The 1.4116 ThyssenKrupp is actually tougher than SK5. Better as a knife steel? I don't think so. The German steel ones haven't hit the market yet, so if you like the knife in carbon get it before they run out.
In any case, this is an obvious manufacturing defect since I didn't have this issue with my knife. Will people also please stop using a FIGHTING knife for bushcraft. There are plenty of tough woods knives for under 70 bucks... i.e. the BK2!
fricking cold steel...haha they talk so much game but the most practical tasks cant be done. but hey! if im ever attacked by a man made of cardboard i know ill win.....tsk tsk
You posting this video caused me to want to test my Leatherneck, so I held my mine on a log(s) while a buddy of mine whacked it through some Walmart bought firewood. I'm not saying that is the end all tests but mine held up fine. Sorry yours broke. I am going to echo what a lot of people are saying here about CS decisions in steel to cut costs and maximize profit. SK-5 is better than 4116 I don't think anyone will disagree here, but whats even worse is CS "reasons" why they changed the design
Looks like we all have ben boyscouts so we have oure swiss officer in spare to chop and split oure fuel wood. just kidding i use my knife like you did it has to survive a procedure like this.If you come on a knot its up to your skills to make it through.
What a worthless piece of shit! Cold Steel's ad copy for this knife says "German 4116 stainless steel". In other words "worthless shit". Anyone who knows anything about knife steel knows German stainless steel has no place outside the kitchen. Cold Steel has started getting greedy and putting out sub-par shit knives so Lynn Thompson can roll in money and go on hunting safaris. Have you seen their new 2012 stuff? Pure crap.
@TheLateBoyScout why did they do that? it was perfect as it was in full flat grind and sk-5. what is this 440A crap now? ... I am glad I got a sk-5 one.
@TheLateBoyScout WOW!!! That means they took something crappy and made it even crappier with shitty German steel!! CS is seeking out new ways to suck. I was formerly interested in getting their Kukri in SK-5, and now I'm not any more. I'll get the TOPS Power Eagle instead.
I would like to see "Cold steel knife" would withstand welding torch's intense heats because it supposed to be "THE survival knife" !!! ....I usually have to deal cutting metals in my survival situations where I surrounded by such intensive heats . See what's gonna happens...Failed!! LOL
@maxinpains Cold Steel knives are good for only one thing : cutting meat, whether alive or dead. Try to cut anything harder or tougher than meat and it's a fuckin' fail fest.
Bad tempered...there are some cold steel models that have similar problems (recon scout, trailmaster). my gurkha model has split dozens of logs this size with ease.
Of course it's not going to work as a Utility or Survival knife, that's not what the design was inspired by. The Leatherneck is meant for tactical/combat use, it's pretty much Cold Steel's version of a Ka-bar.
@skabush247 Try overpriced knock-off; The Ka-bar is only $50, this is around $100. And as far as I know, the Ka-bar preforms better, just my 2 cents on the matter.
I'm going to be honest and say that your technique im sure is the reason it broke, your batoning with a tiny 1 inch diameter branch with that much strikes into a knotted piece of wood or not your doing to much work on it. Also i went camping for a weekend with this knife only and i was splitting wood, chopping trees down, limbs. You need to learn how to use a "Utility" Knife the proper way. Not trying to be rude but.....
-DevilDogRob (Former Marine) once a marine always a marine
@extreme65anime oh cold steel has seen the video check out the late boy scouts update on this knife I don't think I'll be buying anymore coldsteel fixed blades.
I use an ax to chop my wood..that usually works better than knife designed for combat...stabbing, cutting flesh and slitting wind pipes....Just sayin...
That is just SHAMEFUL, I love Cold Steel and have put my knives thru their paces (just as bad as your test) and my little voyager medium folder did way better than this weakling. But with a name like "Leather Neck" it was bound to be weak, now if it were named the "Dog Face" now there is a name that says tough!!
I thought this knife was more to be used as a fighter. The write up on it does say "utility" as well, but I don't think they had logs that size in mind when they said that. It looked like a pretty mean stump. I'm not convinced it's a piece of crap yet. Well...yours is lol, but I mean the knife in general. I've never seen a knife make it through a knot like that. Was always an axe
Send it back to CS you probably got a lemon. It happens to Esee's, Ka-bar's, Tops (watch Equip 2 Endure's vid on the firestrike) and Cold Steels. It's a man made product. We are the variable. CS has the best customer service I have ever delt with. Good luck....
100% honest vid showing what happened, including you continued to split with the edge already bent. That's actually a good sign imho, bending instead of chipping. All Full flat ground blades could be inadequate splitting logs.
Pounding trough a log with one part of the edge pointing in another direction; show me the knife that can!. The strain within the steel will be massive& increasing, as does the wrong angle. Could have happened to ka-bars too, but they have a lower grind.
The first one that I purchased, in early October, had very rough steel. There were thousands of tiny pockmarks on the blade, below the coating (I removed the coating). The second one I ordered on November 18th. The steel looks much better on the newer one. The blade is smooth everywhere, under the teflon. I can't speak to the heat treatment, because I bought them as self defense knives and (thankfully) have yet to use them in that capacity.
In a true survival situation where your knife may be your only tool, who in their right mind is going to baton wood with it? Also anyone with a fair amount of common scenes would know better than to baton a piece of clearly well seasoned hard wood that is full of knots. There is nothing on this planet that is indestructible and Cold Steel never made the claim that this knife is, try using more common sense and brain power .
@rdcd20 the "firewood" from the grocery store would probably be spruce pine or fir. The fire wood is super dry and hard but hell now i don't want the knife anymore. beer money whooo hoo!
i am sure it is a great knife...as with anything in production line made u get some or few bad knives just how it is...they try to keep the quality up as high as possiable but at the price they sell it for u can get a knife with improper heat treatment or hairline crack ..i work in production sooo hate to say but it happens!!
I am no fan of batoning in general. It is why I use/carry an axe when camping. That being said, this knife should not have failed the way it did after a bit of such use.
I was interested in picking one up, but after this video, I will pass and get a genuine Ka-Bar.
There is a basic flaw in all "tests" like this. In what kind of survival situation do you envision being supplied with cord wood? I mean, if you had the same type of failure from batoning through a standing tree limb a little bit thicker than a broomstick, I could see the criticism. But this? I know that people will say this doesn't make any difference but it does to me, it's just a "test" in search of some type of adventure where I get supplied with cord wood for fire wood? The test is a fail.
@TheDBR2 Here's the situation where I (and lots of other guys) envision it: Winter time, or wet weather. Folding saw in my pack which I'm using to cut down and section off a small tree (because everything on the ground is wet or rotted). Now I have to turn that in to kindling, and the only other tool I brought is a large survival knife. Now I must baton those logs with my knife to split them into kindling and fuel wood I can use. Make more sense now?
@TheDBR2 Good point. A lot of the expectations many guys have of cutting thru seasoned wood with a sub-7" knife are unrealistic. Get a saw or a axe i you really want to process hard wood. In a survival situation with a regular knife all you'll need to cut is green saplings at most.
If you want a Cold Steek knife that can withstand the stress and abuse of battoning through wood, the better choice would be the Recon Scout, the Ghurka Kukri, or the Trail Master Bowie.
I got the coldsteel leatherneck and i chopped up a bunch of would with it just to see how the edge would hold up. to my surprise it held up great. i gave that knife a damn good beating. but i will never do it again. it is not meant for chopping wood or for outdoor use. it is a combat knife, which is why it stays on my hip every where that i go. I would NEVER use this knife for batoning through wood, that is just common sense. I got it for $57 on budk. one hell of a deal i'd say
@steeltrident Nope. They've had it for probably 3 weeks now, and I haven't heard a peep from them. I'll post an update vid, and annotate this one when I do hear back.
