Thank you for telling us of your experience. It's interesting to me that the CS Chaos Bowie, which I own, is beefier than I thought. I still need to get around to sharpening the swedge with my Work Sharp Ken Onion. I also need to put a decent edge on my Ontario SP10. They're great knives, but they're inexpensive because Ontario puts the onus on the consumer. That's okay with me. I'd rather pay less, and make the edge perfect. I don't think I want to sharpen the SP10 swedge. It's a beastly outdoor knife, that can split wood without taking any damage. I broke up an entire wood pallet with it, and the dull factory edge looked like it was new. The whole knife still looked brand new. I think I'd like to keep the swedge full for batoning.
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Thoughts on the Chaos Bowie
- Thread starter DangerZone98
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I have the Cold Steel Black Bear Bowie Machete as well. I'll probably get made fun of, but it's my favorite knife, despite owning knives 6 times the price. I put some heat shrink grip on my handle. If I wanted 1 knife to defend myself, the Black Bear Bowie Machete would be my choice!
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Thanks for the feedback. The Cold Steel short shovel looks good too, but I have no real need for it as a city man.
I just point that out because many people have issues with sharpening knives. I would personally be ok with buying completely unsharpened knives if it meant a lower price point.
When I sharpened the swedge on the SP10, it only took me a few minutes to get it cutting paper. I had to grind at higher speed and longer to get the chaos bowie to the same level of sharpness. The wear resistance was surprisingly high.
Thanks for the feedback. The Cold Steel short shovel looks good too, but I have no real need for it as a city man.
NP. Something I just remembered, If you happen to want to try out the chaos grip to see if it fits your hand, you can buy the FGX chaos for around $10. The dimensions are identical. And if you don’t like it, then it’s a good cheap gift if you have friends who like knifes.
That's a smart suggestion, considering most people don't have brick and mortar stores where they can check out the grip. I love the grip. But if you have smaller hands, it will be extremely uncomfortable. If you have small hands, I'd probably suggest the Ontario SP6 Fighting Knife. It has a nice rubber grip, and a beefy full tang.
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Already have the Chaos Bowie, friend, but thanks for the suggestion. FGX is the plastic knife series right? Not really my thing, but that looks like a nice ‘get off me’ option in ugly situations.
I saw that crazy SP10 sale around Christmas time. It stayed that price for like 3 months. I had to exercise some self restraint, to stop myself from buying a 2nd SP10, which I obviously don't need! I think I got my SP10 for $60 on Amazon. That used to be the regular price, but inflation is killing us all.
Hoss, I destroyed an entire wooden pallet with the crappy factory edge on my Ontario SP10 Marine Raider Bowie. It still looks brand new. I have the newer 1075 version. I prefer that to the more brittle 1095. The newer versions also come with better sheaths, although still not great sheaths.
I was debating buying the Kobun. The steel is excellent, but the blade is quite thin. It's really just a self defense knife, so I can see why it's you're pillow knife. I wanted 1 genuine Japanese AUS-8 survival knife, for situations where I can't keep my blades dry or oiled. I ended up buying the Steel Will Argonaut 800. Steel Will is a small knife company. There aren't many reviews on the AUS-8 Argonaut series. GideonsTactical is the only YouTube reviewer who actually did a full review on the Argonaut 800. I believe Steel Will has discontinued the Argonaut series, in favor of Chinese steel knives. I have to say, the Argonaut 800 was better than I expected when I received it. If you want a great stainless survival knife, but you don't want to pay $180 for the Survival Lilly APO-1S, or $300 for an S35VN blade, I'd buy an Argonaut before they're all gone.
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If you have large hands, the thin handle on the Kobun may be a problem. I personally prefer the grip of the Recon Tanto.
Gideons Tactical is a great YT channel. Seems honest about presenting to you the pros and cons of a product. The Survival Lilly knife is a no for me, hahaha. I’d pick a Becker or ESEE over the APO knife.
Thanks for the advice. I'm a big guy with XXL hands width wise. My palms are almost 11" in circumference. It indeed makes me picky about knife handles. There was a 440C German fixed blade I liked. I emailed the company to ask if it would fit my hand, and they definitely said no! That's surprising, considering they're trying to sell knives.
