Need Combat knife advice.

M

mpj13

Joined
Oct 5, 2001
Messages
108
Hello,

I have a few quick questions. I just spent 20mins writing a post and lost it. Crap. So here is a quick sum up of the questions. Thanks.

1- What is the best deal considering price, performance,
steel, toughness and good combat blade?

-Cold Steel Recon Tanto Carbon V, 7" $59 reg.$120
-Cold Steel Oyabun Tanto 420 Sub zero 9" $59 reg. $100
-Ontario SP Tanto 1095 8" $39 reg.$?
-Ka-bar Tanto black carbon 7" $50? reg. $60?
-Anything else anyone can suggest

2- Is there a difference between
-1095, carbon and carbon V

3- How does 420 sub zero hold up, how does it compare to plain 420
steel? I have been told that sub zero forged steel is much better.

4- How does the 1095/carbon steel compaire to the 420 Sub zero steel?
I know the basic differences about rust, hardness of blade and
so forth but taking in account a blade made for combat speed,
strenght, agility with blade size/weight.

5- Are there any other knives you can suggest that is comparable to
the blades listed.

Thanks allot for any advice.
 
Does it have to be a tanto or can it be some other configuration? I would recommend the Fallkniven A1 w/ kydex sheath. VG-10 steel. Excellent performer. I would also take a look at the Becker line. Great designs. A lot of bang for the buck.

There has been a lot of speculation about carbon V. Seems I saw somewhere that carbon V varies depending on who Cold Steel buys steel from.
 
Originally posted by mpj13

Hello,





I have a few quick questions. I just spent 20mins writing a post and lost it. Crap. So here is a quick sum up of the questions. Thanks.
Click to expand...




I hate when that happens. That has happened to me at least 3 times, and I am really getting tired of it. I'm thinking it must be some bug in the software, and I sure wish they would get it fixed ASAP.



Are there any other knives you can suggest that is comparable to the blades listed.
Click to expand...






I would recommend the Greco Companion, 1/4" A2 tool steel, 5" blade, on clearance at http://www.bladeart.com



These are very tough knives indeed. I wrote up a sloppy review of mine that can be found HERE



You just can't beat it for the price, and the quality is first rate.
 
Originally posted by shootist16
Does it have to be a tanto or can it be some other configuration? I would recommend the Fallkniven A1 w/ kydex sheath. VG-10 steel. Excellent performer. I would also take a look at the Becker line. Great designs. A lot of bang for the buck.

There has been a lot of speculation about carbon V. Seems I saw somewhere that carbon V varies depending on who Cold Steel buys steel from.
Click to expand...

My favorite style is a Tanto. I like most knives though. If there are other knives that are good blades it does not have to be a Tanto. I am checking out the knives you listed. Thanks.

If anyone else has info about my original post, then I still need any help on the questions I had.
 
Hello,

Of the knives in your list, I'd suggest getting the Cold Steel tanto. I have held one, and I loved it.

Ontario knives I hear are good, but you may or may not get one with even grinds and good fit and finish.

420 sub zero whatever, in my opinion, wouldn't be the best choice for you. If you can care for carbon steel, it will outperform the 420 by a large margin. the Cold Steel and Ontario blades, oh and the KaBar as well should be coated, so care shouldn't be too hard.

1095 is a good carbon steel. Carbon V is a trademark name, so it is whatever steel Cold Steel is using that they call Carbon V. Whatever it is these days, it is a very good carbon steel. I have always been able to get great edges, both polished and toothy, on my Cold Steel blades.

i thinkt he ebst deal, money to performance in your list, woul dbe the Cold Steel.
 
i didn't clarify one thing: get the RECON tanto, not the Oyabun! That is my suggestion anyways...
 
Carbon V (five)was originally 52100B, i beleive marbels uses this steel (correct?) I have an SRK, so far i am very impressed, it requires more care, you have to store it outside its sheath, it doesnt hold an edge extreamly long, but it is easy to sharpen and takes a whicked edge.

I have handled a Recon Tanto, i was very impressed, but i decided that i prefer the style of the SRK, so thats what i have ended up with.

DONT get the Obyan! its for concealed carry, so its super thin, thus less comfortable!

420 kinda sucks anyways, but i beleive the older ones used to be AUS-8
 
As to the question of "what is Carbon V?"
There was a chemical test done on one of the original Trailmaster Bowies and here is the analysis from that test:
Carbon .95
Manganese .46
Silicon .16
Chromium .48
Vanadium .19

and the bulk of which is, of course, Iron.

I hope this helps!:D
 
mpj13,
Welcome to Bladeforums. :)

You may want to take a look at some of the Becker Knife & Tool offerings produced by Camillus. Their Magnum Camp knife, for example, has a nice 8.5" long blade which is made of 0170-6 (essentially the same steel as the Cold Steel's Carbon V). I also prefer the more durable handles on the Becker line of knives. The Magnum Camp can be had for about $79 online.
 
