Would this make a good outdoors beater knife?

[Preacher Man]

I like Cold Steel's SRK as an all around outdoors knife. This lead me to wonder if the CS True Flight throwing knife would make a good outdoors beater knife. After all, this is a knife that cost about $19.00 from Wholesalehunter.

It is made of the same steel (and I asume, maybe wrongly, that has the same heat treat) than the SRK. It also has the same thickness,and length, and is 3 ounces heavier than the SRK.

Has anyone used the True Fligth as an outdoor knife? How would it perform as a slicer? How good is its edge retention?

It may be a little too light to be used as a chopper. Would it take the abuse of being used with a baton? How about digging?

I would like your opinions.

 

[Knifeclerk]

If you wanted any slicing done with this one, you would have to reprofile the blade first. It could function fine for digging or batoning, but I will still say don't bother with it for serious work. The handle is not designed for it. It will cause your hand to fatigue much faster. Also, it lacks a decent guard. I have also had problems with the paracord comming undone or fraying.
-KC

 

[Esav Benyamin]

We really don't know what the heat treat is like. As a thrower, it should have been left softer than the SRK. If it was, forget edge retention.

As Knifeclerk says, the edge needs work and you'd probably need to make handle slabs for any kind of extended work.

The SRK itself is cheap enough. Check out the CS website for SRK seconds, which are just as good as the cosmetically perfect version, just cheaper yet.

http://www.ltspecpro.com/factoryseconds.html

 

[Benjamin Liu]

The CS Bushman makes a good beater/utility knife. It can also be put on a stick for a spear. I tried it and it withstood repeated throws into wood. I use mine for yardwork when it will be likely that I'd have to cut things that might dull a good knife. A few weeks ago I used it to cut plastic sheets on the ground. I did not mind that the blade contacted rocks, dirt, and sand. I also dug with it. I used it for chopping and splitting wood. If anything damages it I'm only out $15.00, though it might cost more today.

 

[z537z]

It would make a good knife. Problem is in the handle, it'd kill your hand with heavy use. Also, repeated use may reduce its effectiveness as a thrower due to warping, sharpness, etc.


They intended it to be more than just a thrower, that's why there's a sharpened edge. Good survival knife: Can be put onto a stick for a spear easily. Same with Bushman.

_z

 

[averageguy]

I'm borrowing this story from Grant (Defender) at kniforums - a post he made there a couple of years ago.

CS True Flight Thrower

OKay, I have had one of these knives for years and despite being really bad at throwing knives (don't much see the point of learning to throw away a last ditch weapon anyways!) it has served me VERY well. Not in any way as fascinating as last night though which is what I want to share with anyone who will listen.
Due to my recent foot injury I have taken a low-key job bouncing at a downtown restaurant which gets pretty slow after the "bar crowd" goes home. Unfortunately I am stuck there till usually about 6 am and have a couple of hours to kill. I while away the time by helping the guys with the equipment maintenance mostly. Now they have this rotary slicer and needed the plate replaced. They finally get this plate in but can't unscrew the post (that makes the plate slide so that the veggies get pushed into the rotating blades) because it has been there for years and was probably glued on at some point. Anyways, we try EVERYTHING... penetrating oil, vibrations, digging into the post something awful with the pliers to get a grip when we decide that the only way to get the old plate off is to break it off. Out comes my old hammer and a flathead screwdriver from my toolbox and we commence to pounding the cast aluminum to no avail. Sure we are making dents in it but that's about it. We come to the realization that maybe we are just going to have to go to the hardware store and try to get a new post when I have a little revalation.
Knowing full well that any warranty that I may still have with CS is LONG gone (most of my knives are VERY hard users!) I pull out the trusty old True Flight thrower which is conveniently in the toolbox and commence to pounding the spine of the blade wit hthe hammer and literally CUTTING through the aluminum block. I cut off 3 corners of the block to get the post out and there was NO DAMAGE to the knife. No damage from the block of aluminum I just cut or from the hammer I'd just repeatedly hit it with. Some of the black epoxy was chipped off but really, on my knife you'd never notice a few more chips!
I am going to post pictures (luckily had a digital camera handy) as soon as I figure out how...
For all the bad press, you gotta respect the product...
Def

 

[Preacher Man]

Thanks for the replies guys. I have the Bushman and like it a lot.

I was just thinking of the possibility of an extremely cheap but very strong beater knife. I hear you on the problems with the profile and the handle. I may still get one and turn it into a project; reprofile the edge and put on some scales. If it doesn't work, I'm out only $19.00 and I'll have some fun in the process.

The question is: will it be worth it? What do you think?

If it is worth the effort, any suggestions on scales for the True Fligth? What would be the best way to reprofile the edge?

 

[acolonelofcorn]

regarding statements about attaching a knife to a stick for a spear in a survival situation: BAD IDEA! Never throw away your knife! use a knife to make a spear, not to be the spear, or your survival chances will be lowered.