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Last Updated: July 28, 2019
I almost entitled this review “confessions of a mall ninja”. Yup, your buddy Dan has something of a dirty secret: I’m a fan of ridiculous knives from Cold Steel. You may have guessed as much after reading reviews of the Spartan and XL Voyager. I just didn’t talk openly about it.
Buy the Cold Steel Rajah III at BladeHQ
The truth is I think some of these more outlandish Cold Steel knives are fun, and some are also legitimately good knives. And let me add that there is something about buying a folding knife knowing you can blast through a side of beef with it (whilst rocking out to heavy metal music) that lends a certain pride of ownership that I don’t quite get with my Delica. There is a je ne sais quoi, if you will, with select Cold Steel products. It keeps bringing me back.
The Rajah series is among their more mall ninja-y folders, but, as with most things, there are shades of gray. If you want to go full ninja then check out the oversized Rajah II. If you are secure, but not quite Open-Carry-Bear-Mace-On-Your-Web-Belt secure, then there is the more middling Rajah III, which also happens to be the subject of today’s review.
Some might argue the Rajah III is small enough for normal people to carry. Some might argue it’s not for mall ninjas at all. Some might argue I’m a jerk for even implying that the knife may be for mall ninjas. Regardless of your personal proclivities, I’ve had my eye on it for some time.
General Dimensions and Blade Details
The Rajah III has an overall length of 8-3/8″, a 3-1/2″ blade, and weighs 4.4 ounces. Despite being the smallest version in the series it is still a big knife. It’s not totally ridiculous for me to carry, but at close to 3/4 of an inch thick, this is one I feel in the pocket. Definitely an after hours carry for me. The Rajah II with it’s 6″ blade is a dedicated outdoor tool, or perhaps a mostly a folding novelty.
The Rajah series was designed by Andrew Demko, who has designed a number of great folders for Cold Steel. Apparently, the classic Nepalese kukri was the inspiration for this design. Cold Steel waxes poetic about the “dramatic power of the kukri as both a tool and weapon” in their product literature. I can attest that kukris make for great choppers, but here we are talking about a 4.5 ounce folding knife.
The blade is kukri shaped. I guess that could be described as a modified clip point with a recurve if you wanted to try and get technical. It has the big kukri belly and a deep recurve. The recurve isn’t quite as crazy as the Spartan’s, but it is still pretty serious. The 4mm thick blade tapers down to the tip, and has been given a full flat grind. It slices well – especially with that recurve. The knife carves aggressively too. I was very pleased with how this blade performed, and think there is some truth to the Cold Steel sales copy regarding kukris. Sharpening can be a chore, but there is truth to this being a high performance blade shape.
Cold Steel initially offered the Rajah III with a bead blasted blade finish (shown here). Not my favorite choice, but it works. They have since updated the knife to feature a stonewashed / tumbled finish. I prefer that finish over the beadblast as it is not as susceptible to rust and I think it looks a little nicer.
Cold Steel originally offered the Rajah in AUS8. They changed the steel to BD1 in 2015-2016. Both AUS8 and BD1 are softer steels. Cold Steel got a lot of feedback from customers wanting something with better edge retention than AUS-8, so they upgraded their premium line of knives to CTS-XHP (and then S35Vn in 2018), and their more budget oriented knives they upgraded to BD1.
I don’t have a lot of experience with BD1, but it’s a softer steel. Easy to sharpen, and presumably holds a better edge than AUS-8. I think it was a good option for the Rajah series as the price is still reasonable.
On the subject of sharpening, I sharpen this knife with the rods of my Spyderco Sharpmaker. Rod style sharpeners are best for curved blades like this. You will have an extremely hard time trying to sharpen this with bench stones or paddle sharpeners.
Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip
Much like the Spartan, the Rajah’s handle is grivory (high density plastic) over full nested steel liners. The back spring is hardened steel, and the backspacer is more grivory. Everything has been screwed together for your convenience. This is a lightweight yet strong handle design that has been meticulously crafted. This knife is made in Taiwan, and like virtually every other knife from Taiwan that I have handled, it has been really nicely finished. They even included a lanyard hole.
Andrew Demko is a man who clearly understands ergonomics. His designs are among the most comfortable I’ve handled, perhaps only second to Ernest Emerson. Although the Rajah III is a scaled down version of the Rajah II, you aren’t sacrificing a comfortable grip. I take a large glove and there is just enough room for a good full grip. You can move up on the handle for more detailed work, and lean back into the handle for light chopping. The Rajah III also feels very at home in reverse grip. There is no jimping, and the scales have been given a very light texture. I’d say its pretty much perfect for my applications.
