Folding Knives

Reate T4000 Review

Whenever there’s the thinnest excuse to use a pocket knife, I do so. Over the last month of carrying the Reate T4000 nearly every day, I’ve noticed that when I open it up in public to do any of the small innocuous things I use a knife for, I’ve seen people’s eyes light up with…not terror, but a distinct “What the hell is that?” look mixed with a tingle of atavistic fear.

Buy the Reate T4000 at BladeHQ or GPKnives

It looks like a large double edged dagger- which, to the subconscious mind of most people, looks like what the ruling classes have been using to kill people with for the last four thousand years, and/or what everybody gets stabbed with in Game Of Thrones. I have two friends who are into knives on almost the same nerdy level that I am, and even their first responses were “Whoa!”

The instant I saw the T4000, I knew I wanted it simply for the fear/thrill reaction it gave me. But when writing a knife review, I always try to determine the knife’s intended purpose. In this case, it’s easy: when Reate Knives began teasing the T4000 in July 2018, BladeReviews.com’s own Ben Schwartz wrote an article about it for KnifeNews.com. Here’s what the designer of the knife, Tashi Bharucha, had to say about it:

[It] does not pretend to be anything other than a stabbing pocket sword.

It’s intended purpose is to be a stabbing pocket sword? Sign me the fuck up!

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The Reate Knives T4000 is part of a four-knife series, all designed by French knife auteur Tashi Bharucha. At the time of writing, only the smallest of the four, the T2500 and the T4000 have been released. The naming convention reflects the length of the blades in inches- the T2500 is 2.5” long, the T4000 is 4”, etc. The T3000 and T3500 have yet to be released.

I find it curious that a French designer and a Chinese knife manufacturer are using the antiquated Imperial measurement system for the names of these knives- I’m going to assume their target market is ‘Merica. I don’t know if the pricing scheme is also related to the blade length, but the T4000 cost me $400 USD. I suppose that’s a bargain compared to Tashi Bharucha’s custom, handmade knives, which cost at least $1,000. Even though I’m a big fan of his work, I’m not going to spend over a thousand bucks on something I can’t drive, ride, or shoot.

It comes with a bunch of nice, unnecessary stuff like a Reate Knives Zipper pouch, a cleaning cloth, a microfiber knife bag, a velcro embroidered “Reate” patch, and extra handle screws, which are actually a really nice touch.

There are three handle choices: Titanium with inlaid carbon fiber, inlaid brown canvas Micarta, or inlaid green canvas Micarta, which is what I bought. It’s an unusually large and heavy folder, even bigger in every respect than my collection’s previous champion of unnecessary size and weight, the Microtech Sigil MK6.

The T4000 weighs 5.3 oz (150 g), is 8.86” (225 mm) long when open, 4.92” long (125 mm) closed, and 1.75” (44 mm) tall when open or closed. Some knives disappear into your pocket- this definitely doesn’t. It’s not particularly thick though, at .68” (17.2 mm) at it’s widest point, pocket clip included.

The blade steel is Bohler M390, which is considered a “super steel” due to it’s extreme hardness and corrosion resistance. I’ve been reading up on blade steel, and want to give a shout out to knifesteelnerds.com for a lot of in-depth articles that a non-scientist like myself can understand. What I’ve learned about M390 is that it’s high hardness resists edge deformation, which keeps it sharp. The trade-off for high hardness is a reduction in toughness, which is basically resistance to chipping. A lot of these hardness/toughness qualities seem to be imparted into the blade during the manufacturing process known as heat treating. My limited understanding of heat treating boils down to this: you heat up the unfinished steel blade to get the individual molecules to bond together in a very specific way, then remove the blade from the heat to lock in the molecular structure.

Most knife manufacturers guard their heat treating methods as proprietary secrets, but Reate Knives has made this little nugget known: after the heat treating is complete, they use a technique called “freeze edging skill.” This process cools the blade while the cutting edge is being ground, so that the friction-induced heat of grinding doesn’t undo the specific molecular structure from it’s heat treating. It may just be marketing hype, but it makes sense to me.

I was recently talking to a guy who is several orders of magnitude higher than me on the Blade Steel Nerdiness spectrum, and he gave me an earful about how modern super steels like M390 are too brittle, and he prefers softer, “tougher” steel like VG10 or 154CM which are easier to sharpen. I totally get it because he’s way into sharpness- he sharpens his daily carry Sebenza with a leather strop every day whether he’s used it or not. Personally, I have a bunch of nice pocket knives that I carry and use, and I wait until they’re good and dull before I sharpen them. I would rather have a knife with a crazy hard edge that I can use longer between sharpenings. In a month of light duty cutting, I’ve barely dulled the edge of my T4000, so Reate’s M390 is working great for me.

The blade is surprisingly slim for such a big knife. It has a thin hollow grind with a decorative fuller, which briefly flares the blade’s maximum width to 3.8 mm in the center. I looked up a ton of information about blade fullers for this review, but it’s far too boring to include here.

Suffice it to say that fullers are basically for structural reinforcement on long blades and are not “blood grooves.” The T4000’s standout feature is it’s aggressive symmetrical dagger shape, but the top of the blade, which is exposed when the knife is closed, has a 1.1 mm thick unsharpened edge.

This knife has excelled at my usual mundane tasks of box and bag opening and loose thread cutting, but I like trying new things, and I’ve never used a dagger for food prep before. I stabbed and slashed and hacked my way through tomatoes, onions, artichokes, sausages, etc. My experience using the T4000 in the kitchen was pretty much like with every other pocket knife I’ve used in this capacity- I couldn’t dice anything like with a chef’s knife because my knuckles would hit the cutting board before the blade would. It’s thin blade slices well, and the fuller seemed to keep food from sticking to the side of the blade. The false edge on the top of the blade is wide enough to push down on for some extra leverage.

Other uses for the T4000’s false edge are:

Opening mail- the false edge opens envelopes perfectly without dulling the sharpened side.
Removing staples- slip the tip of the blade under the staple and twist towards the unsharpened side.
Pretending to slash my wrist- I’ve absolutely horrified several people.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

On the T4000, designer Tashi Bharucha used a variation of his signature handle shape. From an aesthetic standpoint I love it, but I find it’s ergonomics often make the knife difficult to use. The problem, in my opinion, is how far back my hand is from the blade’s tip. There’s no place on the handle to choke up and gain the mechanical advantage of having my hand closer to the tip of the blade.

That being said, I don’t really care, because I don’t buy his knives for the ergonomics. I would never classify myself as a “fanboy” because first of all I’m not a boy, I’m a goddamn man, but Tashi’s design style really speaks to me, and I now own five of his production knives.

