Although I prefer carrying large knives as my EDC, I'd always intended on buying the Mini in spear point. But that's the thing about Cold Steel. If you put off buying one, they suddenly vanish without any warning. I'd always hoped they would make the Mini in CTS-XHP or similar steel, but I've always had good luck with AUS8A. Just a few swipes and they're hair-popping sharp again.
My favorite small EDC is the Spyderco Native. My only gripe is that Spyderco wants top dollar for their knives and Cold Steel does everything it can to keep the prices down. The Native is tiny, easy to open and relatively easy to sharpen. But with its FRN grips, it's not a hundred-dollar knife in my opinion. It was just a few years ago when it was selling for $40. I think it's a good $60 knife, but c'mon...a hundred dollars?
Cold Steel used to have a great Christmas sale, but the last one was a bit anemic. I bought a bunch of CTS-XHP knives when they were on sale and now I'm glad I did. The Recon One line of knives was great and I loved the tanto knife in XHP. I also picked up a few Talwars in XHP, as well as a Broken Skull and a Frenzy. I was going to buy the Frenzy as my chief EDC as self defense, but ended up putting it in a box of my premium knives and am still carrying my 6-inch Ti-Lite. It's astoundly sharp, easy to deploy and is a great weapon when closed. As for other knives I like, the old Voyager line of knives are far, far better than the new style Voyagers. The Voyager line I had hoped would be the premier flagship line of Cold Steel. The polished blades and small grips made them the perfect line for something like the Mini. Who needs G10 in a knife that small, and as much as I like the Tri-Ad locks, my old Voyager line didn't need them. They were fine as is. Now they're big, ugly and cumbersome. The company's old Voyager line would be a great comeback if Cold Steel would re-introduce them. But that, I fear, will never happen. This stonewash finish is loved by some and hated by others. I fall into the latter. (My first locking knife was a fairly small one I got at a dollar store. I'd forgotten my regular knife on a vacation and popped in to get one. It had plastic grips that were painted silver, and the blade was a highly polished 420. It was such a good knife for a dollar that I decided to search for similar knives. And that's how I got to where I am now, with several boxes full of knives of various makes and sizes. I still have the little knife I bought at the dollar store and still carry it for sentimental reasons and because it does a decent job for most cutting requirements.)
The bottom line, I suppose, is that when you see a knife you would like to get, buy it, especially if it's a Cold Steel. The company will suddenly stop production of their knives with no warning whatsoever, and if you haven't bought it, you may not ever get the chance to buy one again. They also change blade steels in a blink of the eye. CTS, itself, will suddenly and arbitrarily decide to stop selling its steel to knife makers. Why? Who knows. But things change, so if the bug bites, just swat it and buy what you want. It may be here today and gone tomorrow.
The old Cold Steel Voyager 6-inch packed a long polished stainless steel blade in unobtrusive
grips that could be carried easily in, or clipped to, one's pant pockets. Sadly, the Voyager
line is larger and bulkier than the older models.