We have the 4-Max coming soon, But what about the AD10?

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Feuerfreiguy

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Mar 28, 2015
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Andrew Demko's 4-Max getting a midtech production run under the same name by Cold Steel, and Cold Steel's admission that the 4-Max is just the first of many future high end American made knives they have planned has got me thinking. Maybe the AD-10 will see a midtech version soon too? Andrew Demko is no longer taking orders for his own custom made AD-10's as he is working on designs for the AD-15 so it could be possible that now Cold Steel could pick up the design and run with it. I really like the look of the 4-Max, but it might just be a bit too big for EDC purposes IMHO. A Cold Steel made midtech level AD-10 would be similar in size to the American Lawman, but with quality and specs similar to what we are expecting with the 4-Max. Maybe our resident Cold Steel rep can chime in with any info. I'm really hoping that they're considering it. Who knows, maybe they're already working on it :D

Google yields a good comparison pic of the AD10 to an American Lawman for anyone interested in seeing the size differences.

Demko+Custom+American+Lawman+with+thumb+plate+022.jpg



Now with that picture in mind, take a look at the size difference between the Demko 4-Max and the AD10 in this picture (Sourced from a post by Lorien in the custom subforum)

4MAX001.jpg


So for those comparing this to the AD10, you may want to rethink that a little. This is a bigger knife in every aspect. Hopefully we can expect a smaller more EDC friendly version like the AD-10 see a production run from Cold Steel in the future :thumbup:
 
I would buy an ad10 in a heartbeat. The 4max, as awesome as it is, is just too big to carry
 
shootist16 said:
I would buy an ad10 in a heartbeat. The 4max, as awesome as it is, is just too big to carry
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This is the quandary I find myself in. I love the look and quality we'll be seeing in the 4-Max. But I just don't think I'd ever carry it. The AD10 on the otherhand would be the perfect size.
 
+1 to the AD10

4max is too impractical to carry and may end of being safe queen... The best knife is the one you have with you when you need it.
 
Man, I haven't seen that picture before of the AD10 with a 4max... that really puts things into perspective! I'll definitely throw in my vote for releasing an AD-10 as well. It would definitely be more practical and I could see that getting more time in my pocket.
 
I would love to try an AD10 CS version, the 4MAX is too big! But damn I would love to get something smaller in that amazing steel.
 
One thing I always appreciated about Tri-Ad locked designs for user knives is that they are a lower weight and a lower price than the competition frame and linerlocks for the same blade length.

At 9.2 ounces for just a 4 inch blade the 4MAX will have a much more limited audience. At this price point and weight its main draw seems to be the Tri-Ad and that alone.

For some perspective, the Socom Delta has a 4 inch blade at just 4.7 ounces. The Benchmade 710 has a 4 inch blade at just 4.5 ounces. The Spyderco Military has a 4 inch blade at just 4.2 ounces.

All three of these options cost hundreds of dollars less than the 4MAX.

The AD10 seems to already be in production as the American Lawman however. Maybe if it were given a significant upgrade, with titanium liners, a beefier Triad lock, and a steel upgrade, it would be a more premium version of the AD10.
 
Working in engineering means that i appreciate efficient designs. i.e. great strength to weight ratio, price to performance ratio & etc.
Blade to handle ratio is no difference in this case, and i definitely appreciate a high blade to handle ratio knife. Some great examples are Benchmade 710, Benchmade HK Axis(14715) and CS's new Swift that is ~8.6 inches overall with 4 inch blade(at least on the paper per CS website).
Having a 10inch OAL with 4inch blade is just not very efficient IMO... I would have paid for a Recon with 4.5mm blade instead.

Remember, we are talking about ratio here. Some people like bigger handle, myself included, but the blade length need to scale accordingly. Otherwise it's like having a 13inch laptop with a 9 inch screen, or a 4.7inch iphone with 3 inch screen. You get the idea...
 
handle to blade ratio is something that is nice but sometimes a lower ratio means more overall strength. This is the case here, think of the difference of the handle and blade ratio as the blade tang. That in mind, what knife do you want one with more blade tang or less? If I hear a 4.5" handle and a 4" blade I think to myself maybe not to strong. Bear in mind this is not always the case it all depends on the locking system.
 
DemkoKnives said:
handle to blade ratio is something that is nice but sometimes a lower ratio means more overall strength. This is the case here, think of the difference of the handle and blade ratio as the blade tang. That in mind, what knife do you want one with more blade tang or less? If I hear a 4.5" handle and a 4" blade I think to myself maybe not to strong. Bear in mind this is not always the case it all depends on the locking system.
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Well said.

