The Cold Steel Italian Long Sword is one of the long and mega size blade that you want to try once in a lifetime, because it is so different from most ordinary swords you might've handled. The blade comes razor sharp, with everything packed together in a nice and complete package. You don't really need any maintenance for the blade too, only clean and oil is needed, The blade don't get loosen up or anything after moderate use, which I expect it can be also okay for some abuse... maybe I will try that in the future and let you know!

Cold Steel Royal Kukri Machete Review and Demo

The 2013 new product of Cold Steel - Royal Kukri Machete. This blade comes very razor-sharp and very sturdy. I would say that this is one of the best machete ever because of the shape and the sharpness right out of the box. No modifications are needed to make it better! Here is a video review I did with the blade.  Trust me, this one is the one you wanna pick up when you go out the greens next time!

Cold Steel Nightshade Series FGX True Power

Ever wonder how the Cold Steel Nightshade Series is really like? Just some fiberglass reinforced plastic named Grivory, does that sounds promising to you as a real deal impact or even self-defense weapon? The word "plastic" might seems a bit fragile, but that is not the case with Cold Steel.

I got my Koga SD1 and SD2 before, and they are tougher than what I expected. But then having a sharp TIP on these "blades" made with the same materials, will that work?  I really doubt their true power to withstand the abuse. Therefore, I got mine to test it out!

Just like all my other Cold Steel blades review, there goes the soft (paper), medium (cardboard) and hard (metal, pop cans or soup cans) test. Just to see if the blades can really withstand the abuse! Wow!  I am more than impressed!

After my demonstration on the Cold Steel Nightshade Series, now you know that these are not just for fun. They are really meant for use and can really cause some serious damage if used for stabbing!  Except for using them to cut boxes, paper and tape... they can actually be use for something more "serious"!  Well, a lot of people wonder how these "edges" does in cutting instead of stabbing. Here you go, I am the first guy that shows you how they do in cutting!

Cold Steel Recon 1 Large, Mini and Micro Comparison

Cold Steel Recon 1 is one of my favorite blade from Cold Steel, and now they made this a "series"! In 2013, we have the Cold Steel Recon 1 Mini, Micro and the XL coming up soon!  This is so exciting!  The Cold Steel Recon 1 mini is just like the mini Lawman or mini AK-47, basically a sized down blade and everything is the same as the big guy. But the micro is like a key chain knife, it's meant to be hung with your keys!  Nice and cute blade! 

The Cold Steel Recon 1 series are all made with the same blade material - Japanese Stainless Steel, AUS-8A, but featuring different length. If where you live say you can only carry a 3.5 or 3 inch blade, then the normal (large) Recon 1 is not for you because it's 4 inch!  So you can now buy the mini and still enjoy a Recon1 in hand LEGALLY!  

Honestly, the Mini and the large feels so alike in hand that you won't tell much difference except the large is abit longer. But for me? I will choose the large! haha!

Enjoy a review and comparison video of the Cold Steel Recon 1 series!

Cold Steel Medival Sword Trainer - Waster!

Cold Steel Medival Sword Trainer, another super strong and heavy weight polypropylene training sword made by Cold Steel. This beast is heavy, sturdy and extremely ergonomic. The guard is just an attachment with a rubber ring to secure it in place. You can take it off if you like and it will feels like a Chinese Han Jian in hand!  Honestly, the sword feels very "Chinese" without the guard on!  The pommel is glued and non-removable. Everything else is just perfect, you can't ask for more!

One note to all non-Cold Steel fans... the difference in Cold Steel's trainers weapons and other brand is that the finish and seams is so different. Cold Steel offer you great quality materials with seamless finish. The other crap will give you a LINE on the edges and feels like a toy. So you pay for what you get there!  It's a good deal to go for Cold Steel!

Enjoy my full review on the Cold Steel Medival Sword Trainer!

Cold Steel Bokken, O Bokken, Wakizashi Breaking Things!

Cold Steel Bokken, O Bokken and Wakizashi - all trainers weapon made with extra durable and tough polypropylene. They all came in black, with just the blade and a "guard" plus a rubber ring attachment to secure the guard. Therefore, you can put the guard on if you want, or leave if off if needed.  The handle is textured for a better grip and you can really feel like holding a real bokken in hand, it's so cool!

The difference between the Cold Steel Bokken and Cold Steel O Bokken is that the O Bokken is longer, bigger and thicker. The O there means big or large, therefore the size is larger! 

You might wonder how they do in actual sparring or practice use. Here I will show you what they are capable of doing by breaking some rebreakable boards, tiles and so on. This is fun!