Like on many of their other designs, Cold Steel has included two pocket clips: one for each side of the curved handle. They also included 2 sets of screws, which is a nice touch. These clips don’t allow for super deep carry, but it is still a fairly discrete package. The clips are simple but they work well. They have been given Cold Steel’s trademarked crappy black teflon coating, so don’t expect them to look new for long.
As far as carry is concerned, this is a thick knife and you will feel it in your pocket. It isn’t very heavy for its size, so it has that going for it, but I can’t deny that this is a bulkier knife. If you are looking for a very discrete slim line EDC knife then I would look elsewhere.
Deployment and Lockup
The Rajah makes use of a large thumb plate for deployment. You can push the blade open with your thumb, or the plate can function similarly to an Emerson Wave, allowing you to open the knife from your pocket. With a little wrist action I can flick the knife open with my thumb. The strong backspring gives the closed blade a healthy “detent” (resistance to opening). I will say that the action of this knife is extremely smooth. Smooth to the point where the blade will fall freely on it’s own upon disengaging the lock.
Cold Steel has equipped the Rajah III with their tri-ad lock. For the uninitiated, the tri-ad lock is an improved back lock strengthened by the inclusion of a hardened steel stop pin between the tang of the blade and the lock bar. This stop pin absorbs much of the shock that would otherwise transfer directly to the locking mechanism and potentially compromise the lock.
In my experience these tri-ad lock knives are tough. My knives have held up well over the years without failing, developing blade play, etc. In addition to normal use as an EDC knife, I did beat on this knife a bit in my back yard. I chopped through some bamboo and hacked away at firewood – stuff I wouldn’t normally do with a folding knife. The knife held up beautifully. The way I see it, the only downside to the tri-ad lock is that it can be tough to disengage – especially with one hand.
Cold Steel Rajah III Review – Final Thoughts
Is the Rajah III a realistic EDC option, or is it going to be on the cover of next month’s “Mall Ninja Monthly”? I think the truth lies somewhere in between. While the Rajah III is aggressive looking and somewhat impractical for your average suburban/urban EDC, I cannot deny that this is a solid tool that is capable of getting real work done. It may not be the most convenient choice for an armchair general like myself, but I still respect and the Rajah III for being well made, and enjoy how it is a little different than the rest of the knives in my collection.
Also, the fundamentals to the Rajah are solid: the tri-ad lock is extremely sturdy, the knife is lightweight yet strong, the handle is comfortable, the blade slices and dices with the best of them, the fit and finish is extremely good, and the price is very attractive.
If you want a no-nonsense, high performance Cold Steel lockback folder with a 3.5″ blade then I suggest checking out the American Lawman. The Lawman continues to be one of my favorites. It is slimmer than the Rajah III and less intimidating. In my mind it is clearly a more practical EDC choice. But if you are looking for something a little further out there, and like the lines of the Rajah series, then check out the Rajah III. For $45 this is a tremendous value and an excellent knife. I like mine a lot.
- Blade length: 3-1/2 inch
- Overall length: 8-3/8 inch
- Steel: carpenter CTS Bd1 alloy with stonewash finish
I recommend purchasing the Rajah III at Amazon or BladeHQ. Please consider that purchasing 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.
Demko is a genius who deserves better materials than Cold Steel uses for his designs.
That said, Cold Steel’s Lynn Thompson knows how to get the best for the buck out of Demko-designed models.
As you point out, a number of CS models seem aimed at mall ninjas. The Raja doesn’t entirely qualify — it lacks the crappy black paint on the blade and clip of my CS Recon I. Instead, the Raja uses a bead-blasted process, which probably saves Thompson 2-cents or so for each Rajah that doesn’t get the superior stonewashed finish.
CS is far from the only maker whose imports use bead-blasting, a process that’s not as rust-resistant as SWing. But it’s really a crime to do this to a Demko design.
I’d advise sending your black-painted or bead-blasted CS to an after-market modder for SWing — but that might cost half of what you paid for the knife. That’s how good the Thompson-Demko team is at turning out a value product for so little $$.
Michael,
I agree, the Rajah doesn’t entirely qualify as mall ninja gear – mostly just had to have some fun with the intro.
Although I prefer a stonewash finish, I can live with the bead blast here. I haven’t run into any issues with rust yet. AUS8 is usually pretty stain resistant. In a perfect world it would be stonewashed – but without nits to pick I wouldn’t have much of a job! 😉 Thanks for the great comment.
Best,
Dan
Good news, Cold Steel switched to a stonewashed finish on their Rajah and G10 Espada knives. My plain edge Rajah 3 is stonewashed.
