The 4034 knives are starting to roll out. First real world testing shows promising results

[KIRKHILLS86]

I believe you'd be fine with 4034 .

And less poor !

I get paid tomorrow and I’ll definitely blow half of it on knives im almost certain i am however getting a bit worried uk customs may start and wonder why I’ve received 8 knives this month alone I’ll be devastated if anything gets stopped oh god I bloody hate this country no joke lads i wished I was over there with yous

 

[jbmonkey]

I get paid tomorrow and I’ll definitely blow half of it on knives im almost certain i am however getting a bit worried uk customs may start and wonder why I’ve received 8 knives this month alone I’ll be devastated if anything gets stopped oh god I bloody hate this country no joke lads i wished I was over there with yous

dont go too crazy, too fast. enjoy what ya got for a bit.

they do go hard on y'all over there, but we got some of our own silly rules and nonsense to navigate over here, too.

 

[DangerZone98]

I agree with jbmonkey, don’t go too fast. Enjoy the stuff you currently have. I don’t have a ton of big Cold Steel knives, but I really like my SRK and Recon Tanto, both in SK5 steel. Actually carrying my SRK right now.

If you have a thing for big reliable knives, check out Becker and Esee in the future.

If kukris are the name of the game, I wholeheartedly recommend Kailash Blades.

 

[DangerZone98]

What do you want to be able to do with it ?

Probably be fine as a wall hanger , SD , even some light chopping .

IMO , it's a great fighter design , but was never really intended as a utility / bushcraft / survival knife .

On a slightly different note, my main gripe with the Natchez isn’t the steel actually. It’s the cable tang. It just doesn’t inspire confidence for me. I’d rather they went with a full tang or even rat tail tang, both of which are proven designs for hard use knives.

But yeah, as a wall hanger, it’s okay I suppose. But I’m not a completely sane knife collector and I want to be able to whack my knives if needed.

It would be like owning a Ferrari, but you only get a top speed of 15 mph. Just why?

 

[DocJD]

On a slightly different note, my main gripe with the Natchez isn’t the steel actually. It’s the cable tang. It just doesn’t inspire confidence for me. I’d rather they went with a full tang or even rat tail tang, both of which are proven designs for hard use knives.

But yeah, as a wall hanger, it’s okay I suppose. But I’m not a completely sane knife collector and I want to be able to whack my knives if needed.

It would be like owning a Ferrari, but you only get a top speed of 15 mph. Just why?

The cable tang is actually an expensive feature , designed to mitigate shock , if the knife contacts hard objects like opposing weapons .

This is a meant to be a fighting bowie vs the Trail Master types , more bushcraft use .

 

[DangerZone98]

The cable tang is actually an expensive feature , designed to mitigate shock , if the knife contacts hard objects like opposing weapons .

This is a meant to be a fighting bowie vs the Trail Master types , more bushcraft use .

To be fair, I don’t own any cable tang knives so take my gum flapping on this topic with a grain of salt.

Even for a fighting knife, wouldn’t a more conventional tang be more reliable? The last thing you want while fighting Decepticons is for the cable to fail and send yer blade flying from the handle. I think that’s less likely to happen with a full tang fighter.

 

[jbmonkey]

To be fair, I don’t own any cable tang knives so take my gum flapping on this topic with a grain of salt.

Even for a fighting knife, wouldn’t a more conventional tang be more reliable? The last thing you want while fighting Decepticons is for the cable to fail and send yer blade flying from the handle. I think that’s less likely to happen with a full tang fighter.

yeah the whole cable tang is confusing to me. I've seen Lynn tlak about it costs more to do and isn't a cheaper way etc. also works better for that fighting knife....and such.

I dont really get it though.

 

[jdk1]

The cable tang is a well proven, old technique to do two important things: mitigate shock as DocJD stated, and change the balance from the handle to the blade. The Natchez is a fighting design. Cold Steel seemed to market it as a fighter and a field knife, and I guess that was to sell more, but it was a mistake. The cable tang complaint is all over the internet and a black eye for the knife. not because its a poor design, but because it is a very specialized feature.

To make a comparison, it would be like a manufacturer making a match 1911 with extremely tight tolerances, and marketing it for matches and combat use. These pistols exist and are only good for target shooting. A combat pistol must have the tolerance for some crap, carbon, etc. to accumulate, but still function. A match pistol used in combat is likely to be unreliable because it has no "slack" built into the tolerances. The Natchez is the same way. It's not a chopper, though it may work as one for a while. The cable tang is a costly design feature, long proven to help when built into a fighting knife.

