purchasing a new knife... need oppinions.

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puddles

Joined
Apr 5, 2006
Messages
13
High all,I am new to this forum so I'll start by saying "hey".Now I'll get to the point.No punn intended.I am looking into purchasing the cold steel Outdoorsmen.This is my first "qaulity" blade.I was wondering if any one is familiar with it.Any help will be appriciated.thanks.:D
 
I agree with bigjim, the Cold Steel Outdoorsman isn't a quality knife.

In the same general price range I suggest you look at the Swamp Rat line:

http://www.swampratknifeworks.com/knives.html

The Camp Tramp, Bandicoot or Howling Rat will all serve you very, very well, and Swamp Rat will definitely take care of you if you ever have any kind of problem (which it's highly unlikely you ever will.)
 
The better way to ask would be :
" I can spend XXX $$$ on a knife for X purpose"

" I want about an X inch blade"

"What do you knife freaks recommend ?"

25,000 postings later you still won't have an answer..
:cool: :yawn: :o :jerkit: :D
 
Puddles, welcome to Bladeforums!

You have had the misfortune to make your first post about something that is not well liked, in general, by this community - a Cold Steel knife.

There are certainly people here who stand up for Cold Steel, but even they seem to agree that main things Cold Steel makes that are worth the money are

a] their tough "Carbon V" knives, made from non-stainless high carbon steel, and

b] their basic Voyager and Lobo/Vaquero line of zytel handled lockbacks, which perform pretty well for their price range.

But Cold Steel's line of high-priced stainless "premier" knives like the Outdoorsman are mainly seen as overpriced and only average in quality.

That's not saying the Outdoorsman is in any way a BAD knife, it's not, certainly in my opinion. It is fairly similar to one of the most beloved fixed blades in my collection, a Pacific Cutlery model, the Tanto by Kuzan Oda. (PCC is the company that became Benchmade.) But the Tanto has better materials, better ergonomics, and (when it was in production) had a list price about HALF that of the Outdoorsman. If you really like the lines, size, and performance parameters of the Outdoorsman, I'd tell you to haunt the Knife Exchange here, and those of other knife forums, and Ebay, and look for a nice PCC Tanto - even as a collectable, you can often pick it up for less than the Outdoorsman goes for, and you'll have all the features the Outdoorsman offers - except the Cold Steel name - and a better knife to boot.

Again, welcome to Bladeforums, sorry your coming out party was a little rough. :)
 
Gringogunsmith said:
The better way to ask would be :
" I can spend XXX $$$ on a knife for X purpose"

" I want about an X inch blade"

"What do you knife freaks recommend ?"

25,000 postings later you still won't have an answer..
:cool: :yawn: :o :jerkit: :D
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LOL! But at least he'll know that once he's on the path to being a full-blown knife nut, he'll eventually own at least 25,000 knives!
 
I have a Fallkniven A1 which is about the same size as the cold steel outdoorsman, but has a thicker blade made of laminated steel (vg10 core with 420j2 sides...also known as san-mai steel) with a thermorun handle and a nice leather sheath. You can get this knife online for $130.00 which is less than the outdoorsman, and it is bullet proof as far as I have seen (I use my knives hard...not as hard as Mr. Stamp...but pretty hard) it has a full convex grind, sticks in your hand like nobody's business, and it comes razor sharp from the factory.
 
Don't buy Cold Steel knives.
Click to expand...


Why can't people just take their hate for cold steel somewhere else? I mean honestly everyones sick of hearing it whether they like cold steel or hate it.


Back to your question if your looking for a fixed blade with around a 6 inch blade, look at cold steel's SRK, Becker Knife and Tools BK7, Swamp Rats, or Kabar short heavy bowie. All of these knives are great beginner knives and can take a whole lot of abuse:thumbup:
 
ginshun said:
Don't buy Cold Steel knives.
Click to expand...


Some of cold steel's knives are excellent values especially when you get them at a discounted price on the internet. I have an SRK, master hunter C5, pendleton hunter, and ultimate hunter. All are good knives that were well worth the money I paid. It is my opinion that some of Cold Steel's knives are overpriced (at wholesale) for what they are, and some of them are excellent values. I consider the outdoorsman to be of the former category, and the Srk is definitely of the latter...an excellent knife though not on a par with the Fallkniven.

As for the other knives just mentioned, I have a BK-7 and love it, but it might be larger than what you are looking for, the BK-10 or BK-2 are more in line with the length of blade you are looking at. I can only say good things about the K-bar short heavy as well although the blade might be a little long for your purposes. The Becker and K-bar knife handles are both very large...they fit my hands perfectly, but many people describe them as too large. The Fallkniven A1 handle as well as the whole knife is excellent. The S1 might be an even better choice for you as it is a little smaller. All of the knives mentioned (including the outdoorsman) will take good care of you. Bang for the buck, the bk-7, bk-10, kbar short heavy, and SRK are all excellent values, the Fallkniven A1 and S1 are in a different class altogether, are excellent knives and values in their own right, but they cost a little more. There hasn't been a "bad" knife mentioned in this thread yet. My advice would be to look at the value to be had from each knife and go from there....for me the Fallknivens are the way to go.