@TheLateBoyScout The grain size is obviously blown during heat treatment, the blade is flawed, there is no way Cold Steel can refuse a replacement as it a defect. It was either over soaked or the steel was not annealed and normalized properly after forming from the initial melt. You can actually see the grain in the edge, it is almost flaky. The grain size of a properly tempered steel should be in the microns (thousands of a mm).
What the hell are you chopping though! I understand that it is classified as a fighting/utility knife but there are proper applications. If it was classified as a survival knife like the SRK that has a thicker blade with a beefier profile, it would perform the tasks in this video(w/ lubrication) with ease.
I just got one and I could tell just by the sound that it was not a very substantial blade. It had a twang to it every time I unsheathed it. However, it has a VERY sharp blade! Sliced right through some copy paper. I feel like this is a gimmick knife. It performs fantastic in every way the average consumer could put it through but put to the real test of busting through a log, it fails.
I think the fact that it has a secureX sheath speaks volumes to the quality of the knife. I would have paid $50 for a Cold Steel Kabar knockoff with a 3/16th inch of AUS8 and a cheap nylon sheath! Don't waste your time or money on this, if you want a knife for $50 bucks that will go through a log, get an Ontario Marine Raider!
I wanted to buy it just because i like its shape. Unfortunately Extrema Ratio Venom wont have friend for help. It survived much worse batoning without such breaking. Greetings from Poland :)
Jedan borbeni noz jedne ovako renomirane firme kao sto je CS je MORAO da prodje i ovako lagan test kao sto je ovaj . Ako je doziveo ovakvu katastrofu na testu koji je MORAO da prodje , kako bi se pokazao u ratnim uslovima gde bi zahtevi pred njim bili mnogo veci . Vojnik ima JEDAN noz koji bi trebao da posluzi za svaki vid namene . Nema veze ni njegova cena ni gde je pravljen , bitno je ko ga je potpisao . A potpisao ga je Cold Steel , ime koje treba da garantuje neko poverenje !
wow i was lookin forward to this knife...sux im goin to look at other knives to consider buying..sad i hav few coldsteel knives and they work great...i know wat they r talking about the knot as an abuse but its a test that should be considered to show how a knife can do on extreme use and for a FIRST OUTING TEST wow surprised...thin blades yah its still an excuse...maybe the use for that knive isn't for bushcrafting...stick wit k-bar lol or other larger CS knives like trailmaster....
one thing about the sf is that after steeling it and stropping it; the edge is wicked sharp and i'd say too thin. i mean knives should be razor sharp, but the sf i think was profiled a little thin, it is sharper than my zdp-189 spyderco stretch when it came from the factory and while usually thats a good thing - for batoning its not. i still want to do some "bushcraft" with it though and i'm going to get a 10 or 20 dollar knife to put it in the throwdown batoning challenge. budk timberland
That's too bad. I was looking forward to buying that knife. Still it might be that you just got a defect knife. In the list of recommended videos for this video you can find a video of the RTAK II failing, and my RTAK II is still going strong all though I have treated it really rough. So I will wait for some more tests before I decide if I'm going to buy it or not.
Thanks for this video sir. I have about 80 knives in my collection 3 of which are Cold Steel, but none are fixed blades. I typically go with Ka-bar as far as fixed blades, survival etc.. but thanks for the information, very helpful.
Aww man, now I am going to think twice about buying this knife. I originally thought this knife would bridge the gap between the marine Ka-bar and the cold steel recon scout. It could be some sort of anomaly in the metal, who knows? Nevertheless, that was a disappointment. It should have taken that kind of punishment. This is definitely a major fail. Thanks for saving me my money. I'll just stick to the recon scout for batoning.
It's somewhat hard use but a knife with that design should suck it up. Kitchen knife would fail but not a knife that thick. I can bet that it's just a defected knife
dude, kudos to you for keepin your cool like that! i probably would have flipped out and broke the rest of it against a rock. lol ...or i guess even a twig...
also ffg busse, and other CS knives do really well. the bushman is only 2.5mm or their clip point machete is even thinner and it can baton wood. this is bullshit. i'll post a vid batoning some logs. if i see it bend on the edge like that i'll stop and just use it for cutting. But this should be a hard use knife: day hike camping blade. going through a few pieces of wood should be in its POU no doubt. for the money a budk 10 dollar timberland can fight with and should go through logs too no rust.
@cheapmovies25 That knot looks almost petrified. Good luck finding a knife, save maybe a Busse, that can baton through that thing. A full flat grind on a .188" blade is going to produce a thin edge. Such an edge is not ideal for this type of abuse. And "Utility," in USMC terms, means cutting, light prying, and opening boxes and rations. Utility is NOT synonymous with "Bushcraft."
i bought this blade when it came out a few weeks ago. This sucks. it's sk-5 mar tempered like all their carbon knives: but i don't aggree with many on here that this knife isn't made for batoning. it's 3/16" thick an srk (same ") can baton all day long. same with the TM and RS, either the 1st batches didn't get HT well or a bad batch of steel. all other sk-5 can run through logs with no chips let alone this. look at the bushman DT. i have to repeat this and post a vid. next week i will post
That wood looks very hard, and you struck the knot from bushcraft hell. A lot of knives would fail like that. The same steel is used in the Recon Scout. Just because a Porsche can't haul a tractor, it doesn't make the car a piece of junk. Use the knife for its intended purpose -- cutting, slicing, self defense, etc. -- and it should perform well.
its unfortunate but it happens. we all have seen many different knives to fail from all different companies. bad heat treat/steel imperfections happens once in a while. im sure cs will replace it no problem. especially after seeing this video hehe. thanks fro sharing man. i was kind of looking forward to this knife, didnt even know they've finally released it...
Both my Kabar marine combat knife and my Ontario Marine combat kife can baton through wood with no apparent damage. I agree with the majority on this subject. Who knows what a knife will be called apon to do in the field...if the blade can't hack it, Now is the time to find out. TheLateBoyScout thanks for sharing this with us.
1. Cold steel specifically states that batoning is abuse and not covered under warranty.
2. You attempted to baton through a knot
3. Your batoning technique isn't that good. No offense, but it isn't. You twisted the knife to split the wood at 2:50 instead of pulling straight up.
4. BATONING IS NOT UTILITY WORK. Cold Steel doesn't market this knife as a survival knife. It failed doing something Cold Steel doesn't claim it can do.
@jekostas At 2:50 the log was already split, and I twisted the knife to help pry the 2 pieces apart - obviously didn't have to pry hard though. That was the easy, gentle part, compared to the rest, and you say it was bad technique?
1. I didn't know there was a book on batoning technique.
2. I didn't know you wrote it.
3. Where can I buy it? Sounds like a winner!
We'll see what CS says, but clearly people wanted to see if the knife could do this (read the comments). Now we know - it cant.
@jekostas It isn't use error, look at the edge when he holds it up to the camera, you can clearly see the grain has been blown in the austenization. This is a simple steel, there is nothing pinning the grains, they explode when they are over soaked and the toughness is reduced next to nothing. If the blade was properly hardened, and the edge is simply too thin then it can warp, but you would not see cracks of that nature.
@CliffStamp So this guy broke the knife doing something he's not supposed to be doing and it has to be manufacturer's error? Really? Cold Steel straight up states on their website "no knife or sword should be used as an axe, hatchet, screwdriver, or pry bar". Right under the warranty section, third paragraph, last sentence.
I guess personal responsibility is a silly idea from a bygone era.
