Cold Steel Knives In Combat

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Jan 28, 2007
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969
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 Web surfing recently and found this in a long-dead thread in the Australian Blade Forums. The picture is of Corporal Mark Donaldson, Special Air Service trooper and recipient of the Victoria Cross, wearing his Kobun.


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The Australian forumites discussed the rationale behind his carrying the Kobun and whether it was quite rugged enough. I think CPL Donaldson made a good choice!

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Here's another one that I always thought was cool. It shows a Special Forces trooper wearing a stag-handled Trail Master in Afghanistan (somewhere there's a better photo in which you can see the whole knife, but I couldn't find it).


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Either he's a knife guy himself or a knife-guy buddy/relative outfitted him well. There's not much knife work you'll find in a combat zone that a Trail Master can't handle!

Edit: Found two additional photographs, though neither shows the full view of the knife that I remember seeing several years ago.


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I know that there's also the video testimonial by 82nd Airborne SGT Joseph Martinez, who killed a would-be terrorist in Iraq with his Hatamoto. I'd like to include his video, but I don't know how to embed them. Perhaps someone else with the know-how could do so.


So does anyone have other pictures and/or stories of Cold Steel being carried in combat? If so, please post them. Also, please share if you personally carried Cold Steel while serving.

-Steve
 
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I recall hearing a story somewhere about someone who gave their nephew a Recon Tanto before his deployment. Said nephew was going room to room when a bunch of terrorists busted in suddenly. One of the terrorists attacked him in close range; his Recon Tanto went right through Mr. Terrorist's AK mag and into his heart.
 
I recall hearing a story somewhere about someone who gave their nephew a Recon Tanto before his deployment. Said nephew was going room to room when a bunch of terrorists busted in suddenly. One of the terrorists attacked him in close range; his Recon Tanto went right through Mr. Terrorist's AK mag and into his heart.

I heard about this one.
 
I heard somewhere that Arabs show more respect for men who carry large blades. But mostly guys just buy a folder in a clamshell pack at the BX.
 
I routinely work many Gun and Knife Shows, including the Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot, so get to talk to many military and ex-military personnel, and hear them talk about their experiences using Cold Steel knives. More than a dozen returning from both Iraq and Afghanistan have related how either the Recon Tanto or SRK has saved their lives in close quarter encounters. I've also had some tell me about using a Laredo in similar circumstances, but these were not regular troops. Some of my sheath clients are "special", and may or may not be in uniform when working, and I've been making sheaths for them to carry both the Trail Master and Laredos, as well as a few other Bowies.
 
I've worked with many guys who were special operations during my years of SWAT team training. Nearly all I've seen carried Cold Steel, Benchmade or Gerber knives. I've never met a one that carried what I would consider a high end knife. Most just see them as a tool that may be expendable so they don't put much money in them. I do see a lot of SRK's and Recon Tantos which are two of my favorites as well. Dealing with many of these guys helped me to refine my load out as well. I now have a hard time carrying a knife that cost more than my carbine and duty weapon combined. While I still own many high end models, they rarely get carried by me these days. The SRK, Recon Tanto and Recon Scout get the most use from me.
 
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Very cool. That beard must have been hot as all get out in Afghanistan.
 
A few more.

U.S. Army Sergeant Joseph Martinez, 82nd Airborne Division, with the Hatamoto he used to help save his life.

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I Marine Expeditionary Force Interpreter "Mary" wears her SRK in Iraq's Al Anbar Province during Operation Yorktown, 2006.

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[U.S. Marine Corp Photo by Lance Corporal Clifton D. Sams]

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Green Beret loadout, including Recon Tanto (camouflaged, above the Endura).

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-Steve
 
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Afghan commandos showing off their new G.I. Tantos with customized sheaths embellished with their unit crest. (Photos courtesy of Mr. Bruce Evans, retired Green Beret and shown second from right in the first picture, via the Cold Steel blog.)

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SEAL carrying SRK in Iraq.


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-Steve

Note: None of the images in this thread belongs to me. Any copyrights or possession rights are those of the respective owners.
 
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Wow, in my haste to fill this thread with pictures (which is what most people want anyway), I forgot that I had a couple of stories of uniformed Cold Steel carry of my own.

Back when I was in the Army, I served with a guy who was almost as big a knife nut as I was. He had more money, though, and he purchased the newly released Recon Tanto for use in the field. Now, when I say Recon Tanto, I'm not referring to this Recon Tanto


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or this Recon Tanto

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or even this Recon Tanto.

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No, I'm referring to this Recon Tanto. (Yes, I'm old!)

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We would hang out in the barracks, talking knives, and I would stare longingly as he fondled and sharpened his Recon. Man, I was envious of that knife! Eventually, he went on to serve as an officer during Desert Storm. I lost touch with him, but I have to assume that his Recon Tanto served him well in that war and beyond.