The Trail Master is Cold Steel's big woods bowie. Notice the TM doesn't have a tang, being full length from top to bottom. People complain about this too. That steel was there and Cold Steel paid people to mill that steel away. Why? Because if they had not, the knife would suck as a chopper, having too much weight in the handle and not enough weight forward to help with the momentum of the down swing. Milling the tang steel away cost money, but, just like the cable tang, it improves function. The best way to do this on a chopper is actually a tapered tang, but that cost quite a bit more, since milling machines prefer to make straight cuts. If Cold Steel had used a tapered tang, it would also be much easier to rehandled the TM!

 

[jlauffer]

Adding to the confusion, at least for me, is why on the Laredo, the Carbon V version (and maybe the following carbon steel versions) had the cable tang, while the SMIII version had the cable replaced by a solid rod. Don't know if the Natchez was the same way, as the only tang pics I've seen online are of the carbon steel version, which has the cable.

So why did the supposed benefits of the cable tang only apply to the carbon steel version, and not the SMIII version?

 

[oldmanwilly]

The cable tang is a well proven, old technique to do two important things: mitigate shock as DocJD stated, and change the balance from the handle to the blade. The Natchez is a fighting design. Cold Steel seemed to market it as a fighter and a field knife, and I guess that was to sell more, but it was a mistake. The cable tang complaint is all over the internet and a black eye for the knife. not because its a poor design, but because it is a very specialized feature.

To make a comparison, it would be like a manufacturer making a match 1911 with extremely tight tolerances, and marketing it for matches and combat use. These pistols exist and are only good for target shooting. A combat pistol must have the tolerance for some crap, carbon, etc. to accumulate, but still function. A match pistol used in combat is likely to be unreliable because it has no "slack" built into the tolerances. The Natchez is the same way. It's not a chopper, though it may work as one for a while. The cable tang is a costly design feature, long proven to help when built into a fighting knife.

The Trail Master is Cold Steel's big woods bowie. Notice the TM doesn't have a tang, being full length from top to bottom. People complain about this too. That steel was there and Cold Steel paid people to mill that steel away. Why? Because if they had not, the knife would suck as a chopper, having too much weight in the handle and not enough weight forward to help with the momentum of the down swing. Milling the tang steel away cost money, but, just like the cable tang, it improves function. The best way to do this on a chopper is actually a tapered tang, but that cost quite a bit more, since milling machines prefer to make straight cuts. If Cold Steel had used a tapered tang, it would also be much easier to rehandled the TM!

To add onto this, I have seen youtube videos and posts here showcasing the Natchez and the Laredo being used to chop wood, bone, etc. with little to no negative effects. In each case that I've seen, the tang and handle held up well without any loosening in the components. Likewise, I have done some reasonable chopping of shrubs and live wood with my Carbon V Laredo with no noticeable effects on the handle.

I have also seen some videos where folks beat on a Natchez hard to baton and the like, past the point of breaking.

The point being that these cable tang knives are not necessarily weak: they can clearly handle a decent amount of reasonable chopping. They are, however, not the best option to be used as a dedicated chopper or field knife.

*Edit: It looks like the Laredo has been available since 2002. Lynn Thompson previously confirmed his reasoning for using the cable tang design and further confirmed it is more complex and expensive to build than a normal through-tang construction. I have a hard time believing Cold Steel would stick with the cable tang for so long if its benefits were outweighed by its shortcomings. Even cost-averse GSM has kept up production of the cable tang. So, again, it is clearly not optimal for "hard use" field knives, but it is not weak.

 

[DocJD]

I did a deep search , years ago , to find actual evidence of cold steel cable tang failure in use .

Only thing I found for sure was a video featuring a drunk Russian .

He basically just madly beat on the handle, till he busted up the wood structure around the tang .

Ruined the knife for use , but the steel cable was still entirely intact !

I have to think LCT knew what he was doing with bladed weapon design .

 

[DangerZone98]

The cable tang is a well proven, old technique to do two important things: mitigate shock as DocJD stated, and change the balance from the handle to the blade. The Natchez is a fighting design. Cold Steel seemed to market it as a fighter and a field knife, and I guess that was to sell more, but it was a mistake. The cable tang complaint is all over the internet and a black eye for the knife. not because its a poor design, but because it is a very specialized feature.

To make a comparison, it would be like a manufacturer making a match 1911 with extremely tight tolerances, and marketing it for matches and combat use. These pistols exist and are only good for target shooting. A combat pistol must have the tolerance for some crap, carbon, etc. to accumulate, but still function. A match pistol used in combat is likely to be unreliable because it has no "slack" built into the tolerances. The Natchez is the same way. It's not a chopper, though it may work as one for a while. The cable tang is a costly design feature, long proven to help when built into a fighting knife.