@jekostas Cold Steel of course has the right to restrict use of their knives in any way they want and they have made it public for some time that they consider splitting of this type abusive. However that doesn't excuse a clear and obvious manufacturing defect clearly visible in the steel. Had the blade been properly hardened then it would not have shattered in the way that it did. That is why it broke, because the grain was blown - metallurgy 101, you can see it in the close up.
@jekostas 1) If CS says batoning is abuse, that's shame on them assuming any military marketing pusses out on batoning. 2) Batoning through a knot is not as demanding as you think, especially for a carbon steel knife with 3/16" thickness. 3) If you don't think batoning can be a test of utility work, you should go buy your straight razor blades and shove it. Calling it a leatherneck-sf and what we've seen in this video is a paradox. So... yeah. You're an idiot.
@donotstealmythunder Bushcraft is not "utility," a fact that you woods monkeys will never understand. Go ask a WWII Marine if he ever did this with his KA-BAR. He'll look at you like you're nuts.
@whenvaporsvanish You're not making any sense. Bushcraft knives such as Mora knives tend to be thinner, lighter and different in design. You also don't know the term "bushcraft" and how it applies to knives. A little research would help you a long way. And to top things off, metallurgy and knife designs have come a long way since 1945. I don't care what type the knife is. A fixed blade knife that's 3/16" thick sold at this price should not chip out like that.. especially from a log.
@whenvaporsvanish ,that's what they never understand.Many guys these days expect a knife to baton through thick logs .Thin edges to be rammed through hard knots...
I have seen all kind of blades chip or break.
I would stick to an axe for this kind of stuff.Right tool for the right job.
That is not to say that quite a few knives can stand this punishment .Doesn't mean it is the best choice to do it..
And the WWII marines.In my opinion these guys were using their brains in a common sense way
@555Nato Indeed. Yes you can use your knife to split logs, but should you? I think not. To cut some slithers off the side isn't a problem but this guy was asking way too much from this knife. Buy an axe next time.
@archibaldthesimple ,totally agreed.Splittin thick logs,and when their knives got stuck in it they keep on ramming on them to get them through.Doesnt take scientist to figure what the outcome will be.
"Remember any knife or sword can break or fail if subjected to sufficient abuse, so please do not use our knives and swords inappropriately and remember no knife or sword should be used as an axe, hatchet, screwdriver, or pry bar."
Go look it up, it's on the website. Third paragraph of the warranty page. Call me whatever you like, I didn't walk out and bust a $50 knife by trying to treat it like something it's not.
@jekostas Well that's bullshit! This is why I don't buy CS knives.
A CARBON STEEL knife that's properly treated should not chip like that. This just showcases how crappy CS's steel truly is and how they're still clueless about proper heat treat.
Dude WTF I just ordered this thing. Damn! I appreciate you showing us your findings. Please call Cold Steel and let me know so maybe they can RECALL and fix the problem maybe. Let us know. thanks man
I've seen sk5 take some good punishment...maybe this one had a bad heat treat...it can happen. Hopefully CS will replace the knife and you can give it a second test run?
In the video you note there is not much you can do when the edge turns, you can easily cold work that back into place with a hammer. Just go slow, a lot of light impacts. When the edge is out of line like that it causes the normal vertical loads to be shear instead and the knife will quickly fail if continued to be used when so deformed.
@CliffStamp What I meant by that is, once it's been bent, the quality of the steel has changed, and it's near imposible to bring it back to the same structural integrity that it had when it was ground from the original stock. That said, you make a good point, and it may have lasted longer if bent back - but it never would have been as good as new.
@TheLateBoyScout Yes, that is true to remove the damage from the bending to the steel itself you would have to reharden the blade, that would cost you more than it would be to replace the knife.
Before totally canning it, I would wait and see how good the waranty replacement is going to be. It looks a lot like a manufacturing falt, any mass produced blade can fail. I have seen purpose designed "Survival Knives" fail that kind of test, It its not intended to be a "Survival Knife", Combat / Utility Knives are not intended to split fire wood, I know steel should always cut wood, but its an extreem end test for such a knife.
Thanks so much for showing this. I was about 2 minutes away from ordering this knife and am glad I didn't. Most Cold Steel knives I have are OK ( SRK , Master Hunter, etc.) but this looks like a total fail. It's seems like a heavy duty knife by the looks of it initially , but you've proven it to be a loser.
Thanks for the intel and saving my hard-earned cash.
Knives are funny, sometimes. Yes, steel should win against wood, but that doesn't mean hitting the wrong wood in the wrong spot at a bad angle won't take a nice chunk out of your knife. It's kind of hard to tell whether the knives that fail have weak spots in the them already, or it's just the particular circumstances at the time. If it is the latter, then batoning may work 95% of the time, but also maybe shouldn't be your go to wood splitting technique in a real survival situation with only one
@wcropp1 blade. How thin is the spine/edge on this knife? Nutnfancy took a couple nice chunks out of a Benchmade CSKII limbing a log in cold weather and blamed it on the blade's thinness. There's only so much torque an edge can take--notice it did not snap in half but at the thinnest portion of the blade. Hopefully Cold Steel replaces it, but this should serve as a reminder to would be woodsman and survivors--if you're going to use your knife really hard, make sure it's up to the task before
@wcropp1 you rely on it to save your life miles in the back country. Otherwise, an axe may be in order. Batoning success is far from guaranteed, despite the good success rates of many blades.
@wcropp1 Also, I forgot to ask, with this knife and others you have had fail, do you believe the knife itself was always the culprit? It makes one wonder if the wrong knot at the wrong angle would take a bite out of most blades, or if it is simply these knives that cannot handle knots. Have you successfully gone through a number of knots with your more proven woods blades? Do you think this is simply a weak design or a manufacturing problem with your specific knife?
@wcropp1 Thinner blades certainly cut better, but may not be up to the demanding use of splitting knots on a regular basis. I imagine the balance between cutting ability and toughness is a difficult one to strike. Do you notice thinner-edged blades failing more than the thicker ones? Wood splitting tools, after all, tend to be thicker than most knives and other cutting tools. "Real" Ka-Bars are not full flat ground and probably not as sharp, but if Cold Steel used the same blade thickness as
@wcropp1 Ka-Bar and gave it a full flat grind, I imagine it has a pretty thin edge and probably cuts great but may not be the toughest knife in the world.
@wcropp1 Sorry for rambling on and posting a million comments--I'm a bit of a knife geek if you can't tell and I keep thinking of more questions to ask ;-).
@wcropp1 I'm also pretty sure increasing blade thickness increases toughness exponentially (literally--don't remember exactly how much, but it's quite a bit), so a small increase or decrease in blade thickness can account for major differences in performance. The problem is, a thick cutting tool doesn't cut well, and a thin splitting tool is too delicate to split with. Hard to have one tool for everything. If you thicken a knife to split with, you may need a thinner one to cut with.
@wcropp1 I also wondered, have you had knives fail a test such as this and then, when (and if) they are replaced by the manufacturer, fail again or pass with flying colors? Testing like that probably gets expensive without a "no questions asked" warranty, but would answer the question of "design or manufacturing flaw?" I'll be interested to see how the replacement knife you hopefully get performs in future tests.
@CliffStamp That sounds right to me--couldn't remember the exact relationship but I knew a small increase in blade thickness made a significant difference at the edge. I've seen people beat on SK-5 and thin blades pretty hard without producing results like this, but then again I have no idea the hardness of the wood being split, if the knot was hit at the bend in the edge, etc. I wouldn't be too surprised to find out the heat treat on this blade wasn't done quite right.
