Customer Reviews

Cold Steel Bushman Black SK-5 Steel Cordura Survival Sheath

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Title says it all: this is the best all-around knife I've ever seen. I have 400 dollar custom knives, hand forged, etc so I speak from experience of using high performance knives. This is all the knife you'll ever need for 90% of your outdoor applications and it even fulfills some unusual ones too.

This knife was made to use and the balance of price, materials, durability, size shape etc make it an everything knife; it's even a very sweet thrower. It comes out of the box with an excellent edge that, if you are so inclined, can make razor sharp. I tend to keep field knives just under razor sharp as I don't want to roll the edge under heavy use. Bought two of these knives and have beat the hell out of them, from heavy amounts of throwing with occasionally missing and hitting cinder blocks, to chopping, whittling this knife keeps bouncing back. The steel is extremely tough and the temper making it springy so the knife doesn't break; at worst the edge will roll and even when the edge around the tip suffered serious damage getting slammed into a cinder block numerous times, it took ten minutes with a bastard file to re-shape and then re-sharpen it. 5 min more with my ceramic stone and it was razor sharp again. The fact that it is a one piece knife (thus very strong AND chef grade), can be mounted on a spear pole, has excellent belly, good weight for chopping, can store goodies in the handle as well as in the sheath, can take 100s of throws and is razor sharp, makes this knife the last word as a survival knife.

For those with such an inclination: it stabs well too. I tested it against wood and my hand didnt slip onto the blade, but you DO have to really grip it. One hint if u might have to stab with it: get some thick leather cord or paracord, thread it thru the hole and make a very short layard, just wide enough for your pinky and ring finger to slip thru and i guarantee u won't slip on the blade after a heavy thrust into a tough object. It isn't a combat knife so if that is what you are looking for head to Ka-bar land and find a knife there.

BTW: usue ballistol. Seems to lock in well with the finish on this knife and ballistol goes with the "do everything" attitude this knife has. Look ballistol up if you don't know what I am talking about: the stuff literally has dozens of uses as well as being an excellent oil for knives.

The sheath is good. Nice little pocket for mini flint and steel, a small Swiss army knife, mini flashlight, a mini lighter and small sharpening stone. I would say if Cold Steel came up with a bomb-proof rock-solid leather sheath WITH a small pouch like the nylon version of the sheath, this would be the perfect knife/sheath combo.

Get this knife: best deal in the knife world. trust me. The only other knives that rival it in price and quality for what you are paying are the Mora knives and that is saying something for those in the know.

I bought this model as well as the Bowie model, and I only have good things to say about this one. The sheath confused me a bit because when they said it came with a sheath, every knife I have ever bought or had, only the blade fit in the sheath(s). This knife is not that way. The knife is about 10-12 inches long and all but the last 2-3 inches of the handle need to be jammed in the sheath. Aside from the sheath confusion, the knife itself is excellent for the rough stuff. It appears to be made of a solid piece of steel, which is just a big plus in my book. The blade was so sharp out of the box, I cut 4 belts up with it and it hasn't really dulled the thing. I would recommend this knife for anyone who likes a multiple function knife. If properly sharpened (little real effort there), this knife could probably fillet a fish (the edge is more steep and angled than many knives I own, but retains the edge sharpness so much longer). The knife could also serve as a camp knife as it's very durable.

Edit: I had to buy this knife all over again! While I was away at college, my parents sold some of my knife collection (along with some other things to clear out some stuff) and so far, this is the first knife I just HAD to replace! This knife was so useful that once I was able to start collecting again, I just had to have it again. Other than a small couple of rust spots easily cleaned off the blade edge, the other Bushman had survived magnificently before it was sold. I'd taken it camping several times, even used it as a throwing knife in a small competition and it never got jacked up. I was the envy of our group because of this knife and I caused no less than 4 different friends to go buy this knife because of our trip together. Now I keep this Bushman in my car emergency kit because it's just so damn useful.

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Coldsteel generally hardens their blades to 59RC so that they'll hold and edge better than the 56RC-58RC in your average kitchen knife. This is one exception. In order to make the blade tough (able to withstand abuse) they've only gone for a low hardness (down in the 54-55RC range according to some posts on the net) which doesn't hold an edge well, but keeps the blade from breaking when used for throwing or as a spear head. It also makes the blade easy to put and edge back on.

