A few members here have asked how these two fare up against each other, so I decided to see for myself. Enjoy the comparison...
The first knife is the Kabar / Dozier Large Folding Hunter, model 4070. The next is the Cold Steel Ultimate Hunter, model 61LPS.
Blade Stuff: The blades on both knives are 3.5" long, and both have a similar skinning shape. The Kabar has a more pronounced tip. They both have dual thumb studs (one on each side). Neither has thumb ridges, but the Cold Steel does have a ramp on the handle. The Kabar's blade is 4.25 millimeters thick, while the Cold Steel's is 4mm thick. The Kabar is made of AUS-8 stainless, and the Cold Steel is made of VG-1 stainless. Both came out of the box very sharp, with the Kabar being just a tad sharper. Both blade pivot pins are adjustable for tension.
Handle Stuff: Both handles are 5" long. The Cold Steel is made of Thermorun, while the Kabar is made of Zytel. Both are, for lack of a better word, black plastic. They have the same feel. The Cold Steel has a lanyard hole, while the Kabar doesn't. The Kabar has a movable (tip-up, left or right hand) pocket clip, while the Cold Steel doesn't (right-hand tip-up only). Both clips are black. Both have a pretty massive (4mm thick) lockback. The Kabar's releases at the back of the handle, while the Cold Steel's releases in the middle.
Price: The Kabar sells for $25 locally, and the Cold Steel costs $56.
Tests: First, the old spine whack test. I smacked the spine of each open knife against a piece of pine 20 times, testing for lock failure. There was none in either knife. Then, I went to closing and opening each one to see if anything was jarred loose, or had tightened. The Kabar was just fine; the Cold Steel had gotten stiffer. I had to open and close it about 5 or 6 times to fix this, then it was just as normal.
Next, I wanted to see how AUS-8 stacked up against VG-1. I cut the usual paper and cardboard, then went outdoors. They both made easy work of whittling fuzz sticks and some batoning on 1.5" thick sticks. Then it came time to use them what they were made for: skinning stuff. A deer became the victim, and both knives did their job well. I will say that the texture on the Kabar lended itself more to a hunting knife, where the knife will likely end up covered with blood. The Cold Steel was a little hard to hold on to.
I washed the knives off under the sink, and then went back to cutting everyday things. The Cold Steel had a hard time "gripping" pine sticks as it had done so easily before. The Kabar did the same, but cut through paper with ease. The Cold Steel tore the paper. I know that VG-1 is supposed to hold an edge longer than AUS-8, but maybe this one missed a heat treat or something?
I took both apart and wiped them down dry. Then I lubed everything up and sharpened them. Once put back together, they looked almost like they did right out of the box. The Kabar had some scratches on the blade finish, but was otherwise perfect. The Cold Steel looked pretty much brand-new. The last thing I do to my knives before putting them up is wiping all metal parts down with a Tuff Cloth. The Cold Steel's edge snagged the cloth a few times, which was very odd since I just put a razor edge on it. So I had to go back and go over it with a very fine strop. The Kabar's edge was just fine.
Final Impressions: Okay, the knives are made for the same use. The handles are pretty much the same. The blade lengths are pretty much the same. The blade materials are very comparable, at least in my use of them. The AUS-8 seemed to have fewer problems. The Kabar has a movable pocket clip, while the Cold Steel's can only come off. The Kabar has no lanyard hole, but the Cold Steel does. I'm wondering why the Cold Steel costs $30 more than the Kabar, given the performance of both.
The first knife is the Kabar / Dozier Large Folding Hunter, model 4070. The next is the Cold Steel Ultimate Hunter, model 61LPS.
Blade Stuff: The blades on both knives are 3.5" long, and both have a similar skinning shape. The Kabar has a more pronounced tip. They both have dual thumb studs (one on each side). Neither has thumb ridges, but the Cold Steel does have a ramp on the handle. The Kabar's blade is 4.25 millimeters thick, while the Cold Steel's is 4mm thick. The Kabar is made of AUS-8 stainless, and the Cold Steel is made of VG-1 stainless. Both came out of the box very sharp, with the Kabar being just a tad sharper. Both blade pivot pins are adjustable for tension.
Handle Stuff: Both handles are 5" long. The Cold Steel is made of Thermorun, while the Kabar is made of Zytel. Both are, for lack of a better word, black plastic. They have the same feel. The Cold Steel has a lanyard hole, while the Kabar doesn't. The Kabar has a movable (tip-up, left or right hand) pocket clip, while the Cold Steel doesn't (right-hand tip-up only). Both clips are black. Both have a pretty massive (4mm thick) lockback. The Kabar's releases at the back of the handle, while the Cold Steel's releases in the middle.
Price: The Kabar sells for $25 locally, and the Cold Steel costs $56.
Tests: First, the old spine whack test. I smacked the spine of each open knife against a piece of pine 20 times, testing for lock failure. There was none in either knife. Then, I went to closing and opening each one to see if anything was jarred loose, or had tightened. The Kabar was just fine; the Cold Steel had gotten stiffer. I had to open and close it about 5 or 6 times to fix this, then it was just as normal.
Next, I wanted to see how AUS-8 stacked up against VG-1. I cut the usual paper and cardboard, then went outdoors. They both made easy work of whittling fuzz sticks and some batoning on 1.5" thick sticks. Then it came time to use them what they were made for: skinning stuff. A deer became the victim, and both knives did their job well. I will say that the texture on the Kabar lended itself more to a hunting knife, where the knife will likely end up covered with blood. The Cold Steel was a little hard to hold on to.
I washed the knives off under the sink, and then went back to cutting everyday things. The Cold Steel had a hard time "gripping" pine sticks as it had done so easily before. The Kabar did the same, but cut through paper with ease. The Cold Steel tore the paper. I know that VG-1 is supposed to hold an edge longer than AUS-8, but maybe this one missed a heat treat or something?
I took both apart and wiped them down dry. Then I lubed everything up and sharpened them. Once put back together, they looked almost like they did right out of the box. The Kabar had some scratches on the blade finish, but was otherwise perfect. The Cold Steel looked pretty much brand-new. The last thing I do to my knives before putting them up is wiping all metal parts down with a Tuff Cloth. The Cold Steel's edge snagged the cloth a few times, which was very odd since I just put a razor edge on it. So I had to go back and go over it with a very fine strop. The Kabar's edge was just fine.
Final Impressions: Okay, the knives are made for the same use. The handles are pretty much the same. The blade lengths are pretty much the same. The blade materials are very comparable, at least in my use of them. The AUS-8 seemed to have fewer problems. The Kabar has a movable pocket clip, while the Cold Steel's can only come off. The Kabar has no lanyard hole, but the Cold Steel does. I'm wondering why the Cold Steel costs $30 more than the Kabar, given the performance of both.
