would this make a good knife in a servival situation?

[10_point]

I am wondering if cold steel is really "the world strongest knife" as they are claimed to be? I want a knife that can handle abuse like bear grylls puts his through. (hammering on them with rocks and wood, using them to pry things apart, start fires and so on) the knife im looking at is this one http://www.coldsteel.com/spfko.html would you trust your life with it?

[blind ear]

If you want it to take that much abuse, just get a 6 or 8 inch "old hickory" chef's knife. It will hold a good edge and won't break any easier than most mass produced knives. It isn't a folder but you could use a shorter one than 6 inches like a pareing knife or pealer.

Make a good sheath with a metal tip cover and always carry it on the back of your belt with the point in your back pocket. This will lessen the danger of you falling and closeing your body and leg on the knife and causeing a cut to the femoral artery or at least a real bad cut to the leg. Just a cheap replaceable option.

I keep "old hickory" knives in my trunk and they are always comeing to use by people that look down on them but can't sharpen a pencil and don't have any knife at the time.  eddie

[10_point]

THat would work but i was looking to "treat" my self to something nice.

[FourBee]

That is a nice looking knife 10_point.  Looks like a big game skinner.  But why would you want to abuse it ?    Like eddie said, an old hickery chef or butcher knife can handle abuse.  I keep one out in my shop for all kinds of abusive work.   For field use, such a prying, and cutting baleing twine, digging dirt out of grease zerts on farm equipment, I buy cheap schrade lockback knives.  If the blade breaks, or I lose it in the field, I only miss it until I get another one.  Large knifes like the one you're looking at are great to carry for hunting and outings. 

[nodlenor]

Eddiegjr, I too have several "old Hickory" knives. They ain't pretty but they are very usefull. I look for them at flea markets and can usually find them for a buck each, not bad for a knife with that kind of steel. One can be shortened without much trouble also.

[Dixie Dude]

I have a couple of Cold Steel Bushmen and a Hawk.  All are very sharp and well made. 

[Graybeard]

I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder but to my eyes WOW that's UGLY. 

I have the Cold Steel Master Hunter. http://www.coldsteel.com/masterhunter.html

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/csstoreonline_2118_4199682

And the Recon Tanto: http://www.coldsteel.com/recontanto.html

I picked both up used tho the tanto was basically as new and I got it from my best friend Billy Doss (deceased). That tanto was the sharpest knife I've ever held in my hand when I got it and it was so tough it remained that way thru an amazing amount of use.

The Master Hunter is a knife I've long admired and wanted so when this one became available used at a decent price I jumped on it. It does have some rust as it's the carbon steel blade not the SS blade. It's not bad but I've yet to use it since I've mostly stopped hunting due to health problems.

I've heard that some perhaps all these days of the Cold Steel knives are now made in China or some such place and that quality is not what it once was. I can't verify that tho as both mine are prior to the out sourcing.

[scootrd]

For me,  lookin from the outside in .. not having held one personally ..the handle looks mighty uncomfortable.

[blind ear]

Reading the promo, "strongest - sharpest" the model you are looking at might not be the particular one they are talking about. A folding blade knife usually won't fit the strongest catagory, sharpest maybe.

If you get one test it with safety in mind. Open the knife to locked position. Wear something to protect your hand and hold the handle with cushioned vicegrips or pliars. Hold it with the back edge of the knife down, then strike the back edge of the blade on a hard surface as hard as you dare. See if the triple lock will save you minor surgery if you make a bad lick on something.

That move with a very sharp folding PUMA caused me to stay taped down for about a month  with a split knuckle. I was going to break a small bone with the back of the handle and missed and hit the bone with the back of the blade. The hardened steel of the lock sheared off like breaking a file.

Good luck. eddie

[10_point]

Reading the promo, "strongest - sharpest" the model you are looking at might not be the particular one they are talking about. A folding blade knife usually won't fit the strongest catagory, sharpest maybe.

If you get one test it with safety in mind. Open the knife to locked position. Wear something to protect your hand and hold the handle with cushioned vicegrips or pliars. Hold it with the back edge of the knife down, then strike the back edge of the blade on a hard surface as hard as you dare. See if the triple lock will save you minor surgery if you make a bad lick on something.

