Natchez Bowie Handle

B

Bmack

Joined
Jan 15, 2014
Messages
1
I have damaged the handle on my CS Natchez Bowie San Mai iii, Is there any place one can get replacement parts for CS products, I have contacted CS and they were JERKS, a flat out No and were no help what so ever.
 
There never have been any replacement handles for their fixed blades, much less a Micarta handle for a knife manufactured in Japan. Just because they can't give you a replacement for a handle you damaged does not make them JERKS. I have always found Cold Steel's Customer Service to be extremely helpful and polite.
 
How did you break it?

With their San Mai Tralimaster I had always considered getting a custom stag handle put on mine, or maybe a shaped black micarta one.

Did you put lateral stress or throw it? Batton it perhaps?

The tang design is one which I don't favor, and will keep me from ever owning the Nachez bowie.

If they made the Natchez or Laredo with the same tang as the Trailmaster I would have to buy.
 
Bigfattyt said:
The tang design is one which I don't favor, and will keep me from ever owning the Nachez bowie.

If they made the Natchez or Laredo with the same tang as the Trailmaster I would have to buy.
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Ditto! Love the knife hate that cable tang.
 
Bigfattyt said:
The tang design is one which I don't favor, and will keep me from ever owning the Nachez bowie.

If they made the Natchez or Laredo with the same tang as the Trailmaster I would have to buy.
Click to expand...

Me as well. Would be the first one buying a Laredo full tang, would prefer it to the Trailmaster.
 
no matter how did they defend on the half-tang handle , i never buy those things .

string(cable) tang , it is a joke for such a big knife .

leave it.

i have been buy 1055 knives from CS for many years , they are tough , very cool.
 
Here's my 2 cents for what it's worth.
As always this is my personal opinion, and I'm referring to general comments that I see here on the forums about the cable tang, not specific people or comments in this thread...

I find the cable tang hate fascinating. I've been here at Cold Steel for a few years now, I've seen all of the daily testing (as I'm the one who usually films it for our archives) and I've been on-set during three PROOF videos.
I've seen the Natchez and the Laredo go through hell and be subjected to the most insane abuse and destruction testing you can imagine...yet in all my time here I have never seen a cable tang fail.
Is it possible? Sure. I believe that anything made by man can eventually be destroyed by man (that man is probably Robert LOL) . But I have yet to see it happen.
I've seen a whole bunch of knives tested to destruction countless times. I've seen blades snap and handles crack - this is starting to sound like Roy Batty's speech at the end of Blade Runner right? :D - but the cable tang has survived everything I've seen so far.
Personal taste is a good reason not to buy a knife and I will never argue with that. If you say "I just don't like it" that's fine with me, a knife might be the best darn thing in the world, but if it just doesn't suit your personal tastes or needs then don't buy it. Thats cool. But to claim that it's weak or somehow unsafe is intellectually dishonest.

As for the OP. I don't really have enough information here to comment in any detail. If you have somehow damaged the handle of your knife please send it back to us for inspection and evaluation. It's impossible to make a warranty evaluation over the phone, just as it would be to do so here on the forum. I do know however that our guys will do everything they can to help you. Just give them as much info as you can explaining the situation, what you were doing etc. and include it with the knife when you send it to us.
We're here to help
 
Yes, I also think it´s more a feeling not to like this kind of tang. If, for ex. you have a damage at the handle, a cable tang is nearly impossible to repair by oneself and the knife is worthless, not so with a full tang.
Also I suppose that most of the people buying the Laredo do this because of the nice blade, the beautiful shape and look, but not because it has this cable tang. On the other hand unfortunately many peaple do not buy this knife because of this cable tang – they would do it if had a full tang.
What the CS Moderator writes sounds trustworthy, and as I also like the Loredo but not it´s tang I would ask him, if this knife can also be used as a survival knife in the same manner as the Trailmaster. Also it is of interest for me to know, whether the Laredo would be more solid with a full tang.
I suppose producing a cable tang is more expensive, so the advantage must be immense in comparison to a full tang.
 