The handle ergonomics on three of the others are similar to the T4000, with the exception being the Massdrop-produced Prism (far left in photo), which cleverly exchanges some sharpened blade length for the ability to choke up on the handle. The Tashi B./Reate Knives Baby Machine (not pictured) knife has a similar ergonomically friendly shape.

The T4000’s handle is made of two pieces of titanium and one piece of green canvas Micarta. This is my first knife utilizing Micarta, and I was dismayed that after a month of sweat and cooking oil and dirty hands, the Micarta’s color has permanently changed from light green to a darker olive drab. It’s somewhat grippy texture is unchanged. The mating of the Micarta into the handle is so precise I can see where the inlaid Micarta meets the titanium, but I can’t feel the seam.

Reate’s fit and finish on this knife are superb. Every angle machined into the handle looks sharp but feels smooth. The T4000’s shape is just so weirdly aggressive that I can’t stop looking at it- it’s the knife equivalent of an Italian sports car. Specifically, the Lamborghini Urus: a 641 horsepower all wheel drive SUV that, to my eye, shares many design cues with the T4000. Please forgive my crude Photoshop skills:

Both the car and the knife are fascinating combinations of severe lines and curves, and both come off as being large, lumpy and aggressive. I periodically see one of these big stealth tank-looking SUV’s rolling by, and my response is always “Whoa!” By the way, for an excellent review of the Lamborghini Urus, I suggest checking out the Amazon Prime TV show “The Grand Tour” season 3, episode 5 “An Itchy Urus.” Anyway, back to the knife…

The forward tip of the pocket clip is very sharp. Not cut yourself sharp, but certainly scratch the paint off your car door sharp.

Nonetheless, the clip looks great, and I think it’s pointy design is entirely appropriate for a stabbing pocket sword. The T4000’s titanium clip is milled into Bharucha’s signature stylish shape, and the clip’s shape and position mirror the titanium inlay inside the Micarta inlay on the show side. The amount of flex is great, it’s amount of offset from the body of the knife is great for thick denim jeans pockets, and it’s shape melts into the fold of my hand when I’m using it.

When carrying the T4000 while wearing reasonably tight pants (as I often do), the knife, though heavy, stays put due to it’s robust clip. But when wearing loose shorts, I feel that big hunk of titanium and steel rhythmically slapping my thigh as I walk.

Deployment and Lockup

The blade is heavy and the flipper detent is strong, so it takes a bit of finger muscle to open it. It swings smoothly on ceramic bearings, and has a nice strong magnet-like feel that snaps the blade closed when it’s open less than 6 mm. It’s a framelock, and locks up securely with about half of it’s 3 mm steel lock face in contact with the blade. It’s not a hard use knife like my DPX HEST F1, which has a 75% lockup on it’s 4 mm wide lockbar, but the T4000’s lock doesn’t seem to be likely to fail under reasonable use.

There is one weird thing about it though- it’s sound. When flipping it open, instead of the normal, satisfying “click” that I’ve come to expect from titanium knives, there’s a two-part sound like a metal soap bubble popping, followed by an unusually high-pitched snap. One of the nice things about having a lot pocket knives is that I have them on hand to compare and contrast with each other. At the moment, I have 16 reasonably good folding knives, and I sat down in a quiet room and flicked or thumbed open every single one. Through this highly scientific investigation I have determined that the sound the Reate T4000 makes when opening is utterly unique. The sound has nothing to do with it’s functionality at all, but it’s odd enough that I feel compelled to mention it.

Two last things: first, the T4000 has a party trick- it can stand on it’s head. Second, I was driving on US Interstate 5 on the East side of Los Angeles and noticed a 125 foot (38 meter) tall Tashi Bharucha pocket clip rising above the LA River. It’s the central spire of the North Atwater Bridge which is due to be completed in 2020. Say what you will about the evils of social media, but thanks to Facebook I was able to send the picture below to T4000 designer Tashi Bharucha. He responded that he hadn’t seen it before and, no, he did not design the bridge.

Reate T4000 Review – Final Thoughts

The T4000 is definitely a niche item. It’s not for everyone, it’s not perfect, and it’s relatively expensive at $400. But I dig the Reate T4000 stabbing pocket sword on a deep, visceral level – I don’t know if it’s an ancient, hardwired feeling of security or a Roman-Legionnaire-in-a-past-life kind of thing, but I sure do like it.

Reate T2500 – From $419.95
From: BladeHQ

I recommend purchasing the Reate T4000 at BladeHQ or GPKnives. Please consider that buying anything through any of the links on this website (including Amazon) helps support BladeReviews.com, and keeps the site going. Thank you very much.

Spyderco Centofante 3 Review

by Seth Vietti Leave a Comment

The Centofante 3 is one of Spyderco’s most long-lived designs. Introduced in 2004 and unchanged to this day, it’s been around long enough to witness most of the rest of Spyderco’s lineup either evolve or go extinct. I think the reason why is simple: the Centofante still looks good.

Buy the Spyderco Centofante 3 at BladeHQ

Buy on Amazon

Even a diehard Spyderco fan will admit that the company’s design language can be… polarizing. The Centofante achieves broader appeal by standing apart from the typical Spyderco style: no bulging blade, no forward finger choil, no full-flat grind. It’s slim, simple, yet dramatic. If not for the round hole and the silver bug in the handle, it could easily pass as a knife from another brand.

I’ve long been tempted to pick one up for myself, but skepticism of its old-fashioned pinned construction always held me back. Until now. So, is the Spyderco Centofante 3 really as timeless as it looks?

General Dimensions & Blade Details

The blade on the Centofante is just shy of three and a quarter inches long. Thanks to a tiny ricasso and the absence of a finger choil, it has almost the same amount of usable edge as the significantly larger Paramilitary 2.

Despite all the edge, the blade still feels petite – no doubt due to its exceptionally thin blade stock. It’s the Centofante’s most noteworthy spec: at 1.95mm thick (according to my calipers), it’s easily the longest, thinnest folding blade in Spyderco’s entire catalog, if not the knife market at large. The only knives I own with thinner blades are either keychain-sized novelties or flexible kitchen knives. The Centofante makes the Delica’s blade stock look generous in comparison, and the Para 3’s, outrageous.

A hollow grind was definitely the right choice here. As much as I appreciate Spyderco’s full-flat grinds, they necessarily get quite thin towards the tip. The steady hollow grind on the Centofante has no such distal taper, preventing this sliver of a blade from being drawn too thin. There’s no flex, and the tip is narrow but not delicate. While I would never recommend prying with it, the blade seems better equipped for the task than, say, a full-flat ground Delica, since it’s supported by full thickness blade stock almost all the way to the tip.