@wcropp1 Stiffness is the main thing as if the stiffness fails then the edge starts to turn and once it starts it will let go because of the way it causes the forces to change. As it is cubic it means even a little makes a dramatic difference. An edge which is 0.035" thick may look similar to an edge which is 0.025" thick but that 50% increase in thickness means it is 150% stiffer so it takes that much more force to warp the edge.
@wcropp1 I agree. Thicker blades with more stock area must have more strength - just makes sense geometrically. FFG blades may slice better & be sharper, but they're also more delicate. I'll stick to non-FFG for future harder-use blades (I don't want any more blades breaking).
@TheLateBoyScout I would do that, or just buy thicker FFG blades. I'm assuming this knife is the same thickness as a Ka-Bar, which is about 3/16" thick if I remember correctly? A 1/4" blade may have come out unscathed. It's hard to say what will definitely work in all situations, or if this specific knife is a delicate design, or you just got a bad one. You would think a 3/16" FFG blade would handle such tasks, but thicker blades are always going to be stronger regardless. The only way to
@wcropp1 know for sure would be to test your replacement in a similar fashion, which you may or may not want to do for obvious reasons. Hopefully some other people will put the Leatherneck through its paces as well and you'll be able to figure out whether yours was the norm or the exception.
wow 1 more great blade from cold steel sweet looking usa made and at 52$ wat a steal that is one sweet blade (SARCASM) if you want a great US made knife look at the ontario sp42 ist made of 5160 great steel and at 60$ more or less you get way more value and if you want even more value loot at condor tool and knives you can get a 8 in knive for 30$
ps: knowing what you know now would you buy this knife again ???
Looks like it hit the outside of the knot and bent it, then the bend got caught in the knot grain and was pulled off to the side as the rest of the blade went straight down. Knots can do horrible things to metal. I've seen them pull the chain off a chainsaw and defeat everything but 10lb mauls. Cold steel hates to see videos of their stuff breaking on youtube, though. Maybe you can talk them into a trade for a recon scout factory 2nd or something.
wow that knife is junk the GI tanto they make is 10x the knife
captainamer71 2 days ago
maybe you should've use some WD-40 as recommended by nutnfancy... haha im just kidding man. thanks for sharing this video
tomtom671 2 days ago
Americans trying to batton with a small $50 knife... makes me laugh every time I see it on youtube lol...
bluehoarse 6 days ago
Poor metallurgy. The grain structure in the broken area looks as big as grains of sand. Terrible heat treat.
ArtistBlade1972 1 week ago
Cold Steel is high priced crap! Buy ESEE or TOPS! thatchannelwithstuf you must just buy crap tools. Good quality knives will surpass this and more!
oliver6able 1 week ago
That's no good.
I would not call that abuse.
SpartanJohns 1 week ago
cold steel red neck is a better knife than this. i think you guys should check it out
Thieflyfe 2 weeks ago
The 1.4116 ThyssenKrupp is actually tougher than SK5. Better as a knife steel? I don't think so. The German steel ones haven't hit the market yet, so if you like the knife in carbon get it before they run out.
In any case, this is an obvious manufacturing defect since I didn't have this issue with my knife. Will people also please stop using a FIGHTING knife for bushcraft. There are plenty of tough woods knives for under 70 bucks... i.e. the BK2!
EuropeanOutdoorsman 2 weeks ago
Coldsteel? Fail? Yeah I'm not surprised.
MrSkater243 2 weeks ago
thats wat u use an AX or HATCHET 4
thatchannelwithstuf 2 weeks ago
no knife is meant to withstand being smashed by 2 logs fool
thatchannelwithstuf 2 weeks ago
this is a hunting knife 4 cutting meat which it is very good at. anything bigger and ur screwed
thatchannelwithstuf 2 weeks ago
fricking cold steel...haha they talk so much game but the most practical tasks cant be done. but hey! if im ever attacked by a man made of cardboard i know ill win.....tsk tsk
dabeastNWK 2 weeks ago
You posting this video caused me to want to test my Leatherneck, so I held my mine on a log(s) while a buddy of mine whacked it through some Walmart bought firewood. I'm not saying that is the end all tests but mine held up fine. Sorry yours broke. I am going to echo what a lot of people are saying here about CS decisions in steel to cut costs and maximize profit. SK-5 is better than 4116 I don't think anyone will disagree here, but whats even worse is CS "reasons" why they changed the design
ParaTech0 2 weeks ago
Looks like we all have ben boyscouts so we have oure swiss officer in spare to chop and split oure fuel wood. just kidding i use my knife like you did it has to survive a procedure like this.If you come on a knot its up to your skills to make it through.
TheOilrigger 3 weeks ago
Ka Bar > Cold Steel
Mk2 > Leatherneck
always go with the original
mikethenascarfan 4 weeks ago
I'm not a fan of SK-5 ,my RS6 ESK had SK-5 and it did the exact same thing while batoning lightly
CutleryNovice 1 month ago
What a worthless piece of shit! Cold Steel's ad copy for this knife says "German 4116 stainless steel". In other words "worthless shit". Anyone who knows anything about knife steel knows German stainless steel has no place outside the kitchen. Cold Steel has started getting greedy and putting out sub-par shit knives so Lynn Thompson can roll in money and go on hunting safaris. Have you seen their new 2012 stuff? Pure crap.
onetaothree 1 month ago
@onetaothree This was the SK-5 version which is no longer for sale from CS. They've updated the steel and grind.
TheLateBoyScout 1 month ago
@TheLateBoyScout why did they do that? it was perfect as it was in full flat grind and sk-5. what is this 440A crap now? ... I am glad I got a sk-5 one.
1987jkilla 1 month ago
@TheLateBoyScout WOW!!! That means they took something crappy and made it even crappier with shitty German steel!! CS is seeking out new ways to suck. I was formerly interested in getting their Kukri in SK-5, and now I'm not any more. I'll get the TOPS Power Eagle instead.
onetaothree 1 month ago
I would like to see "Cold steel knife" would withstand welding torch's intense heats because it supposed to be "THE survival knife" !!! ....I usually have to deal cutting metals in my survival situations where I surrounded by such intensive heats . See what's gonna happens...Failed!! LOL
maxinpains 1 month ago
@maxinpains Cold Steel knives are good for only one thing : cutting meat, whether alive or dead. Try to cut anything harder or tougher than meat and it's a fuckin' fail fest.
onetaothree 1 month ago
Top Story: "Father and Son died in the woods because a Cold-Steel Leatherneck knife failed". Sure glad this was just a test.
2ChillPillz 1 month ago
Bad tempered...there are some cold steel models that have similar problems (recon scout, trailmaster). my gurkha model has split dozens of logs this size with ease.
jurama25 1 month ago
Of course it's not going to work as a Utility or Survival knife, that's not what the design was inspired by. The Leatherneck is meant for tactical/combat use, it's pretty much Cold Steel's version of a Ka-bar.
skabush247 1 month ago
@skabush247 Try overpriced knock-off; The Ka-bar is only $50, this is around $100. And as far as I know, the Ka-bar preforms better, just my 2 cents on the matter.
noobslaya111 1 month ago
it takes a tough man to ignore that much talking =p i dont know how fathers do it
567WORMBOY123 1 month ago
KA-BAR RULES!!!
antonisgs 1 month ago
I'm going to be honest and say that your technique im sure is the reason it broke, your batoning with a tiny 1 inch diameter branch with that much strikes into a knotted piece of wood or not your doing to much work on it. Also i went camping for a weekend with this knife only and i was splitting wood, chopping trees down, limbs. You need to learn how to use a "Utility" Knife the proper way. Not trying to be rude but.....
