Customer Reviews

Recon Scout, Black Kraton Handle, Black Blade, Plain

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

 

 

I labored over a month as to which survival / tactical knife to get. I examined many knives. Having experience with many different types of steel and knives I decided to settle on the Cold Steel Recon Scout because I found out I did not have to drop 200-300 bills to get excellent performance. I really tried to steer away from Cold Steel because they are now made overseas and I HATE that. Cold Steel used to be American Made but like much of our manufacturing, they have outsourced to China and Taiwan.

Excellent design and balance

SK-5 (1080 eqiv.) High Carbon Steel. Cold Steel uses this to replace Carbon V with SK-5 that can't be obtained for the time being. SK-5 has turned out to be really tough stuff that sharpens well, holds an edge, not the best but very, very good.

This knife is 5/16" thick - great for battoning work and hammering

Sheath is VERY well made with excellent retention.

Handle: 5 star rating, excellent for shock, cold weather, wet grip and durability.

I could go on and on but check it out yourself. Excellent working reviews on Youtube. Look for icychap's and nutnfancy's video reviews on this knife. This would be my goto knife in a bug out survival situation. I keep a 3 day assault BOB (bug out bag) with me at all times and a much larger one at home and I am thinking about getting another one of these for the smaller pack.

Except for China made you can't go wrong if you are looking for an excellent survival / camp / tactical type knife.

2012 Update: I have used this knife for a solid year and a half. This knife is a real winner. I liked this knife so much I bought another and sent it to my son while he was in Iraq. I have also bought the Cold Steel SRK AUS-8 or VG-1 with the latter being the best steel. Both are sure winners. The SRK feels more natural in my hand than any so far. I have these knives attached inverted to US MOLLE II Load Carrying Vests that go right along with my bug out bags. The sheaths are excellent at retention and you will also be able to wrap a good bit of 550 paracord around the sheath if you like. For sheaths that don't fit just right, you can use a heat gun to modify it.

I also purchased a Kabar Bull Dozier just to try one out. It's made from AUS-8 steel and easy to sharpen and put a shave edge on it. AUS-8 holds an edge fairly well too. Just buy one of those Smith Diamond sharpeners with fine and medium sides and you can sharpen anything. There are a couple of variations of the knife out now - The BK7 & BK2 made from 1097 Cro-Van steel which is a good general purpose steel. So far I like the Bull Dozier.

For the intended purposes I have to give all three of these 4-5 star ratings. But if I could only have one of the three it would be the Recon Scout. That knife will dismember an attacker and chop your wood to cook him on...if you have to...
Get it!

I have a falkniven a1, bk7, rat , buck and few other knives. this one just fits perfectly on my backpack.. Perfect for carrying around.. has the capability to do wood work and is also a handy self defence tool. love the heft and the weight distribution. i would recommend this to everyone. i initially thought of a trailmaster, but the sheath is a big negative. I love this knife.

I bought the cold steel recon scout after looking at a few different full tang knives... I'm happy I picked this one. Sharp out of the box, a little shipping oil on the blade... the sheath is very nice and can be mounted many different ways including upside down because of the way it grabs the grip guard of the knife. I think it's a little heavy, but that's ok because it's never going to let me down. A very nice, strong, blade for all your needs.

I picked up the Recon Scout in Carbon V many moons ago. This thing takes an edge like no one's business! It's thick enough for batoning through 4" limbs if need be, and can be used for most purposes around a camp.

The Kraton handle will keep a grip with blood, water, and even grease on it.

Not sure about the new metal, but the design is pretty flawless.

had this thing for a couple months now, and am still just as impressed as the day i got it. Good quality knife with an exceptional case. very pleased.

I have been searching for the perfect camp/survival type knife for over 2 months. wanting something to start off the hiking season. This knife has done me well on multiple hiking,backpacking and camping trips this year.

First off, the edge holding capability is substantial strong. SK-5 is the Japanese equivalent of American 1080, as said on coldsteel.com. This steal is even used for Woodcutting saws.

Secondly, the weight is well balanced, which leaves a swift chopping ability. Also for tinder spliting I can usualy split a 3 inch log in one chop.

I also love the handle, Which worked great in my snow backpacking trip last weakend. I could hack a Dead dry 5 inch tree down in 5 min or so, (of coarse just going till i can pull it over).

The Secure-Ex® Sheath is great for hiking as i can tie is down to my hip belt on my backpack. the knife clicks into the sheath and won't fall out if turned upside down. Also the cross strap across the handle insures it will not fall out.

Love this knife. I have heard so many good thing about it.

Got the cold steel knife pretty fast. It was packed great and really sharp right out the box. So sharp it cut my hand like better lol. But for any one looking for a tac knife or a survival knife these will be money well spent.

Wow! I bought my R/S before cold steel relocated...but as long as yours comes from the Taiwan plan, ...ok.
Best all purpose blade I have ever owned!!! I have used it for everything, chopping, digging, pound camp stakes, and, Yup even nails at time...Tough as hell? That's an understatement...Ps..I also have it's big-brother the Trailmaster....
It doesn't get any better...Have you ever had anyone accept the Challenge??? I have 3 times...not even close...
Add 3 sales after that challenge.
i weigh 200 plus, and have duplicated the demo shown on the C/s page...slipping this knife and a T/M into a slotted wall and stood on them...no effect whats so ever!!!
I would like to see some Grivory handles for these bad boys!!! I have mine wrapped w/ Paracord...
Get one and never need another.
MSGT USMC (Ret)
ps...Nice shootin! ST6!!!!

This is a great knife. It gets four stars though because of the rough f&f. A knife this expensive should not a very uneven grind (on the false edge).

as advertised good heavy duty knife, havn't had a chance to try it out yet but I am sure it will handle the task.