My Centofante didn’t arrive as sticky sharp as I have come to expect from Seki City, Japan Spydercos. Thankfully, the neatly applied factory edge and sharpening choil made it easy enough to touch up. As you might expect with a knife this thin, it cuts quite well. It doesn’t have the shearing power of a broad, flat ground blade, but it’s much more agile – able to twist quickly mid-cut without much resistance. Whether it’s a drop point or a spearpoint, the blade shape just works: a stretch of flat edge, a gentle belly, and a focused tip.

The blade steel is VG-10, a time-tested alloy with excellent corrosion resistance and decent edge retention. While today’s best powder metallurgy concoctions outclass it in one way or another, I don’t really miss them here. The more knives I use, the more I appreciate well-balanced steels; especially ones that deliver good value like VG-10. Also, on a knife that can’t be taken apart for cleaning, VG-10’s stainlessness is a major asset.

Handle, Ergonomics, & Pocket Clip

At a glance, the handle of the Centofante looks like anodized aluminum. If it was cool to the touch, it would feel like it, too. It’s actually plastic (fiberglass reinforced nylon, to be specific) with a similarly smooth, light texture. The silver bug and “speed lines” molded into the handle seemed a bit odd at first, but they grew on me: they give an otherwise plain knife some personality without being ostentatious.

The Centofante is exceedingly comfortable in hand. The four and a half inch handle is lightweight, nimble, and well-sized for the blade. Its ergonomic features are subtle. No finger grooves or jutting guards, just gentle curves that suggest – not demand – how to hold it. I especially like how it bows down into the palm: it helps the skinny handle feel more substantial, and keeps the angle of the blade better aligned with the arm. If you’ve ever used a Spyderco Military, the Centofante will feel weirdly similar. Despite the size difference, the knives share the same sloping ergonomic geometry.

The pocket clip is highly functional, doubly so because the handles are smooth. It comes from the factory configured for tip-down carry. I’m no tip-up evangelist, but after carrying it tip-down for a few days it was obvious the factory got it wrong. The exposed tang, pointy thumb ramp, and aggressive jimping on the blade snag everything in their path. Front pocket, back pocket; didn’t matter – retrieving a tip-down Centofante from any pocket was awkward and unpleasant, as was reaching past it. Luckily, flipping the clip to tip-up instantly and entirely solved the problem.

The real snag with the Centofante – well, the one you can’t fix with a screwdriver – is the handle’s pinned construction. I understand why it’s a deal-breaker for some people, especially the tinkerers who like to modify their knives and those who need something 100% rust proof. Given the choice, I’d take threaded fasteners over pins myself.

Nevertheless, my experience with the Centofante was completely undiminished by the way it was put together. Honestly, I was fishing for a problem and still couldn’t find one. We knife nerds can get swept up in hypotheticals. What if the pivot comes loose? What happens if the knife gets filled with sand? In reality, most of the projected problems with pinned construction have simple solutions – just not the same ones as a knife held together with screws. The pivot came perfectly set from the factory, and, being incapable of twisting itself loose, it has stayed that way. When I got sharpening stone slurry all over the knife, I cleaned it with soap and hot water, followed by a squirt of penetrating oil. Basically, I used the Centofante with impunity and it’s only gotten better. So, why worry?

Deployment & Lockup

A back lock secures the Centofante open. Like many old-school back locks, there’s a touch of vertical flex in the lockup – not enough to hear or see, just enough to feel when bearing down into a cut. Spyderco’s newer back locks have stamped out this endemic blade play with tight manufacturing tolerances and refinements to lock geometry. It would be nice to see those improvements carried over to older designs like the Centofante, but since it doesn’t affect the lock’s strength or security, I didn’t let it bother me.

The blade has a springy self-close, and once broken in it was easy to thumb or spydie-flick open. There’s enough ricasso to allow for one-handed closing, so long as you’re mindful of where your fingers are on the handle.

Spyderco Centofante 3 Review – Final Thoughts

This is a chimera of a knife. It’s almost as if it was built to satisfy a bunch of contradictory design objectives all at the same time. A strong grind on a delicate blade. An upper class look for a middle class price. Traditional construction on a modern folder. Somehow, the Centofante manages to hit those opposing targets simultaneously instead of splitting the difference and missing them altogether – if the late Frank Centofante was a bowler instead of a knifemaker, the Spyderco Centofante would be a 7-10 split conversion.

Ironically, the contradictions that make the Centofante unappealing to knife enthusiasts are probably the exact reasons for the Centofante’s long-term success. It’s not a niche knife. It’s a classy, charming, low-maintenance workhorse of a blade that belies its price point. For me, that makes the Spyderco Centofante 3 the consummate gift knife: handsome enough to appeal to anyone, and uncomplicated enough to work for someone who’s never even heard of a “torx bit.” No instructions necessary, no setup required (well, maybe you should go ahead and flip the pocket clip before wrapping it up). Give one to someone who appreciates nice things but knows nothing about knives, or someone who appreciates knives but knows nothing about nice things.

Spyderco CENTOFANTE 3 Prestige Folding Knife with 3.14" VG-10 Stainless Steel Hollow Ground Blade and Lightweight FRN Handle - PlainEdge - C66PBK3

ONE OF A KIND - Designed in collaboration with Frank Centofante, longtime custom knifemaker and past President of the Knifemaker's Guild, the Centofante 3 captures the spirit of his custom designs.
ULTRA-LIGHTWEIGHT - The Centofante 3 has a thin-profiled, lightweight FRN handle. Two channels are furrowed out of the handle for better grip and a Palladium silver Spyderco bug is inlayed into its surface.
EASY-TO-USE LOCK - For added security and convenience the back-lock is positioned midway on the spine and David Boye Dent is cut from the locking lever
POCKET-FRIENDLY - To ensure discreet carry the Centrofante 3 has a black steel pocket clip positions for tip-up/down, right-hand carry.
VERSATILE - The VG-10 blade has both a hollow-grind and swedge-grind with non-sharpened spine serrations (jimping) to hold the thumb steady when cutting.

I recommend purchasing the Spyderco Centofante 3 at Amazon or BladeHQ. Thanks for checking out my review.

Benchmade Bailout Review

by Aaron Shapiro 2 Comments

There has been something interesting going on at Benchmade Knife Co. I’ve said it a few times in recent reviews, but it’s worth highlighting here. They used to be the dusty old gun-shop knife brand. That’s not to say the old mini Griptillians were terrible, but just that I don’t think many people would have called them, “exciting.” Some of their newer designs from the last 2-3 years have been on a different level, and the Bailout is no exception.

Buy the Benchmade Bailout at BladeHQ
Buy on Amazon

The Benchmade Bailout is the companion to their also newish released Bugout. Both knives share almost every trait apart from steel, blade shape, and their vaguely prepper-ish names. I like these knives, but I’ve always had an affinity for tantos, so I opted for the Bailout.

