New knife from Cold Steel.

oldsarge

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I Read a good write up on this knife in Tactical Knives magazine. Looks like a nice little field knife. Blade design compared to the Mora and use a German steel. It's got a hollow handle that's supposed to anchored really well to the blade. For the price, it doesn't look like a bad deal.

Survival Edge Knife (Black Handle) - Cold Steel Knives

Found it much cheaper here.

http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store_store.html?ttl=Cold Steel Survival Edge Hollow Handle Survival Knives&cat=cs&k=survival edge&series=2065&
 

oldsarge

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Interesting little knife. Would be interested to see how it compares to the Mora. The hollow handle might be a weak point.
I know many years ago that hollow handle knives made a big jump in popularity after the Rambo movies. Many of those knives were just plain cheap knock-offs. If you wanted a real good hollow handle knife you paid for it big time. Jim Lyle, Chris Reeves to name a few. I have read a few other articles on newer hollow handle knives that are surprisingly strong. . This new Cold Steel is supposed to be very well made considering the shortened tang. I think I will be picking one up and testing it out.
 

oldsarge

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Got the new knife in a few days ago (Cold Steel, survival edge), It's not a bad little knife. Very light weight (3-4 oz) and seems to be built rather well for an inexpensive hollow handle design. I took it out in the garage and worked through some wood to see how the blade handled. It could have come a little sharper out of the box, but that's not an issue. I batoned with it and it did well. The blade is just like the Mora design but only time will tell on how well it holds up. This knife was advertised for around $49. I wouldn't pay that much for it so I went to "Knives Plus" on line and got it for $24, which I think is a much fairer price for the knife. For that money this isn't a bad little knife. The hollow handle has plenty of room fire fire making materials. The sheath is plastic and similar to the Mora style. It also came with a Ferrocerium fire steel which is stored in the sheath. Over all a nice little back-up knife. Cold Steel always produced a fine knife in the past and that's why I thought I'd give this one a try. As soon as I get some free time I'll take it out in the woods and work it some more.
 

ChadTower

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How stable is it with that hollow handle? I've never seen a hollow handled knife I felt comfortable relying on. Over time they all become unstable without any sort of tang in the handle.

I guess for $24 you're not buying your first line knife, though. It would be interesting to see how long you could baton it before the blade started to come loose from the handle.
 

oldsarge

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How stable is it with that hollow handle? I've never seen a hollow handled knife I felt comfortable relying on. Over time they all become unstable without any sort of tang in the handle.

I guess for $24 you're not buying your first line knife, though. It would be interesting to see how long you could baton it before the blade started to come loose from the handle.
Only time will tell. I can say that the blade is much better mounted than those cheap knock-off's back in the early 80's. Unless you pay for a Lyle or Reeves hollow handle knife. You take a chance on quality. I feel that batoning is easier on a knife than wildly chopping. Constant hacking and chopping actions really work the blade. I've seen full tang knives break at the hilt because some bone head used it like and ax. This won't be my main go to knife, but as a knife lover it's just another toy in the box. I will take this knife out and put it to use. I also read the even Mora knives are not a full tang. I wonder how true that is?
 

Barney

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The best way to tell if the knife would be good is to use it. I would really like to test this one since it is so cheap (compared to similar solutions).
 

cabinfever

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Oldsarge, thanks for giving us such a good review of this knife and for posting that money-saving link. I definitely agree that $49 is too much for this particular knife, but for $24, I may pick one up for myself this week.
 

oldsarge

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Most aren't. The tang, depending on the model, runs from about 2/3 to 3/4 the length of the handle. Mora does have some full tang models.
Either way, I never heard of anyone breaking one. Over all it's how you use it. I've known guys who had some really cheap knives for many years and they held up well because they were well taken care of and not abused.
 

Barney

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Most aren't. The tang, depending on the model, runs from about 2/3 to 3/4 the length of the handle. Mora does have some full tang models.
Mora is a smart company. Some people won't even smell a knife that is not full tang, but did they try breaking those short tang cheap Mora Companions - not really.
 

ghostdog

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Either way, I never heard of anyone breaking one. Over all it's how you use it. I've known guys who had some really cheap knives for many years and they held up well because they were well taken care of and not abused.
That is the key, knowing how to use them fully but not abusing them. My stick tang knife that I assembled from a Lauri blade and materials from Finland is ten years old now. I use it hard, almost every day each winter and it makes a great all around outdoor knife. To make small kindling I do baton with it daily because it is safer than an ax or even light hatchet. It carves the tinder and holds a great edge through all of this hard work. Never has given me one problem.



