I have had alot of knives over the years to try and fill a variety of positions. The GI Tanto from Cold Steel is one of those knives that tickled my fancy for a few reasons.
A+ PRICE
First thing to note is that the GI Tanto is inexpensive, which is a huge starting point for me as a buyer. Im not going to buy a knife for a couple hundred dollars unless it can do my taxes for me and serve me dinner. There is no point in spending that much on a sharp object that does nothing but cut and destroy things as effectively as I can swing and thrust it.
CAPABILITY
The price is great, but it gets nicer because this knife is one of the coolest blades for use in wood processing and cutting. It is made from the very durable 1055 carbon steel, which is popular as a machete and high impact steel, making it great for hacking on wood. This is a quality that will pay dividends in a survival situation as well as when you are just needing a simple cutter.
MADE IN CHINA?!
One of the things that many people do not like is that Cold Steel has switched from producing this knife in Taiwan to making them in China. People are getting tired of the Chinese-made stamp on things. Much of it is because China had an unfair trade contract with the US and tend to have lower quality products. However, this blade is made out of 1055, which is pretty flexible in terms of metal composition, making it easy to produce without error in mass-manufacturing.
GOOD FEATURES
In my time of owning this knife, I have come to respect it for a few of the features it and it's sheath has. First thing is that this knife is a tanto style blade. I like that because tanto designs tend to have a sexier look to me and tend to be stronger and better slicers. Next thing is that this knife is pretty thin, which lends it well to cutting wood and splitting. The knife blade you get is pretty stellar for cutting, as well as delivering strong hacking strikes. Due to the knife being long, thin, and well balanced, it lends itself well as being a larger throwing knife. Also, I love that it has a good kydex holster. Cold Steel calls it a Secure-Ex sheath. This sheath is built pretty well with plenty of holes and loops on the outside, and the nylon belt loop is screwed on securely with Phillips screws. The other thing about the belt loop is that it can be undone and secured to your belt instead of requiring you to clear your belt all the way in order to slide it in place. Also, the bottom of the sheath has a small drain hole that allows it to drain water that may stand and rust and corrode the carbon blade.
POOR FEATURES
In my opinion, a reviewer is not worth a darn if they cannot be honest and admit that products have faults. The point of a review is to be honest and to show people what a product is like. Anyways, this knife has serious shortcomings that limit it's usefulness ability to be a fully versatile utility knife.
One of the things I seriously dislike about this knife is that you lose alot of the straight knife edge because of the room between the guard and the blade edge. This helps with the balance, but it kind of limits the size of wood that you can split. This knife is good at splitting, but the size limitation is a terrible thing. I would rather lose the balance and increase the splitting capabilities, personally. This limitation makes this knife more appropriate for recreation than for serious use.
The handle of this knife is very basic, which lowers it's value as a utility knife. Granted, you can modify it, but I would rather have a grip that is useful out of the box. I want a good solid grip on my knife if I am going to use it for processing wood.
The point of having a tanto style blade is so you can have a sturdy edge for stabbing. The tanto loses it's luster in this knife due to it's steep angle and the fact that it is very brittle. The tip does not carry the thickness of the knife all the way to the tip, as many of the Cold Steel tanto knives, which is disappointing. This is a pretty big con since the brittle tip also makes this a poor throwing knife since it is harder to stick it into your target. You have to hit it just right, it seems.
CONCLUSION
When I am buying a knife, I want it to have alot of capabilities, that way I am getting alot of bang for my buck. This knife is more of a fun knife with a little utility capability, which kind of lowers the overall value of the knife. Cold Steel advertises this knife as being a good "TACTiCAL KNIFE", which I feel is a bit dishonest. The knife blade is good for limited wood processing, and the tip is fragile. The sheath is terrific, and I wish that Cold Steel used this design with other knives. It is the most "tactical" feature this knife has. However, I still find this knife to be useful in the bush and around the house. Therefore, I am okay with paying the $30 it costs for this blade.
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