Customer Reviews

Cold Steel Bowie Blade Bushman, Black SK-5 Steel, Cordura Survival Shth

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I should preface this review by saying that I am not only a connoisseur of knives, but I am also a avid outdoorsman and heavy user of them as well. I use knives and I use them hard, none of them sit on a shelf or in a drawer collecting dust.

I bought the Bushman Bowie first because of its price, second, because I wanted to give Cold Steel a shot as a manufacturer. I was not disappointed in this blade.

The blade itself, at 7 inches long has a lot of utility. I have found the bowie design useful because it allows me to grip the back of the blade with ease for skinning and detailed carving. The point on the bowie is also aligned with the handle, making it better at sticking and penetrating; this makes a decent spear.

The blade is also thin, so don't think you are getting a true bowie knife when you buy this blade. Because of this, chopping is not it's strong point, but it will chop branches if need be. However, the thinness is a virtue, as it is lighter, slices better for food prep, and makes it more functional as a spear (a thick blade would not make a great spear). The metal is tempered softer than some knives; 54rc, but this has it's advantages. This steel is less likely to chip, instead, under the worst abuse the edge would simply roll or dent, which could be easily fixed with stone out of a creek. A chip on the other hand could be detrimental in a survival scenario.
This metal is also much easier to sharpen; another wilderness virtue.

The spear function is what I like most about this knife. Just chop down a small sapling, jam it in the hollow handle, and you have a functional hunting or defense weapon, and you can even use it to harvest fruits and nuts that may grow high in the treetops and normally inaccessible. If you need more chopping power, you can also jam a stick in the handle that is just long enough to extend your grip a few more inches (or more!). Then, you can grip the end of your new handle and have much greater leverage when swinging and chopping. Nifty!

The strength of this knife is superb. It is a one piece construction, with the handle part folded and welded into a tube. The weld line appears seamless; Cold Steel did an excellent job finishing it up. I have beaten my knife in ways that one would never need to in any normal circumstance just to test the strength. I've wacked the weld line with a hammer repeatedly, and not a dint, ding, or crack anywhere. This blade could survive an atomic blast.

Overall, this would make an excellent survival knife. Lightweight, sturdy, easy to sharpen, holds a great edge, can be a spear, can hold an emergency kit in the handle, anything else I'm missing here?! Good knife, get one, you won't be disappointed.

I recieved my C.S. Bowie Bushman a few weeks ago and had a positive initial impression: versatile design, good steel, sharp and good edge retention. I did have 2 minor complaints though. 1st was that it's smaller and thinner than I expected; not really a problem as I know that the SK-5 steel is tough- I just had immagined it having more heft, like a Ka-bar fighter perhaps. Anyway, I got over that and figure that the possible use as a spear makes up for a more solid hand-feel.

But the thing that bothered me more was that my blade had a slight 2 degree offset from the rolled handle- rather than being straight in-line with it. This I could not abide so I took it out to the garage and put it in the old vise figuring that I could easily bend it straighter in a minute or 2. They bend 'em in a vice in the demo video, right?

Anyway, I snapped it clean off right at the base of the blade. I contacted Cold Steel about returning it and they exchanged it no problem- I did have to pay S&H both ways though.

I like the new one just fine and take it camping and keep it in my bugout bag. It works well enough as a 7" fixed blade survival knife- like I said, good steel, good edge, & it can be thrown- although it's subject to knicks & dings if you miss (like any other blade- don't throw it if you don't want to risk hurting or losing it). It batons well enough and the spear option is pretty cool. It's not a chopper or a fighter at all but it's all you'd need as a survival knife. It even makes a pretty decent machete affixed to a 12" stick.

Bottom line, I'd reccommend it to a level- headed survivalist/ bushcrafter. Virtual Rambos will probably be disapointed. Oh, & if you get a bent one- return it to Amazon for exchange not to Cold Steel. You'll pay one less way S&H that way.


Update 07/11: I took a 1" ash dowel cut to 23" long, tapered the end to fit inside the rolled handle, and shaved down the sides to make the handle oblong in cross-section. Then I wrapped the new 2ft oblong handle with hockey tape to make a slip proof grip. I now have an excellent machete whenever I need it for bushwhacking, trail cleanup, etc. I'm able to make very strong power cuts with this set-up, easily slicing through up saplings & branches up to 3/4" thick and the blade, though thin is very tough and keeps it's edge well if you keep it out of the dirt & rocks. This machete rig comes in handy far more often than a spear for me but when I need one of those it'll be easy to make with any 3/4" broom or painter's extension handle.