I have used my bushman both as a thrower and a spear head. As a spear head on a wax wood staff, penetration is scary, and removing the spear from the target requires some leverage and effort. As a thrower, the bushman is second to none. It's long length makes it tumble very slowly, and the balance is excellent.

I finally managed to break the tip off of mine after years of extreme abuse. As a result, I've purchased two new ones. Both the standard bushman, and the bowie style. I may put and edge on the bowie where the false edge is, to make it a more versatile spear head.

Quality for the price. If you want a premium combat knife, go spend ten times more on something else. This is a well built inexpensive industrial blade that can be adapted to a spear. There is even a hole for placing a set screw.

Probably, you won't need to hold off a bunch of zombies, but if you are making a zombie movie, this has sufficient verisimilitude to pass for a good tool. (Remember to build a cross-guard to keep from overpenetrating.)

Seriously, this is more than good enough to put in the back of your jeep to make sure you have a knife when you need it. Wrapping the handle in climber's tape make sense.

The knife is sharp. But you have to keep it oiled. I'd recommend it. Also, it has a hollow handle to form a spear. Great tool for the zombie virus outbreak...you know, when it occurs.

Another solid Cold Steel workhorse!

I have been a fan of Cold Steel for a long time now, and have just "never got around" to buying the Bushman! I have wanted to get one for a general all around "Camp" knife since seeing one at the "Outdoors Expo". Well now I have one in hand, and I am once again reminded why I love Cold Steel!

Simple, Strong, and Sharp!

this will definitely make a great all around knife for camping, and carrying on the trail!

five stars!! BH53

Excellent knife. Razor sharp. It's high carbon so you need to take extra care about not getting it wet. If it does get wet then you have to take extra steps to keep it from rusting. File/Sharpen and oil. The only downside is the handle feels like if you were vigorously cutting something it may slip and slice your hand pretty good. It's great quality so it will stay in the bag and if I need to cut off a fishes head or some other application it'll be the "weapon" of choice.

This knife is one of the best buys you can make for a great cheap knife. Cheap only in price I have beaten this knife to death on multiple camping trips. It is as tough as knives come, easy to sharpen and holds a great edge even when bat-toning through thick logs. The only complaint if any is the handle can be a little slick in cold and wet climates, but nothing a bit of bicycle inner tube and some paracord can't fix. Well that and the sheath stinks, but for the money you can't go wrong.

Bought this as a spear head. Mounted it on a six foot closet rod, held by a stainless steel screw. Used it to kill a snared pig. One shove impaled the pig through its chest, additional pressure sent it entirely through the pig. I use another belt knife (not Cold Steel)but this could easily make a good one with the addition of a cord grip.

I purchased the Cold Steel Bushman for a survival knife based on several reviews/demonstrations of it on You Tube. However, actually holding the knife in hand leaves me even more impressed than watching the videos. As a rural/backwoods fixed blade survival knife, I give the Bushman five out of five stars.

This is a knife that is big enough, sharp enough, rugged enough and versatile enough to tackle any outdoor survival use. If Tom Hanks' character had this knife on that deserted island, his life would have been so much easier.

The hallow-handled knife is actually forged from a single sheet of 2.5mm thick high carbon steel and is virtually indestructible. There are no seems or joints to wear out or break.

The overall length of the Bushman is just over 12 inches and the blade is seven inches long and quite sharp straight out of the box. It is a well balanced knife that can be used as a throwing knife (see some of the You Tube videos for a demonstration).

The hollow handle is designed to allow you to be able to either carry some survival items in the handle or to quickly convert the Bushman into a spear by inserting a limb or yard tool handle into it. You can "lock" the spear shaft in place by inserting a screw at the groove in the base of the handle. There is also a small hole near the top of the handle where a second screw can be inserted (or it can be used to affix a lanyard). Some of the You Tube videos demonstrate the conversion into and use of the Bushman as a spear.

The Cordura sheath is well-designed for this knife and has a fairly large external pocket that can be used to store a sharpener, fire starter and other small survival items. It has a simple loop to carry it on your belt.