Cold Steel Knives

What Cold Steel makes for hunters and campers

On this site, Cold Steel covers four product types: fixed-blade knives, folding knives, machetes and tomahawks. The maker's own company page says its line also runs to swords and kitchen knives, and this site doesn't list those.

The grid above splits into a few groups:

• Hunting fixed blades: drop points and trailing points for field dressing and skinning
• Bowies, tantos and big fixed blades: from a small tactical bowie up to a 12-inch tanto
• Survival and camp fixed blades: the SRK and the Bowie Bushman
• Folders: Tri-Ad lock knives, a flipper with a leaf-spring lock, and a few others
• Machetes: kukri, bolo, Latin, bowie and sword-shaped blades
• Tomahawks: the Trench Hawk, the Pipe Hawk and the Rifleman's Tomahawk

The grid filters by type and changes as listings come and go. So I'll write about the groups and what separates them, not about how many of each are listed this week.

Most specs here come from Amazon listings, and the grid marks them. Where I quote the maker, I say so. A dash means the listing didn't say.

Lineup notes: Cold Steel fixed blades

Hunting knives: Master Hunter and Roach Belly

These are the two most hunting-shaped knives in the grid. The Master Hunter's listing names a 4.5-inch drop-point blade in VG-10 stainless with a flat grind. Cold Steel's page for it describes a broad blade, a 3/16-inch spine, a Kray-Ex grip and a dropped point that "simplifies the chore of field dressing and skinning". The maker lists it at 6 ounces.

The Roach Belly's listing names a 4.5-inch trailing-point blade (the tip curves up above the spine, leaving a long belly for slicing) in German 4116 stainless, hollow ground. It's a skinner's shape. The skinning knife page and the hunting knife page cover those shapes across brands.

Bowies: from the Mini Tac to the 1917 Frontier

The bowies in the grid run from small to long:

• Mini Tac Bowie: a short clip point in 8Cr13MoV with a Griv-Ex handle, per its listing
• OSS: an 8.25-inch clip point in AUS8A stainless
• Leatherneck SF: a clip point in D2 tool steel with a saber grind and a full tang
• 1917 Frontier Bowie: 1085 carbon steel, a hardwood handle and a leather sheath

That's a wide spread, from a knife that fits a belt like a pocketknife to one that hangs like a short sword. Here's the thing: a long blade is for chopping and camp work, and a short one is for anything near the meat. The bowie knife page covers the shape across brands.

Tantos: Kobun, Master Tanto, Recon Tanto, Magnum Tanto

The maker's company page credits Cold Steel with the "Americanized" tanto blade. A tanto has a straight edge that meets a second, angled edge near the tip, which makes a strong point. The grid has several:

• Kobun: a 5.5-inch tanto in AUS8A
• G.I. Tanto: 7 inches in 1055 carbon steel
• Recon Tanto: 7 inches, in SK-5 carbon or VG-10 San Mai
• Master Tanto: 6 inches, VG-10 San Mai, hollow ground
• Magnum Tanto: 12 inches, VG-10 San Mai

A tanto point is strong, but it's not a field-dressing shape. For a deer, the drop points do the work. The tactical knife page and the fixed blade knife page have more.

Survival and camp: SRK and Bowie Bushman

The SRK ("Survival Rescue Knife") is a 6-inch clip point in SK-5 carbon or VG-10 San Mai, with a Kray-Ex handle, per the listings. Cold Steel's page for the SK-5 version lists it at 8.2 ounces with a Secure-Ex sheath. The Bowie Bushman's listing names a 7-inch SK-5 blade and a fire starter included with the sheath. The Drop Forged Boot is a 5-inch knife in 52100 carbon steel. Camp jobs are on the survival knife page and the camping knife page.

Danny asked if the fire starter in the sheath meant he could leave his lighters at home. No, Danny. It means one more thing in the kit to forget to check.

