Customer Reviews

Cold Steel FGX Jungle Dart

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

 

 

I picked up three of these to play around with. I've enjoyed throwing knives in the past, and am not an expert, but here are my observations.

First off, remember that I won't be held liable for anything I say here if you hurt yourself playing with these. They are in fact intended to be used as weapons, and will very handily put out an eye or cause extreme bleeding. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. Now, on to the review:

Before attempting to throw these, I removed the metal rings to improve balance and air flow. This was not hard. I just took a pair of pliers to them and they came off quickly and easily.

First off, the bad. All of these 'faults' are in fact strengths of the tool, and make it more effective for the uses for which it was INTENDED. They just happen to make it less effective for having fun throwing them at things. The Jungle Dart's main fault when it comes to throwing is its weight. I highly doubt that throwing these outdoors work out, as they would fly off target in the slightest wind. The second fault is the grippiness of the rubberized handle, which makes it very difficult to execute a sliding throw, as would (I believe) normally be used for a straight shuriken. And finally, I think the 'one-sided' shape of these darts can cause them to not fly true. The blade is concave on one side, and forms a flat triangle on the other side, which seems to cause air to flow unevenly and can carry them slightly off target.

That said, my friend and I had a great hour or so tearing up a cardboard box with these, IN MY LIVING ROOM, and therein lies the benefit of something like the JD. No sane person would dare toss a real knife - or other pointy, metal object - around his living room. But the JD is light enough and 'soft' enough that we didn't cause any harm to any surrounding objects. We did take care to move my wife's coats away from the corner where the box was standing, but even after ricocheting off of my leather jacket a couple of times, it showed no damage (although I doubt that we nailed it with the tip). After an hour of throwing, all three of the darts had lost their pristine tip and one has a notch in the edge, but they are still plenty pointy (and strong) to easily pierce cardboard, and, by my assessment, skin, although I don't intend to fully test this.

As far as using this tool for its intended purpose (seriously injuring people), I have no doubts that it would prove most efficient. At the time of purchase, the edges and point are as sharp as you could expect a 'plastic' tool to be, and would be very efficient for raking, slashing or stabbing. The item is small and light, and would be fairly easy to carry around, but I would not put it in a pocket. If you put it in point down, the point will quickly wear a hole in the bottom of the pocket. If you put it in point up, expect to skewer your hand on it next time you absent-mindedly reach for your keys. For carrying, you'll want to either make a sheath or else use the metal ring to neck-carry it. Or, as Cold Steel advertises, tape it to some part of your body. Just please don't try to take it through airport security, otherwise I will mock you and call you an idiot. Oh, and you'll go to jail.

So all in all, I would say that the Jungle Dart is a good GROWN UP 'toy', or else a decent 'tool' with specific intended uses.

I got this as a replacement for the FGX Skean Dhu after the tip broke. I have a review of the Skean Dhu here on Amazon. The Jungle Dart is much better suited to what I was looking for, but it is still not exceptional.

I was looking for a letter opener, that could be put to other uses in an emergency, that could still be heavy duty enough to open cardboard boxes. The triangular cross section of the Jungle Dart certainly makes this a lot sturdier than the Sken Dhu. The edge does a great job of slicing, not ripping, open letters and other envelopes. While lacking the needle tip of the Skean Dhu, the tip of the Jungle Dart is sturdy enough to pierce almost anything that comes across your desk. It still will not pierce a credit card, but the tip does not deform.

I used the Jungle Dart to pierce cardboard boxes for opening without a problem. Reinforced packing tape did not slow the Dart down either. Very efficient for piercing, but don't twist the blade or try to side slice after piercing heavy cardboard. Just after taking the Jungle Dart out of its display bag, I used the Dart to pierce the cardboard tag that would normally allow the item to hang on a display rack. No problem going in, but when I tried to slice to enlarge the opening I made, the edge deformed and stayed warped. The deformation is not enough to interfere with the use of the Jungle Dart nor bad enough for me to try to return it, but the deformation is clearly visible.

A quick note on my original return to Cold Steel. The process was relatively simple. I called the toll free Cold Steel phone number and was given another telephone number to call for returns. It is not a toll free number, not a major problem for most people with cell phones, and got automated instruction on where to send my return. No RMA was required, but I included a brief cover letter with my Skean Dhu stating what I wanted. The day after my package was delivered to Cold Steel, I received an e-mail saying my package was on the way. That's it, no hassles, no lengthy battles with customer service reps, just simple customer satisfaction.

Overall, I am pleased with the Jungle Dart and feel it is fairly priced. If you allow function to follow form and do not try anything this item is not designed for, it will be a very unobtrusive emergency item on your desk that will serve you well in its primary function: opening mail and packages.

ITS PLASTIC. Non-Metallic (Grivory) Knives. Made from Grivory the latest in fiberglass reinforced plastic. UV and heat stabilized making them impervious to the elements.was very upset when i opened my order and fould a plastic jungle dart. when add states cold steel(Cold-Formed Steel (CFS) is the common term for products made by rolling or pressing thin gauges of sheet steel into goods.they got me with there special arrangement of specially placed words but they can live with this bad but true review. and they will never get me again EVER.