Before we get too far into the review, let’s touch on some general specs…

(All Measurements are my personal measurements and may differ from manufacturers specs)

Blade: 3”
OAL: 8”
Thickness: .402” not counting clip .614” with clip
Blade Thickness: .93”
Steel: 3V
Weight: 2.1oz
Lock: Axis Lock

Blade and Steel

Before I get into the review too much, I want to address a potential elephant in the room. At the time of this review, there has just been a little scandal on Instagram regarding the Bailout.

Apparently, an Instagram account had one of these blades Rockwell tested by a friend. The knife came back with a mid 50’s Rockwell when it is advertised at 60 HRC. I have no real perspective on this apart from saying this: A single independent source is not something to base an entire opinion on. If ten knives had been randomly and all found to be lower in HRC than advertised, when tested by a reliable source, I would take a little more heed.

/rantoff let’s get on with it.

The Benchmade Bailout is a tanto shaped blade made out of 3V steel. The blade is then finished with a slick grey Cerakote to protect from corrosion and give it that “high-speed-low-drag,” appeal.

I’ve carried this knife in a lot of scenarios since first purchasing it. It was in my pocket when I built a fence around my house. It’s been in my pocket on river raft days. It’s also been with me whenever I’m doing something that I wouldn’t want to subject a custom knife to. In these contexts, it’s done a lot. I’ve split open Quik-crete bags with it, sharpened pencils, popped ties holding lumber together etc etc… It’s done all of these very well.

I’m not one to compare how something passed through a material or how many consecutive cardboard cuts it can do before failing. I am, however, someone that grabs for their pocket knife frequently and takes notice if it preforms the “real-world task,” the way I needed it to. The Bailout did this well, then stropped back to sharp easily.

The 3V steel that Benchmade has selected is a favorite of mine. I often request it on my custom knife orders. It’s also one of the nicer steels to sharpen, in my experience. 3V will take a fine edge with minimal effort and retain it for a long, long time. That being said, it’s not stainless. 3V has 7.5% Chromium, so it’s “nearly” stainless much like D2.

From what I’ve seen if you keep your knives cleaned and maintained you’ll avoid any staining and pitting. In the specific case of the Bailout, Benchmade has coated the steel, so you’re only really going to see any stain issues on the edges.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

The Bailout’s handle is made from textured Grivory, a polymer based material. The handle slabs are thin and skeletonized with a consistent matrix of pockets milled out to reduce weight but maintain strength. The slabs themselves are a svelte .12” thick. They feel good in the hand with enough grip that the knife feels secure but not so much that it begins to cause hot spots.

Benchmade has flared the handle out near the pivot to reduce the possibility that you’ll slip onto the blade if you use it for a piercing task. This flaring also acts as a bit of a thumb ramp for me.

Moving to the back, we have an aluminum pommel. I suppose the idea behind this is for some last-ditch striking application. I would love to have seen hardened steel used instead, but I imagine it came down to a weight/strength type scenario.

The clip is excellent. It’s a short (in length) deep carry clip. It tucks right into the palm of your hand when you’re holding the knife and carry nice and deep in the pocket. I would love to see more makers take up the shorter clips instead of making them half the length of the knife itself. That being said, it’s a tight clip, so if you have thicker pockets, you may run into an issue getting it clipped on.

And speaking of pockets, the Bailout carries easily. At just over 2 ounces, this is a knife you will quickly forget you are carrying until you need it. The Bailout isn’t quite as discreet as the Bugout, as it has a has that slotted protruding pommel, but everything is blacked out for a low profile. Here is a picture of it in the pocket:

No complaints in the carry department.

Deployment and Lockup

The Bailout utilizes dual thumb studs and phosphor bronze washers to get the blade open. This is standard fare for Benchmade, and much like their other knives, the blade deploys smoothly and easily.

Ahh, the axis lock. I’ve talked about it before in previous reviews, but suffice to say I’m a fan. I like it when watch companies incorporate mechanisms that are ambidextrous. It opens the doors for left-handed users as well as potentials users that want to carry weak side.

The Axis lock itself is pretty great. It operates by moving a hardened steel bar along the curved tang of the blade until it reaches the open position. Once it does two springs, snap it in place blocking the knife from closing. The bar itself extends across the length of the knife’s handle allowing you to open it from either side, thus ambidextrous. The Axis lock has been historically proven to be a reliable and robust locking method for a good portion of Benchmade’s catalog.

Competitive Offerings

For the sake of argument, let’s look at some competitive options:

We have the Spyderco Para 3 Lightweight, priced around $40 less than the Bailout. Same FRN style handles, somewhat ambidextrous compression lock, but the steel is where you’re making a compromise. The Para 3 uses CTS-BD1N, which is new to me, but it seems like it wouldn’t outperform 3V.

Or we could look at Zero Tolerance 0450. I like this knife, but it costs roughly $40 more than the Bailout, and due to the Titanium construction will weigh significantly more. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but the Bailout is trying to fill a specific need in a folding knife. I doubt the 0450 would be a knife you’d literally throw in a Bailout (or Bugout) bag due primarily to weight and cost.

Benchmade Bailout Review – Final Thoughts

When I opened this review, I touched on the fact that Benchmade has been creating some incredibly fresh and cool designs that fit a little better into the landscape of 2019’s knife collecting. The Bailout (and it’s Bugout twin sibling) are perfect examples of this. Benchmade has taken tried and true materials and molded them into a configuration that the EDC community values greatly. It’s thin, light, and durable. Benchmade has selected top-tier steel that will take a beating and keep on cutting. On top of all of this, the knife looks cool! The Cerakoted blade with an aggressive tanto tip is primed and ready for some Instagram pocket-dump cred.

The best part, however, is the price: Currently, BladeHQ has the Bailout priced at $144.50. That’s a lot of value for your money in my opinion.

Benchmade - Bailout 537GY, Plain Edge Gray Coated CPM-3V Tanto Blade, Black Grivory Handle, Made in The USA

ULTRALIGHT DESIGN: A slim, sleek stealth knife that adds confidence to your kit; Lightweight design for optimal strength-to-weight ratio
AMERICAN MADE CPM-3V STEEL: A powder-metal tool steel engineered for high stress and extreme force; Exceptionally tough with good edge retention; Requires a little extra care to keep the rust off
6061-T6 ALUMINUM HANDLE: Originally developed as a premium aircraft grade aluminum it offers a solid handle and form at nominal weight.
AXIS LOCKING MECHANISM: Ensures safety and a smooth open and easy close; Mini tip-up reversible deep-carry pocket clip for ultimate accessibility
GUARANTEED FOR LIFE: Benchmade's limited Lifetime Warranty and LifeSharp Service keep your knife in the best condition. If your knife needs repair or sharpening, Benchmade will take care of it. Available for knives purchased from an authorized dealer.

