Automated Transcript
My Cold Steel Fixed Blade Collection
The Knife Junkie Podcast (Episode 349)

00:00
Welcome to the Knife Junkie podcast, the place for blade lovers to learn about knives and hear from the makers, manufacturers and reviewers that make the knife world go round.
I'm Bob DeMarco, and coming up we're going to take a look at 2 kaisers and how they're expanding the lines of those knives.
We're going to take a look at a knife that, well, I've been wanting for 25 years, and then that knife inspires the topic.
And at long last I can get to my cold steel fixed blade knife collection.
Welcome to the Knife Junkie podcast.
Your weekly dose of knife news and information about knives and knife collecting.
Here's your host, Bob the knife junkie.

00:42
To Marco.
Welcome back to the show.
My favorite comment from this past week was from Hollywood tactical, good friend of Thursday night Knives and a man who is never afraid to voice unpopular opinions, he said.
Aside from Andrew Demco, I only see custom folder makers, titanium making, titanium frame locks in order to maximize profit.
Yesterday's technology at tomorrow's prices, production companies are making micarta button locks and crossbar locks for sub $100.
As for custom fixed blades, I can get a bark river that beats custom fixed blades all day.
And of course I have a I have issues with this, as many might, because we all have our own opinions.

01:25
But a I like that he is, you know, feels free to voice them without without getting, without getting shouted down by the mob.
A MB.
He does bring up an interesting point about the frame locks now.
It is a form.
It is a form like a rock'n'roll song.
And you know, if you like rock'n'roll and there are creative enough bands out there, you can keep writing rock songs for the rest of time, kind of like you can.
Keep making frame locks for the rest of time.

01:53
Now if they all start looking the same, that's an issue.
But it as a as a platform is just a fine thing.
That's all it is a platform like a movie or a song.
And as far as the fixed blade knives that I think that's painting with a really broad brush.
But he brings up a very interesting point.
In that bark, river knives are outstanding.
And you know, if you wanna, if you wanna go down that path, you can go much lower than that and say an inexpensive cold steel fixed blade can do you right, you know, for the rest of your life.

02:25
So it's all a matter of how much of a junk you are and how much you want to collect or what you want to have around you when you're cutting needs arise.
All right?
So let's do a pocket check.
So at this day, I decided to flex on my rights, my newfound rights to carry an automatic.
So today I had my inaugural legal, automatically legally purchased automatic knife with me.
Today.
This is the Manticore X from heretic, it's the big one that's a four inch blade, and it has very smooth actuations when I when I picked it up at the.

03:08
Erratic Booth I I had a Tonto version of this at the heretic booth at Blade Show.
I was very pleased to feel the action like you can.
You can tell there are ball bearings in there underneath this slide, so it has a certain sort of smoothness that my microtex lacked a little bit and that was the feeling I had.
Then again, when I use this next to a micro tech, there are certain things about the micro tech I like better.
So just two great.
Brands of knives coming from the same Italian American family, the Marchioness Marchionese.
And this is by son Sean Marchione.

03:49
This is his company heritage knives.
Anyway, just a beautiful recurve you know I love recurves.
And then you look at the 2 tone nature of the blade and it really accentuates the recurve nature.
Plus this blade reminds me of something you might see.
On a Walter brand fixed blade fighter, and I've always liked that shape, that drop point shape, but with a sort of hump on top and a nice red curve on the bottom.
Just wicked.
Use this for nothing other than showing off today.

04:19
Next up I had a you know with Jack Wolf Knives at really reinvigorating my slip joint love.
You know, I come in and out of different phases.
That's how I am with everything.
And Ben and Jack Wolf Knives just really thrust me back into a slip joint phase.
So I started looking, I've been, I've been carrying Jackal knives pretty much straight for 5 1/2 months.
And so I decided, you know, I have a lot of other nice slip joints, let's pull something out.
And I wanted something different so I went.

04:49
To this lion steals Gitano, Gitano I think it is, which means Gypsy, I think.
Beautiful Navajo style blade.
This is a gooty von Popples design, and if you're not familiar with him, you must.
Follow him on Instagram.
His custom knives are just amazing.
Booty bump, Popple, I believe he's, he's Dutch and his GUY and then Van Poppel as his last name.
But just amazing things, if you like knives that look like this, that look like traditional sort of Spanish Western European folding knives and he makes, you know, you got to follow him.

05:32
He makes these in, in Flipper a very, very ornate, some of them just really incredible.
Work on design work and Lion Steel knocked it out of the park with the with the execution of this, it has a really strong spring, great walk and talk.
This is a very reliable, I mean this is something you might even feel comfortable thrusting with.
And I'm not talking about knife fighting with this, but I just mean, you know, if you had to, you had to push that point into something.
It the point is in a good spot compared to the rest of the night is a little bit low slung and it's also held by a very strong spring.
And spine of this is crowned and the spine of the lock is crowned.
This is the.

06:19
Olive wood, I believe olive wood bearing very nice wood.
And this is one of those rare occasions where in choosing the knife I I chose wood over my Carta or or carbon fibre.
There are some knives that I just really have been digging the wood on and actually I'll jump right to my before I get to the fixed blade, I'll jump right to my.
Emotional support night today.
This also has wood.
This was not of my choosing.
That was sent to me by Finch knives and man, I'm.

06:50
I'm really grateful that I got the wood.
The wood one.
They have this in jig titanium and also in abalone.
Both beautiful, but to me, on this design, that cocobola wood is just.
Amazing.
This was here for emotional support.
It got a lot of flipping today, got no use.

07:10
The Gitano is the only one that got used today in work food prep type activities.
It's a classy knife to pull out around the work friends and and and and when you when you show a knife that is just, you know, undeniably beautiful, it it it draws people to it and they and they appreciate it more and it it's more of a door opener as opposed to a beautiful and.
A different sort of, you know, tactical way, like, say this night.
This is the.
DC tanto by hog teeth knives.
This is the one I had in my belt today.
Always feel very confident with this knife in hand.

