Request for 4" Ti-Lite information or comments...

E

EChoil

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I notice Ti-Lites don't get much discussion here or I wouldn't have created this thread. Or maybe I've just missed it....

Briefly, I have been wanting to give a 4" Ti-Lite a test drive for some time (because it almost seems to be it's own category of knife), but have held off due to the AUS 8 used and bead blast finish. Now that the steel change is coming I'm ready to buy one in XHP, hopefully in satin finish. I'll probably buy the Zy-ex handle as opposed to the aluminum as I have problems opening/gripping smooth aluminum folders sometimes because they can be so slick.

I'm especially interested on opinions of the lock mechanism and blade/overall knife strength. Do they hold up? Also comfort of carry loose in the pocket...I usually don't clip carry. And...IS there a "comparable" knife out there?​

So can you guys fill me in before I buy one? Pros...cons...criticism...praise...dirt... Thanks. :)
 
Ive heard good things about them, so i bought one maybe a year and a half ago and got a total lemon. Hard to open, totally out of lockup, and lots of bladeplay. I also found out their customer service is non existent, at least for emails. That being said I've had good luck with the fixed blades and the recon 1I have.
 
Only the Aluminum handled versions of the Ti-Lites will have the XHP blade steel, and the lock is still Cold Steels liner lock, which works very well with this model. Adding a Triad Lock would take a complete redesign, and why fix something that isn't broke. As to the poster that says he got a lemon, Cold Steel has a great Customer Service if you call them. Too much wasted time in the back and forth process involved with emails, so calling and talking with an actual person has always been the best way to get a problem handled. I've known many, many Ti-Lite owners (I travel and do a lot of Gun & Knife Shows) and i have heard nothing but good things about the them. Never a story like yours, but sometimes stuff happens. Give their Customer Service a call, and they will take care of you.
 
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I own two Japanese Titanium handled Ti-Lites and one Taiwanese aluminum handled one. There is no blade play on any of them, and the pivot screw is adjustable anyway even if there were. I find both handles with the perforation holes
provide a solid grip, and frankly, would need to be coated with oil to be "slick". The liner lock system, while not as sophisticated as some of my other current folders, does an excellet job in the confined design space, especially for it's
purpose. No one is going to stab a ti-lite into a tree and climb on it. While CS introducing XHP is very "cool" as this is a stilletto/dagger type design I question if there really is a need for anything better than Aus8a or VG1. Despite the fearsome styling, my Ti-Lites have seen the most duty as letter openers, a function which incidentally they absolutely EXCEL at because of the blade design. I have had very good experience with Cold Steel's customer service, both by phone
and email, so maybe I was just lucky.
 
I don't use mine for EDC, but like it a lot. Mine is the Grivory model. I have found it to be very versatile in deployment methods, the traditional thumb-stud I have found to be all but useless however. It is just too hard to get at for me. Fortunately, I have found I like it better with out it. The knife will function as a flipper, but does require a bit of wrist to actuate. It will also "wave" open fairly reliably, and The quillion can be used as a thumb-stud of sorts. That is actually how I open it most often.

My biggest gripe is that it is not lefty friendly at all. The pocket clip is not reversible and neither is the thumb-stud. As long as you pocket carry, it can still be used left handed. Just put it in your pocket and utilize one of the other deployment methods besides the stud to open it (like I said, I took off then stud and can open it fine).
 
Thanks to those who replied. I'm taking in all of this. I'll keep checking back.

If the recommendations continue being good I'll get one....not like it's something overly expensive anyway. I just wasn't seeing much about the Ti Lite compared to all the other models. It still appears to more of less define its own 'category' of knife. Even it it's not the greatest I need it for my collection if for nothing more than adding some variety.
 
Forgot to mention the liner-lock feels very stout. If you are a fan of that lock you wont be disappointed.
 
Grab a zytel version in AUS 8 for 40 bucks and see if you like it. The zytel models have a satin finish, the aluminum models have the bead blast.

However, I would not carry this knife or any other knife that relies on a ball detent to keep the blade closed loose in my pocket.
 
The roc made ti lite didn't have the feel of a high quality item.
Or maybe it was just that
my expectations concerning cs products are always set higher than most?
Well, my main gripe is that the finger guards/flipper is turned the wrong way round
Perhaps it because its the only way to build in its waved opening feature.
The extended part of the wave sticks out like a sore thumb.
Seriously, i could apreciate the ti lite more if the guards was set the right way round.
And really, i wouldn't miss that wave thingy one bit.
Overall its a light weighted narrow profied spear point
Which makes it just the thing for sd and the likes.
I can appreciate that.
 
I have the 6 inch aluminum version. Mine is very, very sturdy. It is centered with no blade play. It does have some sharp edges. It deploys great. It's not a real practical knife, but I sometimes take when I walk my dog. It is pretty heavy, and could double as a smallish baton. It is a very "cool" knife. I am glad that I purchased it.
 
