Cold SteelMini Tac Bowie 3-5/8" Lightweight Durable 8Cr13MoV Stainless Steel Fixed Blade Clip Point Outdoor Hunting Utility Knife, Griv-Ex Handle, Secure-Ex Sheath - Boxed

Bought this along with the Mini Leatherneck. For 20 bucks apiece I could not resist. The Leatherneck went back. This one, the Mini-Tac, is a neat little knife. Not quite a skeleton knife but still very lightweight and with an extremely slim profile perfect for edc or wearing as a neck knife if that’s your thing. The handle ergonomics are excellent and the knife snaps into the sheath with a positive click and is retained with no rattle whatsoever. If you grip the handle with your ring and middle finger while pressing on the sheath with your thumb, the knife will come out with the oversized finger choil perfectly positioned for your index finger. Cold Steel Secure-Ex sheaths are fiberglass reinforced nylon and are much maligned for dulling blades, but making a habit of lightly pressing upwards when you draw the knife so that the spine contacts the sheath instead of the blade should minimize this issue.The one thing I’m not a fan of is the dull gray coating on the blade. Just unattractive IMO. Maybe it’s so your enemies can’t peep you creeping through the bush stealth mode with your deadly Cold Steel tac knife, but I would’ve much preferred a satin finish like the Leatherneck had. Black would be ok too. If Cold Steel were to release a premium version of this exact knife with real G10 scales, S35VN steel and a satin finish, I would buy it in a heartbeat.

Cold Steal, a quality knife for that time you might just need it most.

This one is a go...For under $20.I picked it up for $17.99.I would definitely recommend it at that price point, but not at full price.One star off for grip panels with sharp edges.Easy enough to sand down a bit, but you really shouldn't have to.I used 240 grit sandpaper and didn't have to be very aggressive at all to achieve the result I was looking for.Sharp, but not razor sharp out of the box. It slices paper without tearing, but fails the hair test.It will shave hair on the back of my hand, but only with a lot of pressure behind the stroke.Self defense?Maybe, but there are much better choices fof $20-$30.The Mini Tac is not easy to draw quickly. The Kyoto 1 is very fast.In fact, a no brainer. Lightning fast!With the sheath getting in the way, the Mini Tac is a bit of a fumbler.Both sheaths offer secure enough waist carry, but if you brush up against something, the Kyoto 1 might not hold, due to its fatter rubbery grip and shallow carry sheath. On the other hand, the Mini Tac would probably stay more secure due to it's deeper sheath carry, thin grip, and non rubber grip material.In my opinion, the grip on either is too small for a defensive knife, still, better than your empty hands.If you are considering a knife for defensive purposes, get a small knife with a ring at the end of the handle instead, such as ITOKEY's small upswept blade.That's what I carry on my left in conjunction with a KOMWERO ringed Wharncliffe with a +4" blade on my right side. I tend to use the smaller knife for utility, as to not frighten unsuspecting citizens. The large Wharnciffe is rather scary!How does it compare to the Kyoto 1?Both are made in China, which is a much, much, better option than their Taiwanese options. The quality control is much higher in China. I was very disappointed with one of their SPIKE TANTOs I just purchased.That's going back today!What s piece of garbage!Really bad mismatched angles on the tanto tip.Sorry got off track.Had to mention it.Back to the Mini Tac and Kyoto 1...They are similar in size and length, but the Kyoto 1 is a thicker, more sturdily built knife than the Mini Tac.Sharpness is a smidge better on the Kyoto 1, but still, difficult to shave hair.Neither knife comes with a belt clip!The only option I've seen, is Cold Steel's Secure-Ex plastic one.The lashing holes on the sheaths are basically that. Lashing holes!The hardware on a standard clip is too big to fit the holes. I currently use zip strips to lash them to my belt loop, mounted horizontally.This works very well, but is rather inconvenient because the zip strips have to be cut loose for laundry day.Why don't they just include the clips?They could at least list them with their knives as an option.Just about everyone else includes a belt clip with their knives!l, and some are very nice!Why can't Cold Steel? Jerks!...A neck chain came with the Mini Tac (big deal), none with the Kyoto 1.The sheath of the Kyoto 1 fits easily within a jeans belt loop.Again, I secure it to the loop with zip strips.The Mini Tac sheath is a very tight fit for belt loop carry.I barely got it into one of my regular Lee loops. It's so tight,I could probably carry it this way without zip strips.Verdict:I prefer the Kyoto 1 slightly over the Mini Tac, simply due to its higher value as a conversation piece.Oh... there's the quick draw thing too.Why not get both, if you can find them at under $20 each?

Cold steel makes good knives we buy and use a lot of themThis has a good useable blade the handle is a bit short and small for my old hands but I bought the knife as a gift for my daughterIf the go on sale we will buy more

This knife occupies a rare space in the knife world: prioritizing blade length over a full sized handle. The user can fit the index, middle, and fourth finger on the handle and the pinky will form a fist below the end of the handle. For the tasks you are likely to do with a blade of this size it's a great move. The CRKT neck knives feel flimsy in comparison, in my opinion. The cutout for the index finger, found on a lot of "fighting" fixed blade knives (fighting the evil cardboard boxes) adds a lot of security and is the right width for my hand size. It could always be widened with a dremel if someone has thick index fingers. I am between a medium and large elastic glove size and it fits well.Fit and finish are flawless, with polymer handle slabs that feel much like G10 due to the texture, very grippy. No gaps between the handle and blade unlike a CRKT minimalist bowie I once had. The blade width (from edge to spine) is substantial giving toughness if someone really felt they needed to place lateral stress on the blade. The upswept belly is very pronounced which predisposes itself to slicing motions.Flaw: The fiberglass sheath while sturdy and form fitting, slightly dulls the blade. If you are into sharpening it might bother you to do your best job and upon withdrawal from the sheath notice a little glinting on the belly of the blade. The edge must be making contact with the glass fibers of the sheath. If this is a working knife or an emergency knife, you won't notice. A kydex or nylon sheath wouldn't have this problem but also wouldn't have the rigidity the included sheath provides.For the price this might be the best value in a micro / compact fixed blade capable of EDC. Very slim package, less obtrusive given the amount of work this is capable of. Even knowing the sheath slightly dulls the blade I would have wanted one as the design / engineering of the blade and handle are innovative. I purchased the polymer cold steel belt clip separately and use only one of the two included to attach it to my 1.5 inch belt on occasion.