07:47
Not only because this knife saved the day and not really, but it was a feather sticking experience and it did such a great job that I've used this now for utility.
Of course I got it as a self-defense knife because it has a proven record as being an effectful, effective one, but it also, and in my experience, has a very effective.
Uh, or or.
One of my friends say it has a proven past of being effective with utility stuff, even including carbon wood.
So love that knife that's 154 CM, as is the Finch knife this is.
What is this?
Nitro VI?

08:27
Think nylock or something.
A nylock.
And then this is M 390. So this is what I had on me today.
The heretic Manticore X, the Lion steals Gitano, the the hog tooth, EDC tanto and for emotional support, the BUF Buffalo tooth by Finch knives.
Tell me, what were you carrying today?
Let me know.
Always interested to find out what people have on them.

08:50
I got a classy, classy bunch of people out there watching and listening and so it's always fun to hear what you have.
Coming up on the Knife Junkie podcast, we're going to take a look at Kaiser expanding 2 lines and a new Lacey Zabbo from Tops.
I am so excited about that night, but before we get there, I just want to remind you that if you like what we do here and you want to support the show, you can do that on Patreon.
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Go check it out.
If you have the means and the inclination, it's greatly appreciated.

09:35
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You're listening to the Knife Junkie podcast and now here's the knife junkie with the knife life news.
I swear, without exaggeration, I want every single one of those knives that was just featured in that knives ship free.

10:21
Man, those are beautiful.
All of them.
All of them.
I I do like that in Kershaw, Slipjoint awesome looking at all right.
Speaking of great knives, I've I've been very into Kaiser, especially the vanguard line over this past year, and so there's some exciting news coming from them.
Two great lines they have one old tried and true and one brand new.
They are expanding, and the first one is the Uri Henryka.

10:52
He's a German, former German police officer, current knife maker knife.
Designer.
I first.
Learned about him through these spider coat Oliza, which is such a great night and I have that in my collection.
Anyway, he came out with one with Kaiser.
It was a frame lock, titanium frame lock and people went bonkers over it.
They loved it.

11:12
So it's now in the vanguard line and with 154CM and my card and now this is.
This is something I've been seeing seeing teased for a while and I thought it was for the taking for a while, but apparently this is now being.
Announced anyway.
So that's welcome.
The the T1 is a beautiful in its simplicity and utility drop point, drop point knife.
So it's cool to see it more available to a wider crowd like me.
Because I don't have the the real strong desire to have this knife in titanium.

11:48
But I'd certainly knowing and loving the vanguard line and thinking this looks like a great meetgeek would grab this knife for a for what it's going to cost or for what it costs in the vanguard line.
Next up is a. Goofily named Assassin, which came out in a 3 inch clipped drop point.
That's what I'm calling it.
Looks kind of like a clip point, but really it's kind of just a drop point because of that swedge it looks click point dish.
But anyway, the assassin.
Nice little button lock.
Respectable little 3 inch button lock.

12:21
Well they're blowing it up to the Excel, which is 3.4 inches, which to me is not XL.
That's just that's just right in the middle.
But for a knife that comes out as three inches, adding.
Almost 1/2 inch is a pretty dramatic increase in size.
I do like the look of this as a larger knife.
Better.
I think I will.

12:42
I would like this better as a large knife.
It's one of the excellent, excellent button lots that are coming out from.
Kaiser and.
That is exciting.
It's the name and the name really turns me off assassin, especially on the three inch EDC.
Why would you call a 3 inch EDC knife the assassin?
That's that's just.

13:03
It doesn't make any sense because that is the kind of knife you might have on you to work, to bring to work or just to have on you as an EDC.
And if something did happen and you've got in trouble with the law for whatever reason and you had that on you and it's an innocent little 3 inch knife that you use for EDC, but it's called the the assassin.
It's just doesn't look good guys, doesn't look good.
So making an assassin XL, it looks a little less good or a little more not good.
But that's just, that's just my opinion.
I think that naming things that are, you know, that can obviously be used to harm someone to to name them that is just a little on the nose and it and it's counterproductive for those of us who who just want our knife rights as broad as possible.
But I'm sure Kaiser is not so concerned about that.

13:57
So two exciting new line expansions.
Next up, this one is really exciting to me.
Like, like.
Viscerally so.
This knife.
I've talked about this a lot over the years.
This is the felony stop by Lacey Zabbo.

14:12
And he is a former.
Or I'm not sure if he's former, but law enforcement designs really cool, crazy tactical knives, and you should look them up and and do an image search on his knives there.
He's got some real doozies.
Real unique, real useful for, you know, fighting tactical purposes.
This is a great little knife and tops, tops future, this.
They're still making this knife great little double edged dagger, but with a pistol grip and a nice thumb swell you can use for trapping and reverse grip, which is pretty cool.
But he has a new one out and it's also with tops and it's called the Express and I'm head over heels over this knife and I keep kind of lurking, my favorites lurking at my favorite purveyors to see if it's out yet.

15:05
But it is the.
The express and it is a fighting knife.
Period.
That's that's the point.
You could use it for anything else or not anything else you could use for other stuff that you use in a knife for, but it is a dagger ground blade and I guess technically it's bayonet ground because they aren't exactly symmetrical but pretty much they are.
It also does appear to have a slight downward recurve.
I mean I mean very slight, but it comes with such a thinly ground swedge that they offer it in double edged or single edged depending on your.

15:38
Jurisdiction.
I'm not sure what the rules are in mind about double edged, to be frank.
I'm not sure if they ever got that specific.
So I'm going to, you know what I'm going to get.
Look at these against that, against that maroon background.
Quite beautiful, but I like the very simple arc handle setup.
He usually does some very committal sort of chilled and grooved handles, and this one is very restrained and I think extremely practical.

16:06
I like the size of it too.
It's a A5.
What is it?
5.4 inch blade.
So it's it's big, but not too big you don't like.
I think unless you're dueling with bowies before a tactical knife.
You don't want something too big, obviously, because you're going to want to be able to switch from forward grip to reverse grip and reverse grip with a big knife as weird and you know you.

16:32
Like you see it in movies, you see people with swords and reverse grip slashing.
It doesn't make any sense.
It's just to look cool.
So this is the perfect size, perfect shape and perfect option to have that thing double edged.
Very excited about this.
It's in 1095 steel with micarta handle scales.
They look a little bit more like the.