Regarding the Survival Lilly APO-1S, it's a good stainless survival knife. It's just way overpriced. The vast majority of my knives are high carbon steel. I own a Ka-Bar, Ontario SP10 and SP6, the new Cold Steel Survivalist, a Cold Steel Recon Tanto, a Cold Steel SRK in CPM-3V , and like 5 high carbon machetes, including the Cold Steel Black Bear Bowie Machete, and The Ontario US Military machete. I wanted just 1 truly stainless knife, that can perform decently, and is easy to sharpen. The Steel Will Argonaut Series are great, especially since they have extra long, hard rubber, over-mould handles. I can't justify the cost of buying the Survival lilly, or a Fallkniven.
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I can sort of understand why the APO is priced the way it is, since they probably only make a limited number and Lilly doesn’t have the manufacturing power of big name knife brands. For the asking price though, something better than AUS8 would have been ideal.
I do think the knives are made to order, hence the price. I can sort of understand her philosophy, which is why I bought the Steel Will Argonaut. AUS-8 is not a super stainless steel. However, it used to be, before all these new expensive steels. Heck, 440C was once an expensive super steel, as was 420HC. AUS-8 is a "bend but don't break" stainless steel. It's very tough, the edge will roll, not chip, and it's easy to resharpen in the field. JOE X, who destroys knives on purpose, recommends the APO-1S as his top choice.
I have a Cold Steel SRK on CPM-3V. Good Lord that knife is strong. I'd need a hammer to break it. I've jammed it tip first into wood, pried it back and forth, and it still looks brand new, and it's still hair shaving sharp. It will stay that way a long time. But when it comes time to sharpen it, I'll probably get it professionally sharpened. I'd hate to have to sharpen it myself, especially in the field. It's also not truly stainless. It's 7.50% chromium. It will resist rust much better than a high carbon steel, but it does need to be oiled every now and then.
I have a Cold Steel SRK on CPM-3V. Good Lord that knife is strong. I'd need a hammer to break it. I've jammed it tip first into wood, pried it back and forth, and it still looks brand new, and it's still hair shaving sharp. It will stay that way a long time. But when it comes time to sharpen it, I'll probably get it professionally sharpened. I'd hate to have to sharpen it myself, especially in the field. It's also not truly stainless. It's 7.50% chromium. It will resist rust much better than a high carbon steel, but it does need to be oiled every now and then.
Allow me to interject. You speak of needs to be oiled now and then. Why am I having rust problems with my Aus 10 Cold Steel Knives? The Aus 8 Cold Steel Knives never rusted. So why is aus 10 less stain proof?
My understanding is that AUS-10, and even AUS-8 will rust if they aren't kept dry. They're not as stainless as a cheap steel like 420. I have an AUS-10 Voyager XL. I've had it for about 2 years (maybe 3), and it's never rusted. However, my home is always very dry, and I keep the knife dry. If I'm walking my dog in the rain, the knife often gets wet. I usually dry it with paper towels, and then let it sit in dry air for several hours.
Thank you for the response. I've got a rust spot on my Espada and I'm not happy about it. Maybe it's the salt in the air. And I do oil them quite often.
To be more clear, AUS-8 and AUS-10 need to be kept dry, but they don't need to be oiled. Any steel will rust if it's kept wet long enough, even the most stainless steel there is. AUS-8 and AUS-10 are considered stainless, but they're more like mostly stainless. You can certainly oil yours if you live in an extremely humid environment. I imagine they will rust over time if you live in a humid environment, or nest salt water.
I just saw your reply to my original comment, after I wrote my 2nd comment. You mentioned salt. Salt water in the air will definitely rust an AUS-10 knife. I'm sorry about your Espada, but I'm sure it can be easily removed. Since you live near salt water, I would just put some mineral oil on it every few months.
You can't get no more salty. Puerto Rico is not a very big place. I live about a mile from the beach. I've been fighting rust for a long time here. It's just part of the game I guess. But it's humid salty and very dusty sometime. Even the bathroom faucets rusted.