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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Value For A Working Knife, Not A Showpiece, October 2, 2007
This is part of my first experience with Cold Steel products. Not wanting to drop major bucks before I became familiar with the company's quality, I selected a few items I could use but would not be hazardous to my budget if they were flops.
If this is an example, I need not worry, but lets get a few facts straight at the outset. The Kudu is a working knife, not a showpiece. Beauty is indeed in the eyes of the beholder, and I think there are a lot more elegant knives in the Cold Steel catalog, but this low-end offering can certainly stand proud among them.
The knife is sealed with a red band that says to read the instructions before using. Instructions for a knife? Has the CPSC invaded everything we do? No, the instructions refer to the locking mechanism. The ring lock design is unique, and while you don't have to be rocket scientist to figure it out, there are a few tricks that will make closing this knife a little easier the first time you encounter the locking mechanism. Don't fight it. Once you get used to it, the knife closes as naturally as any other lockback.
The lockback is very secure, but I would not suggest subjecting the Kudu to the torture tests shown in some of the Cold Steel videos. Flexing the blade against my hands, I can see some give in the handle, but not the locking mechanism. You are not going to do pull-ups with this blade, but that is not what this knife was intended for. I did simulate the Cold Steel cardboard slicing test by clamping an end from a cardboard packing crate in a vice and slicing across the grain. The knife went all the way across without a problem.
The blade on the Kudu is relatively sharp, right out of the box, but not as sharp as some others. My recently purchased Super Edge could shave my arm hairs, but the Kudu could not. I'm confident, though, that if I work the blade a little with a very fine stone, it will take the edge I'd like it to have. It's going to take a lot of work on my part, as this steel feels tough.
As I said, the blade is sharp from the factory. I found the edge better finished than the edge of my Buck Nobleman. What's more, this knife retains that edge. One of the first jobs I had for the Kudu was slicing up some old cardboard boxes left over from a previous move. After all the boxes were sliced up for the trash, the knife's edge was still there. I could see using this knife all day on a camping trip for various chores, washing it off at the end of the day and still have a blade sharp enough to slice up snacks for the evening. It is also large enough to do credible kitchen duty, if required. As I said, this is a working knife. Being made of the same type of stainless steel used for high-end kitchen knives, it also has a very nice finish.
The blade is where your money is well spent on this knife. The handle, while sturdy, feels light in my hand. It also feels secure and comfortable. While not designed as a tactical folder, the handle feels strong enough along the long axis that the unopened knife could be used as as defensive device, sort of like the Koga. The knife also carries well in a back pocket, but I may experiment with the locking ring and a carabineer to clip the Kudu to a belt loop.
If you really examine the knife overall, you will find some faults to it. As I mentioned above, I could see some give in the handle flexing the blade against the locking mechanism. The handle is made of reinforced Zytel, a very rugged durable plastic. While this ensures no weathering problems, there are no metal liners to reinforce the handle either. The locking mechanism, while secure enough for work situations, is simple and is limited by the handle strength.
After using this knife for a while, it is hard to remember how little I paid for it. I have no hesitation comparing this knife to others costing maybe six or seven times as much. I'd give it 9½ out of 10 for value, 9 out of 10 for the blade quality and an 8½ out of 10 overall. It is a working knife and it is an outstanding value for the price, but it won't
stand up in looks with a real high-end offering. It is money well spent and I have no hesitation recommending it to someone looking for a unique working knife, not a showpiece knife.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
This is a cheap knife, but it's a GREAT cheap knife, October 9, 2007
You look at this thing and you think "Man, this is a really cheap knife". I mean the handle is plastic, the blade looks too shiny to be real and what's with that ring thing anyway? Then you use it. Wow, that blade cuts nicely!
Now think: Cold Steel is known for some really great knives, but look at the price of some of those knives. I mean, come on, are you really going to use a knife you just spent some serious dead presidents on to cut up worms for fishing? I don't think so. But this knife? No hesitation for such mundane tasks. Slice up some pepperoni or cheese while sitting aound a campfire? No problem. I doubt the blade will slice through the bone on a leg of lamb, but it will probably do a nice job of carving the meat off that bone. What's more, it is up to serious jobs, like slicing through rope or cardboard, just as easliy as through the pepperoni.