16:56
Wild pig hunter scales than they do the Rocky Mountain tread, I think.
I can't quite tell, but it's a it's a nice looking setup there.
You got that thumb ramp and you're going to want your thumb to to really dig into that thumb ramp because anywhere beyond that you're in a world of hurt.
Even if it's an unsharpened swedge you put your thumb on top of it.
It's thin enough, it's going to hurt.
So there it is.
It's the Lacey Zabbo tops collaboration we express in single edge or double choose your choose your your favorite.

17:29
All right, still to come on the junky podcast?
We're going to take a look at some new knives here in the collection and then my collection of cold steel fixed blades.
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17:58
And now that we're caught up with Nice life news, let's hear more of the knife junkie podcasts.
OK, so unless you've been living under a rock or in a cold, dark place, you've seen the new bennys clip.
And actually the new Denny's clip is, man, it's a tremendous, tremendous thing.
I'm going to show it to you right now.
This is the first Denny's first lanny's clip.
Style knife I've ever had in my collection and man, it's a. It's black canvas micarta you've got the blasted titanium handle scales or not handle scales.
I'm sorry.

18:34
Liners with the bolsters integrated in.
Meaning it's one solid piece on each side of titanium with a mild out spot for that.
My Carter to go.
You'll excuse me if I wipe this down a bunch of times because I can't stand the fingerprints.
But you will notice looking at this that this is the first Jack Wolf knives knife that is not a full height hollow grind and that is in keeping with the lannys clip style of clip layer of clip Point blade.
This one, like many traditional clip point blades, has a slight recurve built into it, and again I mean slight.
That aids in cutting performance on a pull cut, but also a through the life of that blade and through the sharpening of that.

19:22
Wait, you don't get the you know you.
You're able to maintain a decent belly.
You don't get it slimming out like a filet knife as quickly.
And so that belly down there towards the front.
And the whole shape of that blade is sort of meant for a long life.
And, uh, the swedge on top is just, you know, so pleasing to me.
And it adds to the, to the.

19:48
Penetration of that tip as a swedge does.
Nice nail neck on that side, M390 blade steel, outstanding walk and talk.
Of course, everything about this is pure Jack wolf knife.
It is the largest of the Jack Wolf Knives so far and I have to say it's the one I would feel most confident in doing the hardest work you would do with a slip joint.
They all are, you know, robustly built out of titanium and M 390, But this one with the size and I don't know the strength of the spring.
They all have real strong springs, but to me this one just feels like the one you can get the strongest grip on to do the hardest work with.
Now, granted, you're not going to want to do too hard.

20:36
You're not going to want to do work that's too hard for this.
And I it's not a hard use knife, but man, I love it.
And this is a this is all of these things are generational keepsakes.
You know?
This is something that will be on the short list when I kick the bucket or when I update the will to say these are ones you don't get rid of or if you do, make sure that you get the right right.
Praise for the right kind of collector getting this.
This is a real these are real heirloom type pieces, I think.

21:11
So anyway, this one came in this week with the with the requisite packaging and the artwork and the the wonderful leather pocket slip.
I think that's a very.
It's such a nice thing in each Jack wolf knife to get a pocket slip like that.
So before that I have, I had one or two that I would swap all the knives in and out of so they never imprinted a specific knife on that leather, which will happen over time.
And you know, that kind of thing excites me, alright?
I'm just going to put this in front of the mic so you can.
Here.

21:47
Great, great.
Walk and talk and as usual totally flush spring at the half stop and you've got those nice luxurious fluted.
Pollsters, too.
Too little details that that slip joint nerds love.
You know, I shouldn't say nerds, I should say aficionados.
Alright, so that's the bennys clip.
Speaking of clip, this week I got an addition.

22:13
I got an MXG gear short titanium clip for the Delica.
OK, so I've had this Delica.
Got this Delica few years ago.
It was a gift from Stu of Stone and Steel cutlery up in Vermont.
He sent sent it to me.
It had the black handles.
I love it, but I wanted to upgrade it, make it a little more special and luxurious.

22:33
So I got these titanium handle scales from Smoky Mountain knife works and put them on.
But I still had the big long black clip with the hole with the lanyard hole in it.
You know that standard Delica clip Delica Endura Spyderco clip.
And it was so long it came down to about here that whenever I grip a Delica, it always kind of, I don't know, I always feel it right, uh, here, a little high U in the hand.
And so I decided this is such a great night that's got such an awesome blade, great for utility, great for Peace of Mind and cool looking.
And a Warren clip.
And it's got these nice titanium handle scales that feel so good in hand and give it a nice weight.

23:15
I need to upgrade the pocket clip so I start carrying this thing legitimately.
I've had it a long time.
I I never carry it, so I got this and I've been carrying it a lot now.
I really like the clue.
I've always liked MXG gear clips.
Doesn't bother me that they have the Dome screws and they sit flat on top of the scales because they're very generous in this part, so you can always fit that over, even, like work pants and stuff.
So total upgrade to the this.

23:45
Serrated Warren Cliff Delica with titanium handle scales.
Thanks once again, Stu.
I will be carrying this now so much more.
This is definitely a great back pocket knife for me.
Or shorts.
I've been wearing this in the in the shorts.
This past weekend's been hot, so Yep, that's that.

24:04
And then last here I want to show you this.
Dirk Pinkerton asymmetrical from the asymmetrical line of beyond EDC.
This is his contact and this is a Dirk Pinkerton knife through and through.
Look at that.
Beautiful, beautiful, warm clip.
I was telling Jim that that tip, that one Cliff, the angle of that one Cliff tip is what I consider ideal.
It is perfect.

24:31
It's the perfect angle.
What is it?
Is it?
Whatever that is, no.
So it's close, though it's close to.
It's a it's a perfect angle for a Warren clip because you get that awesome tip use, you get the great utility of the Warren Cliff and pull cuts and and that kind of tip cut.
But also it's.