Same with my Moras. The ones I pick have that ¾ tang but they are very strong and I can easily get them very sharp. They offer tough steels for a real working knife too. For 12 or 13 bucks you can have a very capable knife. I know the full tang mantra but don’t fully buy into it. Besides, stick tangs are much lighter in weight and many times have more comfortable handles for extended use.
 

wvbreamfisherman

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I'd actually be more concerned about the inherent weakness in the hollow part of the handle, to be honest.

As long as you're not abusing it, or maybe subjecting the hollow section to crushing stresses, I don't see a reason it wouldn't hold up ok.

The hollowed handle thing always struck me as a bit of a sales gimmick, since you really can't put much in such a little space. A few matches/metal match/firestarters etc.
 

ChadTower

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What always happens to me with those is that the blade becomes loose. It doesn't break, and the handle doesn't break, but the blade is wobbly on the handle.
 

oldsarge

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Took the new Cold Steel out in the woods while out with the hounds today. I put it through a small test to see how it would perform. First I used a Baton to cut up some small pieces of wood to see how well it held up. I was primarily concerned with what kind of discomfort would be generated through the handle. It wasn't bad at all for an inexpensive knife. The thin blade passed easily through the wood. I also tried making a feather stick, this of course relies on one ability to make one in the first place. The blade design is really well made for this. Out of the box, the knife had a good edge and after a short time hacking through wood and making pieces of tinder, the blade held up really well. No nicks and held up great while holding it's edge. I had some drier lint in a small baggie shoved it in the hollow handle, I used it to start a fire using the included fire steel. Had a small fire going in no time at all. Those of you that have read my comments on knives know I'm not a big fan of hollow handle designs. But as we all know, it'not the tool, but how you use it. I may very well re-think my view on hollow handle knives.

Lynn Thompson, president of Cold Steel is a stickler on what kind of steel he uses on his products. He employ's metallurgist to acquire the material for his knives. For $25 this is a great buy.

Overall, I'd say this is a great little knife for the money. I'm not saying to go out and dump your tried and true field knife. What I am saying is that if you know someone who need a nice little beginners knife to mess around with in the field. This would be the one. I would definitely get one for a child who is learning field crafts. Like I said, for the money you can't wrong.
 

oldsarge

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What always happens to me with those is that the blade becomes loose. It doesn't break, and the handle doesn't break, but the blade is wobbly on the handle.
Only time will tell if it get loose. I only put this knife through a small test, but I know from owning previous cheap hollow handles designs. This knife is well made for it's price. I am in no way trying to get folks to convert to this. I'm just passing on some info based on my interest in knives. This knife will be a fine secondary tool and light enough to pack. I will be taking this out again and putting it through the ringer to see how well it holds up. I can say that for the money, it's well worth it and I'm glad I got one.
 

Newanderthal

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I've always had one very serious problem with knives of this design, and if you're having to use it for its intended purpose, it could be a real killer.

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU LOSE YOUR KNIFE?
Think about it. Your matches, fishing line, fishhooks, iodine tablets, etc. are all in the handle of your knife. Your mini survival kit is all in one place. If you lose your knife, you don't only lose your cutting tool, you lose EVERYTHING! I cannot imagine a worse scenario. I haven't dropped many knives when in the woods, but it has happened. If I had been in a real survival situation, it would have been bad, but I still would have had the rest of my emergency kit.

I keep different items in different places, so I might lose this or that, but never everything. That's why I never use that style of knife.
 

oldsarge

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I've always had one very serious problem with knives of this design, and if you're having to use it for its intended purpose, it could be a real killer.

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU LOSE YOUR KNIFE?
Think about it. Your matches, fishing line, fishhooks, iodine tablets, etc. are all in the handle of your knife. Your mini survival kit is all in one place. If you lose your knife, you don't only lose your cutting tool, you lose EVERYTHING! I cannot imagine a worse scenario. I haven't dropped many knives when in the woods, but it has happened. If I had been in a real survival situation, it would have been bad, but I still would have had the rest of my emergency kit.

I keep different items in different places, so I might lose this or that, but never everything. That's why I never use that style of knife.

I wouldn't rely on it being my only source for storage. It's just another place to store stuff. You have a point there though. I once had my small survival kit strapped to my knife sheath and it fell off. I did manage to find it since it was made of bright orange material. There too if I the sheath had been lost, I would have lost my entire kit with it, knife and all.
 
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