Editor: I recommend purchasing the Benchmade Bailout from Amazon or BladeHQ. Thanks for reading.

Bestech Fanga Review

by John Burridge Leave a Comment

I love me a big knife. I particularly love a big, well designed knife. I recently acquired two similar big folding knives, and I’m going to do a full review of one and complain about the other one.

Buy the Bestech Fanga at BladeHQ

The Bestech Knives Fanga is the newest design from Polish knife designer Grzegorz Grabarski (AKA Kombou on Instagram), who’s on a real hot streak lately. In the last couple of years, a total of seven of his designs have been produced by BRR Knives in Poland, Custom Knife Factory in Russia, and five models from Bestech in China. Bestech’s website describes their company as “a professional manufacturer and exporter of medium and high quality knives in China for OEM in the past 10 years.”

I had never heard of Bestech until about a year ago, but apparently they’ve been making knives for other brands for a decade. Everything I’ve seen of theirs has been very well made, particularly the Bestech Malware, which I previously reviewed. The Fanga is also his least expensive folder to date, with the G10 handled version retailing for $80 and the carbon fiber/G10 version (the subject of this review) for $102 at BladeHQ.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The Fanga is indeed a big knife at 9.375 inches (238 mm) open, weighs 4.75 ounces (135 grams), and has a 4 inch (102 mm) clip point blade that brings to mind a scimitar or Bowie knife. Research into scimitars and Bowie knives led me down a very deep internet rabbit hole, and when I climbed out I had two salient pieces of information:

1) curved blades are designed to aid in draw cuts, where the blade is being pulled across what it’s cutting. The outward curve of the blade not only provides a longer surface area to cut with than a straight edged blade of the same overall length, but the curved shape is also ergonomically designed to cut deeper than a straight blade when using a slashing motion. And

2) searching for information on Bowie knives led me to YouTube videos of the Mountain Dew drinking maniac Tom O’Dell on the QVC Cutlery Corner cable TV show from the late 90’s / early 2000’s. He would say “bowie” a hundred times an hour with amazing enthusiasm: “We have a set of 14 B o o o o o – ee knives with genuine jigged stag bone handles and top quality mirror polished stainless steel for only $39.99!” I have fond memories of watching that show at 2am in the 90’s- and now, even without the bong, it’s still captivating viewing.

The blade has 3.875 inches (98 mm) of sharpened edge, and it’s made of D2 tool steel. D2 was patented in 1927, and was primarily used for industrial cutting tools until the mid 1960’s when it started showing up in high-end knives of the time. D2 is a good middle of the road steel. It’s not quite rust-proof stainless steel (not enough chromium), it’s not as fine-grained as modern powdered steel (not easy to sharpen to a fine edge), but on the upside it’s a pretty “hard” steel, meaning it can take a lot of abuse without deforming. That quality of hardness gives D2 good edge retention, but is notoriously hard to sharpen to a very fine edge. I’ve been able to get a good sharp edge on mine using my Wicked Edge sharpener, but I had to resort to using a very coarse 400 grit stone to smooth out some slightly rolled sections of the edge. I usually only need much finer grit stones like 800 and 1000 grit for touch-ups on knives with premium modern steels.

The last decade has seen an explosion of new varieties of blade steel, and I think I know why. I started getting into pocketknives in the late 90’s when my father got me the Spyderco Civilian I’d been wanting for my birthday- thanks again Dad! I told him to go into Chicago Cutlery and ask for the scariest looking knife in the store- which, in 1997, was unquestionably the Civilian. The blade was stamped “GIN-1 STAINLESS”. This was towards the end of the pre-internet dark ages, so investigating the blade steel meant a trip to the library and checking out a book on metallurgy. So I lazily assumed whatever steel knifemakers used was the most appropriate steel.

I didn’t think much about it until 2012, when I bought a DPX Gear HEST/F with a D2 tool steel blade, which sounded really cool. I decided to look up the comparative properties of D2 online, and was shocked to learn that D2 wasn’t the greatest blade steel ever invented. Between 1997 and 2012, the internet had matured into a snarky criticism/pornography e-commerce platform that highly values new products. I learned about S30V and many other new blade steels that were becoming popular thanks in no small part to the internet’s hunger for new, improved things.

So, to keep up in modern business, new powder metallurgy “super steels” like M390, S110V and Vanax 37 have become the steels of choice for high-end knives. Now, D2 blades are generally relegated to lower-priced knives. In fact, the last D2 steel knife I bought was the OKC Carter Prime, which was disappointing in so many ways. But the Carter Prime is not the knife I’m going to complain about…

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

The G10/carbon fiber handle is long, fat, and heavy, and fits my medium-large hands very well. As my daily EDC over the last month and a half, I’ve done a lot with it. I prepared an entire BBQ meal with the Fanga. It’s blade shape and the fact that the blade edge is higher than the bottom of the handle preclude it from being good at dicing onions, but it hacked open the packaging on the sausages and sliced the rolls just fine.

I needed to chop down a recently deceased banana tree in my yard, and why use a saw or machete when I have this bigass knife in my pocket? It was like cutting through seven inches of tough, soggy celery, and I gained a practical appreciation of the handle size and shape. The index finger cutout, along with the wide, flat thumb rest above the pivot, gave me surfaces to push and pull against as I sawed the banana trunk into sections that would fit into my yard waste bin. Afterwards, the knife and I were covered in bitter banana sap, so I cleaned us both with a garden hose. I was hoping that the Fanga’s machined G10/carbon fiber handle and G10 backspacer would be less slippery when wet than an all-titanium handled knife, but it was about as slippery as my titanium Sebenza.

Most of the time G10 appears on folding knife handles, it’s a flat slab with a square grid pattern molded or machined into the surface. It feels great and provides excellent traction, but looks boring. Notable examples of this are a lot of Spyderco knives, the Rick Hinderer XM series of knives, and pretty much every Emerson knife. But on the Fanga, this material is sculpted in a creative, organic way you that you feel more than you see.

Kombou, the designer of this knife, has added his signature design cue of several little scalloped cuts on the top of the handle behind the pivot. I’ve noticed this design in four of his other knives (the Ornetta, Volta, Kamoza, Bragga, and Buwaya) and I now notice a signature naming convention as well- all of his knife names end with an “a”. I really like his design aesthetic. It’s not quite as distinctive as knife designer Elijah Isham’s style but I find Kombou’s knives to be more practical. Like Isham, Kombou does 3D computer design, not physical knife making, and a close examination of the Fanga reveals many well-executed small details, like the deep blade fuller that can be used to open the knife like you would open a traditional slipjoint.