Another thing I was considering while reading his response is that sometimes a greater handle to blade ratio is desirable in many tasks. The longer the blade the more leverage you are going to have to work against when cutting something near the tip of the knife. Good examples are whittling and mushroom knives with very short blades (for different reasons in this case) relative to the handle size.

Now that you are in this thread Andrew, can you weigh in on the possibility of a mass produced AD10? :) (and not the american lawman, but a true AD10)
 
DemkoKnives said:
handle to blade ratio is something that is nice but sometimes a lower ratio means more overall strength. This is the case here, think of the difference of the handle and blade ratio as the blade tang. That in mind, what knife do you want one with more blade tang or less? If I hear a 4.5" handle and a 4" blade I think to myself maybe not to strong. Bear in mind this is not always the case it all depends on the locking system.
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Great point Andrew. Makes a lot of sense. I guess the blade tang does play a big role in determining the blade to handle ratio as well as the strength of the triad lock, as it correlates directly to how deep the lock seats. i'm personally a sucker for knife with huge tang(or tang to blade ratio) like the Medium Espada.
In this case smaller blade/handle is a good compromise.
Perhaps playing around with the design of the transition between blade and handle could maximize this. ZT0200 is a great example: viewing from the top shows a very short blade but long handle, however from the bottom shows very good cutting edge to handle ratio. In fact ZT0200 is one of the few knives that actually has longer cutting edge(not including the recurve) than the blade length itself due to this trick. Great balance between strength(for linerlock at least) and available cutting edge.
Code 4 feels almost like that, if only the cutting edge is ground all the way back and perhaps following the curve of the handle. I guess it may not be cost effective to do in a production scale. Just some thoughts......
 
DemkoKnives said:
handle to blade ratio is something that is nice but sometimes a lower ratio means more overall strength. This is the case here, think of the difference of the handle and blade ratio as the blade tang. That in mind, what knife do you want one with more blade tang or less? If I hear a 4.5" handle and a 4" blade I think to myself maybe not to strong. Bear in mind this is not always the case it all depends on the locking system.
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Wow, the man himself replies. Thanks for taking the time to stop in and give us a word Andrew.
 
well, it may just be me, but I JUST got this Ultimate Hunter in today and it looks kinda close to the AD10, somewhat, missing a few bits here and there, but let me tell you, this thing is pretty cool :) of course you'd expect the lock to be up to snuff due to the Tri-Ad lock system, the G10 has a nice texture without being too coarse to tear up your pants. The handle has plenty of length and some contour to the G10 that you can use it in a variety ways of gripping it and the blade, simple in looks but rugged in use and arrived amazingly sharp out of the box too. Blade is flat ground, although I've heard some say it's hollow ground but I wouldn't call it that, and it's ground down fairly thin edged too. AND, my favourite part, it doesn't have a sharpening choil/notch on there, nothing to hang up on material, what a giant plus for me, some will complain but I say learn how to sharpen and get over it, the benefits outway not being able to sharpen how you are use to.

Here's just a quick ipod touch photo taken tonight;

CS_UH.jpg~original


Nice job Cold Steel, very nice knife! I've since added a nice paracord lanyard on there.

G2
 
It is a nice piece. However, Ill take a choil everyday of the week over a non-choil knife. It's done for ergos in my case but making it easier to sharpen is just a bonus, so Ill take that too. Some people like choils, some don't.
 
I'm diggin' it, G2.

Are you going to use it in a hunting role? If so, I hope you'll do a review of it for us.

I like the no-choil approach to this one as well.
 
The ultimate hunter does resemble the ad10 somewhat, however I'm referring to a knife on the same level as the 4max. EG: titanium liners, high end steel, beefier blade and liner stock, made in America, etc.
 
And realistically if we are just talking about knives that look like the AD10 why bother talking about the ultimate hunter that sort of looks like an AD10 when there is the lawman which essentially is the budget version of an AD10. The ultimate hunter is a sweet knife though.

Like you said though, I personally want to see a production true AD10 with titanium liners and all.
 
Velitrius said:
I'm diggin' it, G2.

Are you going to use it in a hunting role? If so, I hope you'll do a review of it for us.

I like the no-choil approach to this one as well.
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I've had the ultimate hunter for about 1 month and i can say it's definitely suited for any EDC utility task. The handle was very ergonomic and doesn't generate hot spot at all. I had an opportunity to use these new knives to cut a lot of boxes, and i can tell you that the flat grind on the Ultimate Hunter(as opposed to the usual hollow ground CS uses) definitely help make the blade go through the materials better.
 
Nope, not a hunter so I'll be using it for EDC things around the house and work. It's one heck of a knife, I had the American Lawman and liked that one too but didn't like the texture of the scales that much, this one is more to my liking.
G2
 
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