Cold Steel Tiger Claw - experiences?

Comeuppance

Comeuppance

Fixed Blade EDC Emisssary
Joined
Jan 12, 2013
Messages
4,765
I've been dwelling on getting one of these for a while with the primary purpose actually being EDC as opposed to self-defense. It looks like a nice slim ready-from-the-pocket hawkbill, but I haven't seen much in the way of user experience reports here. A quick search of the forum pulls up mostly product mentions for people asking about the available karambits to consider.

And, I have aome questions:

- will I want to soften up the G10 to avoid pocket abrasion?

- is the grind/tip too delicate for EDC tasks?

- does it wave easily?

I'm not concerned about sharpening it, as I have a decent setup to accomodate curved blades.

Thank you in advance!
 
There's a YouTube video showing how dangerous this model is, which prevented me from buying. Plus the handle is way too long
 
Ganzofan said:
There's a YouTube video showing how dangerous this model is, which prevented me from buying. Plus the handle is way too long
Click to expand...

I assume you're talking about this video:


That was an interesting watch, and I'm glad you said something. I probably wouldn't bother to use it in reverse grip, though, so it's not too much of a risk for me. It's definitely something I am glad to have been made to consider, though.
 
As my interest in this model is also quite high, I researched wide and long and to your questions, these are the answers I could get:

- The G10 is not as aggressive as the Old Recons, AK47s etc. but more similar to the Broken Skull, new Lawman, Hold out and so. That means it's not as "soft" and "forgiving" on the clothing as Spyderco's G10, but is nowhere near as rough as previous models, which in combination with their stiff clips were true pocket shredders

- Not at all. The tip and grind is way stronger than the Spyderco Civilian and even the Matriarch, comparable to the Emerson Karambit or Microtech Hawkbill (that is, adequate for EDC and enough if you don't plain abuse your knives)

- The new models (post 2010) have lots of comments, both positive and negative, about their waves. The one that has gotten more negative deployments and less reliability to open is without a doubt the Tiger Claw. Many people (forumites here included) have modified the grind and or the spine of the knife to wave properly and most people (youtube, Amazon reviews, REI reviews, Bladeforums, EDC Forums, etc.) agree that this model is not good for waving, both in reverse grip and the normal waving technique
 
Dear Cold Steel,

Please carve a concave section on the spine, similarly to the spine on the Black Talon II-in front of the Demko Thumb plate. It will allow it to pocket open much more reliably.

Getting this right, will put the Tiger Claw on a whole new level.

You can make it even a bit larger if you want, because there are some martial artists who use the spine of the blade for joint/arm manipulations-and that design will make it easier for such.
 
I have the serrated version. Now I always just put the knife in my pocket. I don't use the clip or the wave feature. I just pull it out and use the thumb disk. Works wonderful. It's super thin and light in the pocket. Excellent. Never had any trouble at all with it.
 
Vis07 said:
I have the serrated version. Now I always just put the knife in my pocket. I don't use the clip or the wave feature. I just pull it out and use the thumb disk. Works wonderful. It's super thin and light in the pocket. Excellent. Never had any trouble at all with it.
Click to expand...
Glad to hear it ! :):thumbsup:

Great knife and perfectly safe to clip carry and wave into reverse grip ...but you got to know how firstly , and then train and practice , practice , PRACTICE . :cool::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Yes it's dangerous ... so is a gun , a car , gasoline , girls , most pets and farm animals , horses , etc , if you don't know what you're doing . :rolleyes:

Guy in video hurt himself by misusing an unfamiliar tool in an unwise fashion and then blamed the tool . Simple as that ! :p
Comeuppance said:
I assume you're talking about this video:


That was an interesting watch, and I'm glad you said something. I probably wouldn't bother to use it in reverse grip, though, so it's not too much of a risk for me. It's definitely something I am glad to have been made to consider, though.
Click to expand...
 
Comeuppance said:
is the grind/tip too delicate for EDC tasks?
Click to expand...
Tiger claw is pretty sturdy and designed by AD specifically for utility .

The BT 2 tip is more fragile , but still great for utility if used with care .

Both are very competent SD knives , of course , but benefit from training for karambit type fighting .

 
I had one for a very short time and I can tell you this. I have hands between the 2-3xl size and the grips on these are way too big. There was, no way to get a comfortable grip forward or reversed. I couldn't even use the ring comfortably. I'm sorry but I have no confidence in this model at all.
 
Ganzofan said:
There's a YouTube video showing how dangerous this model is, which prevented me from buying. Plus the handle is way too long
Click to expand...


I apologize but I got to say something here. I’m so tired of people blaming knives for injuries caused by their own stupidity. Maybe what these people need to get instead is a folding butter knife, and some adult supervision.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top