Cold steel SRK sk5 pros and cons....

L

lonestar1979

Joined
Mar 2, 2014
Messages
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I dont have this knife but had aus8 model for long time.,will order this one because its at a bargain price now and is made from sk5 carbon with coated blade.Have handled it in past and it is very nice and solid knife that beats the hell out of competition.
 
Have seen a video where srk broke,and read about it,and it was model in sk5.I have my full confidence in cold steel,as i never had problem with their knives,they perform better than advertised.Does anyone here have ex0erience with their sk5?All my knives from CS are stainless and the heat treat is very good.any input welcome...
 
The Bushman series has always been made from SK5 and has a long-held reputation as being tough as nails. My Bushman sees fire duty mostly, some hard use but not abusive IMO. Has performed well so far, I’ve been satisfied. Haven’t seen the video you refer to, but I doubt it would change my mind about about the BM or SK5.

I like the smaller ricasso on the SRK SK5 version, that should become standard.
 
With slight embarrassment I have to say that I have had one for quite a while now, and done nothing with it. For a minute I thought that I should toss it into the trunk and use it to process wood, out at a local lake that the wife and I frequent. We where calf deep in snow last time out there for a fire. But I have already beaten one of my AUS8 SRK's until it cried uncle and half the coating was long gone. It took a lot of brutal smashing through wood as a "if I break it I have back ups" experiment. I didn't break it. So with all the reports that I have read about SK-5 being as tough or tougher than my AUS8's, I'm not concerned about rough use. Although these days I don't see much point in pushing a knife into the abuse zone anymore unless I have no options. And there are a lot of options with additional research and outdoor knowledge. Personally I see the SK-5 as one of knifedoms great values, to the point of replacing Moras in some kits or bags. I am currently back into metal detecting season and already found one gold ring. I will try to squeeze some play time in for the SK-5 SRK. I plan on grabbing the Wild West Bowie when it comes out around here. And I will likely grab another SK-5 SRK and maybe am SK-5 recon Tanto in the order. I have a few of those in AUS8 also.
 
The latest and cheapest SRK (SK-5 steel version) is a real disappointment to me.
I am fully satisfied with my SRK VG1 which is an excellent tool, very very reliable and functional. The knife is penetrating a car bonnet without (almost) any damage (except less than 2 mm lose of the tip after 8 attempts), is prying, stabbing, digging, batoning, splitting woods, cutting meat, opening cans without any problem, skinning as well…
I believed that the SK-5 version of SRK would be another reliable tool, as the SRK VG1, but I realized from the first moment that it is not.
I tested it: batoning and stabbing in a pine tree. Unfortunately the tip snapped in the VERY FIRST attempt…. it snapped instantly – a loss of 7 mm from the tip was the result.
Additionally to my opinion, in some blogs I have read comments like: “This knife will be a great choice for perhaps hunting and LIGHT wood work, but if you intend to use it as a “Survival” knife, where the blade might face some heavy stress, it WILL fail and you will die if it is your primary blade” as well as “Oh well, we see the death of another legendary American knife line”…
 
hunter55 said:
The latest and cheapest SRK (SK-5 steel version) is a real disappointment to me.
I am fully satisfied with my SRK VG1 which is an excellent tool, very very reliable and functional. The knife is penetrating a car bonnet without (almost) any damage (except less than 2 mm lose of the tip after 8 attempts), is prying, stabbing, digging, batoning, splitting woods, cutting meat, opening cans without any problem, skinning as well…
I believed that the SK-5 version of SRK would be another reliable tool, as the SRK VG1, but I realized from the first moment that it is not.
I tested it: batoning and stabbing in a pine tree. Unfortunately the tip snapped in the VERY FIRST attempt…. it snapped instantly – a loss of 7 mm from the tip was the result.
Additionally to my opinion, in some blogs I have read comments like: “This knife will be a great choice for perhaps hunting and LIGHT wood work, but if you intend to use it as a “Survival” knife, where the blade might face some heavy stress, it WILL fail and you will die if it is your primary blade” as well as “Oh well, we see the death of another legendary American knife line”…
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Ok. Now I WILL take my SK-5 out to hack up wood fires. It's going into the trunk today. I'm going to get ugly with it and it will live or die. If it breaks it will just get tossed because they don't cost much. But I want personal use proof for my own satisfaction. To be honest, I will be mighty surprised if it goes pop.
 
