douglyell—December 4, 2025
The cold steel recon 1 with tanto point and partially serrated blade is a strong, well engineered yet easy to carry knife. Tanto geometry has 4" of actual cutting surface and 2 sharp points- the extra strong acute point and the obtuse tanto point, great for opening boxes and hard use. The triad lock is very strong, opening with a satisfying "click." Partially serrated blade cuts cloth, rope and vines very well. Handle is ergonomic, with slight texturing and finger indentations for a secure grip. Pocket clip is strong yet adjustable. Slight, incremental adjustment is recommended if needed. The slight handle texturing is easy on pockets. Strong as it is, the knife is surprisingly easy to carry. I heartily recommend the recon 1 as an excellent value for the $. Read more
Tyler Durden—October 7, 2025
Cold Steel Recon 1 is absolutely a thick extremely sharp piece of CPM S35VN steel that's crazy sharp and this steel is not about to give up.. This is a absolute amazing knife for the money, probably one of if not the best and I say thay from many years of personal experience in hand to hand sellf defense. With the S35VN steel which is truly amazing blade steel and one of the most absolute smoothest functioning non assisted folders fresh out of the box is something that's tough to beat. This is my EDC folder or even going out into the woods for a hike this is the blade will do you right. Remember this is not full tang knife but with the Triad Lock system it's as close as you're going to get to actually being a fixed blade with a full tang, it's that good. I have Cold Steel Recon 1's S35VN tantos and Cold Steel Recon M1 Clip point in Magnacut hand made in Italy which is a dream of a EDC knive. Anyone of those knives are as good as it gets and far better knives for the money than most anything else out there. Certainly nothing better, maybe as good but that's very debatable to say the least. If you need a EDC that's a extremely excellent self defense tactical blade you are going to be tough to come close to this in longevity/dependability and awesome blade steal with a unbeatable locking system. Then you ad the price and you just can't compare. Own a 300 dollar knife for a fraction of that price and have a better knife in the end by far..... No matter the price of the knife you can't beat the real world use with a Cold Steel! Read more


Ted Cromwell—December 14, 2025
This knife has a high return rate. My guess is this knife isn't fidgety and people want fidgety knives. But I bought 3 of these knives and I love them. They one hand slow roll open with super smooth action and locks with authority. The lock is a triad lock. It will never unlock by accident. Once locked it's nearly a fixed blade. The G10 handle is high quality and feels great. It comes with left and right hand pocket clips so it can be carried left or right handed. The s35vn blade steel is a premium steel and comes perfectly sharpened. Read more
Zachariah F.—July 17, 2025
I just received this knife today, so I can’t speak to its longevity or how well it holds an edge. But I can say this: this is the first knife that has wowed me right out of the box. I literally said the word “WOW!” when testing its sharpness just now. For the last 15 years, I’ve been using an Emerson Commander and a number of Spyderco knives. This is my first time trying something new outside of that realm. Compared to these other knives, it’s definitely a lot bulkier in the pocket — so if your pocket space is limited, be aware that the fit may not be optimal. The G-10 handle is very solid, and the grip is designed more ergonomically than any of my previous knives. My fingers feel well-protected and there’s not a chance this thing is coming out of my hands in a fight. It locks open *very* firmly — much more so than any knife I’ve used to date. It’s a bit hard to close, but I’ve been opening and closing it repeatedly and it does seem to be easing up, so I think it just needs a couple hundred closes to break it in. The same is probably true or the pocket clip, which feels a bit excessively tight. Not sure if I’ll be leaving it on or not. Aesthetically, this thing is both gorgeous and intimidating. Maybe not the best thing to pull out on a work site for utility use, but will definitely intimidate someone in a defense situation. Overall, this thing feels like a workhorse and I get the impression it’s worth double what I paid for it. I can see why it has a reputation as one of the best defensive folding knives for EDC. Read more
Jason snider—May 2, 2025
I got this knife 13 months ago and it's pretty good. Comes with a extra pocket clip for left handers. Mine came with a uneven grind and not very sharp. But after Sharpening it up well its a razor. I got the spear point because it's stronger than a clip point. Cons: Slow to open for most folders even after a year. Somewhat hard to close too. Came dull with even edge Pros: Durable, very rust resistant I've never gotten rust on this and I've used it for fishing alot but I also oil the blade once a week. One of the sharpest knives I have. It gets sharper than my carbon steel mora robust. The grip is nice and is kind of like a guard so you don't have to worry have cutting your hand doing stab work. Very tight blade. The lock tite on the blade screw finally loosened a month ago so I used clear nail polish on the screw threads to prevent the screw from getting loose after tightening. The only concern I'd had have for this knife is s35 is a a very strong and hard steel. But because of how hard it is its more likely to break than softer steel. But if you use it like a knife this will probably last you the rest of your life. I recommend. Read more

Marilena H.—November 24, 2025
Well made, no wobbly blade movement, solid, reliable, and at $79, practically indispensable. You can put it in your pocket and not even notice it because it's solid but not overly heavy. A great knife! Read more