24:54
Got that angle to the tip to and and the angle of the blade is right down centerline so the point is right in the middle is what I'm getting at and so great for thrusting.
This would be an awesome knife to if you had to use.
If you had to fight with a really nice titanium frame lock, this would be an excellent one because of that blade shape.
I love Warren Cliffs, but they have to have a point when when a Warren Cliff starts veering into sheep's foot territory or or.
Or, uh, what's that one?
Yes, sheepsfoot, it's it's just it's too blunt at the tip.
Like, I like being able to use that tip for those utility chores.

25:34
But I also like knowing that if I have a very stout clamshell package or something, I can use the tip to get in, and that is the same angle you'll find on the worn cliffs made by hinderer knives.
The the angle on that front tip is very much the same, and I think that's why this is so appealing to me.
This is on loan from from Dirk.
I think I might offer to buy it.
I don't know if it's up for sale, but I I really like.
It's funny.
It came to me.

26:04
I think this has been in some other hands and it came to me.
It had three pieces of hair on it, three pieces of hair on it, like someone tested it on their arm and didn't clean it.
Kind of funny and it's very sharp, so I could see why someone would be tempted to test it in such a way.
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Alright, so today's topic cold steel fixed blade knives were actually was actually inspired by something that should be in the state of the collection.
But I'll just show it here and then we'll we'll back up to it this the acquisition of the taipan.
95 wanted for over 25 years or 25 years at least, I'll say finally, finally got off the fence and bought it, and now I feel like I can show my cold steel fixed blade collection.

26:58
I've been waiting for that one to join for years.
All right, but first.
We're going to start with the one that that started it all.
Not just the cold steel fixed blade collection, but.
The collection in general.
I got this, I think I was a junior in high school and that was in the late 80s.
And that is this the master tanto by cold steel.

27:20
This is the six inch blade.
The first knife that really that put cold steel on the map I think was the first knife they ever made, had it made in Japan says.
Tonto by cold steel Ventura, CA wasn't made there, it was made in Japan.
Well, typewriter letters there.
But yeah, it's got a nice machine satin on a deep hollow grind.
This this was the knife that started my love of hollow grinds.
This started a lot of things this night.

27:52
I when I got this knife, I was so intrigued with its samurai nature that that's when I started doing Aikido.
And that was the first martial art I ever did.
And I was kind of obsessed with the Catana and the samurai thing and the hakama skirt and and the way you look when you flip doing Aikido.
And so that's.
Started this knife.
Started a lot.
My love of knives.

28:14
I think it pretty much started me into martial arts and then Aikido led to other things.
But that was the start and this knife had a lot to do with it, I remember.
Getting this as a junior or senior in high school.
And I remember when I went off to, to school in New York State, I remember thinking like, well, at least I have this to bring with me if I need to protect myself.
Obviously I I didn't need it, thank God.
And I went to a, you know, liberal arts college.
It was not, you know, was not necessary.

28:44
But I remember thinking, like, leaving home for the first time and living somewhere else.
I was like, well, I have this and this is, this will be my constant, you know, companion.
That's the bed.
And you know what?
It's been my constant.
Mandy next to the bed.
Ever since, this is still in the drawer next to.

29:00
Next to where I sleep.
Along with some other stuff so tasty comments wouldn't.
Alright, Next up is in the Tonto family.
Now to me, cold steel really is the one, is the one.
Lynn Thompson is the one who brought the Tonto to our consciousness, even if it was a Tonto of his own.
Sort of creation and fastening the tip and giving you a secondary tip and making it more chisel like as opposed to more sweeping which the traditional panto.
Is more like.

29:32
Is the Coburn now the Coburn?
Uh, came out with another knife called the.
Something else.
Damn.
I can't remember what it is on the tip of my tongue, but it was this night, but larger.
So they came out with two at the same time.
This is the one that has survived and this is one of their most selling knives.

29:51
The Coburn, which means bodyguard.
The other one meant boss and I don't remember what.
It is.
Very very thin.
The handle is quite thin.
Great for concealed carry.
This is AUS 8A blade steel.

30:06
Nice deeply ground hollow grind.
There I I like the look of it too with the grind lines.
It's a very attractive looking blade, but a also very efficient slashing, cutting and piercing blade because you have that flat tip.
Again, a flat tip for for strength at the tip and in in penetration and then that deep hollow grind for deep slashes.
This knife.
I got one of these for my sister.
Years ago when there was a creep involved and a creep, you know, stalker type person and she had this next to her bed for awhile.

30:47
I don't know if she still does, but she told me, you know, I'm always very concerned about my sister's security and she's like, yes, I still have it, you know, so hopefully she does.
She's not spinning a yarn.
Very effective.
I I would feel very confident carrying this on me.
I honestly never have.
Except at home.
This is like a. Sweatpants or or workout shorts or pajama set up here with this, with this gentle on the fabric sort of in the waistband clip, it's very light, so it's very totable it's got the craton now, the craton is the rubberized material.

31:24
A lot of these cold steels that you're going to see have on the handles.
And I've had some crates on handles for well, like on the the first one I showed you for about 30 years now.
And they are not disintegrating or getting gummy or anything like that.
So they seem pretty stable.
Or like rubber type handles, but still they are grippy.
And that is the one thing about pairing this knife concealed that would concern me.
I might even wrap most of it in in tape if I if I were really concerned about it.

31:56
And I wanted to carry this because it's grippy and fabric like your shirt, and we'll see if I can simulate that with this microfiber cloth.
But your shirt might print on it, might grab on it and print unnecessarily.
You know what I mean?
Whereas a. More polished, say micarta handle would be more slippery and fabric would not grab on it, but I guess you know.
You do what you can, but a very great knife.
That's the cobun and a nice affordable.
Affordable, what we want to say and very utilitarian, but weapon Tonto.

32:38
If you're in the market and don't want to spend a lot of money, they can be had for about 40 bucks.
45 bucks.
All right.
Next up is a very old one.
This is the Culloden.
I got this in a store in Manhattan way back in the day when you could do something like that and.
It is based on the skin do the the sock knife that it's Scottish men have, except this one is lengthened and tactical lized with that cool spine file jimping and a what is this?

