Cold Steel ti-lite & Recon Tanto

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So I'm going on holiday soon and I'll be within a close proximity to a knife store that carries Cold Steel products (finally!). I was thinking of picking myself up a Recon Tanto and a Ti-Lite folder (Zytel handle.. wish I could afford the Titanium one).

Anyone on here that has owned/used these knives and can offer their opinion?

 

[hso]

First off, welcome to THR!

I've played with the Ti-lite and the Recon Tanto both and both were good knives. The Ti-lite was fun, not too practical, but fun. The Recon Tanto was a sturdy knife. I didn't work with either one so I can't express any opinion beyond that.

 

[Fosbery]

Not seen a Recon Tanto up close but, like hso, I've played with the Ti-Lite. Fun, cool, nice to look at, but not practical.

 

[[email protected]]

Thanks for the welcome!

Why would you say that the Ti-lite would be impractical, out of curiosity?

 

[hso]

Depends upon what you want to do with it I suppose. The blade is thin and long and pointy in a "bayonet" shape. Like the Italian switchblades. The small blade width forces a steek bevel which doesn't take a razor edge well, but the width is too narrow for a heavy use blade. The tip is subject to breakage in many "utility" tasks. I think the steel liner is only on one side of the zytel handle so theres going to be a lot of flex to the handle that can result in failure of the liner lock.

 

[[email protected]]

Ah, I see.. Thanks for the heads up. I suppose one of the Spike series would be a better utility knife, then.

 

[Pax Jordana]

I'd think

Cold Steel's stuff strikes me as being predominantly for, ahem, social work.

They may have dropped it since, but on their earlier 'proof' DVD's I recall they explained that they did all these rope cutting tests because cutting free-hanging manila rope is "similar to cutting through a hand at the wrist"

It's generally pretty obvious which ones are meant for people-based operation and which are better suited for utility -- I have a 3'' voyager I find awfully handy for cutting boxes, but my 6'' Ti-Lite stays at home until the govt collapses or I can assure myself of the legality of carrying it


Like I said, mine's a 6'' model -- I wish I'd sprung for the 4. It will stand up fine to cutting and all, it's just a bit long for most utility applications..

 

[Snarlingiron]

I have the Cold Steel Recon 1 with the plain clip point blade. I liked it so much I bought one of the Tanto blades for my son. We both love them, and carry them all the time. I think the locking mechanism is about as good as it gets, and deployment is very quick and easy.

Cold Steel's stuff strikes me as being predominantly for, ahem, social work.

Also my take. I also always have an Old Timer in my front pants pocket for opening boxes, cleaning fingernails, etc. The Cold Steel is reserved for other purposes. If I ever have to use it, I want it to be as sharp as possible, so I don't use it for anything else.

 

[Dave McCracken]

There's a couple Cold Steel products here, quality ranges from acceptable to pretty darn good.

The Mini Tac, now discontinued, is a tanto style neck knife. It has a superb edge,but is a bit thin for heavy work. Carries well.

The 4" Voyager I bought after having to cut a seat belt while assisting at a two car rollover. Great edge, now. Tough and the clip makes it one of my EDCs. Were I doing it over I'd get the clip point instead of the tanto. More versatile.

The Recon Tanto I haven't used much, but is top quality.

The Kukri machete is acceptable, stays in my truck for brush chores, etc.

 

[Dr.Rob]

The recon tanto is a knife I've recommended to many as a good all around utility/camp/hunting knife... it's not a folder.

http://csstoreonline.stores.yahoo.net/13rtk.html

Truthfully, the Bushman makes a better skinning knife and is about as 'un tacticool' as it gets. Midway has them on sale for about $18.

http://csstoreonline.stores.yahoo.net/fixed-blades-bushman.html

 

[steeltiger]

I have both a six inch ti-lite and a recon tanto, the ti-lite point strength is not something to be mocked and it cuts better than it would appear to. In my experience cold steels knives have ranged from "pretty darn good" to "near perfect " ,but there not every ones cup of tea. No im not brittish knives of all sizes are illegal over there its ridiculus

 

[Fosbery]

The Spike is no utility knife. Shallow, thick blade so it's not very sharp and is awkward for fine work (just like the Ti-Lite). The point on the American tanto version will be stronger, and it's a fixed blade, but it's meant to be a concealed weapon, not a user.

 

[steeltiger]

Just reread the post, and the six inch ti-lite has dual liners and a full zytel spacer ( so I assume that the same would ring true for the smaller ). The cold steel liner lock is the best ive ever seen the liner is folded in a manner that an ''L'' is formed and all of the ''L'' contacts the tang

 

[TFin04]

Cold Steel has proven themselves to be a pretty dishonest company in recent years and that causes me to not support them any more.