-DevilDogRob (Former Marine) once a marine always a marine
devilrobrob 1 month ago
cold steel stinks,sucks...not good anymore
poljoprivreda 1 month ago
lol kid whittling at 0:57
extraetc1 1 month ago
I really don't think you use this knife properly mate...
amanitebg 1 month ago
It is a knife not a Axe
BuddWX 2 months ago
As a woodworker i can tell you that knots can be hard as hell.The way the knife was being pounded,its no wonder it failed.
just1terry 2 months ago
You should send your video to Cold Steel so they can make it stronger
extreme65anime 2 months ago
@extreme65anime oh cold steel has seen the video check out the late boy scouts update on this knife I don't think I'll be buying anymore coldsteel fixed blades.
by the way nice name "big anime fan" lol
dreamofher665 2 months ago
I use an ax to chop my wood..that usually works better than knife designed for combat...stabbing, cutting flesh and slitting wind pipes....Just sayin...
MikeDiesel67 2 months ago
That is just SHAMEFUL, I love Cold Steel and have put my knives thru their paces (just as bad as your test) and my little voyager medium folder did way better than this weakling. But with a name like "Leather Neck" it was bound to be weak, now if it were named the "Dog Face" now there is a name that says tough!!
DreamSeekerOne 2 months ago
I thought this knife was more to be used as a fighter. The write up on it does say "utility" as well, but I don't think they had logs that size in mind when they said that. It looked like a pretty mean stump. I'm not convinced it's a piece of crap yet. Well...yours is lol, but I mean the knife in general. I've never seen a knife make it through a knot like that. Was always an axe
thedefinitive 2 months ago
Send it back to CS you probably got a lemon. It happens to Esee's, Ka-bar's, Tops (watch Equip 2 Endure's vid on the firestrike) and Cold Steels. It's a man made product. We are the variable. CS has the best customer service I have ever delt with. Good luck....
badjujuR6 2 months ago
Dude its a knife. That was a huge log for a 6 inch knife. The invented a thing called an axe 14000 years ago its worked pretty well.
impygmalion 2 months ago
EEEEKKK WHAT THE FUCK THATS A FIGHTER!
solidussnake9000 2 months ago
That is some poor heat treating.
ptzerbe 2 months ago
well that sucks!
100% honest vid showing what happened, including you continued to split with the edge already bent. That's actually a good sign imho, bending instead of chipping. All Full flat ground blades could be inadequate splitting logs.
Pounding trough a log with one part of the edge pointing in another direction; show me the knife that can!. The strain within the steel will be massive& increasing, as does the wrong angle. Could have happened to ka-bars too, but they have a lower grind.
SHRINKBEADS101 2 months ago
The first one that I purchased, in early October, had very rough steel. There were thousands of tiny pockmarks on the blade, below the coating (I removed the coating). The second one I ordered on November 18th. The steel looks much better on the newer one. The blade is smooth everywhere, under the teflon. I can't speak to the heat treatment, because I bought them as self defense knives and (thankfully) have yet to use them in that capacity.
whitethronebooks 2 months ago
Oops not
MrRampro 2 months ago
Well now cool
MrRampro 2 months ago
Hi, did you ever solve your leather neck knife issue?
DrWrongPaul 2 months ago
@DrWrongPaul Just finished shooting a video on that. Will post an update vid as soon as I get it edited down.
TheLateBoyScout 2 months ago
@TheLateBoyScout I can hardly wait to see what happened!
steeltrident 2 months ago
My problem is the opposite, the knife batons and dulls faster than shit
And it makes a ringing noise when chopping.
sandythebear 2 months ago
In a true survival situation where your knife may be your only tool, who in their right mind is going to baton wood with it? Also anyone with a fair amount of common scenes would know better than to baton a piece of clearly well seasoned hard wood that is full of knots. There is nothing on this planet that is indestructible and Cold Steel never made the claim that this knife is, try using more common sense and brain power .
NewSurvivalSkills 2 months ago 6
stupid... my knifes been threw much worse and guess what its perfect
vanquish1414 3 months ago
what Coldsteel say to you and do the replace new one or refund ?
Jackyrick99 3 months ago
@Jackyrick99 They've had my broken knife for about five weeks now, and I have no idea when I'll get it back, or whether it will be fixed.
TheLateBoyScout 3 months ago
3.19 make me laugh....dont expect Coldsteel fail also..i need to review and go other brand.
Jackyrick99 3 months ago
What kind of wood were you going through ?
rdcd20 3 months ago
@rdcd20 Not sure. Cord wood from a grocery store.
TheLateBoyScout 3 months ago
@rdcd20 the "firewood" from the grocery store would probably be spruce pine or fir. The fire wood is super dry and hard but hell now i don't want the knife anymore. beer money whooo hoo!
ninjastick419 4 weeks ago
i still like my ka-bar better, my friend has this knife, and i have my kabar,
carlyle0229 3 months ago
I oiled the edge before i batoned and it did a very marvelous job
It seems like as steel gets dried out it becomes more brittle and easier to chip, keep your woods blades well oiled
sandythebear 3 months ago
i am sure it is a great knife...as with anything in production line made u get some or few bad knives just how it is...they try to keep the quality up as high as possiable but at the price they sell it for u can get a knife with improper heat treatment or hairline crack ..i work in production sooo hate to say but it happens!!
tacticalgreyghost 3 months ago
thanks for the vid - you saved me 55 dollars - i hope they refund your money
cassanoa 3 months ago
I am no fan of batoning in general. It is why I use/carry an axe when camping. That being said, this knife should not have failed the way it did after a bit of such use.
I was interested in picking one up, but after this video, I will pass and get a genuine Ka-Bar.
Thank you for posting this video, LateBoyScout.
wnyvideo 3 months ago
They market this more towards military. Would i take this into the sandbox. LOL not now!
RENOGUY777 3 months ago
jekostas speaks the truth.
vuduegg 3 months ago
There is a basic flaw in all "tests" like this. In what kind of survival situation do you envision being supplied with cord wood? I mean, if you had the same type of failure from batoning through a standing tree limb a little bit thicker than a broomstick, I could see the criticism. But this? I know that people will say this doesn't make any difference but it does to me, it's just a "test" in search of some type of adventure where I get supplied with cord wood for fire wood? The test is a fail.
TheDBR2 3 months ago 2
@TheDBR2 Here's the situation where I (and lots of other guys) envision it: Winter time, or wet weather. Folding saw in my pack which I'm using to cut down and section off a small tree (because everything on the ground is wet or rotted). Now I have to turn that in to kindling, and the only other tool I brought is a large survival knife. Now I must baton those logs with my knife to split them into kindling and fuel wood I can use. Make more sense now?
TheLateBoyScout 3 months ago 8
@TheDBR2 Good point. A lot of the expectations many guys have of cutting thru seasoned wood with a sub-7" knife are unrealistic. Get a saw or a axe i you really want to process hard wood. In a survival situation with a regular knife all you'll need to cut is green saplings at most.
OmteZero 1 month ago
so pretty much this is telling me not to get i was gonna give to my oldest son for christmas
demetwiadd 3 months ago
what?
ripper269 3 months ago
If you want a Cold Steek knife that can withstand the stress and abuse of battoning through wood, the better choice would be the Recon Scout, the Ghurka Kukri, or the Trail Master Bowie.
sierra190MK 3 months ago
I got the coldsteel leatherneck and i chopped up a bunch of would with it just to see how the edge would hold up. to my surprise it held up great. i gave that knife a damn good beating. but i will never do it again. it is not meant for chopping wood or for outdoor use. it is a combat knife, which is why it stays on my hip every where that i go. I would NEVER use this knife for batoning through wood, that is just common sense. I got it for $57 on budk. one hell of a deal i'd say
icallgreens 3 months ago
Have you heard any thing back from Cold Steel on this yet?
steeltrident 3 months ago
@steeltrident Nope. They've had it for probably 3 weeks now, and I haven't heard a peep from them. I'll post an update vid, and annotate this one when I do hear back.
