Anybody members actually use their CS knives in Military or LE applications. I’ve always heard that certain models (ie. Recon 1, SRK) were widely used in these settings. Would be neat to hear their experiences and if the knives were used for any unusual jobs. Thanks in advance.
Military and LE
- Thread starter sean2021
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I used to have the old version of the Recon 1 Tanto 4" folder that I would carry during training. I think think the original version I had was AUS-8. Some other service members referred to it as my "sword". I also had a Recon Tanto Carbon V 7.5" packed in my gear that nobody knew about. With all the crap that happened around there in those days it helped me sleep better at night. Luckily I never had to "use" them. You can take someone's arm off with a Recon Tanto easily.
Working security I always carried a Camillus Heat, old school versions from the original factory (which I still do) or a CRKT My Tighe.
I've never owned an SRK, for some reason that knife just doesn't appeal to me. Though I like the new compact version. Nothing wrong with the SRK, it just never called to me.
Working security I always carried a Camillus Heat, old school versions from the original factory (which I still do) or a CRKT My Tighe.
I've never owned an SRK, for some reason that knife just doesn't appeal to me. Though I like the new compact version. Nothing wrong with the SRK, it just never called to me.
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Thanks for the reply…I wish CS still used the AUS-8 steel.
Cold Steel Knives In Combat
OK, I tried starting this thread in the Cold Steel Forums, but it quickly sidetracked, got heated, and then derailed entirely. Perhaps we can stay a bit more focused here in Blade Forums. I was surfing recently and found this in a long-dead thread in the Australian Blade Forums. The picture...
www.bladeforums.com
Lots of red Xs unfortunately.
Boy, you aren’t kidding about the broken photo links! Stupid PhotoBucket—discontent with advertising revenue alone and then surprised to learn that people weren’t willing to pay for a service that previously had been free just to ransom their pictures from PhotoBucket’s archives. What a mess that company made of itself.Cold Steel Knives In Combat
OK, I tried starting this thread in the Cold Steel Forums, but it quickly sidetracked, got heated, and then derailed entirely. Perhaps we can stay a bit more focused here in Blade Forums. I was surfing recently and found this in a long-dead thread in the Australian Blade Forums. The picture...
Lots of red Xs unfortunately.
Thank you for recalling my thread. I was thinking about updating it in the near future with another personal story, so this will spur me to act sooner than I anticipated. I still have my original photographs, but it will take me a bit to fix all of the broken links from the pre-2019 posts. (I realize I have to make repairs to the Rare Gems thread, too.)
S sean2021 , you’ll find lots of stories of Cold Steel military carry and use in that thread. It’s readable in its current state, but it will be much more enjoyable after I’ve fixed the photos. I purposely didn’t include many law enforcement references because that’s a whole other topic worthy of a separate thread.
-Steve
I retired from a career in law enforcement in 2008. I carried a Cold Steel push dagger wedged between my magazine holder and my duty belt for many years. Fortunately, I never had to use it. I also carried a couple different Cold Steel lock blade folding knives clipped to each front pocket. I used them to open boxes, but never anything self defense related.
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After breaking or losing spyderco’s and crkt’s my first few years on active duty I finally gave CS a try and bought a night force and a SRK prior to deployment in 04. I didn’t use the SRK for a whole lot, I did some light prying and demo work with it. Held up great, even cutting sheet metal. The night force was a real gem; I cut everything under the sun with that thing: zipcuffs, burlap, mre’s, upholstery, uniforms, tires; you name it. It sharpened easy and held an edge pretty well. Zero complaints and they’re both still sharp as shit and in the rotation 21 years later!
Right after returning to Hood, I bought a recon 1 from clothing sales. Dammit was that thing sharp! 30 minutes after buying it, I cut the tip of my middle finger off shutting it against my leg! I stood in formation and bled into my hand, I’ll never forget it!
Got a chance to meet Lynn Thompson at the NRA show one year and told him how much I appreciated their commitment to durability.
Right after returning to Hood, I bought a recon 1 from clothing sales. Dammit was that thing sharp! 30 minutes after buying it, I cut the tip of my middle finger off shutting it against my leg! I stood in formation and bled into my hand, I’ll never forget it!
Got a chance to meet Lynn Thompson at the NRA show one year and told him how much I appreciated their commitment to durability.
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Wow, hardly ever hear about the Night Force. Don't think it was too popular, but good to hear it performed well.
I always liked this photo of Cold Steel in law enforcement use.
Mounted officers have begun using bokken for riot control activities rather than the more traditional long riot batons.
Presumably, this is because the katana trainers are longer and cheaper while being every bit as tough. That department wisely chose the unbreakable, weather-impervious synthetic Cold Steel Bokken rather than the more common wooden versions.
It looks to be the original 92BK with the smooth handle,
or perhaps the Bokken (92BKKC) or O Bokken (92BKKD) with the handle wrap removed.
-Steve
P.S. - Edited to add: I thought I had another photo from a different police department using Cold Steel, and sure enough I found it. Clearly this one is an O Bokken. It's interesting that LAPD issued both wooden bokken and synthetics. I wonder if the wooden models began to fail and they replaced them with Cold Steel?
Mounted officers have begun using bokken for riot control activities rather than the more traditional long riot batons.
Presumably, this is because the katana trainers are longer and cheaper while being every bit as tough. That department wisely chose the unbreakable, weather-impervious synthetic Cold Steel Bokken rather than the more common wooden versions.