Lineup notes: Cold Steel folding knives

Tri-Ad lock folders: Recon 1 and Spartan

The Tri-Ad lock is the feature the maker leads with. Cold Steel's page describes it as a lockback design by Andrew Demko with a stop pin that takes the load off the lock, and says it's designed to self-adjust as parts wear. It says the lock needs little maintenance beyond keeping pocket lint out of it.

The maker lists the Recon 1 tanto with a 4-inch S35VN blade, G-10 handle, a pocket clip and the Tri-Ad lock, at 5.2 ounces. It lists the Spartan, a Demko design shaped to echo a kukri, with a 4.5-inch AUS10A blade, a Griv-Ex handle with steel liners and the Tri-Ad lock, at 9 ounces. The Rajah II's listing names a 6-inch AUS10A blade and a pocket clip. The grid lists these locks as "other"; the maker's pages name the Tri-Ad.

Luzon: a flipper with a leaf-spring lock

The Luzon comes in two sizes. The maker's page for the Medium Luzon describes a flipper (a small tab you push to swing the blade open) with an 8Cr13MoV blade, a glass-filled nylon handle, a leaf-spring lock and a secondary safety switch, at 3.5 ounces. Of the three folders I found maker weights for, it's the lightest.

Others: Finn Wolf, Code 4, Pocket Bushman

The Finn Wolf's listing names a 3.5-inch straight-back AUS8A blade and a polymer handle. The Code 4 lists a 3.5-inch S35VN spear point with an aluminum handle. The Pocket Bushman lists a 4.5-inch 4116 stainless clip point and a steel handle. Different locks, different shapes; read each listing. The pocket knife page and the everyday carry knife page cover folders across brands.

Cold Steel machetes

The Cold Steel kukri machete

The kukri is the shape Cold Steel's machete shelf is known for. The grid has the 97KMS Kukri Machete with a 13-inch blade, the Magnum Kukri with a 17-inch blade, and the Kukri Plus, all with sheaths, per the listings. The maker's page says the Kukri Machete comes in those two sizes, 13 and 17 inches, with a polypropylene handle and a Cor-Ex sheath, and lists the 13-inch at 16 ounces. It pitches them as lighter-weight bushcraft or camping tools that ride on a belt or a pack.

A kukri blade bends forward and widens toward the tip, like the bolo the maker describes as weight-forward. Keep your other hand well clear of the swing.

Bolo, Latin, bowie and the rest

The other machetes in the grid, per their listings:

• Bolo Machete: 18-inch blade with a wide point; the maker says the point shifts weight forward for heavy chopping, and lists it at 19 ounces
• Latin Machete and Latin D-Guard: long, straight blades, the D-Guard with a hand guard
• All Purpose Tactical Machete: 16- and 22-inch versions
• Bowie Machete, Jungle Machete: shorter, knife-like choppers
• Chinese Sword, Cutlass, Tactical Wakizashi: sword-shaped machetes

One thing to read carefully: the Amazon listings for several of these name 1055 carbon steel, while the maker's current pages for the Kukri and Bolo machetes say 65Mn steel with a black anti-rust finish. Both are carbon steels. Read the listing of the exact machete you want. The machete page covers blade shapes and lengths across brands.

Cold Steel tomahawks

Three hawks sit in the grid, per their listings:

• Trench Hawk: a 1055 carbon steel head on a nylon or polymer handle, with a sheath; its listing names camping, chopping, splitting, throwing and survival
• Pipe Hawk: its listing gives a length well past hatchet size, and little else
• Rifleman's Tomahawk: its listing names throwing and not much else

The Trench Hawk's listing reads most like a camp tool. The other two leave most boxes as dashes, so read their listings before you order. The tomahawk axe page sorts heads and lengths across brands.

Cold Steel's warranty page says no knife should be used as an axe or hatchet. The hawks are the answer to that line: a separate tool for the chopping. Sheath the head when it isn't in your hand, and if you throw one, throw at a proper target with nobody downrange.

