Mates:
Haven't seen many reviews of small keychain type folders so I'm going
to take a "stab" at it myself. This is my first review so please be
gentle. Let me know what you think. Regards. -Rick
P.S. Please forgive the formatting errors, I composed this review using MS notepad and pasted it in.
Cold Steel Tuff-Lite:
Specifications:
Clip Point
Weight: 0.6 oz.
Blade Thinkness: 1/16"
Blade Length: 1 3/4"
Handle: 2 1/4" long Zytel
Steel: AUS 8A
Overall Length: 4"
Note: Rated on a scale of 1 to 10. 10 being the highest.
Presentation: 7
The Tuff-Lite comes in a nice little box with a color picture of 1/2 of the knife showing on the box. The box has the name of the knife,
warranty information, caution statement and contact info listed on the outside of the box. A instruction sheet with some care tips would have been nice but the box serves it's function.
Blade Steel and Finish: 8
This is my first CS knife and so far I have to say I'm impressed with
the overall quality of this brand. The blade is a clip point design
made with AUS 8A and was shaving sharp out of the box. While certainly known for using AUS 8A on their flagship "Hombre" and "Voyager" series, using AUS 8A for a basic keychain knife shows that CS is serious about quaility even at the small end of the spectrum. Additionally, the blade has the words Tuff-Lite written on the flat side of the blade (nice touch) with "Cold Steel" and "Made in Japan" micro etched on the base of the blade as well.
Handle: 6
The handle is made out of Zytel and fits it's purpose. Nothing special but nothing to complain about either. It's nice and light which makes it an ideal knife to attach to a keychain, zipper or just floating around in the bottom of your pocket.
Lock: 8
The Tuff-Lite has a basic lockback that's supposed to hold up to 40lbs (that's what it says). If true, I'll be very happy since it's very unlikely I'd subject this little knife to that kind of abuse. It does lockup tight as a drum with not a bit of blade play and for such a small knife this one really feels strong. Definitely an 8.
Utility use: 8
I bought this knife for everyday basic utility purposes so without further ado here's how it performed. I constantly open boxes (cardboard and wooden) that are wrapped in burlap. Normally, I'll use my EKI CQC7A or Spydie Endura for this job but since I want to test my new knife I used it exclusively for one afternoon doing this job. The first time I used it to slice a burlap covered box it just went through it like butter and left a very clean line. Buy the time I was cutting the 5th box it was still going strong but not quite like butter. After opening the last one (11th) it was still cutting but not as clean and with a lot more effort. At the end of the day I was very impressed with how well it performed. I've used much bigger and better knives in this fashion and usally have had the same results. Starts out great but will fade towards the end of the day. No complaints, if it can hang tough with the above knives I mentioned then I have a big winner. I won't use it in this fashion everyday because it did fatigue my hand due to the small handle size but if I ever forget my standard EDC then this one will be able to tide me over for an afternoon of hard use, I'm sure of it!
Sharpening: 9
I touched up my new Tuff-Lite (after a day of hard use) in about 5 mins with my Sharpmaker. 20 times on the corner of each white rod had it back to shaving sharp.
Extras: 9
The Tuff-Lite comes with a lanyard hook to help you attach it to a keyring, beltloop or zipper. At first I thought whoopee, a lanyard but this is a quality lanyard and it really is useful. It makes it very easy to detach it from my keychain and I've hooked it onto my ID badge chain I wear around my neck on multiple occassions. Nice!
Value: 5
This ones a little hard for me but I have to bring down the score a little due to cost. I paid $26 for the one I bought from my favorite online store (KCI). I know it can be found cheaper but it goes most places for $22-$26 so I won't quibble. I still think this is a little on the high side. Considering I can get a Spydie Ladybug for $18 at the same place I think it's a little overpriced. Especially since I think the Tuff-Lite is in direct competition with the Ladybug.
Conclusion: Overall 7.5 (Averaged)
The CS Tuff-Lite is a very good keychain knife IMO. The blade steel is very good quality in AUS 8A, the Zytel handle is light, and the lock is solid and strong. My knife performed great in what I consider a hard use test (for such a small knife, that is). It sliced through burlap, cardboard, and very thick gummy tape with no problems and then was brought back to "out of the box" sharpness in less than 5 mins. It came with an included lanyard which is strong and actually pretty useful which I think is a nice extra and shows CS's commitment to the customer. I do think this the knife is a little overpriced but not by much. If you need a keychain knife that's sharp, strong and light check this one out, you won't be sorry. Enjoy!
