Recon 1 MAGNACUT/9-3/8 OVRLL/4" Blade/3.5MM THICK/G-10 HNDL

Here's why I'm giving this 5 stars. It's not perfect I'll admit. As others mention the action is a little "gritty", mine came with a small spot on the blade where the DLC is missing it appears, and THEIR customer service sucks a hot fart. I emailed them on 11/9 to make a warranty claim for the coating blemish and got a quick response (automated) saying they would review my claim and get back to me. Today is 12/12 and I have not heard back from them .I could reach back to follow up (though no, I shouldn't have to) but here's the thing (and why I give it 5 - ok maybe 4.8 stars), because the knife is a tool and the functionality of the tool is in no way compromised. I've had it for a month now and the action has loosened up and is smooth now (pro tip, open it about halfway and leave it sitting overnight or for a few days and it will loosen up) and the blade is still razor sharp and the triad lock back is freaking rock solid. I reached out to CS to see what they'd say or offer regarding the blemish, but the coating is going to wear off eventually anyway if I'm using it as it was intended and not setting in some showcase to stare at and play with while I play with... you get it... If that's what you want, spend $300, $400, $600 or one of the numerous "show "knives out there. But don't whine about the quality of a $200 knife (tool). I have the Recon 1 drop point in 35SVN as well as the tanto and paid less than $100 for them. This is more due to the superior MagnaCut steel but it's still a tool and it still does what it's intended to do great. The Recon 1 is an iconic knife due to it's just downright refusal to quit. It's solid as a rock and feels great in the hand. And a bonus on this M1 version is they've redone the stippling and it feels even better, plus the blade coating is a matte finish instead of gloss like the regular Recon 1. So I promise you if you actually use your knives as tools you want be disappointed with this one .

**Disappointing Quality for the Price** For the price, I expected much better. The knife arrived in a cheap, crushed plastic bag, and the box looked like it had been used. The action was crunchy and not at all smooth, which was surprising given the tight lock system. Even worse, despite how tight it was, the blade still wiggled back and forth. I'm really disappointed with the quality—especially from a company I thought would have better standards. I hope Cold Steel is paying attention because this kind of craftsmanship is unacceptable. I always believed Italy was known for perfection in its products, but this certainly wasn’t the case here.

I just received the knife so I didn't have the time to really test it. My first impression is quite unfavorable though, and that's why I decided to write right away. The opening and closing is seriously bad on the piece that I received. Crunchy and hard and it really feels cheap. Sharpness out of the box seems ok, but not as sharp as my old CS knives. I hope it all gets better over time cause I am a CS fan, but as it is for me now I would not recommend it.

Love it! Smooth as glass once broken and seated in. Just as smooth or even better than my Recon 1 s35vn tanto..... Both broken in the same way. Both feel absolutely amazing and why I choose Cold steel Recon 1 & Recon M1 for EDC or tactical and the SR1's in S35VN for camping & hunting any hard use knife you're typical folder and many full tangs would give up these beast SR1'S keep on keepin on like you'd expect from a solid bladed tool.... Ive got the Swift3 M4 that is simply just outstanding also. You pick any of these Coldsteel knives and you will not be let down... I should get paid or maybe a knife for my post. LoL kidding but they really are that great of knives.... Nothing's changed just improved....

Fantastic! This knife has a huge but balance piece of magnacut steel , the most premium steel you can buy. It’s flat in your pocket and even though it’s a large knife, you forget it’s in your pocket. Almost a year of use and it’s still razor sharp. It’s a bit stiff and gritty out of the box but it gets a whole lot better with use.

I hardly ever leave reviews, especially bad ones, but Cold Steel needs to know that whatever is going on since the buyout is letting down longtime users and owners of their products. I didn’t notice an issue at first, aside from a strong chemical smell from the G-10, so I assume that it was improperly cured. After using the knife a couple of times, I noticed that the lock bar was off center, with a gap on one side. I looked closer and realized that the stop pin was not properly seated into the scales, and was pushing them apart. At that point I noticed that there was also excess material left behind from the milling in the jimping on the handle. I figured it would be a relatively easy fix. I wasn’t super concerned about voiding the warranty because I’ve worked on many many folding knives. What I didn’t expect was that when I attempted to disassemble it the body screw immediately stripped out. Good quality tools, low quality screws. When I attempted to approach it from the other side I realized that they were essentially glued into the g-10 with white loctite. I decided to quit while I was behind , and now I have a $260 beater, that smells bad, that I hate. Don’t do it.

This is a very good knife for the military, tough as nails. I will always keep this blade.