I was a big fan of the original CS Natchez so i was totally excited when the SK-5 Natchez was announced, carbon steel AND more in my price range. Then i saw the pics of the cable tang in the Natchezs and Laredos and it just killed all the joy. Had a cable tang knife years ago, don't want another one.
I figure CS will eventually get around to doing a machete version of the Natchez like their machete versions of the Smatchet, Gladius, Falcata etc. That would be not the same thing but would still be good fun nonetheless!
 
Cold Steel Knives said:
Here's my 2 cents for what it's worth.
As always this is my personal opinion, and I'm referring to general comments that I see here on the forums about the cable tang, not specific people or comments in this thread...

I find the cable tang hate fascinating. I've been here at Cold Steel for a few years now, I've seen all of the daily testing (as I'm the one who usually films it for our archives) and I've been on-set during three PROOF videos.
I've seen the Natchez and the Laredo go through hell and be subjected to the most insane abuse and destruction testing you can imagine...yet in all my time here I have never seen a cable tang fail.
Is it possible? Sure. I believe that anything made by man can eventually be destroyed by man (that man is probably Robert LOL) . But I have yet to see it happen.
I've seen a whole bunch of knives tested to destruction countless times. I've seen blades snap and handles crack - this is starting to sound like Roy Batty's speech at the end of Blade Runner right? :D - but the cable tang has survived everything I've seen so far.
Personal taste is a good reason not to buy a knife and I will never argue with that. If you say "I just don't like it" that's fine with me, a knife might be the best darn thing in the world, but if it just doesn't suit your personal tastes or needs then don't buy it. Thats cool. But to claim that it's weak or somehow unsafe is intellectually dishonest.

As for the OP. I don't really have enough information here to comment in any detail. If you have somehow damaged the handle of your knife please send it back to us for inspection and evaluation. It's impossible to make a warranty evaluation over the phone, just as it would be to do so here on the forum. I do know however that our guys will do everything they can to help you. Just give them as much info as you can explaining the situation, what you were doing etc. and include it with the knife when you send it to us.
We're here to help
Click to expand...

I didn't know it was that strong, but wouldn't a full tang be even stronger, in any case? And it'd make it easier for you to fix the handles, it'd make it easier for people to make their own handles, or attach custom handles, and so forth?
 
The Natchez and the Laredo are designed to be fighters first and foremost. The huge advantage of the cable tang is that it changes the balance point on the knife. It's something you have to feel to appreciate.
It seems like while other knives want to "drop" in your hand, the Natchez and the Laredo want to "roll". It's hard to explain but as soon as you hold one, you'll see what I mean.
The cable tang is also an excellent option with a handle made of traditional materials. It distributes and disperses the shock, making it easier on the hand as well as the handle.

If you are looking for a full tang bowie I can very highly recommend the Trail Master. That's a great knife that will serve you well.
You are right, a full tang knife is probably a better option for you should you wish to mod the handle. It's possible to do so with a cable tang, but it's harder for sure.

I guess it's down to personal preferences.
If I'm going hunting or camping I take my Trail Master. If I'm training Martial Arts or studying knife techniques I use a Laredo.
But that's all down to what works for you :)
 
I really don't understand the fixation some people have with a full tang knife, its mostly just steel in a place where you don't want it!. yeah, its true it makes the knife stronger, but is it needed? maybe the blade with a stick tang was able to take 1000lbs in the handle, now it take 1500 lbs. Big deal, its not like a regular human can generate more than 700 lbs of torque on the blade. I'm sorry if my post sounds a little bit like a rant, it's not. It just that in this search for the ultimate indestructible blade, many people have lost sight that in reality we should be looking for the ultimate performing blade. something that combines good geometry, weight, strength, size, etc. not just a lot of steel with something that resembles an edge. Especially in this case, when are talking about a knife for "dueling" not for survival.

