Time for another review. Today is the Cold Steel Finn Bear, model number 20PC. It's MSRP is $17, but sells for about $12 everywhere I've seen. The Finn Bear is a low-cost alternative to the Finnish Puukko, which will cost you about $40 to $70, depending on what style you like.
Handle Specifications and Impressions: The Finn Bear's handle is one piece of black polypropylene. It's 4.5" long, and has ribbing to help with grip. A very ingenious idea so your fingers don't slide on to the blade. There's no guard, so you'll still have to be careful. The handle is somewhat diamond-textured; the back is rounded, the sides are straight, and the front of the handle (where the edge is) is a rounded triangle. Picture the letter V with a rounded top, and you're looking at the Finn Bear's handle from the butt. Upside-down, the handle looks like a teardrop. There's no lanyard hole in the handle.
Blade Specifications and Impressions: The blade is 4" long, and has a straight back with an upswept edge. This is typical Scandanavian style. It is 2.5mm thick. The left side of the blade has FINN BEAR etched on, with a pawprint. The right side has COLD STEEL above the word TAIWAN. The blade is made of 4116 Krupp stainless, and treated to a Rockwell hardness of 56-57. The edge appears to be about 20 degrees per side. The Finn Bear came out of the box very sharp, and was made shaving-sharp with just a few strokes on a ceramic stick. The blade has a satin finish. It made nice work of cutting up kitchen food, and did an acceptable job of slicing wood for camp. Touch-ups were required, but only minor. The blade restored to shaving sharpness with very little trouble. Burrs did develop, but were quickly wiped away with light strokes on the rubber of my boot.
Sheath: The Finn Bear is housed in a black Cordura sheath. There's no snap; instead, the knife rides very low in the sheath, leaving only about 2.5" of the handle exposed. At times this can be frustrating because of the ribbing on the handle; it catches on the sheath and makes withdrawal difficult. The sheath has a nylon belt loop on the back, which will fit a belt up to 2" wide.
Overall, I think this would make a good camp knife, or a good utility knife for the house. The entire thing, sheath included, weighs 3.9 ounces (2.8 ounces for just the knife). It's lightweight and sharp. And for a price of $12, you can use it without the worry of damaging a more expensive piece of cutlery. Good cutting performance, good edge retention, and a good price make this a bargain.
check it out... http://www.coldsteel.com/20pc.html
Handle Specifications and Impressions: The Finn Bear's handle is one piece of black polypropylene. It's 4.5" long, and has ribbing to help with grip. A very ingenious idea so your fingers don't slide on to the blade. There's no guard, so you'll still have to be careful. The handle is somewhat diamond-textured; the back is rounded, the sides are straight, and the front of the handle (where the edge is) is a rounded triangle. Picture the letter V with a rounded top, and you're looking at the Finn Bear's handle from the butt. Upside-down, the handle looks like a teardrop. There's no lanyard hole in the handle.
Blade Specifications and Impressions: The blade is 4" long, and has a straight back with an upswept edge. This is typical Scandanavian style. It is 2.5mm thick. The left side of the blade has FINN BEAR etched on, with a pawprint. The right side has COLD STEEL above the word TAIWAN. The blade is made of 4116 Krupp stainless, and treated to a Rockwell hardness of 56-57. The edge appears to be about 20 degrees per side. The Finn Bear came out of the box very sharp, and was made shaving-sharp with just a few strokes on a ceramic stick. The blade has a satin finish. It made nice work of cutting up kitchen food, and did an acceptable job of slicing wood for camp. Touch-ups were required, but only minor. The blade restored to shaving sharpness with very little trouble. Burrs did develop, but were quickly wiped away with light strokes on the rubber of my boot.
Sheath: The Finn Bear is housed in a black Cordura sheath. There's no snap; instead, the knife rides very low in the sheath, leaving only about 2.5" of the handle exposed. At times this can be frustrating because of the ribbing on the handle; it catches on the sheath and makes withdrawal difficult. The sheath has a nylon belt loop on the back, which will fit a belt up to 2" wide.
Overall, I think this would make a good camp knife, or a good utility knife for the house. The entire thing, sheath included, weighs 3.9 ounces (2.8 ounces for just the knife). It's lightweight and sharp. And for a price of $12, you can use it without the worry of damaging a more expensive piece of cutlery. Good cutting performance, good edge retention, and a good price make this a bargain.
check it out... http://www.coldsteel.com/20pc.html