Don't get me wrong, this knife is not going to chop through a 2x4 and turn it into kindling. That's the difference between the Kudu and, let's say, the Voyager series. The Kudu's lockback is secure, but it is not built to the same over engineered specifications as some other heftier designs.
My biggest complaint is the handle. It is compfortable to hold, but I wish it were stiffer. What you're buying with this knife is a great knife blade with a cheap handle. Isn't that what you buy a knife for, the buisness end, not the handle?
The Kudu is not going to compare to real high dollar knives, but if you take this for what it is, it is money well spent.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Knife is Tight, Price is Right, June 27, 2009
I was debating over whether to give Cold Steel's Kudu four stars or five stars. On an absolute scale, it's a three or four star knife, but when you factor in the price it's a whole different story.
BLADE: Krupp 4116 stainless steel...what does that mean, I really don't know, I'm not an expert on grades of steel. As folders go I'd say it's slightly on the large side - the blade is 4 & 1/4" long.It is, however, only 2mm thick, so it will flex. I don't torture test my knives, I just do what I need to do with them, but it seems like this steel is pretty tough - it can bend a considerable amount before breaking. The blade is reasonably sharp out of the box - enough to pass the paper slicing test, but not shaving sharp. As hardness goes I'd say it's in the middle range: it holds an edge well, but you won't break your back trying to sharpen it. You can definitely put a razor edge on this blade without too much trouble, but personally I like to keep a more practical utility edge on it. The rust resistance on this steel is excellent - mine's been regularly exposed to water, sweat, etc. and there's not a spot on it. Overall, not the highest quality steel but functional and more than adequate with good stain resistance.
LOCK: In a word, unconventional...at least as far as american folding knives go. Apparently in south africa this is a common, popular design. The opening mechanism is ratcheted, having 7 notches counting the open and closed positions. This seemed like a strange feature to me at first but it's actually quite advantageous in terms of how the lock functions. The stainless steel spring sits fully exposed on the back of the knife, and locks into an indentation on the lower spine of the blade. The top end of the spring has a ring attached to it. Once the knife is open, you pull on the ring to bend the spring back and pull it out of the groove on the back of the blade. Disengaging the lock requires a solid grip on the handle, and your fingers will be in the way of the closing blade. This is why the ratcheted positions are useful - you can disengage the lock, move the blade foreward one notch, then move your fingers out of harm's way and finish closing the blade. When opened, the lock is rock solid. There is no play in any direction, and it's not going anywhere until you decide to pull on that ring. This lock seems like an awkward designed when compared to fast action liner locks that can be easily popped open and closed with one hand, but it is very sturdy and cheap to make, allowing for a strong locking folder for a very low price.
HANDLE: The Kudu's handle is zytel, a handle material used on many knives, such as the CRKT M16-10KZ, one of my favorite folders. I love zytel handles, they're nearly impervious to the elements and can take a real beating. The Kudu's handle has a sort of wood grain texture to it (which provides a good grip when wet), and a stainless steel inlay in the rough shape of the knife's namesake - a type of antelope. My only gripe with the kudu's handle is that it's a bit skinny considering the size of the knife. To be fair, I have big hands, but to me it just seems to be lacking in width.
CLIP: When I review folding knives I always include section on the clip, but this knife doesn't have one. It makes sense - this isn't a quick-draw knife with a stud or flipper, so there's no need to have it clipped somewhere for fast access. When I carry mine it fits nicely in the change pocket on the front of my pants, or I hook the ring onto the carabiner clip on my belt that holds my keys. It would be nice if the knife had a clip, but I wouldn't fault it for lacking one because it's just not that type of knife.
On an absolute folding knife scale not accounting for price, the kudu is maybe a three star knife. However when you do take price into consideration it's a definite five. As a compromise I give it a four. It's an unusual but well designed knife and an incredible value.
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