What's up with the Cold Steel "Drop Forged Hunter"?

Z

zombiefighterof1987

Joined
Apr 10, 2014
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30
I was looking through the cold steel catalog when i noticed this awesome looking knife, but when i checked the specs and looked at it good 2 things struck me as odd: - firstly why would you have that kind of handle, it doesn't look very grippy, especially not when wet
- secondly, why 52100high-carbon for a hunting knife? 52100 is a plain carbon steel and will rust at the first chance it gets, it's a horrible food prep steel IMHO. Can anyone explain this to me? Am i missing something?
 
I just think the price of it is way out of line, it should be way less than what they are going for. 52100 is a good high carbon steel, not sure if its the best around the kitchen.
 
Well, it does have the coating (or does it?) that prevents corrosion. And people have used carbon blades for hunting for hundreds of years, including food prep.
And for the lack of handle scales, I think it's for the ease of cleaning and all. Interesting knife and I like the knife but since I am not hunter it's not for me.. and the politics, oh the politics.
 
Long as you clean it afterwards, I don't see why rust would be a problem.
They explain in the ad copy very clearly why that kind of handle. I for one want to get one and put a patina all over the whole thing. It'll look gorgeous! Will put it into my EDC rotation.
 
I use a 52100 knife almost exclusively in my kitchen. It's a great steel for the kitchen if done right.

I also carry a hard use knife in 52100 quite often. It's a great steel for many uses.

I agree about the handle. I'm not a big fan, but hey, there are a lot of knives out there.
 
zombiefighterof1987 said:
I was looking through the cold steel catalog when i noticed this awesome looking knife, but when i checked the specs and looked at it good 2 things struck me as odd: - firstly why would you have that kind of handle, it doesn't look very grippy, especially not when wet
- secondly, why 52100high-carbon for a hunting knife? 52100 is a plain carbon steel and will rust at the first chance it gets, it's a horrible food prep steel IMHO. Can anyone explain this to me? Am i missing something?
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What kind of handle do you refer to - all steel or what?

I have several integral 'all one material' knives (because some are Beta titanium and some are steel) and they work just fine.

Lol, carbon blades has worked for users for generations. Its fine. I guess, nobody told your forefathers, that carbon blades dont work.

Carbon blades might take on patina in use and thats fine. Its part of the charm.

I like the Drop Forged Hunter and will most likely get one. Its looks like a no frills knife, thatll get the job done.
 
It's a bead blast finish, yes? I'm unsure if that will patina, or just rust...

If it was a smooth satin finish, I think oiling or otherwise treating the whole thing would result in a pretty handsome patina and no rust, assuming it was dried after use, and occasional re-treating...

Kind of baffling they went with a bead blast finish for that knife. A satin finish would be more functional for the steel used, and the overall aesthetic would be more appropriate for the design.
 
Probably because drop-forging is tough to get a clean finish on, and bead blasting would allow for faster, cheaper cleanup.
 
Bead blasting SUCKS. Especially for carbon steel--heck, it's known for making pretty rust-resistant stainless steels blotch up. I'd rather them just leave it with a rough finish if they have to, or even powder coat it.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Bead blasting SUCKS. Especially for carbon steel--heck, it's known for making pretty rust-resistant stainless steels blotch up. I'd rather them just leave it with a rough finish if they have to, or even powder coat it.
Click to expand...

Yeah man. I've seen 14c28n take some rust spots because of bead blasting. They can keep it.
 
I like a lot of Cold Steels stuff. When I saw this a couple of months I just chuckled to myself and clicked on to the next knife.

I do not think it is a very well thought out knife for any need I have, but I bet someone will buy it.
 
The Boye design I think did the concept better, although I do like the Cold steel model -

BoyeBasicad_zps9710af83.jpg
.
 
They are using 52100 because it has a reputation for toughness. since there are little holes (just the lanyard) and no handle scales there is no area you cannot keep clean and dry off. it can easily rust, but it can be polished after market. They are very careful to keep costs down so they can sell more and put them into more hands. Knives had metal handles way before they had better winterworthy handles. It can be dealt with, or take a different knife when its cold. I personally am planning to acquire this and polish it as well as do a better sheath. The kydex mentioned would be pretty ideal.
AS to being grippy, the shape of the knife has more to do with controlling it and keeping it in hand than the surface of the knife. Pictures don't tell the whole story on its controllability
 
One thing for certain, that should be a knife that will take some really hard use. It is all solid steel, even the handle/tang is one piece of solid steel. And it is very heavy for a 4" bladed knife. Add those things to the 52100 and it is a tank.
 
I think its a good looking knife. I dont remember what kind of coating it has. I dont like bead blasted blades so if thats it then its a downside but not a huge one. Still eventhough I like the looks of it its not for me.
 
Bead blasting can promote rust. The beads must b used only on stainless steel .But even then the rough surface can hold moisture and contaminants not easily cleaned off !
 
You can also use that bead blasted surface to your advantage by coating it with a few layers of car wax (or bees wax when used for food)
The surface irregularities caused by the bead blasting that could trap moisture & contaminants which could cause corrosion will also hold the wax very well, which helps to protect the steel.

Another option if you don't like to use wax is to take a Lansky Eraser to remove most of the peaks from the bead blast, thereby making the surface much slicker and noticeably less susceptible to corrosion.
 
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I got mine for a few months now.

It didn't patina at the beginning. Something felt off. Even after using stripper nothing happened. There was some invisible layer (Teflon?) and I don't like visible or invisible layers going into my food.
Finally after Flitz and steel wool food showed an effect on the steel.

Initially a little water bead stayed in the fold between guard and blade and caused rust which was easy to remove. After that I made sure it's always dry and there hasn't been any rust since.
The patina keeps changing by the day. The blackest came from a banana stem and pome grenade. However most of it wiped off. The darkest lasting one was caused by a papaya. Crazy reactive!

After I modified the edge it's good enough to dice an onion acceptably in a pinch but I use it mainly to break down harder stuff like pineapples, cabbage , squash and the like. I've probably used it 100 times so far and only touched up the edge once with a few swipes on the ceramic sharp maker.

It's a pretty good piece and robust. Easy to clean due to the integral handle but needs care when drying due to the steel. It would benefit more from its all steel design if the steel would be stainless.
 
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