Depends on what you need in a "combat" blade. From the ones you listed, the Recon Tanto seems to fit the bill well. It' s edge has enough of a continuous belly for utility uses. Good ole 1095 (if that' s what CS uses) is fairly easy to sharpen. Although its checkered rubber grips are very secure, it' s lower integral guard is a bit flimsy. The absence of an upper guard however, allows for choking up during use. The Recon tanto will do just fne in a physical confrontation. Most "combat" blades see very little combat. They are used for chores other than that.

Do you plan to rough it out in the wilderness? Or in the urban jungle? Want to remove shrubbery or sentries? :)

Nakano
 
There lies and interesting paradox when dealing with knives, price and outright performance...If one is inclined to use a knife...and in that I mean USE it, for anything and everything, (obviously abusing it at times) what kind of piece would one really be better off with?

The knives I have USED and abused over the years, although somehwere expensive handmade pieces, were usually some sort of specialized/modified factory reject. CS Recon Tanto is an awesome knife, and in Factory Second form, has treated me well for years. Not costing more than 50 w/s&h, I can buy two for the price of one new one! Also; KaBar's traditional, leather stacked version Marine Fighter is a HELL of a piece once you spend an hour on it. I have had, probably by now, half a dozen, and I still have the first one I bought as a camping pal for my X years ago!

Give the Opps run a try...u may be suprised!


Steve in CT:)
 
At their pricepoint, the Beckers are hard to beat.

A Ka-Bar in D2 is one temptation I have resisted so far.

At your pricepoint, a Fallkniven A1 or S1, Becker or, Ka-bar will all provide years or decades of good service at ~$100. There are better knives and better steels but, you will pay more for them.
 
Did you ever think about a custom knife? I am working on one now with a 6" blade of 3/16" A2, 5" handle, drop point blade, with blue/black g10 and black powder coat blade and kydex sheath. I have also done tanto's before. For not much more than some of the other blades, you can have a custom done where u can specify different things you want. Email me if you are interested.

(Edited the post, didn't mean to try to sell on the forums here w/o being a selling member..sorry)
 
From the knives on your list, I would chose the CS Recon Tanto. For a GREAT "combat knife" that is not on your list, get a Camillus Cuda CQB-1.:).
 
Originally posted by mpj13
I just spent 20mins writing a post and lost it. Crap. So here is a quick sum up of the questions.
Click to expand...

Off-topic but there is a way to protect yourself--I go through this a lot at the library because the "do you want to activate the filter" kicks in mainly when I try to post. So here goes: mark the text you've entered in the box & copy it to the clipboard. If the post is lost, you can try again with virtually no loss of time. If the post goes through, you can dump the clipboard contents.

FWIW, the higher-end CS Tantos are still AUS8, and I'd recommend those over any Carbon V model.
 
Originally posted by Nakano 2
Depends on what you need in a "combat" blade. From the ones you listed, the Recon Tanto seems to fit the bill well. It' s edge has enough of a continuous belly for utility uses. Good ole 1095 (if that' s what CS uses) is fairly easy to sharpen. Although its checkered rubber grips are very secure, it' s lower integral guard is a bit flimsy. The absence of an upper guard however, allows for choking up during use. The Recon tanto will do just fne in a physical confrontation. Most "combat" blades see very little combat. They are used for chores other than that.

Do you plan to rough it out in the wilderness? Or in the urban jungle? Want to remove shrubbery or sentries? :)

Nakano
Click to expand...

Well, I hope I would never need to defend myself with it. I would probably use it for both camping and cary for defense, although I am looking into a good folder witch would be easier to carry in the city. I like to practice Kung Fu and knive fighting so I guess my natural thought proccess is to make sure what ever I get is desinged for fighting. As far as having a knife goes I almost pulled it out in one situation and it really sucks to think you might have to use it on someone and not know anything about that persons ability or if they have a gun or knife on them.

I used to think it was not needed to ever cary any weapons, but as time goes on I have been in many circumstances that I would have felt much better to have some kind of protection, even if you don't have to use it, it is nice to know it's there.
 
If you like tanto's, check out the Bushi fighter, from Newt Livesay. If you like a clip point, Newt's Air Assault is excellent, and a better utility knife than tanto's generally are.
 
Also; KaBar's traditional, leather stacked version Marine Fighter is a HELL of a piece once you spend an hour on it.
Steve in CT:) [/B]
Click to expand...

Did you re-profile the edge? I have noticed on mine, that it has a VERY large angle, especially given that the knife itself isn't that thick.
 
Out of the knives you listed, I think the recon tanto is the way to go. I have a few friends who are career millitary and they really like the service they have recieved from the recon tanto. The only disadvantage I see in this blade is the lack of scull crusher like it's higher end brother the maseter tanto. By the way you can get the master tanto for decent prices on e-bay(I found mine at a gun show for $140).

Side note: I think your affinity to the tanto style blade is completely acceptable. In my opinion, for a combat blade, you have a hard time beating that design. PS: I know someone who says they stabbed the master tanto through a car roof with no unserviceable damage to the blade. I think cold steel make some of the best fixed blades on the market for the price.
 
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