Not to leave out the Swamprats, but I have very little personal experience with them so don't want to comment. (I do have a howling rat on order so we shall see if I become a disciple of the all mighty Rat.)
 
The Outdoorsman is not a bad knife at all, and actually one of the few ones that was an original design. But Cold Steel as a company has shown some bad taste by ripping off the designs of well known makers, and by being too over the top in hyping their stuff.

Hang out for a while and check out some other knives, you may find one you like even better.
 
Alright,thanks for the replys everyone.I'm a big guy who works with his hands as a trade,and although I may not be a seasoned knife handler,I am not a stranger to working with one.I've held a 4" fixed blade at a local outdoors store and it didnt' feel right.I was considering a blade of 5" to 6".I'm willing to spend around 150.00.And...Go!
 
I don't know much about Cold Steel's quality, but I do know watching their president beat the hell out of that car on their dvd is hilarious. Who dresses that fella?
 
puddles said:
Alright,thanks for the replys everyone.I'm a big guy who works with his hands as a trade,and although I may not be a seasoned knife handler,I am not a stranger to working with one.I've held a 4" fixed blade at a local outdoors store and it didnt' feel right.I was considering a blade of 5" to 6".I'm willing to spend around 150.00.And...Go!
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With that price range, and that blade size, and the fact that Swamp Rat is currently revamping their line so they are not selling anything at this time, the Fallkniven A1 is, in my humble opinion anyway, the only way to fly. Just for reference Puddles, I am a big guy (6'4") with fairly large hands, and the A1 handle fits me perfectly. You will love the knife. Good luck!!!
 
Thanks bigcustom,same here,6'4".I looked at the A1 and liked what I saw.Now if I can only find a distributor up here in the great white north to try one on.Is it possible to let me know what it retails for?
 
Interesting about Swamp Rat, didn't know they were revamping the line .... did notice the website product info and ordering didn't seem to be working right however.

Puddles, another thought would be to look at the Becker Knife and Tool line. These are very reasonably priced knives and IMO quite a bargain. While not as tough as a Swamp Rat, they're still rugged, working tools. The steel holds a fine edge better than the Swamp Rats do, and they're profiled more acutely for better cutting and slicing performance. Because you're a big guy I don't think you'd find the handles too big, which some people do. Something like Becker's Crewman, Combat Utility, or Campanion model might be of interest, and since this is your first quality, large fixed blade, you're not betting the bank on it being the last knife you'll ever want or need.

Edit to add .... woops, I see bigcustom recommended the Beckers already. I'm just seconding that.
 
The "Outdoorsman" would be held in higher regard if it were sold under a different brand. AUS8A steel is adequate if properly heat-treated. 3/16" thickness is stout enough for a camp knife. The primary cutting edge shape is a useful compromise of straight and curved. The secondary "bone cutting" top edge would be attractive to some (Some like the Tracker, after all.). The handle is comfortable.

I did a search and find no adverse reviews -- except of the brand it carries. (Cold Steel, of course, makes no product. It is a maketing company.)

Checking the Internet, I find it priced from $115.00 (a mistake?) to "the special Internet Price" (:rolleyes: ) of $179.95.

If I wanted a 5-6" SS field knife and were spending the price of a Fallkniven A-1, I guess I'd buy the A-1.
 
as stated above for that money you could do better. Now if you get a chance at one for 1/2 price and you like it then go for it. You might look at the bk&t, swamp rat, ontarion rat line of knives where you may well get a better knife for less money. Personally I like cold steel and have had no problems with them although all I've had are a couple of tantos, and a few voyagers, and their big bowie back when they first come out. all did me well. good luck in your search and remember if you don't like it, trade it. later, ahgar
 
puddles said:
Thanks bigcustom,same here,6'4".I looked at the A1 and liked what I saw.Now if I can only find a distributor up here in the great white north to try one on.Is it possible to let me know what it retails for?
Click to expand...

By the "great white north" do you mean Canada? If so you should contact Cliff Stamp for a recommendation on where to buy. I know that savsonswordsandknives sells them for around $130.00. I think knivesplus carries them as well as new graham. I don't sell anything in Canada, or California just because I don't want to deal with any more crap than I have to. Good luck!!! once again you will love the A1 if that is the size of knife you are wanting and the price point you are willing to pay.

Brian
 
Fallkniven knives are under rated by most knife nuts. The A1, S1, and F1 are time tested blades that work extremely well for their price.

I find the A1 a little big for most tasks and prefer the S1 in general. For me a 5 to 6 inch blade seems to hit the sweet spot for my uses and body size.
 
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