Cold Steel GI Tanto Review - alongside ESEE 4, Izula, LHR, Recon Scout, Kabar USMC short.

Desktop review / impressions of the GI Tanto knife by Cold Steel

Overall length - 30.5 cm (12")
Blade length - 14.6 cm (5 3/4") [primary cutting edge - 11.5cm, Back clip - 6.5cm)
Blade thickness - 3.7 mm
Blade material - 1055 carbon steel
Weight - knife only: 330g / 12 oz (knife + sheath: ~400g / 14.4 oz)
Role - fighter/thrower (NOT a utility/wood splitter knife!)

I forgot to mention anything about the sheath (oops...) - ran out of time - I might have to do a part 2.

As a complete package, this is a high value knife - by this, I mean that it is a relatively decent blade for the money you pay. Good edge retention (not great), easy to sharpen (can get it scary sharp), splits wood adequately (NOT GREAT) at a cheap affordable price.

The sheath - cordura / nylon sheath with studs/closed-rivets. Does the job of holding the knife in. Not a very secure lock without the retention loop done up, and I really wish it could be made of kydex or plastic, ...but then again, what can you expect from a US$20 knife??? Like the knife, it does the job - not fantastically well, but enough. No holes to accommodate for Tek-loks or Molle-loks (if they made the studs out of hollow rivets, this might make it Molle-Lok compatible...). I.e., limited carry options.

The knife - this is a high value, good quality knife that's built for being thrashed around - as seen by Noss4's destruction tests. It was intended as a thrower, not a chopper or wood splitting knife. The tanto point does a good job of piercing / stabbing, but don't expect it to hold as it is relatively fine when you first get it (especially if you pierce thick metal sheeting...)

Summary:
A very high value knife, in that you get a good decent blade of high quality 1055 carbon steel. For only US$20!!!! CHEAP!!! Sure, it doesn't make a great wood splitter - that's not what this was intended to do. BUT it can and will go through wood (check out DEDMNKY's videos on YouTube), albeit with a bit of grease and elbow grease.
A very robust and cheap alternative for someone on a tight budget. Limited carry options weigh down the price advantage.7/10!!!

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Cold Steel
• GI
• Tanto
• gi tanto
• review
• ESEE 4
• Izula
• Gerber
• LHR
• Kabar
• short
• recon scout

[TacticalAngel86]

If I lived in Australia, I wouldn't be caught dead without a fixed blade and a lighter or fire steel.

[TacticalAngel86]

"That's a knife" Haha, I couldn't resist!

[MrHALOCOUST]

@TheSystemofthefreaks lol if you wanna slice tomates why u buyed a throwing knife based tanto blade?

[sierrabravo05]

@Luccian22 if you're still looking for a cheaper camp knife try the buck 119. I forget what steel they are but they are great knives for their price.

[TheSystemofthefreaks]

@AntebellumOg I shit u not it really was I think the reason for it is because the sharpness retention of the tanto has gotten dull while the walmart one is still new but still I'd like it if the blade sharpness stayed longer

[AirJordanNate]

Will this knife last me a long time in medium use?

[MrMapex2010]

fucking terrible knife

[lilmarzet]

My only disagreement is that the paracord wrap is better grip than that one

[AntebellumOg]

@TheSystemofthefreaks lol, there is no way the 4 dollar knife was shaper i'd rather take my chances putting a 4$ walmart knife to my kneck than this knife to my finger

[TheSystemofthefreaks]

I own this and wouldn't recommend it overall its not horrible however my tip did break from stabbing tests and I tested the sharpness with a new four dollar blade I got from walmart and the four dollar one was sharper. The biggest problem I have about this knife is that it is too thick the blade overall needs to be thinner in order to allow for a sharper more sustained cut