Haven't seen many reviews of small keychain type folders so I'm going
to take a "stab" at it myself. This is my first review so please be
gentle. Let me know what you think. Regards. -Rick
P.S. Please forgive the formatting errors, I composed this review using MS notepad and pasted it in.
Cold Steel Tuff-Lite:
Specifications:
Clip Point
Weight: 0.6 oz.
Blade Thinkness: 1/16"
Blade Length: 1 3/4"
Handle: 2 1/4" long Zytel
Steel: AUS 8A
Overall Length: 4"
Note: Rated on a scale of 1 to 10. 10 being the highest.
Presentation: 7
The Tuff-Lite comes in a nice little box with a color picture of 1/2 of the knife showing on the box. The box has the name of the knife,
warranty information, caution statement and contact info listed on the outside of the box. A instruction sheet with some care tips would have been nice but the box serves it's function.
Blade Steel and Finish: 8
This is my first CS knife and so far I have to say I'm impressed with
the overall quality of this brand. The blade is a clip point design
made with AUS 8A and was shaving sharp out of the box. While certainly known for using AUS 8A on their flagship "Hombre" and "Voyager" series, using AUS 8A for a basic keychain knife shows that CS is serious about quaility even at the small end of the spectrum. Additionally, the blade has the words Tuff-Lite written on the flat side of the blade (nice touch) with "Cold Steel" and "Made in Japan" micro etched on the base of the blade as well.
Handle: 6
The handle is made out of Zytel and fits it's purpose. Nothing special but nothing to complain about either. It's nice and light which makes it an ideal knife to attach to a keychain, zipper or just floating around in the bottom of your pocket.
Lock: 8
The Tuff-Lite has a basic lockback that's supposed to hold up to 40lbs (that's what it says). If true, I'll be very happy since it's very unlikely I'd subject this little knife to that kind of abuse. It does lockup tight as a drum with not a bit of blade play and for such a small knife this one really feels strong. Definitely an 8.
Utility use: 8
I bought this knife for everyday basic utility purposes so without further ado here's how it performed. I constantly open boxes (cardboard and wooden) that are wrapped in burlap. Normally, I'll use my EKI CQC7A or Spydie Endura for this job but since I want to test my new knife I used it exclusively for one afternoon doing this job. The first time I used it to slice a burlap covered box it just went through it like butter and left a very clean line. Buy the time I was cutting the 5th box it was still going strong but not quite like butter. After opening the last one (11th) it was still cutting but not as clean and with a lot more effort. At the end of the day I was very impressed with how well it performed. I've used much bigger and better knives in this fashion and usally have had the same results. Starts out great but will fade towards the end of the day. No complaints, if it can hang tough with the above knives I mentioned then I have a big winner. I won't use it in this fashion everyday because it did fatigue my hand due to the small handle size but if I ever forget my standard EDC then this one will be able to tide me over for an afternoon of hard use, I'm sure of it!
Sharpening: 9
I touched up my new Tuff-Lite (after a day of hard use) in about 5 mins with my Sharpmaker. 20 times on the corner of each white rod had it back to shaving sharp.
Extras: 9
The Tuff-Lite comes with a lanyard hook to help you attach it to a keyring, beltloop or zipper. At first I thought whoopee, a lanyard but this is a quality lanyard and it really is useful. It makes it very easy to detach it from my keychain and I've hooked it onto my ID badge chain I wear around my neck on multiple occassions. Nice!
Value: 5
This ones a little hard for me but I have to bring down the score a little due to cost. I paid $26 for the one I bought from my favorite online store (KCI). I know it can be found cheaper but it goes most places for $22-$26 so I won't quibble. I still think this is a little on the high side. Considering I can get a Spydie Ladybug for $18 at the same place I think it's a little overpriced. Especially since I think the Tuff-Lite is in direct competition with the Ladybug.
Conclusion: Overall 7.5 (Averaged)
The CS Tuff-Lite is a very good keychain knife IMO. The blade steel is very good quality in AUS 8A, the Zytel handle is light, and the lock is solid and strong. My knife performed great in what I consider a hard use test (for such a small knife, that is). It sliced through burlap, cardboard, and very thick gummy tape with no problems and then was brought back to "out of the box" sharpness in less than 5 mins. It came with an included lanyard which is strong and actually pretty useful which I think is a nice extra and shows CS's commitment to the customer. I do think this the knife is a little overpriced but not by much. If you need a keychain knife that's sharp, strong and light check this one out, you won't be sorry. Enjoy!
. Sorry but I haven't ever used the Buck 425 so I can't compare. I bought my Tuff-Lite at Knifecenter.com. Regards. -Rick