It looks to be the original 92BK with the smooth handle,
or perhaps the Bokken (92BKKC) or O Bokken (92BKKD) with the handle wrap removed.
-Steve
P.S. - Edited to add: I thought I had another photo from a different police department using Cold Steel, and sure enough I found it. Clearly this one is an O Bokken. It's interesting that LAPD issued both wooden bokken and synthetics. I wonder if the wooden models began to fail and they replaced them with Cold Steel?
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Wow! Thank you for the replies everyone! Keep’em coming. I remember the Night Force…think it was released around 4 yrs ago? Beautiful design but was too expensive for me. Sorry about your finger injury. Call me paranoid, but I always open and close my folders with both hands….especially my CS folders. They tend to snap shut automatically once you reach a certain point…gotta be careful.
jux t
Gold Member
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There was an earlier version of the Night Force with a lock similar to the Ti-Lites:
I’ve always wanted one
Coincidentally, I have a friend who was a federal law enforcement officer who carried one of the original Night Force models. He was very happy with it.
I also knew another federal LEO who cut off the tip of one of his fingers like native4alpha did. He used a Spyderco to do it, though. And he was a former Marine infantry officer, super-duper SWAT guy, too! In a moment of carelessness, weapons can bite any of us.
-Steve
I also knew another federal LEO who cut off the tip of one of his fingers like native4alpha did. He used a Spyderco to do it, though. And he was a former Marine infantry officer, super-duper SWAT guy, too! In a moment of carelessness, weapons can bite any of us.
-Steve
riversidedep
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25+ years in LE here. I carried a 6 inch bladed Voyager for around 15 years. It fit perfectly in my uniform pants sap pocket. It saw use for many normal cutting tasks, but was also employed as a machete, used to cut through screens a couple of times, and even punctured the tire of a vehicle at the termination of a pursuit. Unfortunatley, my department came out with regulations in 2019 or 2020 which limited us to a maximun 4 inch long blade and 8 inch long overall length. I had to retire the Voyager and started carrying a custom Benchmade Griptillian that was a promotion gift from my team.
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I was familiar with brand and it checked all the right boxes so I took a chance. It also may have been the only CS folder for sale at clothing sales. All I knew about the CS lineup in those days was from their ads in gun mags.
That’s the one!
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The Night Force.. WOW... that's one they really need to bring back. Instead of all this World of Warcrap themed stuff lately. They make one with the same name, but it looks weird.
Fifteen years carrying an X2 Voyager? I'm mightily impressed! It's a great knife, and it sounds like that one served you well.
I'm curious. Was any legitimate rationale offered, or was it strictly concern over public image?
-Steve
riversidedep
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It's very light weight for it's size. Everyone who ever asked to see/handle it remarked on how light it is. I could never carry it comfortably in regular clothes but it was a perfect fit for the sap pocket. Honestly, a big part of my motivation for carrying such a large blade were the reactions (smiles, "whoa's!", laughter, Crocodile Dundee references, etc...) I got from people. Almost without exception they were positive, especially from kids when they saw see me use it to cut fingerprint tape, crime scene tape, or whatever. I actually kind of started a small trend of fellow deputies carrying large Cold Steel knives at a couple different stations at which I worked. It wasn't many, maybe three or four (we have 2000+ personnel), but I'm still happy to have introduced some people to the wonderfull world of ridiculously large Cold Steel knives!
No rationale was offered, though it's certainly concern over public image and not wanting the public to perceive the knife as a weapon. It's actually a very good idea to have policies on authorized equipment, especially something that most would consider a weapon. A coworker who was on the commitee that wrote the knife policy told me he thought of me when they decided on the size of the knife, so my carrying such a large knife may have contributed to restricting the authorized blade length. Our old policy said something to the effect of "may carry a folding knife with a blade capable of being locked in the open postion", so it was really broad. And while people may think a 4 inch blade is still a big knife, we are limited to 8 inches in overall knife length, so if one opts to carry a folder (which is 99.99% of us), the blade actually has to be UNDER 4 inches in length to fit in the handle. My Griptillian fits the policy size perfectly as it's overall length is 8 inches, even though the blade is under 4 inches in length. The Grip is a completely adequate knife, but I do miss carrying my X2 pocket sword......
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Hey... don't leave me out. I've been carrying a Camillus Heat for twenty years now. Still sharp enough to shave with.
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Not LE myself, but I’d use the Brooklyn Shorty for cavalry applications haha. Medieval knights used maces on horseback back then to great effect. The Shorty is basically mace sized but lighter and arguably less lethal.I always liked this photo of Cold Steel in law enforcement use.
Mounted officers have begun using bokken for riot control activities rather than the more traditional long riot batons.
Presumably, this is because the katana trainers are longer and cheaper while being every bit as tough. That department wisely chose the unbreakable, weather-impervious synthetic Cold Steel Bokken rather than the more common wooden versions.
It looks to be the original 92BK with the smooth handle,
or perhaps the Bokken (92BKKC) or O Bokken (92BKKD) with the handle wrap removed.
-Steve
P.S. - Edited to add: I thought I had another photo from a different police department using Cold Steel, and sure enough I found it. Clearly this one is an O Bokken. It's interesting that LAPD issued both wooden bokken and synthetics. I wonder if the wooden models began to fail and they replaced them with Cold Steel?