33:15
Think it's 5. Yeah, like a nearly five inch blade.
Very nice for concealed carry again.
So when you look at it like this, it has this outward Hanting which allows an easier draw, plus it if it's against your skin, it's a little bit easier on.
So on the the love handles if you will and I think you see because it the pommel just angles off ever so slightly.
Say you have this in the waistband and you're sitting down, it would be a little kinder.
On the love handles and and I gotta say that's a a feature I can see Lynn Thompson incorporating and I'm in no way dissing him.
I just think it's practical and it makes sense.

33:59
Most of us aren't in fighting shape all the time and just to give a little accommodation in the handle, just a little accommodation is nice, but also if it's in the hand, well too.
Fits in the hand in reverse grip really well too if you're going to be using this like this so so that angled handle works well.
This was the knife I. I remember I had this in my in my.
I used to carry like a Courier bag and I had this in my Courier bag on 9/11 and I'm running around New York City trying to get back to Brooklyn where I live.
And I remember I had this in my bag and I was thinking that I was happy that I had this in my bag.
I didn't need it, but I didn't know what the hell was happening and.
I don't know.

34:45
It's funny, you know, like planes are crashing into buildings and things are exploding, but having this 5 inch knife on me made me feel better now.
Granted, I was not there.
My brother was very close.
I was Uptown at the time so I I was in no immediate danger, but I do remember just thinking, thank God I have this, the call it in.
So.
Memories memories.
Next up is a the one and only push dagger in my collection, which now that I'm saying this out loud just seems wrong.

35:18
So I think maybe a custom push dagger is in is in the future.
Someday I'd like to get one, maybe with ivory handles, ultra classy, and then I'll start playing cards because it seems like you got to play cards with a push dagger.
This is the one as mentioned in Thursday night Knives.
Recently, this was the model that was used in the movie platoon, except this was when.
At that time they weren't using kydex that had these leather sheaths, but just a great push dagger.
This one is the safe keeper.
2 Safekeeper One was single edged and sort of clip pointed.

35:58
Never cared for that one.
This one is.
Amazing.
This one is tremendous.
This is like the taipan.
Just just the 1st 3 1/2 inches of the taipan.
Deep hollow grind.

36:11
Well, not too deep, but hollow grinds and a broad blade make this a nice slasher.
And of course, that shaped handle makes it very unlikely that you're going to be disarmed.
Now they're there.
This is not a a magic knife.
There are things that can happen that you're not familiar with when using this.
I've used this to stab into stuff.
The trees in the woods primarily, and what can happen if you juice it with too much power and you don't pay attention to your wrist.

36:42
You can get, you can get this kind of thing, but really with this kind of flattened handle, broad and flattened handle, they pretty much took care of most of that.
So this.
I mean, if we're talking about a fixed blade knife, that is in a small.
Small footprint for effective self-defense.
I mean, a push dagger is pretty hard to beat and this one is pretty hard to beat.
Now I've carried this multiple times as my fixed blade and and I do it does for how I carry it, I usually end up not it doesn't last the day.
Why do I say that?

37:18
Because I wear I carry in the waistband and that handle is both a grabby on the shirt on this side and it's just a little bulbous enough that it rubs against my skin.
Wrong.
Just kind of, you know even with a T-shirt it's just a little bit too present up against my skin.
So this usually gets removed but the you know usually doesn't stay in the built the whole day.
But concept of it I love.
I just rarely think about push daggers to to pursue and find a nice.
Nice one that I'll carry.

37:53
So that is the safe keeper too.
Now, I can never keep these names straight.
Peacekeeper, safekeeper, you know, they have a lot of different kind of names like that.
This next one has been with me a long time.
Almost as long as the tanto, and it's the trailmaster.
Trailmaster Bowie again from their leather days.
I wish they still made leather sheaths that they were stout, sturdy and very nice and I just prefer leather in most cases unless unless I'm unless I'm carrying it can concealed or carrying it on my body you know then I like kydex, but just for hanging on the belts or or or you know carrying it

38:34
outside, setting it down and using it like I use this a lot outside and you'll see.
Evidence of that that annoyingly I cannot remove.
And I've gotten I've gotten a lot of advice on how to do so, but that that is SAP from a pine tree, and now it's over a year, a year on there, so I don't know if it's ever coming off.
But, you know, I've tried denatured alcohol, I've tried isopropyl, I've tried mayonnaise and fatty, fatty things.
I don't know.
I'm thinking maybe I'll have someone read.
Just just redo a regrind of the blade, you know, like a very, very basic surface regrind of the blade.

39:14
There's there's some stuff on here that I just.
I can't even identify at this point.
Right here I don't even know what this is.
It looks like clear nail Polish, but it's not.
I can assure you of that.
But uh, this knife?
The first adventure I had with this knife was around a portion of Lake George.

39:33
I got stranded in the dark.
By Lake George up in New York.
And it was scary in the dark.
I mean, because I had walked for hours and hours and I I thought I was on a loop trail.
I thought it was going to come back to the parking lot, but I wasn't like, George is massive.
It's gigantic.
And I just walked around a very.

39:54
You know, uh, circuitous portion of it.
And about sunset came up, came to a a little point that that jutted out into the water, and there was a little tent and there was a, for some reason, an Australian army man there in his fatigues and everything camping out.
And he's like, yeah, mate, you gotta turn around.
This isn't a loop trail.
And I was like, oh ****.
So I I did.
I turned around and it was sun was setting and the blazes were very hard to see on the trail.

40:23
I had no flashlight.
I thought I was just going for a little, you know?
It's like Gilligan's Island, a 3 hour tour.
It wasn't so this.
I had this in my backpack during the hike and when I turned around and started into the woods, as soon as I was out of sight of the guy, I pulled this out, put it on my belt, and Oh my God, I thought I was being stocked.
A big cat while I was while I was leaving my imagination was all over the place.
It was creepy.

40:49
It was creepy because they were unfamiliar woods, Big timber in some of it and like the lake to one side, all sorts of noises and some boggy areas to get through.
So anyway, having this on my belt was was made all the difference made me feel so much better.
I had a little plan in mind.
This was before I ever trained in Kali or anything like that.
I still had a little plan.
If if if I sensed a big cat lunging.
I was gonna take it out with this.