The pivot collar and the pocket clip are made of the same blue anodized titanium, and both have style. The pivot collar is subtly cone shaped, and the angle at which it rises above the handle matches the angle of the pivot screw, resulting in a volcano shaped pivot. The clip has a unique organic shape that compliments the shape of the handle. It also has a sufficient height above the handle to easily slide onto both my thickest denim jeans and my Triple Aught Design Force 10 AC pants which are extremely thin, but indestructible. The amount of flex in the clip has held on tight to everything I’ve worn in the six weeks I’ve been carrying the Fanga.

I scratched the anodizing on the clip somehow, and the blue anodizing is showing some fading on the edges. My Fox Knives Phoenix has similar blue anodizing and even more pronounced wear, but that’s also not the knife I’m going to complain about…

Deployment and Lockup

The Fanga stays open by utilizing a steel liner lock, which contributes to it’s weight. As D2 steel has gone out of fashion in high-end knives, so have liner locks been replaced by frame locks. I personally love a well done liner lock because it allows the handle design to be symmetrical in shape and materials. A frame lock knife, like the Chris Reeve Knives Sebenza, by definition must have a steel or titanium handle on one side that functions as it’s locking mechanism.

The design of the “lock side” of a typical frame lock knife is dominated by the lock. If a knifemaker wants to use a material other than steel or titanium for the non-locking side of the handle (the “show” side) they can use G10 or micarta or solid gold, but there’s no way to have symmetry of materials on both sides of the handle unless you use steel or titanium. Thanks to it’s liner lock, the standard Bestech Fanga has symmetrical G10 (or G10/carbon fiber) handles on both sides.

The lockup is solid with no blade wiggle, and the combination of the wide, heavy handle and thick blade stock prompted me to test the overall strength of the knife. My banana-watering garden hose burst at one end so I seized the opportunity to cut it with the Fanga. It took all my strength to cut through the extra-thick hose, so for the sake of science I sharpened it and cut a couple more slices much more easily.

The Flipper detent is a little stronger than I’m used to, meaning that it takes a bit of effort to get the flipping motion started. Once past that initial resistance it flips open smoothly on it’s ball bearing pivot system. It’s a big heavy blade and the detent feels appropriate to get that much mass moving and locked into place. I have never failed to completely flip it open using a normal index finger technique or by my wrapping my thumb over the top like a front flipper knife.

Every surface on the Fanga that’s able to be touched is chamfered or rounded a little bit, with the exception of a sharp two inch portion the back side of the liner lock, which is a) only exposed when the knife is locked open, and b) not sharp enough to cut you anyway. I would call that a design flaw, but that’s nothing compared to the design flaw of the knife I’m going to be complaining about, the Spyderco Tropen.

On paper, the Tropen is practically the same as the Fanga with the exception of the Tropen having better blade steel. Their weight, handle size and shape, blade size and shape, and full flat grind are very similar to each other. It’s in the differences between them where the Tropen falls short. The flipper tab’s pointy top jabs into your finger, the polished G10 handle scales are slippery even when dry, and the liner lock that keeps the knife open is only 1mm, while the Fanga’s liner lock is almost double the thickness at 1.8mm. In the picture it looks like the liner locks are the same size, but I bought digital calipers specifically so I could bitch about this and I assure you the measurements are accurate.

I also replaced the pocket clip with a $26 MXG Gear deep carry clip, but that was an aesthetic decision on my part. In my opinion, Spyderco knives are like Glock pistols: they’re usually OK right out of the box, but if you really want to get the most out of them, you have to install some aftermarket accessories and tinker with them a little. My Tropen had two serious problems when it was in the closed position that definitely required some tinkering.

First, the detent keeping the Tropen closed was so weak that it opened in my pocket several times. To remedy that, I turned to YouTube and learned how to increase the detent by taking the knife apart and using a dremel tool to enlarge the hole that the detent ball rests in. The second problem has perplexed me and the knife nerd community in general- when the knife is closed, there’s a half inch of sharp blade exposed next to the lock mechanism. The only fix is to dull the back end of the blade with a file. I haven’t cut myself on it yet, and I’m leaving the end the butt end of the blade sharp just to see if it actually does cut me while I’m holding it in my pocket. I’m willing to trade the pain for the knowledge.

Finally, the Tropen costs about $100 more than the Fanga. The only reason I bring up the Tropen at all is to make my final point about price versus value.

Bestech Fanga Review – Final Thoughts

Warren Buffett said this about price versus value:“Long ago, Ben Graham taught me that ‘Price is what you pay; value is what you get.’ Whether we’re talking about socks or stocks, I like buying quality merchandise when it is marked down.” When I first held the Fanga in my hands, I was surprised that this knife only cost $102, and the regular G10 version $80. The fit and finish, at least to my untrained eye, are excellent. That’s a lot of value at a low price. There are many quality knives out there that cost approximately the same amount, but I haven’t seen one that has this much style and meticulous detail plus a milled pocket clip at this price.

I bought the very similar Spyderco Tropen (which is also made in China by the way) for approximately double the price, and it ended up costing me even more in parts and labor. Despite it’s higher price, I feel like it’s value is significantly lower than that of the Fanga. The Bestech Fanga is, in my opinion, a great all-around knife and a tremendous value for the money. I recommend it.

Lastly, while fact-checking this review with the designer, Kombou, he told me that he has recently quit his regular 9 to 5 job to become a full time Product Designer for Bestech. My congratulations to him and to anyone who gets paid to do what they love. Keep making cool knives (with good value) and I’ll keep buying them.

Bestech Knives Fanga – From $102.00
From: BladeHQ

Editor: I recommend purchasing the Bestech Knives Fanga at BladeHQ and Amazon. Thank you very much.

About the Author: This guest review was written by John Burridge. John Burridge is a Los Angeles-based lover of knives and other dangerous toys. He spends his days trying to make the world a better place by slipping subversive humor into reality TV shows. And playing with cats. He can be found on Instagram as @bunrudge.

Cold Steel Bush Ranger Lite Review

by Josh Wussow 4 Comments

Time to face it, fellow knife nerds – We’re living in an era of over-saturation. With so many companies releasing a deluge of new designs, it’s difficult to pluck the hits from the static. But after months of blade malaise, something interesting caught my eye – A cheap, rugged looking, aggressive green monster with a nifty locking mechanism. It’s the Cold Steel Bush Ranger Lite, a budget iteration of the company’s $200-plus outdoor original. After several months of testing, one thing’s for certain: Of all the Cold Steel knives I’ve handled, the Bush Ranger Lite is definitely the Cold Steel-iest.