TheLateBoyScout 3 months ago
@TheLateBoyScout The grain size is obviously blown during heat treatment, the blade is flawed, there is no way Cold Steel can refuse a replacement as it a defect. It was either over soaked or the steel was not annealed and normalized properly after forming from the initial melt. You can actually see the grain in the edge, it is almost flaky. The grain size of a properly tempered steel should be in the microns (thousands of a mm).
CliffStamp 3 months ago
What the hell are you chopping though! I understand that it is classified as a fighting/utility knife but there are proper applications. If it was classified as a survival knife like the SRK that has a thicker blade with a beefier profile, it would perform the tasks in this video(w/ lubrication) with ease.
pcars 3 months ago
I just got one and I could tell just by the sound that it was not a very substantial blade. It had a twang to it every time I unsheathed it. However, it has a VERY sharp blade! Sliced right through some copy paper. I feel like this is a gimmick knife. It performs fantastic in every way the average consumer could put it through but put to the real test of busting through a log, it fails.
pcars 3 months ago
I think the fact that it has a secureX sheath speaks volumes to the quality of the knife. I would have paid $50 for a Cold Steel Kabar knockoff with a 3/16th inch of AUS8 and a cheap nylon sheath! Don't waste your time or money on this, if you want a knife for $50 bucks that will go through a log, get an Ontario Marine Raider!
pcars 3 months ago
I wanted to buy it just because i like its shape. Unfortunately Extrema Ratio Venom wont have friend for help. It survived much worse batoning without such breaking. Greetings from Poland :)
alkilowanie 3 months ago
Comment removed
alkilowanie 3 months ago
Jedan borbeni noz jedne ovako renomirane firme kao sto je CS je MORAO da prodje i ovako lagan test kao sto je ovaj . Ako je doziveo ovakvu katastrofu na testu koji je MORAO da prodje , kako bi se pokazao u ratnim uslovima gde bi zahtevi pred njim bili mnogo veci . Vojnik ima JEDAN noz koji bi trebao da posluzi za svaki vid namene . Nema veze ni njegova cena ni gde je pravljen , bitno je ko ga je potpisao . A potpisao ga je Cold Steel , ime koje treba da garantuje neko poverenje !
tkoratruck1 3 months ago
wow i was lookin forward to this knife...sux im goin to look at other knives to consider buying..sad i hav few coldsteel knives and they work great...i know wat they r talking about the knot as an abuse but its a test that should be considered to show how a knife can do on extreme use and for a FIRST OUTING TEST wow surprised...thin blades yah its still an excuse...maybe the use for that knive isn't for bushcrafting...stick wit k-bar lol or other larger CS knives like trailmaster....
truepnoinapstah 3 months ago
one thing about the sf is that after steeling it and stropping it; the edge is wicked sharp and i'd say too thin. i mean knives should be razor sharp, but the sf i think was profiled a little thin, it is sharper than my zdp-189 spyderco stretch when it came from the factory and while usually thats a good thing - for batoning its not. i still want to do some "bushcraft" with it though and i'm going to get a 10 or 20 dollar knife to put it in the throwdown batoning challenge. budk timberland
cheapmovies25 3 months ago
WOW! how can wood be stronger than steel?
AzaelEstudillo 4 months ago
That's too bad. I was looking forward to buying that knife. Still it might be that you just got a defect knife. In the list of recommended videos for this video you can find a video of the RTAK II failing, and my RTAK II is still going strong all though I have treated it really rough. So I will wait for some more tests before I decide if I'm going to buy it or not.
TimesNwRoman 4 months ago
Thanks for this video sir. I have about 80 knives in my collection 3 of which are Cold Steel, but none are fixed blades. I typically go with Ka-bar as far as fixed blades, survival etc.. but thanks for the information, very helpful.
TGS
TechGunsSportsLOVER 4 months ago
dude its a combat knife not a axe..... anyways i would recommend the K-BAR over the cold steal any day
MrTuber4000 4 months ago
@MrTuber4000 LOL...
TechGunsSportsLOVER 4 months ago
that is crap, I was going to buy one, but not now
z3160200 4 months ago
Aww man, now I am going to think twice about buying this knife. I originally thought this knife would bridge the gap between the marine Ka-bar and the cold steel recon scout. It could be some sort of anomaly in the metal, who knows? Nevertheless, that was a disappointment. It should have taken that kind of punishment. This is definitely a major fail. Thanks for saving me my money. I'll just stick to the recon scout for batoning.
Hawkgts 4 months ago
Nice kid
97MRcoolguy 4 months ago
It's somewhat hard use but a knife with that design should suck it up. Kitchen knife would fail but not a knife that thick. I can bet that it's just a defected knife
albi131 4 months ago
Lol try the knife thats modeled after, not a pos
fappometer14 4 months ago in playlist More videos from TheLateBoyScout
My Benchmade 950 Rift handled batoning better than that did
sasquatch4liffee 4 months ago
dude, kudos to you for keepin your cool like that! i probably would have flipped out and broke the rest of it against a rock. lol ...or i guess even a twig...
ljdavisson 4 months ago
also ffg busse, and other CS knives do really well. the bushman is only 2.5mm or their clip point machete is even thinner and it can baton wood. this is bullshit. i'll post a vid batoning some logs. if i see it bend on the edge like that i'll stop and just use it for cutting. But this should be a hard use knife: day hike camping blade. going through a few pieces of wood should be in its POU no doubt. for the money a budk 10 dollar timberland can fight with and should go through logs too no rust.
cheapmovies25 4 months ago 14
@cheapmovies25 That knot looks almost petrified. Good luck finding a knife, save maybe a Busse, that can baton through that thing. A full flat grind on a .188" blade is going to produce a thin edge. Such an edge is not ideal for this type of abuse. And "Utility," in USMC terms, means cutting, light prying, and opening boxes and rations. Utility is NOT synonymous with "Bushcraft."
whitethronebooks 3 months ago
Let's see you baton that BK-7 and Mtech through a knot like that. Do that, and I will accept your argument.
whitethronebooks 3 months ago
i bought this blade when it came out a few weeks ago. This sucks. it's sk-5 mar tempered like all their carbon knives: but i don't aggree with many on here that this knife isn't made for batoning. it's 3/16" thick an srk (same ") can baton all day long. same with the TM and RS, either the 1st batches didn't get HT well or a bad batch of steel. all other sk-5 can run through logs with no chips let alone this. look at the bushman DT. i have to repeat this and post a vid. next week i will post
cheapmovies25 4 months ago
Interesting review. I just orderd this knife, though it failed You. I guess I´ll se how it will preforme.