I have the both the SRK and Recon Tanto in sk5 and the RT has gotten beat up pretty good and I am liking this steel.

It seems as tough as aus8 if not more and even with hitting some rocks and nails with it there was no chipping on the blade.
I like the way it sharpens up too, it will take a fine polished edge but the last couple times I have stopped at 400grit and that seems to be my sweet spot for the Recon Tanto.
 
upnorth said:
Ok. Now I WILL take my SK-5 out to hack up wood fires. It's going into the trunk today. I'm going to get ugly with it and it will live or die. If it breaks it will just get tossed because they don't cost much. But I want personal use proof for my own satisfaction. To be honest, I will be mighty surprised if it goes pop.
Click to expand...
[Good Morning! Please let us know the results of the test. "Mine problem" was focused on the vulnerable tip... I had repaired the damage. The knife is OK, ready for use from the first moment of repair.... But the confidence (on that) has been lost as far as the full exploitation of the meaning "Survival Rescue Knife" is concerned.
 
Just received one a couple days ago and have another on order to compare.

Initial impressions are good and has performed well enough at basic knife tasks. It’s comfortable in hand and is a nice size as a hip carry knife. Sheath is tight, no rattle. Blade stock is pretty thick, despite having a slight hollow grind that terminates halfway up the blade.

Fit and finish is good, and the price point of around 40 bucks is a welcome bonus.

I have not pushed it into hard duty yet. I hope to spend some time and get to know the SRK in SK5 steel a bit better.

I’ll post up some impressions and pics.
 
I haven't pried with it, but my SK-5 Gurkha has been beaten into really hard, dry wood (mesquite) and not even lost it's edge. I have full confidence in it for heavy chopping, anyway.
 
Split up some dry mesquite and stabbed into an ironwood stump for about 25 minutes in the backyard.

The coating held up surprisingly well, and no noticeable damage, rolling, or chips.

The rubber handle is comfortable, but does not like coming into contact with wood. (As we all expected)

So far so good. For a low cost hip knife, I believe it would serve well.

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google says sk5 is japanese 1080. so i guess it should be slightly tougher than 1095, but with less edge retention.
 
JimSocks said:
google says sk5 is japanese 1080. so i guess it should be slightly tougher than 1095, but with less edge retention.
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SK5 used to be Japanese steel, but when the new SK5 SRK knives started coming out, I noticed the prices were very low. So I checked the internet and, to my surprise, found a lot of steel companies in China were making SK5 as well. So there was some speculation then as to whether the new SRK is still made of Japanese SK5 or if the steel is sourced from China now. Haven't heard anything new on this point. I hope it's still sourced from Japan, but the low prices make me think that perhaps they have gone with a cheaper steel source.
 
Started working mine today. Didn't break or chip after banging the hell out of it, including through a couple of knots. I am leaving it in the trunk for a summer of abuse. I don't normally go through knots with my knives, I use more common sense. But this is an inexpensive and easily replaceable knife. And If I bust it I wont cry to Cold Steel for a replacement. I KNOW that I am abusing this knife, so it's on me. I hate the white lettering so that gets blacked out. Let it begin.





 
lonestar1979 said:
Have seen a video where srk broke,and read about it,and it was model in sk5.I have my full confidence in cold steel,as i never had problem with their knives,they perform better than advertised.Does anyone here have ex0erience with their sk5?All my knives from CS are stainless and the heat treat is very good.any input welcome...
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I have Recon Tanto in SK-5 and I never experienced any issues with it. Tough as hell.
 
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