I bought this out of more curiosity then any specific need, but for the price it seemed like a fun item. It is made of grivory (plastic reinforced with fiberglass) with a handle that has kraton (basically feels like rubber). It is exceptionally light weight, less then an ounce, however despite the weight it feels well made. The design seems well thought out. I really can't think of a use for this except for stabbing something. The point is very sharp but the edges aren't blade sharp (not a butter knife but not far off). But if you use this as self protection I would fully expect that the blade portion would easily penetrate the length of the blade (a bit over 3 in). Despite other reviews, I cannot fathom using this as a throwing knife, and I don't think it would be useful as a box opener or such. I guess you could use it as a letter opener but the tip is triangular and thick and it doesn't seem designed for that (looks like it was designed to stab).

The only issues that I see are that the rubber like handle is a bit short (ie the rubber should cover a bit more of the dart for a better grip). I think you are supposed to put your thumb against the butt end of it however even using it like that the rubber grip is too short. The ring that comes with it (fits in the end of the dart) may be also used in the grip (wrap around thumb) but I just think it gets in the way and you would not want to hang it from a belt (it would just stab you when you sit down). Furthermore, there is no sheath and this thing is a bear to carry around without a sheath (basically it will stab through anything you carry it in).

If you could find a way to carry this without stabbing yourself it would be a great item to take camping (weights almost nothing but could be used for protection...obviously not big game but maybe a vicious racoon or such). Or put it in your car for personal protection (or you can hide it in your garage etc).

for <10 bucks its a cool item.

Very solid construction. Tip is very sharp and the contours of the dart make it excellant for piercing. The bottom has a rubber-like grip which gives you good traction. The only thing it dosnt have is some sort of sheath or cover for the tip.

This 8 inch long plastic tool could be a shiv (shivs are commonly made by prison inmates and can be made out of many types of materials). It's pointy but lacks a sharp edge. I can press my finger hard on the edge and run it down along with the edge without getting cut. There's no danger of cutting yourself although be careful about punctures as the point is sharp. I strongly doubt this tool can be thrown to any effect.

I got it on impulse because my blade type letter openers got dull. This was my first Cold Steel purchase, and it's amazing how easy it is to start collecting their merchandise. It works as a letter opener. You slide the long flat side inside the flap of a sealed envelope, and then keep sliding and you get a neat tear of the flap. It has three sides where one is longer than the others; don't know if the picture shows this clearly. Note you don't have to insert and then rip open the flap. The elegant way to open an envelope is just to pierce it into the end opening of the flap and then just run it through in a straight motion with a slight up bend of the wrist at the finish. This works just for envelopes, not other types of parcels.

As a short stabbing instrument, this would work. It doesn't look so harmful. But when you feel it in your hand, it's wicked. The most effective piercing weapons are 3-sided, like this one. You can say goodbye to defending yourself with a ruler, but Jungle Dart is not for play (just kidding about the ruler). You wouldn't want this in reach of small children because of the very pointy tip - please be careful about that.

This item serves a legitimate purchase as a letter opener. I think it would be ok to have this at work. You probably would not be violating company policy having it there, use your own judgement as you know your work environment. Naturally, when what you're using as a cool letter opener is called "Jungle Dart," people might think it's a weapon. For that reason, I wish Cold Steel had called it a "letter opener." It doesn't have anything written on it, thankfully.

I received the Cold Steel Jungle Dart today, a day earlier than the estimated delivery date. It came well packaged, with small air cushions for padding. The product itself is great. Despite being made of plastic, it is not a feather weight knife, though this is due to the great feeling handle. Also, having tried it on a few cardboard boxes that it came with, the Jungle Dart does what it was made to do, and that is penetrate. It's tip holds up well, except for the very end of the tip, less than a millimeter, came of. Other than that minuscule problem, it is a great knife, and works great as a package/letter opener.

I bought a few of these to get back into throwing. They're fun, but not something to go wow at. For those of you that didn't catch it, even though the title is misleading, these are not cold steel. I knew that going in, but found a few people didn't really read that part, so I got pretty much what I expected. That being said, I use these to practice a little throwing without the care of losing one. Don't expect to buy these and start being a movie star throwing knives at your attackers. You're only going to give them weapons to use on you. Have many other things I'd bet my life on first, but if this is the last thing you have, trust me, it can still do damage to some one when its firmly gripped in your hand.

this knife is intended for one thing and one thing only , as a weapon. it is not for throwing , opening packages or any of the other absurd things i have heard people using it for. with that being said, it is good for what its intended purpose is, as an emergency self defense weapon. be careful cause the tips are sharp but fragile so no stabbing cardboard boxes.

it cheap sucks super light weighs as much as a feather and design sucks they could have done a much better job