Buy the Cold Steel Bush Ranger Lite at BladeHQ

Buy on Amazon

General Dimensions and Blade Details

As you’d expect from a sub-$30 knife, Cold Steel has chosen fairly basic materials. The handle is comprised of 4.875-inches of Outdoor Green GFN, measuring more than half an inch thick (0.65”). The flat ground 8Cr13MoV blade features a satin finish along the length of its 3.5-inches, with a tallness of 1.75 and a thickness of 0.65, respectively. Overall length and weight sit at 8.375-inches and 4.8-ounces. The forward swedge flows gracefully into a bowie-style clip point, giving the Bush Ranger an elegantly aggressive appearance.

If these handle scales look familiar, you’re not wrong. The Bush Ranger’s outline is very similar to the Cold Steel Finn Wolf, a Scandi-ground folder I reviewed a couple years back. If you squint, these are almost the same knife. But while the Wolf’s grind lands it in the outdoors-only curriculum, the Bush Ranger’s mandate is decidedly more gen-ed.

But speaking of outdoor credentials, here’s an interesting note – The Bush Ranger Lite will strike a ferro rod. Even in a closed position, this pocket knife is more than capable of casting sparks. This is certainly safer than previous folders I’ve used to make fire, since I was always concerned about applying force to the back of the blade.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

The Bush Ranger fits perfectly in my medium/large sized hand. The hook on the back end rests perfectly against the heel of my palm, creating a feeling of security. Balance is good, and at no point did I encounter any hotspots.

Despite the squared-off spine, the backside of the Bush Ranger’s blade provides a generous, comfortable place to rest your thumb. There are some rough edges on the underside of the GFN, but nothing out of bounds for this price range.

The pocket clip is small, tight, and unobtrusive. This is by no means a deep-carrying tool, but the clip performs adequately and disappears against my palm when the knife is in use. There’s no flat resting surface under the tongue, however. This means that your pocket seam will be slowly digested as it drags across the textured handle. Cold Steel has also opted for tip-up only carry, reversible to the left or right side. This, along with the lefty-friendly nature of the lock, makes this a truly ambidextrous knife.

As for the actual ride, the knife carries surprisingly, well, Lite. Don’t get me wrong – The footprint is massive. It shared my right front pocket with my wallet and pen, and there was no mistaking its presence. That being said, the airy nature of GFN made this an area problem only, not a question of mass. It was also surprisingly benign in daily activities, such as walking, sitting, and climbing ladders. At no point did I feel that the Bush Ranger limited my flexibility. Until reaching for my wallet, of course.

Deployment and Lockup

For the longest time, the keystone of the Cult of Lynn Thompson (h/t Advanced Knife Bro) has been the sacred Tri-Ad Lock. Of all the mechanisms in the hobby, this one seems to have the most fervent devotees. While the Bush Ranger Lite isn’t technically a member of the Tri-Ad tribe, it does boast another interesting innovation from Cold Steel – The Rocker Lock. That’s the sliding piece you see on the show side of the blade. Here’s a look at it stripped down to bare metal:

As the breakdown confirms, the Bush Ranger is lacking the signature stop pin of the Tri-Ad. However, the Rocker’s additional sliding stop adds a sense of solidity to the traditional back-lock mechanism.

I will say this – This knife benefited greatly from its initial disassembly and maintenance. It was noticeably stiff out of the box, running dry on its Teflon washers. Some cleaning and a little oil worked wonders, and the Bush Ranger became a much smoother operator. The CLACK its lock snapping into place is a mildly addictive sound.

Closing can be a bit trickier. Cold Steel’s locks are notorious for their stiffness, and this is no exception. And because of the lack of a forward finger choil, this is really a knife that requires two hands in order to close safely. Otherwise, you risk shaking that sharp edge down into you knuckle, which would only be exacerbated by the tendency of back-locks to snap shut with authority.
In daily use, I found this to be an eminently capable all-around cutter. From food prep to package duty, the Bush Ranger was a solid companion. But this is a Cold Steel, after all. So, what sort of tester would I be if I didn’t at least attempt to baton with it?

The surprise isn’t that the knife got stuck. I intentionally used a piece of wood that was larger than a pocket knife should be able to tackle. The shock was what happened after I hammered, pulled, and pried the Bush Ranger loose. I disengaged the rocker tab, pressed down the back-lock, and the knife closed as though nothing had happened. I opened and closed the knife several times, just to be sure I wasn’t losing my mind. Blade play? Zero. Centering? Dead-on. Not even so much as a roll on its 8Cr edge. The FRN handle held up to the prying as well, with no new gaps developing around the back spring.

Here is a parting size comparison with the Spyderco Native 5 and Mora Companion:

Cold Steel Bush Ranger Lite Review – Final Thoughts

The Bush Ranger Lite is, without question, the toughest budget blade I’ve come across. It’s rugged, well built, and perfectly suitable for everyday abuse. And from a sheer bang-for-buck perspective, I’m not sure there’s another knife under $30 that gives you this much blade, handle, and versatility. Sure, the materials are basic and the design isn’t for everyone. And if you spend even part of your time in an office, it probably isn’t the blade to use in the break room. I certainly raise a few eyebrows when I pulled this clip-point monster out of my pocket.

But under almost any other circumstance, the Bush Ranger Lite is a heck of a tool. Buy one, beat the heck out of it, and get another if it breaks. Overall, I this is an outstanding budget effort from the cult of Cold Steel.
Links

Cold Steel Bush Ranger Lite Folding Knife, Green, 3.5"

Overall Length 8 3/8"
Blade Length 3 1/2"
Blade Thickness 3. 8mm
Steel / Material 8Cr13MoV Stainless
Handle - 4 7/8" Long GFN

Editor: I recommend purchasing the Cold Steel Bush Ranger Lite from Amazon or BladeHQ. Thanks for reading.

Cold Steel AD-10 Review

by Seth Vietti 4 Comments

Of all the words used to describe Cold Steel knives here on BladeReviews.com, “refined” isn’t at the top of the list. That’s not a metaphor – I literally made a list, and “refined” only appears three times. You’re much more likely to see Cold Steel knives described with adjectives like “strong” (41 times), “large” (39 times; followed closely by “big” at 38), and “comfortable” (26).

Buy the AD-10 at BladeHQ

Buy on Amazon

Speaking as a former Cold Steel skeptic, I was unsurprised to find that the AD-10 is indeed strong, large (big), and comfortable. What did surprise me was just how good this knife is. It delivers the essence of Cold Steel, refined. It might be the best knife they’ve ever made. And if you, like me, ever scoffed at Cold Steel’s marketing or rolled your eyes at their product names, read on, because the AD-10 will catch you off guard.

