Cold Steel Hatamoto Folding Knife
My opinion of Cold Steel’s knives has changed a bit with the recent acquisition of a couple of Cold Steel folders. The Hatamoto is the first of these Cold Steel knives that I have acquired, and comes from their high-end line they call their “Custom Series”, and feature their mysterious and somewhat gimmicky San Mai III Steel.
I still don’t think the higher end Cold Steel knives offer good bang for buck, but I had a great opportunity to acquire a few of their knives for a bit less than it would have cost me otherwise, so I jumped on it. This here is the Cold Steel Hatamoto, with San Mai III steel blade, Titanium liners and bolsters, with a machined G-10 handle with rising sun pattern.
The liner lock is typicaly Cold Steel, with the pad that they used for easy lock disengagement. The grinds on this knife are very cool, and are the same as the ones used on the Magnum Tanto, featuring the Americanized Tanto blade that Cold Steel popularized in the 80’s.
All bias aside, the Hatamoto is a very nice looking and feeling knife, with very nice grind lines and parts. The steel is either VG-1 or AUS-8 sandwiched by what is likely 420J2 stainless. A very acceptable steel, but for the premium cost, it is priced a bit high, but as with all Cold Steel, the street price is always much lower than the retail.
If it weren’t for the ridiculous marketing tactics and inflated retail pricing, Cold Steel would have a decent product on their hands. Instead of pricing the knife at $400 and selling it at $250, they should have just priced it closer to $250.
Overall a really nice knife that is extremely sharp and shaves hair without thinking twice. Action is very smooth, and washers are extremely thin, an indication of very precision contruction. These Custom Series folders are significantly better than their standard offerings, and if you can get one for a good price, they are not a bad choice. However, if you are a true tactical nut, you might have written off Lynn Thompson of Cold Steel long ago and would be caught dead carrying his stuff. I don’t blame you.
Specs:
Blade Length: 5″
Overall Length: 9″
Blade Steel: San Mai III
Liner Material: Titanium
Bolsters: Titanium
Handle: G-10
Video:
February 26th, 2009 at 9:57 pm
Very nice review. Thanks
July 6th, 2009 at 7:40 am
Your review stinks. You must be a Spyderco stooge. Spydercos are for fairies and pillow biters and knob gobblers. You probably wear gucci camouflage when you go paintballing with your fairy friends in candy land woods right next to candy mountain. You wouldn’t know a great knife from a hole in the ground.
July 6th, 2009 at 9:05 am
LOL Well I don’t know if you’re really the chump we all know as Lynn Thompson… but that was such a great response I had to print it. Fantastic!
November 14th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
L. Thompson is a fatty.
January 1st, 2010 at 11:25 am
hey CALM DOWN. . . . .everyone just calm down ,It is a personal preferance on the “brand” of knife one may carry ,ultimately your knife is only one of many tools we all carry .I own cold steel ,spyderco and even gerber all of wich serve their purpose in what ever capacity they are being used.ALSO dont be too quick to discredit the sport of paintball ,most of us who play and enjoy this action sport are the demograghic wich purchace and use your products .many of us consumers are very brand loyal ,however we are also bargin seekers .so thanks for making great products and thanks for reveiwing products and sharing those comments with us . as a consumer I will judge for myself the effectiveness and quality of a product by purchasing them and using them , and then deciding for myself .
March 19th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
I love it when reviewers add in meaningless bias at the end of reviews. It really makes me value their opinions.
March 27th, 2010 at 12:17 pm
I don’t blame you. I wouldn’t read those reviews if I were you.