Ridiculously Large Cold Steel “Pocket” Knife Update

Wikipedia defines “guilty pleasure” as follows:

Something such as a film, television program, piece of music, [or pocket knife] that one enjoys despite feeling that it is generally not held in high regard.

The greatest guilty pleasure of my knife collection is my family of absurdly large Cold Steel “pocket knives.”

Large Cold Steel Pocket Knives

These XL Cold Steels have long occupied a warm place in my heart, since my very first Vaquero Grande 6” serrated knife in the late 90s, I’ve been sold on the concept of giant folders. This was also about the time I discovered the Navaja and fell hard.

In the last 2 years I have taken advantage of online sales, Christmas and straight up FOMO to acquire these blades:

Cold Steel Recon 1 XL bowie and tanto knives sport 5.5” CTS-XHP steel blades and linerless G-10 handles. The Tri-ad locks on both are perfectly fit for no blade play, but with drop shut action (be sure to choke up with your forefinger to catch the ricasso in one-handed closing!) 

The full-flat-ground blade makes the clip point Recon 1 XL light and lively in hand, while the beefier tanto carries more weight up front and has a choppier feel.

The Frenzy 2, though based on a Japanese helm piercing blade, reminds me of the Filipino ginunting sword with its talon shaped blade. The long, slender Frenzy rides nicely in the waistband, I prefer at 3 o’clock.

The Lynn Thompson Signature Edition Voyager XL Vaquero and the Black Talon 2 (of 5.5” and 4” blade-lengths respectively) take advantage of recurves, s-curves, serrations and acute points to drive home their Design Designated Utility (DDU) … which must be pruning the petunias.

So in conclusion… ridiculously large Cold Steel “Pocket” Knives? 

The Knife Junkie says, “Bet you can’t buy just one!”

Please Share

The Knife Junkie Newsletter

Subscribe to The Knife Junkie

* indicates required

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Blog Articles by The Knife Junkie

Read More From The Knife Junkie

Marianne Halpern, Three Rivers Manufacturing - The Knife Junkie Podcast Episode 240

Marianne Halpern, Three Rivers Manufacturing – The Knife Junkie Podcast Episode 240 Marianne Halpern of Three Rivers Manufacturing (TRM) joins Bob “The Knife Junkie” on

Read More »
Knife Designer and Knife Maker Jared Van Otterloo - The Knife Junkie Podcast Episode 214

Knife Designer and Knife Maker Jared Van Otterloo – The Knife Junkie Podcast Episode 214 Jared Van Otterloo, prolific tactical knife designer and knife maker,

Read More »
Michael Janich: The Knife Junkie Podcast (Episode 481)

Michael Janich: The Knife Junkie Podcast (Episode 481) Michael Janich, Close Combatives Instructor/Expert and Special Projects Coordinator for Spyderco, joins Bob “The Knife Junkie” DeMarco

Read More »