41:20
I don't even know if they had big heads up there in New York at that time.
Anyway, great knife.
It's been used a billion times since this is my favorite batoning knife for fire pit night.
And one time, you know, we have this big menacing white pine tree next door that is just like, oh man, it's just looming over our house and it drops looms like mad.
In the winter and I've used this to cut those up and that's where the that the black SAP things are.
If you have any thoughts about how to remove it let me know and if I haven't tried it I'll try it and I'll give you props if it works.
Great, great.

41:57
Knife is the trailmaster and this is in the Carbon V steel.
It's been out in a bunch of different steels right now.
They're making it in 3V and it's quite expensive.
That kind of bums me out.
It's like, OK, it's 3V steel.
It's not, you know, it's not a piece of Saturn's rings you're forging his knife out of.
OK, Next up is an absolute classic.

42:20
This is, this is probably another one of their most selling best knives is how you're supposed to say one of one of the knives they sell the most.
This is the SRK survival rescue night.
A clip point knife, great sheath, by the way.
All of these kydex sheaths, even though I said.
I prefer leather.
They're kydex.
It's not kydex, it's.

42:43
Griveaux securex, they're sort of thermal mold plastic recipe.
They're excellent.
Excellent.
Steve, I know people say they golden knives and that's probably correct, but they're excellent cheese for attention and.
Breathability if they get wet.
This knife has never been used for, not even for anything, not even just noodling around.
I got this in 2005 to put in my wife'll.

43:11
Go bag.
She was my girlfriend, Slash fiance at the time and moved to London to open an office for the company she was working for and was there for a little over a year.
So I packed her up a bag in case she had the flu.
London for any reason.
And this was the fixed blade knife that was in there.
And thank God the authorities over there never caught wind of it.
Because you know, owning something like this over there I think is a big big no no.

43:38
But I figured if she had to escape and she needed a knife.
I don't care and she wouldn't care either.
So it was this in the folder and some other stuff in there, you know, all sorts of survival stuff.
But this has has never seen you and I I kind of like, I'm, I'm going to leave it like that.
It's just Christine.
This is also the Carbon 5 steel, which is their inexpensive.
It's an inexpensive option for their fixed blade knives, and I believe I bought this for 40 bucks back in 2005 and I believe you can still get some version of the SRK for.

44:13
For close to that, if not that.
These sheets all come with danglers too that you can remove.
I usually do remove them but this style knife I would I would leave this on.
On that.
OK, Next up is 1. Oh my God, I love this knife.
This this was, uh, the the apartment protection knife in New York.
For a long time, this was my name.

44:35
You know, go go to and and it's a classic American.
Classic American knife with the leather sheet.
This is the Laredo Bowie.
And now you get this and it's in the securex.
Thermal mold plastic sheath and it's just looks weird.
You know?
This is a classic cowboy Bowie and in that kind of sheet, that's weird.

44:59
They do the same thing with the Natchez Bowie.
Another big cold steel Bowie I'd love to get, but man, I don't want that.
I don't want it in kydex 10 1/2 inch blade.
This is I believe this is also carbon 5, this one putting it up nicely.
This was a troubled child from the start.
It came with a. This is faux Coco Bolo and it came with a crack there as you can see in the handle coffin shaped handle here.
And this was back in my less assertive days and I didn't send it back.

45:35
Nowadays I just put it right back in the box and get a fresh one.
But this this I didn't it also the.
Played it got awful scratched up from this sheath.
I'm not sure why, so that's why I put the patina on it originally.
But this is years old.
I've had this probably about 15 years at this point.
Or yeah, 14 or 15 years uh, this has done seeing some action outside here.

46:02
This is what, 3 sixteenths of an inch thick?
It's a chunker, and like the.
Like the trailmaster, the Swedge comes to a zero ground edge.
It's not a sharp edge, but it's.
It's a nasty zero ground edge you can use it in with a back cut.
So in the in traditional American Bowie knife fighting, you use the the blade a lot, but you also used the swedge a lot in these kind of dipping, tapping, slashing, gouging, tearing back cuts.
And some some people were prone were like turn the knife around and use that.

46:44
I mean if you have a Bowie knife test.
It's out, or any clip point, even if it's a folder.
Turn it.
Take a piece of paper and hit the piece of paper with the belly and see what the cut is like.
Then turn it around and and even an unsharpened sweat and then hit it like this.
Boom.
You will see a dramatic difference when you use the swedge as your primary edge in a slash and and use that tip, it's devastating.

47:10
It's nasty.
It's not like a clean cut at all.
It's like a terrible, horrifying gouge.
Or or split and that's.
That's what you get from that, from that zero ground edge.
It is murder on a baton if you if you want to use this knife to baton, which you might be tempted to because it's like a big wedge, very thick spine, kind of full flat ground.
I mean that's the same thing with the trailmaster.

47:34
That's why I use that to baton.
But if you do, your batons going to get awfully chewed up.
But it's a it's a good price to pay.
It's it's the right price to pay for the security of knowing you have a decent back cutting swedge.
I mean, am I right?
OK. That's the trailmaster awesome.
I mean, I mean that's the Laredo Bowie.

47:58
Awesome.
Awesome.
So my main cabin fixed blade in my car is this knife.
So I have one, there's the only fixed blade I remembered that I did not pull out is in my get home bag, which is my Survival kit in my car and I did not want it.
It's it's very ensconced in the trunk and deeply packed.
And I did not pull that out because I didn't want to forget about it, not put it back in and then meet its.
So that one is the GI tanto you might know what it looks like.

48:29
Look it up, it's it's good.
It's the kind of knife.
I wouldn't mind if it got stolen out of my car.
I mean, I wouldn't mind, but it wouldn't be the end of the world.
This is another one like that because this is my main cabin fixed blade and this is the Roach belly.
Kaiser, I mean the Kaiser.
The cold steel rods belly in a sheath of my own making.

48:51
It is a pretty good sheet, I gotta say, very comfortable knife to carry, but I leave it in the car.
It's a great utilitarian knife.
It's based on a colonial American knife commonly carried for a do it all knife that that's what they were back then, you know?
Do everything with this knife, including fight, including eat, including clean game, including carve.
Everything.
Everything you do with a knife, you do with the one knife this Roach belly I've.
I textured the handle with a with a Dremel and then not too long ago wrapped in jute cord and shellacked.