That move with a very sharp folding PUMA caused me to stay taped down for about a month  with a split knuckle. I was going to break a small bone with the back of the handle and missed and hit the bone with the back of the blade. The hardened steel of the lock sheared off like breaking a file.

Good luck. eddie

I agree, safety comes first. But did you watch the video of the over strike test and where they hung 300lbs off the handle? Not saying that I couldent get a faulty knife. But i would test it.

[blind ear]

10_point, I had not watched the video.It was good but the strike on the back of the blade at the end of the video was on wood it appeared. The shock of strikeing a solid surface such as steel, stone or bone compares to flint knapping. The nature of the shock of the impact determines, to a great extent, the final result. Like you said, I would test it for "life and limb" dependability before I took it to the field. eddiegjr

[Graybeard]

Personally I don't use folding knives for any really heavy duty work and reserve that for fixed blade knives. I'm really not a knife collector but you'd never know it from the number of knives I have.

[kyelkhunter3006]

That Cold Steel folder is a very strong knife, but I would rather have a fixed blade in a survival situation.  Cold Steel has some good knives.  They farm out production to various countries, just like most other cutlery companies do.  Some in China, some USA, some Taiwan.  If you want something made in the USA, that I think are better knives for the $$, look at Ka-Bar or Ontario.  For under $80 they've both got some knives that you can run over with a tank and not think twice about it.  It's hard to beat basic construction and materials combined with good carbon steel blades.

[Dixie Dude]

I read somewhere, don't remember, that the best steels are from USA, Japan, and Germany.  Second best is Taiwan and S. Korea.  China is next, followed by 3rd world stuff like Pakistan. 

[kynardsj]

Cold Steel builds some top notch knives but I too would also consider a fixed blade over a folder for a survival situation.

[10_point]

Cold Steel builds some top notch knives but I too would also consider a fixed blade over a folder for a survival situation.

I am also considering this one http://www.coldsteel.com/masterhunter.html without the gut hook as i feel it would get in the way.

[blind ear]

That is the one GB was talking about. It looks to be made to take a beating and still preform. eddie

[kyelkhunter3006]

Guthooks on 99% of the knives that have them are worthless as such.  It was originally designed as a hook to grab the wire handle on a cooking pot to lift it from the fire. 

[joeinwv]

Survival knife for me is going to be a little bigger / tougher than that one. Cold steel makes a nice, strong folder - but that's not a bushcraft knife. I would not baton or pry with a folder I expected to last at all.

I'd look at something more like a Becker BK-2 or a Rat 3 for a survival knife.

The 2  - I mentioned and that folder all look too big for skinning to me.

I recently picked up a Becker Necker Bk-11 - which is a nice thick piece of 1095. Decent compromise of size / strength.

[redleg155]

Cold Steel has a brilliant marketing plan!  A few of their knives are real wonders for bushcraft / survival type tasks.  My favorite is the TrailMaster - a 9.5" flat ground blade and the real key is it's 5/16" thick.  It is great for batoning and, in its original "carbon V" pretty tough.  I don't like the Kraton rubber handles though; they don't stand up to real world rough use - getting loose over time.  So, this is my improved TrailMaster.  It was purchased as a facrtory second - the blade was not finished properly but who cares on a rough use knife.  It is "carbon V" steel and the edge has been improved a bit.  The kraton handle has been removed and replaced with black canvas micarta in Randall "single finger" fashion.  It will chop pretty well and batoning, well, it splits 5" or more of dry wood easily.  The sheath is water buffalo hide that's been soaked in bees wax.  It is not a belt knife, but wasn't intended to be.  It rides in my pack.







For larger chopping tasks, and when a little extra weight is permitted, this blade excels.  It is a custom, 52100 (ball bearing) steel, hand forged and tempered chopper.  Weighs over 30 ounces and is a good measure more efficient than a small hatchet.  It is the best edge-holding blade I've ever had.  It also rides in my pack.

[SHOOTALL]

i would guess more folks survive with a machete than any other blade. Its not the Rambo looking survival blade but it is the most common utility blade around the world. It is used in farming , exploring , military and a hundred other uses. A good fixed blade knife will break if flexed to far as in prying. It will chip if it strikes rocks . A machete will bend in either case and can be bent back into shape. The machete is easier to sharpen with a file or rock . If you really are in a survival mode then a repairable knife is the best choice . If a machete is to large then check out the Rough Use Knives in the Sportsman Guide and other cat. they are really smaller machetes . I have used one for years now. I have even used it to drive stakes in the ground to hold traps in place . I had always wanted a big Bowie knife but could never justify the cost . But at 11 dollars back when i got the hard use knife that looks like a big black bowie it was not an issue . And it comes in handy all the time . I don't think I would take a 125 dollar case and leave in in my duck boat all season or drive stakes with it .
So I guess my ansewer to the question would be nope .