JackWorm75 4 months ago
well i am not getting that knife
staysharp84 4 months ago
I couldn't even watch the rest this shouldn't be used as a bushcraft knife and obviously cutting into a knot
Would have ruined alot worse of knives
BrianRoxUrSox 4 months ago
That wood looks very hard, and you struck the knot from bushcraft hell. A lot of knives would fail like that. The same steel is used in the Recon Scout. Just because a Porsche can't haul a tractor, it doesn't make the car a piece of junk. Use the knife for its intended purpose -- cutting, slicing, self defense, etc. -- and it should perform well.
whenvaporsvanish 4 months ago
Great to see you out with the son! Such great memories regardless of the FAIL.
n2wilderness 4 months ago
im speechless
DrWrongPaul 4 months ago
This is more of a combat/utility knife than a bushcraft knife.
whitethronebooks 4 months ago
This could simply be a faulty example. Remember, some recent KA-BARs have failed also.
whitethronebooks 4 months ago
the death wobble =]
chrishoyt161718 4 months ago
its unfortunate but it happens. we all have seen many different knives to fail from all different companies. bad heat treat/steel imperfections happens once in a while. im sure cs will replace it no problem. especially after seeing this video hehe. thanks fro sharing man. i was kind of looking forward to this knife, didnt even know they've finally released it...
gavkoo 4 months ago
Both my Kabar marine combat knife and my Ontario Marine combat kife can baton through wood with no apparent damage. I agree with the majority on this subject. Who knows what a knife will be called apon to do in the field...if the blade can't hack it, Now is the time to find out. TheLateBoyScout thanks for sharing this with us.
mackdaddy1911a1 4 months ago
You don't baton into a knot. That would have ruined a much thicker and stronger edge than this.
evilsquirrel56231 4 months ago
One word...Becker BK2. OK, 2 words, sorta.
kphifer1 4 months ago
1. Cold steel specifically states that batoning is abuse and not covered under warranty.
2. You attempted to baton through a knot
3. Your batoning technique isn't that good. No offense, but it isn't. You twisted the knife to split the wood at 2:50 instead of pulling straight up.
4. BATONING IS NOT UTILITY WORK. Cold Steel doesn't market this knife as a survival knife. It failed doing something Cold Steel doesn't claim it can do.
So... yeah. User error.
jekostas 4 months ago 12
@jekostas At 2:50 the log was already split, and I twisted the knife to help pry the 2 pieces apart - obviously didn't have to pry hard though. That was the easy, gentle part, compared to the rest, and you say it was bad technique?
1. I didn't know there was a book on batoning technique.
2. I didn't know you wrote it.
3. Where can I buy it? Sounds like a winner!
We'll see what CS says, but clearly people wanted to see if the knife could do this (read the comments). Now we know - it cant.
TheLateBoyScout 4 months ago
@jekostas It isn't use error, look at the edge when he holds it up to the camera, you can clearly see the grain has been blown in the austenization. This is a simple steel, there is nothing pinning the grains, they explode when they are over soaked and the toughness is reduced next to nothing. If the blade was properly hardened, and the edge is simply too thin then it can warp, but you would not see cracks of that nature.
CliffStamp 4 months ago
@CliffStamp So this guy broke the knife doing something he's not supposed to be doing and it has to be manufacturer's error? Really? Cold Steel straight up states on their website "no knife or sword should be used as an axe, hatchet, screwdriver, or pry bar". Right under the warranty section, third paragraph, last sentence.
I guess personal responsibility is a silly idea from a bygone era.
jekostas 4 months ago
@jekostas Cold Steel of course has the right to restrict use of their knives in any way they want and they have made it public for some time that they consider splitting of this type abusive. However that doesn't excuse a clear and obvious manufacturing defect clearly visible in the steel. Had the blade been properly hardened then it would not have shattered in the way that it did. That is why it broke, because the grain was blown - metallurgy 101, you can see it in the close up.
CliffStamp 4 months ago
@jekostas 100 percent truth!!!
LaumanJr 4 months ago
@jekostas 1) If CS says batoning is abuse, that's shame on them assuming any military marketing pusses out on batoning. 2) Batoning through a knot is not as demanding as you think, especially for a carbon steel knife with 3/16" thickness. 3) If you don't think batoning can be a test of utility work, you should go buy your straight razor blades and shove it. Calling it a leatherneck-sf and what we've seen in this video is a paradox. So... yeah. You're an idiot.
donotstealmythunder 4 months ago 2
@donotstealmythunder Bushcraft is not "utility," a fact that you woods monkeys will never understand. Go ask a WWII Marine if he ever did this with his KA-BAR. He'll look at you like you're nuts.
whenvaporsvanish 3 months ago
@whenvaporsvanish You're not making any sense. Bushcraft knives such as Mora knives tend to be thinner, lighter and different in design. You also don't know the term "bushcraft" and how it applies to knives. A little research would help you a long way. And to top things off, metallurgy and knife designs have come a long way since 1945. I don't care what type the knife is. A fixed blade knife that's 3/16" thick sold at this price should not chip out like that.. especially from a log.
donotstealmythunder 3 months ago
@whenvaporsvanish ,that's what they never understand.Many guys these days expect a knife to baton through thick logs .Thin edges to be rammed through hard knots...
I have seen all kind of blades chip or break.
I would stick to an axe for this kind of stuff.Right tool for the right job.
That is not to say that quite a few knives can stand this punishment .Doesn't mean it is the best choice to do it..
And the WWII marines.In my opinion these guys were using their brains in a common sense way
555Nato 2 months ago
@555Nato Indeed. Yes you can use your knife to split logs, but should you? I think not. To cut some slithers off the side isn't a problem but this guy was asking way too much from this knife. Buy an axe next time.
archibaldthesimple 2 months ago
@archibaldthesimple ,totally agreed.Splittin thick logs,and when their knives got stuck in it they keep on ramming on them to get them through.Doesnt take scientist to figure what the outcome will be.
Axes.Exactly.And they are pretty fun to use too.
555Nato 2 months ago
@jekostas Batoning an outdoor knife is abuse???? HAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHA
Two words: fuck CS!
KiloSierraAlpha 4 months ago
@KiloSierraAlpha Cold Steel's Warranty Info Page:
"Remember any knife or sword can break or fail if subjected to sufficient abuse, so please do not use our knives and swords inappropriately and remember no knife or sword should be used as an axe, hatchet, screwdriver, or pry bar."
Go look it up, it's on the website. Third paragraph of the warranty page. Call me whatever you like, I didn't walk out and bust a $50 knife by trying to treat it like something it's not.
jekostas 4 months ago
@jekostas Well that's bullshit! This is why I don't buy CS knives.
A CARBON STEEL knife that's properly treated should not chip like that. This just showcases how crappy CS's steel truly is and how they're still clueless about proper heat treat.
KiloSierraAlpha 4 months ago
@dany1441 Yea to bad his xray vision was unable to detect the knot.
gadawg36 4 months ago
Wow. My BK-7 looks like superman next to that piece. Thats dissapointing.
handyscot1 4 months ago
@handyscot1 Love my BK-7. It IS Superman!
TheLateBoyScout 4 months ago
Dude WTF I just ordered this thing. Damn! I appreciate you showing us your findings. Please call Cold Steel and let me know so maybe they can RECALL and fix the problem maybe. Let us know. thanks man
MrCleanerNash 4 months ago
@MrCleanerNash I think it's still a good knife for a lot of things, just nothing like this.
TheLateBoyScout 4 months ago
I've seen sk5 take some good punishment...maybe this one had a bad heat treat...it can happen. Hopefully CS will replace the knife and you can give it a second test run?
dtester 4 months ago
@dtester So have I. I doubt there will be a second such test, even if they do replace it.
TheLateBoyScout 4 months ago
In the video you note there is not much you can do when the edge turns, you can easily cold work that back into place with a hammer. Just go slow, a lot of light impacts. When the edge is out of line like that it causes the normal vertical loads to be shear instead and the knife will quickly fail if continued to be used when so deformed.
CliffStamp 4 months ago
@CliffStamp What I meant by that is, once it's been bent, the quality of the steel has changed, and it's near imposible to bring it back to the same structural integrity that it had when it was ground from the original stock. That said, you make a good point, and it may have lasted longer if bent back - but it never would have been as good as new.
TheLateBoyScout 4 months ago
@TheLateBoyScout Yes, that is true to remove the damage from the bending to the steel itself you would have to reharden the blade, that would cost you more than it would be to replace the knife.
