COLD STEEL SRK Compact 5" SK-5 Clip Point Razor-Sharp Blade 4.5" Durable Kray-Ex Handle Tactical Fixed Blade Knife w/Secure-Ex Sheath

I bought this knife for only one reason. I wanted to see for myself if a knife costing less than a crappy lunch for two at some fast food joint lives up to its numerous, positive pieces of feedback.The SRK-C (meaning Compact) is issued to Navy SEAL candidates during BUD/S training, and I now understand why. First, the lines, angles, and cutting edge are as close to perfect as one could hope for. The tip is extremely pointed and sharp, and is backed up by enough steel that it should hold up quite well. Additionally, the knife came to me shaving sharp. Amazing.The knife is very light in weight, making it extremely fast and easy to maneuver. The rubberized handle is equally nice. It feels very good in my rather large hands, and the guard is just large enough to provide adequate protection while not being obtrusive.SK-5 is a high carbon Japanese steel that is very easy to sharpen. If you are not good at sharpening, I recommend using the KaBar sharpener. It does a great job. While not a high-end metal, SK-5 is good nonetheless. Being high carbon, it will be a tad more prone to corrosion than stainless steels, but an occasional wipe down with gun oil or some WD40, will do the trick. The knife's finish will wear somewhat easily, but who cares? This is a working tool, not a show piece.Although the sheath itself is good, I do not like the nylon strap that connects it to one's belt. If you wear this on your belt and draw the knife, the strap will ride upward with your pull and make the knife harder to remove.I'm one of those guys who has been there and done that, so it takes a lot to impress me, and this knife certainly does. This piece seems every bit as nice as my Gerber Strongarm costing roughly 60% less. I like the SRK-C so much that I sold the Gerber. In fact, I have owned and used knives costing as much as twenty times this amount that were not made any better.There is no such thing as any one knife that can handle every possibility one might encounter in the field, but this knife is a great place to begin. Remember, the key to survival is always being prepared. When I hit the field, I'll be wearing the SRK-C, have a bowie knife attached to my backpack and a hand axe inside.Value is the sum of an item's characteristics, quality, and price. The SRK-C is an amazing value in every respect.God Bless America and our troops!

The actual steel may be slightly less than the following measurements due to the black coating applied to the steel. Blade is .179 thick with a primary level .627 deep and leaving a .038 thickness before the edge grind all for a 6.5 degree primary bevel.The blade is a one inch wide Flat saber grind .69" deep toward the spine. Ricosso is .29" long w a small circle and the swedge is 2.125 " long with a false edge cut very steep and left about as thick as a nickel. No danger of cutting yourself on the swedge but makes a good piercing point on the blade. The edge bevels are uniform and equally cut on both sides. The grind marks on that edge are very fine so it was either cut with a fine grit belt or polished afterwards. Very sharp. No need to touch it before use.4.5" long handle that is pretty much as wide as the blade and runs even until the last half inch that protrudes about a quarter inch to the front. See any stock photo of the knife. The profile looking down from the spine shows it swells in the middle for a comfy contoured grip. It has a molded in finger guard that's all rubber and very flexible. Will not protect the hand but dose let you feel where the handle ends. Knife weight is 5.2 oz alone and 7.5 with the sheath.When I fully open and stretch out my fingers it's 9-1/4 inches from the top of my thumb to the tip of my little finger. The handle seems just big enough for me. The handle seems to slide over the tang and be held on by a brass tube running thru the end of the handle and flared on both sides to secure it and provide a lanyard hole. I think it would be very easy to remove the handle and replace it with a more traditional brass guard and wood or antler handle if desired. But the stock handle is completely adequate and light weight.The sheath is form fitted plastic type that holds it secured wo any snap even though the nylon cloth belt loop includes one to keep it secure against the belt. This belt loop can be opened by one metal snap and Velcro to make taking it off and putting it on possible without unbuckling your belt.I find the knife w included sheath very comfortable to carry. So light I rarely notice it. I've been whittling a lot of oak and maple and the edge and black coating is holding up well. I've read this SK-5 steel is a 1080 equivalent steel. 1080 may be considered a low end steel by steel snobs but if heat treated well it makes a good tuff easy to sharpen knife. In fact the heat treatment of the steel is so important that a well heat treated 1080 steel knife will be better than a poorly heat treated "super" steel one. I haven't tried to drive the knife into an oak tree and bend it over or to chop through a cinder block because I don't consider that a task I'd do with any knife. I can say it cuts wood, string, leather, and packing tape well. I haven't done any food prep because IDK if the Tuff-ex coating is food safe. But based on the blade geometry I expect it would manage fine in camp or on a deer. I've contacted cold steel and asked about the Tuff-ex coating but haven't heard back yet. The purpose of these coatings on carbon steel knives is presumably rust proofing. I don't understand this because the cutting edge bevels on all these coated knives is sharpened off so you'll need to dry and oil it anyway. In fact the bare metal edge arrived with a heavy oil coating on it. Personally I prefer food grade mineral oil. It coats thin and doesn't impart any taste to food I cut. My suspicion is it's more cost effective to paint them than to polish the bare steel.

I cannot say enough good things about this knife. If you want a compact, and likely 50 state legal, fixed blade to carry around all day every day, this IS the blade for you. the tip is beveled perfectly for light bushcraft/splitting, razor sharp, snaps well in holster, and great non-slip grip on handle. This isnt the type of knife you put on a shelf and admire its craftsmanship and never use it, this is a fully functional SRK by every metric....it WANTS to be carried,used and abused. i believe every adult should have this on their person at all times,keep in on your hip, in your boot,on your leg, at the bottom of your purse, in your center console, there is really no excuse i can think of for an adult to not have one of these on their person. i promise that you will not be disappointed with the overall value and quality of this fixed blade