[SHOOTALL]

BTW if i depended on a folder it would be a BENCHMADE of some type .

[kynardsj]

I became interested in the Spartan folder that this thread started with. Watched the videos where it was tested, read reviews on it and had to have one. Then had to have a carbon Trail Bowie too. Wish I could have afforded the San Mai steel. I stand by my earlier post that a single survival knife should be a fixed blade but the Spartan is a very strong folder and is a great second knife to add to a survival kit. Heck, in my kit there are four or five different knives in various sizes and shapes. These Cold Steel knives are insanely sharp. Have already knicked my thumb playing with the Spartan.

[Joel]

I'll have to agree on a short machete.  Mine is a modified Incolma that I cut back to 12" and added a spear point. It weighs 7 oz and that thin blade just slices right into anything; it's a better chopper than the one large bowie style I own(Ontario Sp-5).  I was out hiking in the mountains a couple of years ago when a thunderstorm came over the top and I had about 5 minutes before I would be right in the middle of it...in the clouds themselves.  Used the Incolma to cut some quick stakes for my tarp, and trimmed branches off two pines so I could run my paracord. To me that's what a survival knife is all about, not the bashing around some discredited jerk like Bear Grylls does on his phony shows(he's been discredited in the UK). Survival means skills, not necessarily specialized tools.  The Swedish(and other countries) equip their pilots with drop points with 3 1/2 inch blades and expect them to survive if they parachute into one of their Godawful winters.  They spend a LOT of time learning survival SKILLS.

[Dixie Dude]

Most northerners say a good hatchet, small axe, or tomahawk are good.  In the deep south, with all the muskidine vines, honeysuckle vines, kudzu and other bushes and vines, a good machette comes in handy.  Hatchet or hawk are good for chopping firewood and such, or using as a hammer.  I think you need more than one blade for ultimate woods survival.  Large fixed blade hunting knife, small fixed or lock blade knife, a machette or hatchet.  If in a group, carry weight can be shared.  I have also come to the conclusion that the .223 AR-15 is the best survival long gun east of the Mississippi, and the .308 in either a L1A1 FAL, M1-A, or AR-10 is best west of the Mississippi and in Alaska. 

[SHOOTALL]

308 either side of the river,

[kynardsj]

Just another note on the Cold Steel Spartan that started this thread. As I mentioned before I purchased one after becoming interested due to this thread. The handle is really strange looking but extremely comfortable and makes a firm grip in a forward general cutting position or a blade down fighting position. I am impressed with it to the point that I've purchased two more for two of my good friends that pack a kit with them camping and hunting. This knife is very strong and big enough for heavy jobs but not too big for skinning small game if need be. 

[joeinwv]

I will take a good folding saw and a knife over a hatchet any day of the week. Waaay less work.

The big mistake people make is trying to find one tool to do different things. Use a knife for knife things, for other things get a prybar, screwdriver, hatchet, etc.

I will take a Spyderco folder over a Cold Steel folder any day of the week. Benchmade is overpriced for what you get. Kershaw is a good value for the price.

Check out blind horse knives - nice guys, american made, local to OH. Their Bushcrafter or Bushbaby will be about perfect for what you want.

[zeke08]

I would rather have a fixed blade knife for survival. I carry the Gerber BMF (no longer made) its little heavy but great all around knife. I also have a Cold Steel Kukri LTC its a wicked sharp machete and chops just about anything. I also have a Cold Steel SRK and am waiting to catch a carbon Trail Master factory 2nd by Cold Steel. I have looked at tomahawks but have not found the one I want yet leaning towards the Cold Steel Vietnam version.

[mechanic]

If you want a really tough knife thats hard to break, it must be carbon steel, not stainless, regardless of maker.

I agree with the fixed blade philosophy. 

Almost any knife can be used to hammer through wood or bone, but will it hold an edge?  For most, no.