Cold Steel G.I. Tanto... interesting.

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Monofletch

Monofletch

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I was perusing the knife counter at my local sporting goods/archery shop and found a pile of G.I. Tantos. I have read a lot about them, but never held one. The owner said he had just got 15 of them in. I was surprised when I opened the box- this knife is a hunk of steel! The owner said, "That ain't nothin' watch this..." he grabbed a piece of computer paper and began to effortlessly make tiny ribbons with ease. He grabbed a second G.I.Tanto out of the box and did the same. The sheath isn't terrible- it is the Secure X (plastic I think), but similar to a BK2. It holds the knife well and with the button strap this knife will stay put. I added an old TechLock and removed the belt loop.
When I asked him the price I was shocked. Under $27 with tax included! WOW! I've spent way more on lesser knives in my knife career!

Specifications:
Blade Length: 7"
Overall Length: 12"
Steel: 1055 Carbon
Weight: 10.6 oz
Blade Thickness: 4 mm
Handle: 5" Long w/ Polypropylene Scales
Sheath: Secure-Ex® Sheath

Why do you like or dislike this knife?

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I like them because they are a good candidate for mods [the handle is the 1st thing i go after], have a great sheath, decent steel low cost and the blade grind geometry as well, readily lends itself to regrinding. Oh yah they are tuff as nails too.
 
For the $19 and free shipping i paid for the knife i love it. Keeps a good edge and just a strong chopper/cutter. At the price everybody should get one.

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A utilitarian edge tool that doesn't spell regret.
Often times, I wished CS would have done away with the wide tang area
And instead, place another inch of legendary CS shaving sharp goodness all the
way from tanto tip to the lower guard.
 
It's very hard to go wrong with the GI Tanto, either in stock or modified configuration. And it's proof that you don't have to spend a great deal of money to get a great deal of blade.
 
Mine was a bit disappointing out of the box-not very sharp and with a bit of the tip snapped off. However, I'm appreciating the fact that the sheath is easy to get the knife out of. I've heard from a lot of people that the retention is too strong. Can't wait to get out and use this thing!
 
It's one of the most economical fixed blades on the market, if not actually the most. The quality:price ratio is undeniably fantastic.

I hesitate to mention this as it will likely derail the thread (but, honestly, what's left to be said?): One reason this particular knife is mildly taboo and gets shot down pretty quickly when brought up is that the design was lifted whole-cloth from Strider knives by Cold Steel. Lynn Thompson once had the description of the knife say something like "why buy from felons and thieves who charge more?", and it continues to be a elephant in the room whenever Lynn's integrity and business practices are discussed.

Basically, nobody looked good in the situation. It called unnecessary attention to arguably entirely unrelated criminal pasts, and involved someone dirtying their own brand's name in the process through mudslinging and design theft.

That's my understanding of the situation, however. Lacking a cohesive news article on the event, I'm going by memory here. I believe these events are verifiable and accurate, though.
 
Comeuppance said:
Lynn Thompson once had the description of the knife say something like "why buy from felons and thieves who charge more?", and it continues to be a elephant in the room whenever Lynn's integrity and business practices are discussed.
Click to expand...

Actually

Please don't throw away hundreds and hundreds of dollars on similar knives sold by convicted felons and rip off artists posing as elite "military operators".
Click to expand...
 
I picked up one of these for the BOB (although I would take it camping, if it wouldn't scare the bejesus out of the other more "civilized" campers). Incredible blade for the money.

It met all of my criteria for a survival blade:
Good quality carbon steel? - check
Thick-ass blade that returns to true when bent? - check
Use as spear? - check
Chopper? - check
Sharpen to shaving-edge? - check
So big ugly that you don't care? - check
 
M0NK said:
I picked up one of these for the BOB (although I would take it camping, if it wouldn't scare the bejesus out of the other more "civilized" campers). Incredible blade for the money.

It met all of my criteria for a survival blade:
Good quality carbon steel? - check
Thick-ass blade that returns to true when bent? - check
Use as spear? - check
Chopper? - check
Sharpen to shaving-edge? - check
So big ugly that you don't care? - check
Click to expand...

Great post!

Now I have 2! :D
 
If you could watch the video made by the guy with the hockey mask, where he beats on one of these knives and almost cannot harm it, you would be very impressed with it.

I bought mine used, a previous owner had modified it a little bit.

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i remember someone made a destruction test video comparing the cold steel tanto vs the 300 dollar strider it was copied from and the GI tanto outperformed the strider
 
I like the blade length .......but different handle shape would be easier to hold when slippery .....idk...more Gerber LMF like handle
 
The part that gets me is why the wasted space between the blade edge and guard? But still, its a good knife to money ratio.
 
As a sharpened pry bar this rates as one of the very best. I bought one back when they were just starting to offer the plastic grips. Mine had just the cord wrap and was clearance priced at $12.00.. A few wraps of friction tape over the cord and, voila, a usable tool. I bought mine for a specific job, freeing windows that had been painted shut. It cut the paint, pried the windows loose and got them started up so I could get under them to push them open. It has since been used for lots of dirty, heavy duty tasks around the house. The "wasted space" in front of the guard is handy for choking up.

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