I was a knife-nut before a firearm nut, check out bladeforums.com and search for Cold Steel, you'll find wayyyy more info than you could ever care to read about them.

I personally am a HUGE Spyderco fan. Great company with an owner who is active within the knife community and they have top notch products at good prices.

Just my input on this subject, do with it what you will.

 

[hso]

Spyderco stands head and shoulders above Cold Steel in involvement and ethics. This is an expression of the personalities of the two owners (and I've dealt with both of them).

 

[[email protected]]

Ehh.. thing about Spyderco is that to my knowledge they produce exclusively folders.. I'm a pretty big guy, and folders just seem so...small.. in my hands. And yeah, I know the ti-lite is a folder, and it's the only one that has caught my eye. But I shall check out bladeforums, thanks.

 

[Fosbery]

Spyderco do make some fixed-blades such as the Moran, Vagabond, Kumo and Fred Perrin Streetbeat. The Moran and Vagabond are fine outdoors knives, whilst the Kumo and Streetbeat are fighters (though the streetbeat is designed to be a utility knife aswell).

Also, some of the SPyderco folders are very big. The Military, Para-military and Manix for instance.

For other production fixed blades check out (off the top of my head) Benchmade, Becker Knife & Tool, Bark River, Ontario, Fallkniven and Ka-Bar.

 

[steeltiger]

I somewhat dislike the spydie line, their idea of a big folder is a three inch blade, my edc is a six inch voyager and it the esiest carrying knife i own and for a work knife i want alot of edge to make full use of. The limited fixed blade offers are not apealing to my tastes, whereas cold steel has an extremely varied product line they've got almost everything.

 

[TFin04]

Spyderco makes some folders with 4"+ blades, the 3" Delica is just their most popular knife and the one most everyone thinks of when they think of Spyderco.

In terms of blade steel, build quality, warranty, price and ethics, there is NO company who can come close to Spyderco in my mind. I haven't bought a non Spydie knife in over a year, and I buy a new knife once or twice a month usually.

 

[[email protected]]

Mh, I personally never cared for serrations.. I know they're supposed to make a much better cut, but something about serrated blades just...bothers me. I can't quite explain it..

 

[hso]

something about serrated blades just...bothers me. I can't quite explain it..

You should try one some time. They make rope and webbing part like butter. If that's not your primary material to cut then don't worry about it.

 

[huduguru]

I wouldn't mind having a TI Lite. But overall I think you could do much better
than the Recon folder. I had one that broke one of the springs in the lock which made the knife useless. If I was going to get a CS folder I would get the Gunsite Voyager with 5 in. blade I also have become a big fan of Spyderco because of the Endura 4 with wave. This thing comes out faster than an automatic and it works for me every time. I also think the lockback is more trouble free than the "axis" type lock, although I do have a
Benchmade 805s TSEK and it's axis lock seems much better than the ripoff on the CS. Check out the Buck Striders (889) also. I just picked one up and it seems solid. Just watch the liner locks on them and try to buy one in person to do the "spine wack" test.

 

[steeltiger]

The bench and the cs have different locks, just look at the knives and youl notice the following
#1 the release on the cs is afore the pivot not aft.
#2 the cs is an internal channel not riding in the open.
these facts are also apparent in the catalouges of the afore mentioned companies.
And yes the idea of a sliding bar is recyled, but so is crtk's d.o.g.
( deadbolt over grab set ) and spyderco's ball lock and sog's arc lock, they all have thier similarities but theres so sdeady place for blame.

 

[sonofodin]

Cold Steel

I have an original Ti-Lite with the grey titanium handles. I RARELY use it for anything but a self defense knife when I do carry it. The Aus-8 blade has a very sharp edge and a good point. The leaf spring lock is solid. I also have an ODA 7 inch bowie blade. Dont like the plastic sheath very much, it seems to *slightly* dull the blade with repetative drawings. Getting a Finn Bear within a few days. I am also waiting for their machetes to come out in march. They have a wicked Kopis Machete that I want. I also want one of the recon 1's. Unfortunetly they changed the steel on their voyagers and ti-lites etc to Vg-1 and I dont trust e-bay retailers to sell me the VG-1 model instead of Aus 8. Anyways, you can get Ti-Lights cheap from http://stores.channeladvisor.com/flames-n-knives/ . I have done buisiness with them before and they're very nice and reliable.