The Gun Counter

I'm half-heartedly debating replacing my Emerson Commander. Cold Steel has two VERY large folders out that I'm sort of interested in.

The Spartan:
http://www.coldsteel.com/spfko.html

The Rajah II:
http://www.coldsteel.com/rajahseries.html

Now, the Rajah might be a bit large for daily carry, but I think that I could pull it off with the Spartan. I was really impressed when they slammed the blade through a car door. I think that the Rajah might be a candidate for a BOB, or someplace where you might want a kukri, or hatchet, but you don't want to deal with the weight or size. Can someone with more pointy-thing experience tell me what they think of these beefy folders?

Sharpening a reverse curve blade is more difficult than sharpening a standard design blade.

Everyone will have a different recommendation for an every day carry knife. Here's mine: I lose really good pocketknives, but still have all my cheap ones - so I like the Spyderco Tenacious with the plain edge. Best $40 pocketknife I've ever owned.

I carry a Spyderco Endura. If there's a better $50-$60 knife, I haven't found it yet.

I have several Cold Steel fixed-bladed knives, but no folders. I carry a Spyderco Mariner (and have since 1984), but I was working on boats at the time and needed a knife I could operate one-handed and strong/sharp enough to cut the various lines used on boats.

Using my Spyderco Triangle Sharpener, I'm able to keep all kinds of knives in our house VERY sharp (except the ones with ceramic blades). I even use it on our Cutco knives.

Save yourself $20.00 and use this link instead (the Cold Steel site is run by a contractor, the LTSPECPRO site IS Cold Steel products). Now for THAT price, it's kinda' hard to go wrong with that knife.

Thanks for the link, Mike. You can find the Spartan on Amazon for under $60 shipped, and the Rajah for about $100. I think that the Spartan might be a good addition to my knives, as it's one of the few that has the "wave" feature that Emerson developed. I can't think of any others that have it, and I really like that feature. The Rajah I'm interested in, as almost a novelty. There are plenty of pictures of it online chopping and splitting wood. Really, the best reason I can think of getting it for is so you could carry a machete easier in a survival kit. There sure would be a lot of shock value though, in pulling out a Rajah to cut into a box at work, or ideally, to whip it out when some punk with a knife demands your wallet(when you're not carrying a gun).

Don't forget, if and when you buy the knife from someone else, WHO'S going to honor the warranty (WHAT warranty?)?

There are hundreds, no thousands of dealers that sell the Chi-Comm made Cold Steel products...

For that price you can get an Emerson...

Warranty is always from the maker not the seller! The seller may help you get satisfaction but that is done on their own and should be expressed a back to them with more sales or referrals...

FYI--Cold Steel has never made a knife in their lives...they are a marketing and design house only...they have no locks on the folders that are theirs but by other designers and on the AK47 knife they stole the Emerson/Harsey flip opener claiming it was their idea...

Their high end items aren't worth the price as you can get custom made knives for less money of better steel, better scales and better sheath...$300 for a kukhri, $500 for a tanto both made in China, mainland, on an assembly line of mediocre steel--stick it...

They used to make a barong style machete, fixed blade for around $20 that is about the size, just a tad longer, of that folder...

Killjoy.

If you can tell me where I can buy an Emerson CQC-11, which is really the only Emerson I'm interested in now for $100, I'll buy every single one I can get my hands on. I got my Commander for $150 in 2002 at the Midshipman store. That's pretty much the cheapest price you can find one for minus shipping.

These Cold Steel knives are more for novelty than anything else. I've got a Kukri machete, but not one in a folder. I like the wave feature, but it seems like it's a hard feature to find. If they'd make a 5.11 First Responder with a wave, I'd be on it like Rosie O'Donnell on a baked ham.

I wouldn't discount the Cold Steel knives too early, they tend to be a good product for a fair price, ESPECIALLY when you get them on a sale. Sign up for their catalog. Some of their stuff goes on sale for 50% off (blems, seconds, etc., and stuff they aren't moving), but so far, I've had absolutely NO problem with their quality, especially for the price.

YMMV

If I was looking for a decently-priced, good-quality folder, I would still consider Cold Steel. It's not that much money to risk, and their knives hold up very well, IMHO (and I've hacked through some thick branches at the range with the fixed-blade knife I keep in my car).

You can pay a LOT more money and get a better knife, but is it worth that much more money to be THAT much better? I'm not so sure, but then everyone has to make up their own mind.

JAG2955 wrote:Killjoy. :P

If you can tell me where I can buy an Emerson CQC-11, which is really the only Emerson I'm interested in now for $100, I'll buy every single one I can get my hands on. I got my Commander for $150 in 2002 at the Midshipman store. That's pretty much the cheapest price you can find one for minus shipping.

These Cold Steel knives are more for novelty than anything else. I've got a Kukri machete, but not one in a folder. I like the wave feature, but it seems like it's a hard feature to find. If they'd make a 5.11 First Responder with a wave, I'd be on it like Rosie O'Donnell on a baked ham.

Sorry, to bust your bubble but I thought you'd want to know before forking over the money...

The same places that sell the Cold Steel knives at a discount!

So would I, but Ernest makes more then one model...

Spending $160 for Chi-Comm mass produced or $190, $200 US made semi custom Emerson...
What about Benchmade instead of Emerson?
Kershaw also makes some very nice folders...

Spartan $95 ----4.5" of AUS 8A
RAJAH II $160 -- 6" of "

Mike, their mid range knives get beat for fit and finish by lots of other makers and their top end knives are way overpriced for mediocre at best made and/or steel...They excel in their cheap end knives where a fairly good knife (for the money) is obtained but still Chi-Comm made which I will not knowingly purchase...

My CS blades are over 10 years old and from when they were made in Taiwan, Republic of...Then the Master Hunter was $60, now it's $160 but I can get a Bark River of the same dimensions for a few dollars more...