Cold SteelOutdoorsman 6" VG-10 San Mai Razor-Sharp Straight Back Blade 5.125" Kray-Ex Handle Multi-Purpose Fixed Blade Knife w/Secure-Ex Sheath

I now own both the Outdoorsman Lite and the Outdoorsman in San Mai steel. I owned the Lite first, and I've always thought it to be a pretty decent knife having used it everyday and while camping, though obviously inferior in terms of material. But let me just say, you can honestly *feel* the difference between these two. There is more heft to the SM version, but just barely. You can easily see the difference in the quality of the craftsmanship with the naked eye - crisply defined machined edges, a darker hue to the steel, and a thicker blade overall. The curved-rectangular grip's shape is excellent ergonomically, and the slight increase in weight and the rubberized texture makes it feel even more secure in your hand.I'm not sure what everyone is talking about as far as the sheath is concerned. My blade fits snugly, locks into place with a silent *click* if pressed down into the sheath, and doesn't rattle. I have a feeling that people aren't pressing it in until it locks in position... There's a secondary button snap in case the tension retention fails, too, but I don't see that being an issue until you really break it in and have worn the interior of the sheath down. There's also a nice place for your thumb to press against the sheath when you grip the knife in order to help you free it more easily. It's not the prettiest sheath, sure, but it's not ugly, and it's easily mountable on any backpack, belt, etc. Who knows, maybe they've updated their sheath due to customer response OR maybe I just got lucky. Either way, I love the thing!

I've owned several Cold Steel Knives and this Cold Steel VG10 San Mai blade will be a knife for all your needs. Sharp out of the box, feels great in hand, dependable and made of quality material. For a mass produce knife, they make them very well. I've carried Cold Steel knife for more then 30 years. 18 years while in the Marine Corps. I recommend this knife and Cold Steel. The seller did an awesome job packaging it and getting it to me on time.

First “high quality” knife I have ever bought. I’m thrilled with this knife. It’s intimidating at first so just take your time and familiarize yourself with the bone/ chopper spine of the knife. I bought for skinning cows/ elk. Last year I used it for a cow, a bear, and a deer in a few week period and never had to sharpen it.(still learning how to sharpen knives didn’t want to ruin it) it’s still sharp but I know I need to sharpen it to cut paper again. Beautiful knife ! I trust this will be with me my entire life.

I like the composition of the blade material. Touch up with a sharpening steel made it nasty sharp. I had to slightly file down the two little knobs on either side on the top of the sheath. Now the knife pops into place and stays.

The knife is great. Flawless build quality, even grinds, and "sharp enough" right out of the box. I've been wanting this knife my whole life, it's my red rider bb gun, finally bought it. I have alot of knives from other makers, Spyderco, ESEE, ZT, Benchmade, SOG (Seal team), KABar, Condor, Cold Steel, Tops, Microtech, some customs, and a few lesser brands just cuz. This knife fits right where it should in terms of quality and construction.The sheath. This knife takes alot of heat from it's sheath. Yes it is a repurposed tanto sheath because it is built on the same blank and has the same build and handle as the tanto, which is apparently more popular. No it isn't as good as an ESEE sheath or any one of my custom sheaths. But, it holds the knife securely and is pretty easy to release the knife with thumb pressure. Wasn't at first, but got better and is still very secure. Downside is it needs a clip. But there are several styles available, like blade tech, for cheap. Is almost better than being stuck with the style you don't want. Lots of people say this knife rattles....and it does, when you're sitting Infront of the tv on the couch looking for shortcomings with the sheath... when you strap it to your belt or flyfishing sling pack and go off doing outdoorsman things, it doesn't make a sound. One day I may get another custom sheath made for this knife, or maybe I'll make my own, but for now, it works fine. Don't let the sheath stop you from owning the knife.

It's a Japanese styled hand blade. Feels good to handle. Welll balanced. Sharp don't be sloppy.

The San Mai blade was beautifully done on my example, seeing the VG10 center in the bone breaking edge as well was great.2 minutes with a diamond bit in my dremel tool, and the knife snapped tightly into the sheath...just took off enough of those 2 bumps to let the knife slip under them. Yes, them using the repurposed tanto sheath was a little cheap...but they could have at least had someone fit them correctly.We can gripe about the sheath ( EASY fix though ) , but this knife itself is a work of art...built like a tank...just an awesome knife !

This is a nice knife, no doubt about it. Well balanced, feels great in the hand, looks amazing. I don't know if it was just my bad luck to get one that maybe got looked over in the final sharpening and polishing process, but I would barely call it sharp, much less razor sharp. The knife failed to even accidentally pull a hair out of my arm when I tested it to see if it would shave. Fortunately, I enjoy sharpening knives, so I spent a couple of therapeutic hours working it over with my sharpening stones and strop and now it really is a razor-sharp knife.