CliffStamp 4 months ago
Before totally canning it, I would wait and see how good the waranty replacement is going to be. It looks a lot like a manufacturing falt, any mass produced blade can fail. I have seen purpose designed "Survival Knives" fail that kind of test, It its not intended to be a "Survival Knife", Combat / Utility Knives are not intended to split fire wood, I know steel should always cut wood, but its an extreem end test for such a knife.
Optionsaregood 4 months ago
Thanks so much for showing this. I was about 2 minutes away from ordering this knife and am glad I didn't. Most Cold Steel knives I have are OK ( SRK , Master Hunter, etc.) but this looks like a total fail. It's seems like a heavy duty knife by the looks of it initially , but you've proven it to be a loser.
Thanks for the intel and saving my hard-earned cash.
Pete ( way the heck up North)
ketodad 4 months ago
Knives are funny, sometimes. Yes, steel should win against wood, but that doesn't mean hitting the wrong wood in the wrong spot at a bad angle won't take a nice chunk out of your knife. It's kind of hard to tell whether the knives that fail have weak spots in the them already, or it's just the particular circumstances at the time. If it is the latter, then batoning may work 95% of the time, but also maybe shouldn't be your go to wood splitting technique in a real survival situation with only one
wcropp1 4 months ago
@wcropp1 blade. How thin is the spine/edge on this knife? Nutnfancy took a couple nice chunks out of a Benchmade CSKII limbing a log in cold weather and blamed it on the blade's thinness. There's only so much torque an edge can take--notice it did not snap in half but at the thinnest portion of the blade. Hopefully Cold Steel replaces it, but this should serve as a reminder to would be woodsman and survivors--if you're going to use your knife really hard, make sure it's up to the task before
wcropp1 4 months ago
@wcropp1 you rely on it to save your life miles in the back country. Otherwise, an axe may be in order. Batoning success is far from guaranteed, despite the good success rates of many blades.
wcropp1 4 months ago
Comment removed
wcropp1 4 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@wcropp1 Also, I forgot to ask, with this knife and others you have had fail, do you believe the knife itself was always the culprit? It makes one wonder if the wrong knot at the wrong angle would take a bite out of most blades, or if it is simply these knives that cannot handle knots. Have you successfully gone through a number of knots with your more proven woods blades? Do you think this is simply a weak design or a manufacturing problem with your specific knife?
wcropp1 4 months ago
@wcropp1 Thinner blades certainly cut better, but may not be up to the demanding use of splitting knots on a regular basis. I imagine the balance between cutting ability and toughness is a difficult one to strike. Do you notice thinner-edged blades failing more than the thicker ones? Wood splitting tools, after all, tend to be thicker than most knives and other cutting tools. "Real" Ka-Bars are not full flat ground and probably not as sharp, but if Cold Steel used the same blade thickness as
wcropp1 4 months ago
@wcropp1 Ka-Bar and gave it a full flat grind, I imagine it has a pretty thin edge and probably cuts great but may not be the toughest knife in the world.
wcropp1 4 months ago
@wcropp1 Sorry for rambling on and posting a million comments--I'm a bit of a knife geek if you can't tell and I keep thinking of more questions to ask ;-).
wcropp1 4 months ago
@wcropp1 I'm also pretty sure increasing blade thickness increases toughness exponentially (literally--don't remember exactly how much, but it's quite a bit), so a small increase or decrease in blade thickness can account for major differences in performance. The problem is, a thick cutting tool doesn't cut well, and a thin splitting tool is too delicate to split with. Hard to have one tool for everything. If you thicken a knife to split with, you may need a thinner one to cut with.
wcropp1 4 months ago
@wcropp1 I also wondered, have you had knives fail a test such as this and then, when (and if) they are replaced by the manufacturer, fail again or pass with flying colors? Testing like that probably gets expensive without a "no questions asked" warranty, but would answer the question of "design or manufacturing flaw?" I'll be interested to see how the replacement knife you hopefully get performs in future tests.
wcropp1 4 months ago
@wcropp1 If they replace it, I probably won't subject it to the same test - just don't see a need.
TheLateBoyScout 4 months ago
@wcropp1 Strength is quadratic in thickness, stiffness is cubic. The edge looks thin yes, but the grain looks extremely coarse.
CliffStamp 4 months ago
@CliffStamp That sounds right to me--couldn't remember the exact relationship but I knew a small increase in blade thickness made a significant difference at the edge. I've seen people beat on SK-5 and thin blades pretty hard without producing results like this, but then again I have no idea the hardness of the wood being split, if the knot was hit at the bend in the edge, etc. I wouldn't be too surprised to find out the heat treat on this blade wasn't done quite right.
wcropp1 4 months ago
@wcropp1 Stiffness is the main thing as if the stiffness fails then the edge starts to turn and once it starts it will let go because of the way it causes the forces to change. As it is cubic it means even a little makes a dramatic difference. An edge which is 0.035" thick may look similar to an edge which is 0.025" thick but that 50% increase in thickness means it is 150% stiffer so it takes that much more force to warp the edge.
CliffStamp 4 months ago
@wcropp1 I agree. Thicker blades with more stock area must have more strength - just makes sense geometrically. FFG blades may slice better & be sharper, but they're also more delicate. I'll stick to non-FFG for future harder-use blades (I don't want any more blades breaking).
TheLateBoyScout 4 months ago
@TheLateBoyScout I would do that, or just buy thicker FFG blades. I'm assuming this knife is the same thickness as a Ka-Bar, which is about 3/16" thick if I remember correctly? A 1/4" blade may have come out unscathed. It's hard to say what will definitely work in all situations, or if this specific knife is a delicate design, or you just got a bad one. You would think a 3/16" FFG blade would handle such tasks, but thicker blades are always going to be stronger regardless. The only way to
wcropp1 4 months ago
@wcropp1 know for sure would be to test your replacement in a similar fashion, which you may or may not want to do for obvious reasons. Hopefully some other people will put the Leatherneck through its paces as well and you'll be able to figure out whether yours was the norm or the exception.
wcropp1 4 months ago
@wcropp1 Good points
TheLateBoyScout 4 months ago
wow 1 more great blade from cold steel sweet looking usa made and at 52$ wat a steal that is one sweet blade (SARCASM) if you want a great US made knife look at the ontario sp42 ist made of 5160 great steel and at 60$ more or less you get way more value and if you want even more value loot at condor tool and knives you can get a 8 in knive for 30$
ps: knowing what you know now would you buy this knife again ???
patdud1979 4 months ago
@patdud1979 Knowing what I know now? Nope.
TheLateBoyScout 4 months ago
@patdud1979 Still a sweet knife, as long as you're gentle with it. :(
TheLateBoyScout 4 months ago
MANNN!! I just ordered this knife. Oh well...hopefully I won't need to chop any wood with knots. Thanks for the video's!!
TacMan223 4 months ago
@TacMan223 Let me know what you think of it as a chopper over all. It's a little too handle heavy for me - doesn't swing naturally.
TheLateBoyScout 4 months ago
I guess Leatherneck SF is too hard. A site says the rockwell hardness is 65! If it's true, may happen to this thin Sk-5...
senrigun 4 months ago
Looks like it hit the outside of the knot and bent it, then the bend got caught in the knot grain and was pulled off to the side as the rest of the blade went straight down. Knots can do horrible things to metal. I've seen them pull the chain off a chainsaw and defeat everything but 10lb mauls. Cold steel hates to see videos of their stuff breaking on youtube, though. Maybe you can talk them into a trade for a recon scout factory 2nd or something.
KaijuBill 4 months ago
@KaijuBill I think you nailed it on the head. Hard to tell what's going on inside the log as it's happening though.
TheLateBoyScout 4 months ago
@45education If I get a replacement. We'll see.