If someone is actually willing to take a look at a serious study on human strength that a look at this link:
http://www.theergonomicscenter.com/graphics/Workstation Design/Strength.pdf
 
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Marenoa take a look at the cable tang pics online. It adds nothing to durability, is more complicated and expensive to manufacture and at best saves 2 or 3 ounces on weight in the handle area. The Natchez is not a lightweight knife to begin with so a few extra ounces of weight wouldn't make it substantially heavier but would certainly make it stronger.I had a cable tang knife years ago (not Cold Steel brand), when you would move the knife around in your hand you could hear a clicking noise as the cable tang inside the wood handle would flex or move. I've heard similar reports with the Natchez. The Natchez is not an inexpensive knife by any stretch of the imagination, i don't think its unreasonable for people to want it to be improved upon. This issue gets enough press that maybe it would be worth Cold Steels while to make a few changes or at least offer an alternative version. After all they offered the SK5 version to make it more available to those who wanted it why not go one step further and offer a full tang version? If anything getting rid of the cable tang should make the knife cheaper to manufacture. And this has nothing to do with a "search for the ultimate indestructible blade" its about a good design that was unnecessarily made mechanically weaker and more complex. People love this knife design, i consider it one of the most beautiful Bowie designs ever made, if they ever make a full length tang version i will buy one, that is guaranteed.
 
Again, its for dueling... those ounces go against speed and agility. Which in the case of a dueling knife are, along with reach and sharpness probably the most important features you are looking for. Edge retention and overall strength are clearly secondary.

Maybe I was not clear in my first point, Making a blade stronger by adding metal does not necessarily make it better, it can actually be VERY detrimental to the overall performance of the blade. Why? because extra weight can affect the overall balance of the blade, pack-ability, agility, reach, etc, etc. there is a point of negative marginal returns when you add more steel to a knife.

Another thing, have go considered that if CS decides to go with a full tang, that means they will either have to shorten the blade or make it out of a thinner stock if they want to keep it around the same weight? Also, by making it more handle heavy, the blade will feel (and probably become) slower?...

remember, before thinking about strength, first consider the intended purpose and then think about how strong the blade needs to be to perform without any issues.. not the other way around
 
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Again, its for dueling... those ounces go against speed and agility. Which in the case of a dueling knife are, along with reach and sharpness probably the most important features you are looking for. Edge retention and overall strength are clearly secondary.
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There are probably more people that like the knife for reasons other than dueling than there are people actually dueling with them wouldn't ya think?

I've even been in my share of knife attacks in a career as a correctional officer, in addition to being a cop and a soldier. I've been attacked, stabbed and actually had people try to murder me which is a lot different from the usual attack even with weapons. This whole dueling thing eludes me. Not one of the knife attacks I've witnessed, or been involved with resembled anything like dueling. IMO it's more realistic to design a knife for time travel as a time traveling hero is about as common as a dueling one in this day and age. This is not Napoleonic France or the Antebellum south. Even in days when dueling was accepted, legal, and had rules choosing a bowie knife wasn't exactly normal or common.

Corsica, Malta, etc., and places like the Philippines were blade cultures and fights and revenge murders were often conducted with edged weapons but they sure didn't look anything like these big bowies.

I'm another one who would buy the knife if it was built properly.
 
well, simple. its a nostalgia (marketing) knife.. think about it this way, there is probably less than 1% probability (I just checked, there is around a 0.000098 % probability that you could be murdered this year) that someone in the US is going to be involved in a gun fight ( or broken in or in a deadly encounter), yet millions of guns are sold every year, why? cuz people want em and are willing to buy em... that's it. Same logic applies here.

Built properly for what?

here is a link to an article on gypsy stuff.. don't pay attention to it, just browse down and look at the blades in the drawings...
http://www.culturaspopulares.org/textos7/articulos/suarez.htm
 
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