moving around. Some marine grease would probably do the trick!
 
Took a few weeks for my American Lawman to break in. Now it's very smooth and much easier to close. A drop of BreakFree helps.
 
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