The Trail Master is Cold Steel's big woods bowie. Notice the TM doesn't have a tang, being full length from top to bottom. People complain about this too. That steel was there and Cold Steel paid people to mill that steel away. Why? Because if they had not, the knife would suck as a chopper, having too much weight in the handle and not enough weight forward to help with the momentum of the down swing. Milling the tang steel away cost money, but, just like the cable tang, it improves function. The best way to do this on a chopper is actually a tapered tang, but that cost quite a bit more, since milling machines prefer to make straight cuts. If Cold Steel had used a tapered tang, it would also be much easier to rehandled the TM!

I can appreciate the match 1911 analogy, thanks for the writeup. I myself prefer a non-match grade “dumb” 1911. I’m glad the Natchez exists for the collectors who want to have it then. Different strokes and all that.

I guess from my perspective, I want a big field knife that can also serve as a fighting knife in extremely dire circumstances. The TM you mentioned with its more conventional tang would inspire more confidence. Or even the far cheaper SRK.

A “pure fighting knife” that isn’t considered tough enough for big knife things not related to Jim Bowie duels ain’t for me.

 

[DocJD]

I can appreciate the match 1911 analogy, thanks for the writeup. I myself prefer a non-match grade “dumb” 1911. I’m glad the Natchez exists for the collectors who want to have it then. Different strokes and all that.

I guess from my perspective, I want a big field knife that can also serve as a fighting knife in extremely dire circumstances. The TM you mentioned with its more conventional tang would inspire more confidence. Or even the far cheaper SRK.

A “pure fighting knife” that isn’t considered tough enough for big knife things not related to Jim Bowie duels ain’t for me.

I agree that it is wise to understand what any given knife is designed and intended to be used for .

I don't believe that the cable tang bowies are fragile , per se , but are not optimal for anything that can put extreme abuse on the handle area .

You can use a sword for machete work, in an emergency ; but , it is a kind of a waste of a more refined /specialized tool .

 

[oldmanwilly]

I can appreciate the match 1911 analogy, thanks for the writeup. I myself prefer a non-match grade “dumb” 1911. I’m glad the Natchez exists for the collectors who want to have it then. Different strokes and all that.

I guess from my perspective, I want a big field knife that can also serve as a fighting knife in extremely dire circumstances. The TM you mentioned with its more conventional tang would inspire more confidence. Or even the far cheaper SRK.

A “pure fighting knife” that isn’t considered tough enough for big knife things not related to Jim Bowie duels ain’t for me.

I agree that it is wise to understand what any given knife is designed and intended to be used for .

I don't believe that the cable tang bowies are fragile , per se , but are not optimal for anything that can put extreme abuse on the handle area .

You can use a sword for machete work, in an emergency ; but , it is a kind of a waste of a more refined /specialized tool .

As we discuss the virtues of the Natchez Bowie, let's all remember that the knife Jim Bowie used on the sand bar near Natchez looked more like this than anything else:

 

[DocJD]

As we discuss the virtues of the Natchez Bowie, let's all remember that the knife Jim Bowie used on the sand bar near Natchez looked more like this than anything else:

View attachment 2912398

And would probably do just fine , in a fight , given the skills to use it !

 

[oldmanwilly]

And would probably do just fine , in a fight , given the skills to use it !

Evidently it worked just fine for Jim. I'd rather have a little more of a guard, and loaded pistol or two.

 

[DangerZone98]

As we discuss the virtues of the Natchez Bowie, let's all remember that the knife Jim Bowie used on the sand bar near Natchez looked more like this than anything else:

View attachment 2912398

When you have a knife duel at high noon but it’s also sushi night.

That’s a badass knife. Reminds me of that Indiana Jones movie. Everyone imagines the Holy Grail to be a fancy, luxurious chalice. Turns out the real thing, according to the movie, is just a simple cup.

Is that a full tang blade?

 

[RPZIP]

As we discuss the virtues of the Natchez Bowie, let's all remember that the knife Jim Bowie used on the sand bar near Natchez looked more like this than anything else:

View attachment 2912398

Reminds of a Jim Crowell knife I saw in a knife or gun rag - or could have been one of the annuals like Guns Digest etc - back in the 70s or 80s. Man I wanted one, but the cost prospect was too high for me at the time. But fantastic blade profile. Many butchers' knives are similar but the blades too thin.