49:28
It is a really nice grip.
I really like jute.
Uncertain.
Kind of small fixed blade knives.
I just like the way it feels and the way it grips.
Funny, interesting.
Thing about this knife.

49:42
I've told this story before, but I met a guy.
He was a friend, a cousin of a friend when I lived in New York, and he was kind of coming through town.
And everything he owned was on his back in a backpack.
And he had just been bumming around the country camping for like 2 years at this point.
And I told him, you know, I asked him about knives and and this is what he had been carrying the whole time, the cold steel Roach belly.
And I was at that time very disappointed.
I was like, sticking, oh, man, of all the cold steels.

50:10
If I were bumming around the country, you know, and I, you know, I trailmaster I'd have the Tonto, I'd have the safekeeper in case I'd get, you know, I I had all these.
Ideas.
And he picks this G $12.00 knife.
What, in 4116?
Kruppstahl.
You know it.
It vexed me, but then I got it and I realized what an amazing knife.

50:33
And there are four knives in this series as the Canadian Belt knife.
There's the Pendleton hunter.
There's this and.
I think there's a. There's a there's another one, and I don't remember what it is, but really kind of high quality for cheap knives.
I mean, really robust and take a great edge and are kind of flexible.
This is almost like a filet knife in a way, and just.
Keep going.

51:04
It's not glorious.
It's not that pretty though.
I really do like the profile of it.
Would be great to have a custom knife like this.
I've also thought about buying one of these and double edging it, grinding an edge in the back below the jimping.
It's kind of a great platform if you wanna get an inexpensive knife and noodle around with it like I have or or go even further.
I got it originally to practice the.

51:30
The making of kydex sheaths, and I had remembered that the guy that I was just talking about said this was a good one, so I got it with 12 bucks when I got it.
I think now they're 15. But the Roach belly I I dig it.
I dig it.
As a matter of fact, how cool would it be if cold steel did a version of this in a more premium setup with a thicker blade and nicer, you know, full Tang micarta sort of affair?
I think that'd be very cool.
Alright, so that's the Roach belly.
I am not including my neck knives in this my cold steel neck knives, nor am I including the.

52:06
Swords and machetes.
I only have one sword, but the machete type larger type thing.
OK, so Next up is a discontinued dagger that I got Umm, I'd say about six months ago at this point from someone on eBay or actually I'm blade forms and that is the Peacekeeper 2. Now I had a Peacekeeper 2 years ago that I gave to a friend on a visit to Philadelphia and he gave me a sweet pair of
American optics sunglasses.
So I gave him.
I gave him this.
I was traveling with with one of these.

52:42
And and then I always wanted it back.
Not that I mean, not that one in particular, but I always wanted to get another one.
Never did.
And then they discontinued them and that bummed me out.
But I saw someone offering this and and so I snatched it up.
Uh, this.
When these came out it was sort of the inexpensive alternative to the taipan.

53:01
Has a lot of the same features in that both bevels are hollow ground, it's broad, and both edges have a belly towards the tip.
So a dagger.
Great for thrusting, no doubt, but also great for slashing and for cutting with that hollow ground with the hollow ground edges with the bellies.
Some daggers are just.
Way more bent towards thrusting like.
Like the Spartan Harsey dagger, for instance.
A great dagger.

53:36
Also hollow ground, bevels.
Also very sharp edges, but but more to the point in meaning there's less curve in getting to the point in the blade.
So less effective at slashing, more effective at rusting.
This is kind of a Jack of all trades and I like how cold steel does that with their double edged knives.
You know, they make them so that they have slashing value and cutting value as well as thrusting.
Important in this day and age.
I took the clip off.

54:10
These things are these plastic clips I'm I'm not very fond of.
Plus it was very high slung and and had no retention, so I'm gonna put a. Either a in the waistband, strap, or or some other form of.
Clip on this one.
This was a great pajama knife, sweatpant knife.
A light short workout knife because it's light but capable.
Same thing with that Coburn.
All right, uh, next is one that my brother Vic got me.

54:40
Got me a number of them.
He actually the next two he's gotten me.
This is a cool one.
This is from their historical.
Offerings.
This is the rondel dagger.
Got a really beautiful.

54:53
I'll show it in the sheath first.
Really beautiful sheep.
Look at the there's the shape there, metal shape, and then the fair.
Or is this the feral?
Feral?
Down at the bottom.
Is that what that's called now I'm now I'm now I'm just flaking on it, Ferrell and Chad.

55:11
One of those is one and one is the other set up for.
Any sort of grip, totally round grip edge orientation on this knife does not matter because.
It's a triangular shape blade, and these edges are not acute, but they are nasty.
You could hit someone's forearm and split the skin down to the bone with this.
I do believe it is nasty in that regard.
You could hit someone's blade and and and break a blade with this.
With this triangular shape blade you could thrust it and have a wound that won't close it.

55:50
This is a horrifying weapon and and used for getting in between the plates of armor, getting through chain mail.
Very effective at all these things that that triangular point.
Is not going to fail.
It's.
It's gonna take a lot to get that point to fail.
It's just so stout.
And you know.

56:10
33 makes the best, most stable.
Three legs makes the most stable stool well, those 3 edges coming together makes the most stable point.
And this thing is just going to it's just going to do damage no matter how you grab it.
That's how they can afford to have a totally round handle.
You don't want totally round handles normally because the the the handle can turn in your hand and you won't be presenting the edge at the proper orientation to get your cuts.
That's why you know, I have a I have a traditional Filipino weapons gladius that has a perfectly cylindrical handle.
And that's the one thing if I were if if the bottom falls out and I need to start carrying my gladius for self protection, I am going to to file down or a level down the sides of the handle so that it doesn't turn in my hand.

57:04
In these little fantasy there and it's not a good fantasy.
So yeah and then these rondelles, This is why it's called the Rondell dagger.
Both the guard and the pommel are have these have these rondels on them that are decorative and beautiful but also capture your hand, your your gauntleted hand as you fight that night and trying get in that can he's wearing.
The rondel dagger OK. My brother got this one for me at, I don't know, at a gun show or something, but this was a birthday or Christmas present a few years back and this thing is something else.
Man, this is the chaos cuckoo.
If you're familiar with cold Steel, you'll you'll know the Chaos line is a line of knives based around this handle.
A knuckle duster handle made of aluminum cast aluminum.