Bottom line, Cold Steel makes great stuff. You get 3 tools for one price- Now how cool is that?

cold steel has some great products. this one is probably my favorite so far. the steel is softer so a metal file works great at actually making that painted bevel a functional part of the blade as it should be. mine is almost sharp enough to shave Rambo style. softer steel also makes the blade harder to break. apparently it will flex more under pressure. so what if softer steel doesn't hold an edge as long as a scalpel or whatever. really now, how many times do you think you will need to stab your next meal before it either runs off or dies?

a long wood shovel handle fits great in the end and has a nice screw hole to fix it in place.

if you haven't already gone to the cold steel website, go there now and check out the PDF on how badass a spear can be in the hands of somebody who knows what he is doing. disclaimer: no matter what you see some dumb ass on TV or in the movies doing, just take it easy and don't try anything stupid or you just might get hurt... duh. martial arts/hunting, etc. take a lifetime to master.

this is some serious ghetto whoop ass action though. now go sharpen up on your kung fu then go take down a woolly mammoth or something. now that you know the secret power of the spear, be sure to watch Michael Caine and the brits getting their asses handed to them by a bunch of spear chucking warriors in the historically accurate movie: Zulu.

enjoy :)

*oh yeah, it is balanced such that it can double as a throwing knife. sweet!

I made this my go-to blade for a couple trips before giving it to my friend, not because I didn't like it but because it was probably our last camp-out together ever and he needed a good knife, plus it's so cheap I could afford to give it away! I love this thing and I'm going to get another to replace the one I gave away. decent light chopper and it comes SHARP. I love the friction retention of the sheath. when I got my the pouch on the sheath was already torn but I was planning on cutting it off anyway. the material on the pouch is so thin I wouldn't trust it anyway but the sheath overall is great for the price.

The versatility of this blade is unbelievable.
Whether you use it as a knife, a spear, or a throwing knife, it holds its edge and packs a punch.
Takes practice to throw it at first, but once you get the hang of it its great.
Buy it.

Worth every penny, sharp as a razor, excellent high carbon steel, takes and holds and edge, utilitarian design, i have used this knife since coldsteel introduced it, wish they still made the mini bushman thou,

This knife is an amazing knife for the price. It came pretty sharp, but it's extremely easy to sharpen and holds its edge really well. I'm a bit paranoid about it rusting so I always store it with a light covering of WD-40 which seems to work. You honestly cannot find a better, more functional knife for the price.

I love this knife! I did a lot of research on line before I purchased it. It is made from one piece on high carbon steel. The handle is rolled into a tube and welded so it can have a stick inserted into it to make a spear or a shorter stick inserted to use it for a very effective machete. I prefer the Bowie blade over the original bushman blade because the point of the blade is lined up horizontally with the center of the stick when used as a spear Making it a more balanced spear than the original bushman. The handle has a hole to insert a screw or a nail to secure the stick to the knife (spear head). You can not find a better more versatile knife or survival tool for under $25.00. I carry mine in my hydration pack when ever I go hiking it is light and I forget it is there until I need it. I use a hardwood broom stick as a walking stick and this makes a perfect shaft for a spear if I need it. You can cut a wood plug or use a cork for a stopper in the end and use the hallow handle to store survival gear. purchase this knife you will not be disappointed. Lyman Wickham

I got this and immediately attached to an old broomstick I found in my basement. With almost no effort at all it can be thrown into a tree and it will stick in a good 4 to 5 inches. Its much harder to pull it out than put it in. I have seen other reviewers talk about geting a screw to attach it to sticks with. I havent done that but I can say that it is absolutely not needed for the attachment I have. The brunt force of the first time I threw it into a tree has pretty much made my spear permanent outside of using locking pliers to pull off the blade. One of my friends even totally missed the tree and sent the blade into a concrete wall :-(. However, besides removing some of the black from the tip the blade was barely damaged. This is a real quality blade I would recommend to anyone.

I love this knife, just got this cold steel bowie bushman and wow what a great knife. I use this knife as my backup but would use it as my primary knife in a heartbeat ( If I couldn't use my cold steel Kukri machete). The knife comes with a great edge on it and can be sharpened easily with a butchers steel and leather block, also this knife holds a great edge no mater what you are cutting. The knife is a little bit thin, but this helps it make really fine cuts. Like I said, I use this knife as a backup only because it is not the best chopper in the world, a Kukri style knife would be a little better for that. The sheath is not bad, the knife will make a small slice in the sheath from drawing and returning the knife to the sheath, but there is no major problem with this. The pouch on the side of the sheath is also nice for holding a sharpener or a lighter. In all this is a fantastic knife that I enjoy using every day, if you are looking for a gook knife you can't go wrong with this knife, although I would consider Cold Steel's Kukri Machete as a more primary bush knife. In the end a great knife that won't let you down.