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A few years ago at a local knife show, I met a retired Army officer who had a table set up to sell off some of his collection. I noticed a Peace Keeper II in an unusual custom-made sheath. I asked him about it and he told me that during his time as an Intelligence officer in Iraq, he had wanted to carry a defensive knife as both a backup weapon and as a primary when he couldn't be armed with a firearm (which was, apparently, disturbingly often). He had configured the Peace Keeper in a rig of his own making for very discreet concealment with rapid access.

I'd love to post a picture of his setup. But since I can't at the moment I'll just include a photo of a similar Peace Keeper II for your viewing pleasure.


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-Steve
 
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I remember this thread on the other forum a long time ago. I"m glad that it was brought back up again as I find the topic quite interesting. Nothing ghoulish about it, it's just reality, war is war.
 
I've worked with many guys who were special operations during my years of SWAT team training. Nearly all I've seen carried Cold Steel, Benchmade or Gerber knives. I've never met a one that carried what I would consider a high end knife. Most just see them as a tool that may be expendable so they don't put much money in them. I do see a lot of SRK's and Recon Tantos which are two of my favorites as well. Dealing with many of these guys helped me to refine my load out as well. I now have a hard time carrying a knife that cost more than my carbine and duty weapon combined. While I still own many high end models, they rarely get carried by me these days. The SRK, Recon Tanto and Recon Scout get the most use from me.


I can't stop digging the Recon Tanto and SRK. I was messing with an SRK the other day and thought "man I could live with it, if this was my only knife", which was a surprising thought for someone with a plastic tub full of steel.
 
Thanks for the photos Steve. It's really remarkable how much the SRK and Recon Tanto (and other CS models) have been widely accepted for use by
military personnel over the years.
 
I've had 3 military friends, 2 of them weren't really knife guys though. One carried some Gerber folder, the other guy carried a Kershaw OSO Sweet and a United Cutlery push dagger, of all things. The one that did have more of an interest in knives carried a ZT 0350.
 
I remember this thread on the other forum a long time ago. I"m glad that it was brought back up again as I find the topic quite interesting. Nothing ghoulish about it, it's just reality, war is war.

Thanks for the photos Steve.

My pleasure, gentlemen. It's a subject that I really enjoy discussing. It's my hope that, as the topic develops, we'll get more personal stories from guys who have carried Cold Steel to war. I'm always interested in hearing what knives people carry and why, particularly when their lives could hang on that decision. There's no clearer scenario for that than the battlefield.

It's really remarkable how much the SRK and Recon Tanto (and other CS models) have been widely accepted for use by military personnel over the years.

True. And I expect a lot of stories will include those models, as evidenced by those we've already read from Kwon, Mike, and UCPOPO. Still, much to my surprise as I drafted my posts, thus far you'll find that the only model repeated in photos has been the SRK. Lots of varieties of Cold Steel in actual use out there, and I suspect that others will appear.

-Steve
 
Plenty of SRK's and Recon Tantos in country. I sene a trailmaster, and myself carried a Peace Keeper dagger.
 
More pictures of SEALs (and possibly SEAL dolls) carrying Cold Steel (or maybe Cold Steel toys). Perhaps they trust the brand because of their exposure to the SRK during BUD/S? (Or because the toy maker made them that way?)

Not the best photo (because it may be fake), but the SEAL (or SEAL doll) on the far right is wearing what looks to be a Safe Keeper II (or a toy facsimile thereof).


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SEAL carrying a Safe Keeper III. I believe these guys are with SEAL Team Six (and that they are real).


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-Steve

P.S. - This post was edited with my sarcastic parenthetical comments to acknowledge that I may have been duped by an image created by someone who enjoys dressing, staging, and photographing dolls in lifelike poses that mimic real soldiers who do real jobs for their real nation.
 
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More pictures of SEALs carrying Cold Steel. Perhaps they trust the brand because of their exposure to the SRK during BUD/S?

Not the best photo, but the SEAL on the far right is wearing what looks to be a Safe Keeper II.

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SEAL carrying a Safe Keeper III. I believe these guys are with SEAL Team Six.

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-Steve
I haven't met all different branches of the US military in person and for sure no Seals. But the US ones which I have met and other Nato members like UK, France, Netherlands and Germany all had their pants tied above their boots. Lots of seals in the first picture don't do it. Was the picture taken off duty or are they generally a bit more relaxed with the less important stuff?Also their uniforms look like they haven't been washed or worn for very long yet. Do the new uniforms nowadays hold their colors longer , wrinkle less and stay in shape (a bit stiff) even when worn or did they all just receive new stuff, maybe even just for the photo op?

I can see 2 knives. One is on the very right back row and one on the very left front row. I've no idea which one the 2nd one is. Also CS?
 
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