58:00
It is quite heavy.
There's this steel, you know, I don't even know I'm talking out of school now.
I'm not sure if that's steel or aluminum.
It's pretty damn heavy, I gotta say, but like the 1918 trench knife behind me on the wall, it's got this pointed nut.
Uh, for for knocking noggins and and so.
So your fist is protected against anything that might come at it.
And you know, like a face, you know, this is a this is a knuckle duster to beat the band.

58:32
So then you have this.
Massive.
Heavy, broad cookery.
Blade attached to it.
I mean, this is just a yeah, chaos.
This is for the chaos of the melee.
And I'm so glad I have it.

58:49
It does not get any use.
You might be shocked to find out it does not get any use, but it's a it's a it's a thing that makes me feel good.
It's a feel good implement because having it around makes you confident that you have enough cookery around you and enough knuckle duster around you not to be caught flat footed.
So I'm very happy about this knife.
I'd love to check out all the other Chaos knives.
They have a big Bowie style one.
They have a Tonto.

59:20
They have a dagger.
All the things you might imagine.
But for me this cuckoo is is the one because that long heavy blade balances out this pretty heavy handle.
So, and a great big giant secure ex sheath with I love this.
Right here.
Danger.
Do not grip here.

59:42
You don't want to slice your hand as this comes out.
It reminds me of the little notes and arrows you see on jet fighters.
You know, like don't stand here or you'll get sucked into the intake or, you know, don't stand here on the wing or whatever.
So yeah, pretty cool grip down here.
Grip down here.
They have little arrows.
Grip here.

01:00:02
They must have had some.
Someone hold it right here and just slice their finger off.
OK, so last up.
Last up is the knife that inspired.
This whole conversation, and this is a conversation because I hear you yelling at your screen.
And that is the type hand.
Oh my God, ever since this knife came out whenever it came out many, many moons ago.

01:00:24
I've been wanting it.
I've been wanting it, and that desire never diminished.
It's funny because some knives come out and and I get over the moon about them.
I mean, I can think of a bunch of them right now, and I get over the moon about it and desperate.
I want it so bad.
And why can't?
And I missed the drop and this and that and then.

01:00:44
A month later, two months later, three months later or a year later, whatever it is, I'm like, oh, that was cool, but I would right now, I wouldn't be carrying that thing.
O I'm glad I didn't buy it.
Well, that never happened with this.
The taipan is there.
Dagger.
It was one of the very early ones, with the Trailmaster and the Tonto.
This is one of the very early ones.

01:01:06
It's been at a number of price points very out of reach a lot of times.
And then it's come now that they're doing 3D on a lot of their fixed blades.
This is one of them.
The the more pedestrian VG 10 sand my versions have come down into into the part of the atmosphere I'm willing to spend.
You know, this was a a sub one was.
I think this was 150 bucks on Amazon.
Anyway, let me, let me show it to You Beautiful, secure ex sheath.

01:01:37
This is one I don't mind not having leather.
A broad, beautiful.
Dagger blade with oh, I got a little schmutz on the tip.
Not sure how that got there, but beautiful broad, hollow ground bevels.
Those bevels are about 3/4 of an inch.
Oh no, no, no.
About half inch.

01:01:58
A little more than half inch on each one of those bevels.
Very sharp edge.
Now, I I pulled the trigger on this because I saw the supply of them dwindling and I I started to feel like, what if what if I wait and then and then the only ones available are three V for 400 bucks or whatever, they're charging it, which is a little ridiculous.
Then I'm really going to feel like, oh, I got to wait for the 3V to be not a super steel for me to buy it again.
So I just snatched it up, so glad I did.
But the first one they sent me.
Was totally jacked up right here at the ricasso you see.

01:02:35
See how the two edges terminate at the ricasso?
They're symmetrical, and then it's dips down right here.
Well, one side was ground all the way down to the.
It was sharp, but it was ground all the way down to the ricasso.
So the blade curved in right there.
And I was like, there is no way I am keeping this.
This is someone.

01:02:57
Someone got a text from the girl while they were sharpening this knife and put a little bit of extra juice at the end.
And now it's deformed and they're trying to sell it.
And I was like, is this the state of cold steel under GSM?
This is an outrage.
And so I just sent it back to Amazon and before I, you know, the day I brought the box.
To calls to return to Amazon.
The next one was sitting on my front step, like looking at me.

01:03:25
So I brought it in and it's perfect.
This thing is perfect.
It's got the classic setup with the skull crusher, the pointed skull crusher.
And the aluminum guard.
But like I said, these are aluminum.
They were originally brass, and the old ones I had, but I don't think, I don't think the taipan was ever brass, if I remember correctly.
But again, the broadness and the belly allows for great slashing and cutting performance on this amazing stabbing, thrusting knife.

01:03:57
I'm so happy to have this in my collection.
I feel once I got this, I felt like, OK, I can finally do a fixed blade.
Cold steel collection video.
I've been doing the the folders a bit because more have come into the collection that way, and I I kind of always feel in a complete state with the folder collection, but with the fixed blades there.
There were some gaping gaping holes here and this one fills it mostly.
Alright, well thank you for coming.
Uh, coming on this voyage through my cold steel fixed blade collection, master tanto, cobin, colladon, safekeeper 2, trailmaster, SRK, Laredo, Bowie, Roach, Belly Peacekeeper 2 rondel, dagger, Chaos cookery and taipan.

01:04:40
They all warm the hearts and they all make you feel safe having them around.
Safe and capable.
All right.
Well ladies and gentlemen, join us again next Wednesday for another trip through my knife collection.
And and then Thursday night knives of course.
Live right here on Facebook.
I'm in on YouTube, Facebook and Twitch.

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10:00 PM Eastern Standard Time on Thursday nights and then of course Sunday.
Check out our interviews on Sunday every Sunday right here.
You can also download it on the apps Jim just had.
Speaking to Jim working his magic behind the Switcher for him, I am Bob DeMarco saying until next time don't take doll for an answer.
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