General Dimensions & Blade Details

The proportions of this knife are deceptive. Yes, it’s big, but the wide handle, snubnosed blade, and protruding backspacer make it look even bigger – as if there’s another knife trapped in there, bulging through the seams trying to get out. Makes sense, considering the AD-10 is a downscaled version of designer Andrew Demko’s gargantuan 4-Max. Here it is filling out a Spyderco sandwich, between the longer Military and shorter Paramilitary 2:

The AD-10’s blade is clearly optimized for strength. The tip is wide, thick, and feels practically unbreakable. It penetrates more like an armor-piercing round than a needle, meaning it’ll get you into just about anything so long as you don’t care what kind of hole you leave behind. Behind the tip, the grind thins out quickly to a relatively thin edge thanks to a nicely executed hollow grind. Don’t let anyone tell you that thick knives can’t slice – the AD-10’s substantial 3.9mm blade stock and deep hollow grind work together like a zipper, holding material apart from the blade after the edge separates it. Compared to a full flat ground knife of similar stock thickness, the AD-10 carves through cardboard with noticeably less friction, powering through the nasty two- and three-ply stuff rather than getting wedged in.

There’s no avoiding the laws of physics, however: a hollow grind can only do so much for a knife this thick. It’s graceless in the kitchen, where the tip mashes more than it pierces, and crisp produce is split, not sliced. Then again, the AD-10 isn’t anyone’s idea of a kitchen knife. For more utilitarian cutting it works with surprising agility, despite looking like a wrecking ball.

The blade steel, S35VN, has performed well for me. Edge retention has been good; stainlessness, excellent. As for toughness, it did not disappoint. I took the AD-10 on a hike and ended up using it to trim back a bush that had overgrown the trail. A careless chop glanced into a stone, damaging the edge where it hit. Thankfully, the steel was tough enough to roll, not chip, so the damage was easy to sharpen out.

Handle, Ergonomics, & Pocket Clip

At just over three and a half inches long, I wouldn’t call the blade oversized. The handle, though, is another story. Even if you ignore the extended pommel, it still measures in at 5.25 inches. For perspective, that’s almost as much handle as the Spyderco Military, with about as much blade as the Para 2. Yeah. If you’re someone who obsesses over high blade:handle ratios, this isn’t your knife. To top it off, the AD-10 is bulky, too; easily eclipsing my heretofore thickest knife, the Victorinox Alox Farmer.

These comparisons aren’t complaints. Because the AD-10 is the most comfortable folding knife I’ve ever used. Andrew Demko is a master of ergonomics. You’d think a knife with this many finger grooves – plus a front and rear guard – would feel awkward to move around on, but the AD-10’s smooth and deeply sculpted handle isn’t so prescriptive that you feel locked in to any single grip.

The pocket clip is wide, polished, and barely noticeable in hand. The lock bar and backspacer leave no palm-pinching voids in the back of the handle. Every edge, every corner is shaped or softened. It all feels very purposeful, allowing you to exert more force with less strain – this is a knife that makes “hard use” feel easier. One ergonomic caveat: the forward finger choil might be a little cramped for thicker fingers, although I didn’t have any issues.

The unavoidable problem with a knife this fist-filling is how awkward it is to carry in a pocket. I mean, it’s 6.8 ounces and thicker than a coin purse on laundry day. I can deal with large knives (see my review of the Spyderco Hundred Pacer), but the AD-10 stretches (literally) the capacity of my pockets. If you wanted to carry it in your waistband, you’d probably need to buy bigger pants. Even though it hurts to suggest something so shamefully uncool, your best option might actually be a belt pouch.

Still, despite the weight and bulk, I’d pick the AD-10 for my pocket before any of the other Cold Steel folders I’ve owned. The clip – while it could use a little more “ramp” at the lip to help it over thick seams – is an improvement over the too-short, too-stiff, death grip clips I’ve struggled with in the past. And unlike the pocket rasps Cold Steel typically uses for handle scales, the smooth G10 on the AD-10 makes stowing and retrieving the knife a cinch.

Deployment & Lockup

At this point, Cold Steel’s Tri-Ad lock needs little introduction – it’s simply one of, if not the strongest locking system on the market today. What impresses me more than its absolute strength is its tolerance for abuse over time. Even if you were to impact it hard enough to deform the lock face, the built-in play around the lock bar pivot preserves solid lockup, by allowing the lock bar to reset itself against the stop pin. It’s clever engineering, but that play in the lock bar can sometimes make the Tri-Ad lock sticky and hard to disengage. Not so here: the AD-10 unlocks cleanly without the need for any break-in.

Ambidextrous thumbstuds and glassy smooth Teflon washers make for satisfying deployment, whether you open it slowly or with a quick flick. Closing it back up one-handed is a little counter-intuitive. So long as you don’t pull your fingers away from the heavy falling blade, they’ll safely catch the choil and not the edge, though thicker fingers should proceed with caution.

Cold Steel AD-10 Review – Final Thoughts

The AD-10 feels like the latest and greatest result of an ongoing evolution at Cold Steel. I can’t pinpoint when it started, exactly, but I started to take notice when they upgraded their blade steel across the board in 2015.

Ever since then, it seems like they’ve been taking the cheesy machismo that built the brand and distilling it into impressive products that do more than just tactical wish fulfillment (not that there’s anything wrong with that – I once owned a Rajah 2, after all). The AD-10 doubles down on what Cold Steel have always done well – big, brash, and strong – but doesn’t swagger over the little details. It’s not a knife I can always carry, but definitely one I enjoy using when I do. If your pockets will stretch for it, you won’t find a more capable and comfortable folder at this price point.

Sale

Cold Steel Demko AD10 Folder 3.5 in Blade G-10 Handle, 4"

PREMIUM, ALL-PURPOSE BLADE: Features an ultra-wide saber ground blade with a sturdy drop point perfect for everyday carry (EDC), a big game hunt, dangerous expedition, or exciting adventure; Made with premium, ultra tough S35VN steel
HIGH PERFORMANCE IN EVERY SITUATION: Ground thin at the edge and honed to razor sharpness for unprecedented cutting, shearing, and piercing power in a sub 4-inch blade while remaining remarkably resistant to bending, breaking or chipping
COMFORTABLE, SECURE GRIP: The handle is strong and user-friendly with heat-treated, full-length aluminum liners, 3D machined G-10 scales, and oversized pins and bolts; Fits snugly in the hand due to precise contouring and integral finger guard
ULTRA-RELIABLE LOCKING MECHANISM: Uses custom knife-maker Andrew Demko's famous TriAd lock that has been proven over time to be unsurpassed in strength, shock resistance and durability and gives unrivaled protection for your irreplaceable fingers
USER-FRIENDLY FEATURES: Equipped with an ambidextrous thumb stud and dual pocket clips for lightning quick deployment and convenient carry

Editor: I recommend purchasing the Cold Steel AD-10 at Amazon or BladeHQ. Please consider that buying anything through any of the links on this website helps support BladeReviews.com, and keeps the site going. As always, any and all support is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.