GIRLYmann said:
The roc made ti lite didn't have the feel of a high quality item.
Or maybe it was just that
my expectations concerning cs products are always set higher than most?
Well, my main gripe is that the finger guards/flipper is turned the wrong way round
Perhaps it because its the only way to build in its waved opening feature.
The extended part of the wave sticks out like a sore thumb.
Seriously, i could apreciate the ti lite more if the guards was set the right way round.
And really, i wouldn't miss that wave thingy one bit.
Overall its a light weighted narrow profied spear point
Which makes it just the thing for sd and the likes.
I can appreciate that.
Click to expand...

I agree that the guards should be flipped the opposite way, but in my opinion they would actually work better as a "wave" if reversed. I have no idea why they put them the way they did.
 
I have never questioned the direction of the guards. I had always assumed that the Ti-Lite was based on
the traditonal Italian stiletto/switchblade that was popular in the U.S. during the 1950s/60s.
I even had one as a high schooler in the early 70s. They all had those guards.
tumblr_lhkmm8KYt41qdk6mno1_500_zpsmxvzbzcm.jpg
 
Reading all of these and eating them up. Thanks evahbody. I'll keep checking back...sure appreciate all of you.
 
KenHash said:
I have never questioned the direction of the guards. I had always assumed that the Ti-Lite was based on
the traditonal Italian stiletto/switchblade that was popular in the U.S. during the 1950s/60s.
I even had one as a high schooler in the early 70s. They all had those guards.
tumblr_lhkmm8KYt41qdk6mno1_500_zpsmxvzbzcm.jpg
Click to expand...

If they would have flipped them it would still essentially look the same, but the "wave" feature would be the flat portion instead of the rounded jimped portion that has a tendency to destroy pants (it would even resemble most "waved" knives, but maybe that is the problem). Also when opened you could place your thumb on the rounded jimped portion, sort of like a thumb ramp and not up against the flat part that is angled toward you. I have a tendency to explain things poorly, but if you hold one in your hand you can probably tell what I am describing. Seems like it would work better like that, but what do I know.
 
jstrange said:
If they would have flipped them it would still essentially look the same, but the "wave" feature would be the flat portion instead of the rounded jimped portion that has a tendency to destroy pants (it would even resemble most "waved" knives, but maybe that is the problem). Also when opened you could place your thumb on the rounded jimped portion, sort of like a thumb ramp and not up against the flat part that is angled toward you. I have a tendency to explain things poorly, but if you hold one in your hand you can probably tell what I am describing. Seems like it would work better like that, but what do I know.
Click to expand...

I know what you're saying and I have noticed that too in pics of the knife. I'd love to hear from someone at CS as to why it was designed that way. And thanks.
 
think the guards or bolsters on the old folding stilettos
were called s-guards because they shaped like the letter 's'.
perhaps even intentionally shaped 's' to signify stiletto?
either way it helped in knife orientation.
I figure with the ti-lite
it makes sense to grip the blade edge up
or ice pick reverse grip.
if one wanted to make use of the integral guards
as a form of thumb rest.
strictly speaking though
stilettos were fashioned
as stabbing material.
i doubt it has any use for a thumb rest
especially for the longer models which
kept ones fingers far from the edge.
105-knife-3.jpg
 
Personally I think one has to look at those guards from a historical perspective. As Girlymann points out they come from
S-guards, the quillions that started on swords and appeared on daggers towards the end of medivial times. The Fairburn-Sykes dagger weas one of the first modern daggers to move away from the S-guard. As to it's origin, I can only speculate
that one side was a shortened derivation of the full hand guard found on French swords, and the other side may have acted
as a blade catcher in combat. Or it was simply the popular dersign. But if you consider that those guards orginated on fixed blade double edged weapons, you realize that the dagger could be held so that the the guards pointed the other way.
It's only when the the idea gets carried over to a folding knife, probably for nothing more than traditional aesthetics, that
issues begn to arise.
So here's a wild thought, intentional lethal stabbing with a thin profile knife requires multiple thrusts.
Hold the ti-lite edge up. Use the guard's jimped side as a thumb ramp to thrust the weapon into
your opponent. Then use your forefinger over the other guard's jimped side to pull and extract. Alternatively,
thrust the same way, rotate the Ti-Lite 90+ degrees clockwise to widen the wound channel, then put your thumb on the jimped side of the other guard to pull on extraction. Excellent letter openers aside, this blade design really has only one purpose.
 
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Kent#! You might be on to something.
If i understand correctly, sicillian techniques
Advocates jab and twisting motions upon a deep trust...
 
The beauty of bladed weapons and tools, regardless of where they originated on our planet, is that form invariably follows function.
 
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