Ironically enough, if you have a black coated Cold Steel knife and you strip off the coating you’ll find it has a stonewashed finish under the coating.
Their new DLC knives (like the XHP Recon that came out last year) won’t strip of course. The coating may be as hard as the steel it covers.
Hey Jason,
Cool! I did not realize they started offering these in a stonewashed finish. That is excellent. I have updated the review accordingly. Thank you for pointing that out. And you are absolutely right regarding the teflon coated knives and DLC knives.
Dan
I think we ALL have a little bit of mall ninja in us, right? I dont buy cold steel knives, but I would be lying if I said I didnt get enjoyment out of looking at them….
Hah, good point Ameer! Maybe that could be Cold Steel’s new tagline: “Do you have some mall ninja in you?” I agree that they can be fun, and they are usually very well done. Especially the folders.
Dan
That is a sweet looking piece! I’ve been looking for something a little bigger. The stonewashed finish looks amazing. It is a little big for EDC. You have a rough estimate on weight? Looks like Amazon has a pretty sweet deal on them. I just clicked through your link and looked at some of the reviews there as well. Probably end up buying it when I get paid on the 1st.
Hi Matt,
Thanks for dropping by. Weight is around 4.5 ounces on this one. Not bad for the size.
Dan
More good CS news. Cold Steel is doing significant blade steel upgrades on many of their popular Tri-Ad Lock folders for 2015.
Voyagers with BD-1.
Recons and Code 4s with CTS-XHP!
That’s a shot across the bow for the other big production knife cos. Cool stuff.
Thanks for another excellent review here, Dan. The Rajah recurve is a little too wacky for me, but it was a fun read.
PS: Re the most recent GGL podcast: I totally think you should write up the Nura. One of the many ways you add value to the knife community is by warning people away from hyped products that don’t really pan out.
Peace!
Hey RD,
That is excellent news indeed! I will be acquiring a Code 4 in CTS-XHP for sure.
I am going to spend some more time with the Nura. I also ordered a Kershaw Strobe at the same time. It came in a day or 2 after recording the podcast actually, and it is much more in line with what I would have expected from the Nura. Crisp action and it doesn’t look like a total piece of shit. I don’t particularly enjoy writing bad reviews, but I agree that writing about bad experiences is just as important as writing about good ones so I’ll certainly keep that in mind. Life is too short for crummy knives!
Dan
Thank you for the review.
Despite its unusual design, or maybe because of it, I’ve really come to like the Rajah III over the past few months. I work outside quite a bit in the winter, and that often means thick coveralls and heavy gloves. This knife is easy to retrieve from the pocket and open no matter what I’m wearing. The lockback nick is likewise big and easy to hit.
Come summer, I’ll probably go back to my lighter, more carry-friendly Voyager. But as far as wintertime is concerned, this is a winner.
Bill,
My pleasure. The Rajah III has grown on me as well. I could see it being a good choice for the situation you have described. It’s a sturdy piece and looks to me as if it would function well with gloves. I might find myself switching to a lighter blade in the summer as well… enjoy yours in good health!
Dan
As soon as I saw you mention “mall ninjas” I knew this was a review to ignore.
Ummm Dan, I own a Rajah 2 and it is NOT a mall ninja knife! It is a woods ninja knife! Just kidding… The Rajahs are serious working blades, and while the R2 isn’t a good full size Khukuri like an excellent Himalayan Imports or a CS GHURKHA, you certainly have less worry bout it breaking!
My oldest son carries the R3 as a work knife. One day while helping to direct traffic around his construction area, he turned to walk back to his rig…he heard…
Kerklunkgggg ….several times and thought…NO!
Yes. He had dislodged the R3 from his pocket.
It was ran over several times on the asphalt,
Apart from the usual scrapes, only the lock activation spring was dislodged inside the frame.
He took it apart and put it ba ck in place…good as new!
Tell the ninjas to stick that in their blowpipe and smoke it!
Great review!!
Mark,
Haha, I know that my “mall ninja” comment has ruffled a few feathers – I mean no harm by it. All in good fun, and yes these are serious tools, not art or fantasy style knives, so to call it mall ninja gear is borderline trolling on my part.
Dan
Hellow everyone,
I had a question about sharpening the Rajah 3 what is the exact angle to sharpen this blade?
what is the factory edge angle of this blade so i can sharpen it back to its former angle?
greetz
Jimmy
I purchased the rajah 2 about a month ago and so far I like how it cuts and chops, it feels good in my hands it’s realy easy to use. I liked the rajah 2 so much I just purchased the rajah 3 as well. I can’t wait to use it and see how well it performs