The OSS (Office of Strategic Services) was the wartime intelligence agency formed during World War II, and is the predecessor to our modern-day CIA.
This knife was named for that intelligence agency. It's Cold Steel's lower-end sub-hilt fighter, the OSS, model 39LSSC. The higher-end version of this would be the Black Bear Classic. The Black Bear Classic and OSS are double-edged knives, but there's a single-edged version of the OSS, called the OSI. The OSS costs around $60 in stores, but you can find them on sale for around $40 (the rumor is that Cold Steel is discontinuing this model). The OSS is made in Taiwan.
The Handle: The OSS has a one-piece handle, made of black Kraton. The handle is 5-1/8" long and 7/8" thick at its thickest part. The sub-hilts extend 3/4" from the handle, and there's 1" of space between the sub-hilt and the guard. This is just enough to get a bare finger inside (I'm a size XL glove) but is uncomfortable with gloved hands.
It's a 3/4 tang knife, and has a lined lanyard hole in the butt. The lanyard hole is a bit small, but will accomodate a strand of gutted 550 cord.
The sides of the handle are textured with a checkered pattern (see the photo above), while the front and back have ridges along their entire lengths.
The butt has no texturing, and is angled more in the back. (See the third photo for this.) The knife has a nice feel, and the balance is right on the main guard.
In a hammer grip, the knife is comfortable. I'd prefer not to have the guard on top, and this can be cut off with an Exacto knife. Other than that, it's comfortable and really locks in your hand due to the sub-hilt design.
In an icepick grip, it's even more comfortable. You can use it with or without your thumb resting on the butt (my prefernce).
The Blade: The OSS' blade is made of Japanese AUS-8A at 57-58 on the Rockwell scale, athough older ones were available in both 420 sub-zero treatent and Carbon V steel. The blade is 8-1/4" long with two 7-5/8" edges. The blade is 3/16" thick and both edges are hollow ground. Both edges -the front and back - came razor sharp right out of the box.
The left side of the blade is lasered as follows:
And the right side tang...
The blade has a high satin polish, and has a very pointy tip.
I haven't used the blade much except for cutting test papers, so I can't comment on its edge retention or ease of resharpening. I can say, though, that it will slice paper readily and pierce with no effort. Both sides are razor sharp, and cutting with the back edge is as easy as using the main edge.
This knife was named for that intelligence agency. It's Cold Steel's lower-end sub-hilt fighter, the OSS, model 39LSSC. The higher-end version of this would be the Black Bear Classic. The Black Bear Classic and OSS are double-edged knives, but there's a single-edged version of the OSS, called the OSI. The OSS costs around $60 in stores, but you can find them on sale for around $40 (the rumor is that Cold Steel is discontinuing this model). The OSS is made in Taiwan.
The Handle: The OSS has a one-piece handle, made of black Kraton. The handle is 5-1/8" long and 7/8" thick at its thickest part. The sub-hilts extend 3/4" from the handle, and there's 1" of space between the sub-hilt and the guard. This is just enough to get a bare finger inside (I'm a size XL glove) but is uncomfortable with gloved hands.
It's a 3/4 tang knife, and has a lined lanyard hole in the butt. The lanyard hole is a bit small, but will accomodate a strand of gutted 550 cord.
The sides of the handle are textured with a checkered pattern (see the photo above), while the front and back have ridges along their entire lengths.
The butt has no texturing, and is angled more in the back. (See the third photo for this.) The knife has a nice feel, and the balance is right on the main guard.
In a hammer grip, the knife is comfortable. I'd prefer not to have the guard on top, and this can be cut off with an Exacto knife. Other than that, it's comfortable and really locks in your hand due to the sub-hilt design.
In an icepick grip, it's even more comfortable. You can use it with or without your thumb resting on the butt (my prefernce).
The Blade: The OSS' blade is made of Japanese AUS-8A at 57-58 on the Rockwell scale, athough older ones were available in both 420 sub-zero treatent and Carbon V steel. The blade is 8-1/4" long with two 7-5/8" edges. The blade is 3/16" thick and both edges are hollow ground. Both edges -the front and back - came razor sharp right out of the box.
The left side of the blade is lasered as follows:
And the right side tang...
The blade has a high satin polish, and has a very pointy tip.
I haven't used the blade much except for cutting test papers, so I can't comment on its edge retention or ease of resharpening. I can say, though, that it will slice paper readily and pierce with no effort. Both sides are razor sharp, and cutting with the back edge is as easy as using the main edge.