How to choose within the Cold Steel lineup

Fixed, folding, machete or hawk first

Fixed blades cover the deer and the camp work, folders the pocket. A machete clears brush, and a tomahawk chops small wood; neither is a field-dressing tool. Decide the job, then open the right part of the grid. My one opinion on this page: if you hunt and clear trail, own two knives, not one. A machete is built to swing through brush and is no field-dressing tool, and a small fixed blade is the reverse.

Then the blade shape

• Drop point: the all-round hunting shape, as on the Master Hunter
• Trailing point: a long belly for skinning, as on the Roach Belly
• Clip point: a thinner tip for detail work, as on most of the bowies
• Tanto: a strong point, more for piercing than for skinning
• Kukri: a forward-curved chopper

Then the grind

Cold Steel's FAQ explains the difference. A flat grind tapers evenly from the spine to the edge. A saber grind is ground on only about half the blade's width, leaving the rest full thickness. A hollow grind is concave. The grid lists the grind where the listing names it: flat on the Master Hunter, hollow on the Roach Belly and the San Mai tantos, saber on the Leatherneck.

Then the steel

The maker's steel page describes most of them. Sorted into four piles, shop-teacher style:

• Carbon steels (1055, 1085, SK-5, 52100): the maker calls 1055 sturdy and impact-resistant, and SK-5 tough with good edge holding
• Stainless (AUS8A, AUS10A, 4116, 8Cr13MoV): the maker calls AUS8A tough, corrosion-resistant and easy to resharpen, and AUS10A its "big brother"
• San Mai: VG-10 laminated in three layers, hard steel sandwiched between tougher layers, per the maker
• Powder and tool steels (S35VN, D2): the maker calls S35VN tough and highly corrosion-resistant

The practical split is carbon versus stainless. Carbon wants drying and oil after every use. Stainless forgives a damp sheath a little longer.

Care, sharpening and warranty

Clean, dry, oiled

AKTI's maintenance guide recommends cleaning dirt out of the handle with a toothpick, a light coat of oil on the blade after cleaning, a drop on the folding mechanism of a knife you use often, and a cool, dry place for storage. It also warns that even stainless steels can be harmed by water. Carbon-steel machetes and knives want that oil every time.

Close a folder with your fingers clear

AKTI notes that every quality folding knife has a bias toward closing. Keep your fingers out of the blade's path when you release the lock, and cut away from your body.

Machete safety

Keep a machete in its sheath until you're ready to cut, clear the swing of people and your own legs, and put it back in the sheath when you stop. Plain and simple.

Sharpening and warranty

Cold Steel's sharpening page says the maker sharpens Cold Steel brand knives for free, plus a shipping and handling fee, after you get a return authorization number. Its FAQ adds that serrated edges are sharpened differently from plain ones.

The warranty page calls it a limited lifetime warranty against defects in workmanship and materials. It excludes normal wear, resharpening, misuse, lack of maintenance and disassembly, and it says no knife or sword should be used as an axe, hatchet, screwdriver or pry bar. That last line is the one my shop students needed tattooed somewhere.

Knife carry rules vary by state, so check your state's rules before you carry one.

Cold Steel facts

Here's what I could verify from the maker's pages and a reputable publication:

• Founded: 1980, by Lynn Thompson, per Shooting Illustrated
• Owner: GSM Outdoors of Irving, Texas, which acquired Cold Steel in December 2020, per Shooting Illustrated
• Returns: the maker's warranty and sharpening pages give GSM Outdoors' address in Irving, Texas
• Warranty: limited lifetime, per the maker

I couldn't verify where the knives themselves are made, so that's left out. The maker's steel page notes which steels are made in the USA; that's the steel, not the knife.

Wipe it, oil it, sheathe it. Then write in the logbook which drawer it went in, because you won't remember by spring.