One last thing you should know about the Cold Steel Bokken, O Bokken and Wakizashi is that they are not blade proof and so any sharp edge can cut through them with ease. You can use a knife to slice through it in a combat situation.  These are only impact resistant, meaning if you bang them on people, it won't break, but if you cut them with a knife, it will break!  Someone tried to smack them on a metal bar's edge and it cuts into the blade too. Just keep in mind, play with them according to what they are intended for!

Cold Steel Peace Keeper as Rope Dart Dagger

Cold Steel Peace Keeper rubber trainer is a great blade shape for making a rope dart dagger!  With a rope, you can make your own very cool flying rope dart that is actually SAFE for indoor or beginners to play with. this is a project I did to make my own rope dart at home instead of using the traditional metal dart head made with steel.  Now you can have fun playing rope dart at home with the Cold Steel Peace Keeper trainer blade!

How to Open Large Folding Knife like Cold Steel Espada XL

Large folding knife like the Cold Steel Espada XL is very cool and effective in self defense situation, but many people fear the size, weight and deployment difficulties and avoided these great options. Here I will talk about why you should consider the Cold Steel Espada XL or similar large folding knife for everyday carry or self defense situation, then I will go into a deployment method talk.

Why Large Folding Knife for Self Defense?

People come at you and cause trouble because they know they can beat you up with whatever they have in hand, or threaten you with a gun/knife to make you obey their orders. If you show them you are not weaker than them, you usually give them a bad day and they either flee or pee (in their pant).

Imagine this, you are the robber or street punk, and you walk toward a medium size guy wearing jeans and t-shirt and you pull your "switchblade" (3.5" blade) and ask him to pull out the wallet.  Now the next second you heard a CLICK and there goes a 7 inch blade folding knife deployed in that guy's hand, you saw it, and you panic, you wet your pants... isn't that just great?  What are you going to do now?  Hand over your wallet to him instead?  Or put your stupid dumb blade back and say sorry you were just joking around?

Fear factor is one big thing we cannot avoid. Yes it applies to the victim but also to the bad guys. If you can make the bad guys fear first, you might avoid a lot of hassle. Just like when some robbers try to threaten a guy with a knife, and end up the guy pull out a gun, that's going to be funny eh?

Longer blade, long reach!

The longer the blade, the longer reach you get, while they can't get you!  This theory is easy but hard to apply in real life situation when people are all freaking out. Well, let's put the "training" factor aside and pretend we can all fight like Jacky Chan.  But now the fear factor kick in again. When the robber saw your 7" blade, do you think they will even think they can stab you with a 3" blade without throwing it or getting cut first?  Now you put them into big time hesitation and doubt about their little knife thing.

Deployments, most important practice!

A lot of cool features like the "wave" feature on Cold Steel knives gives you the option to open these big blades by clinging it against your pockets... but then it's not the choice for me in a self defense situation. Let's take a look at this!

The wave feature, thumb stud, thumb pad, etc. yes they work and they have their value, but it's not preferred by me in a combat situation because they always point the blade out of the target range. My choice will be to make sure the blade opens and point directly toward the target and so it stop the guy from jumping forward and hug you like in WWF.  Now if they jump forward toward your knife, they will be sure to become a SHIT-KA-BOB...

Anyone, question?  I don't think you can beat this 1 second deployment and attack combo right?  Hope you like my tips!  By the way, carrying a 7" Espada XL isn't heavy at all, it feels very natural and very good in the jean's pocket!  I am loving it and having a hard time swapping to the Rajah II!  Gosh, this is so fun!

Cold Steel Paradox One Hand Opening Method

 

 Cold Steel Paradox is NOT a butterfly knife and is NOT illegal for Canadians but STILL can be trick-open with one hand plus one motion. This is not easy, but it can be done. I learned my Cold Steel Paradox trick from Cold Steel Forum as mentioned in the video and now you can see how it's done. For now, I did not find a nice way to close it that make me feel SAFE yet, so I will keep practicing until I get better at opening it first.

Here is my Day 1 Cold Steel Paradox one hand flicking video!

Ooops.. just learned the closing too!

Okay, finally, DAY 2 -- much better, now I finally got the whole thing down!

Cold Steel Double Agent I and II, Review and Destruction Tests

The Cold Steel Double Agent I is better for self-defense as the blade's design is going to be much more brutal with hook-style cuts. It will tears and rip the opponent's flesh like CHEESE on pizza. This is one of the scariest self-defense blade out there, selling for a low price, but high quality.

Cold Steel Double Agent II is more like a clip point blade, with less brutal cuts, but still a very smart and clever design.

Here is our full review on the Cold Steel Double Agent I and II

Cold Steel Recon Tanto Review and Destruction Tests

Cold Steel Recon Tanto, a Japanese Stainless Steel (AUS-8A) blade with a super strong rubbery grip. This blade is build like a tank!  It's strong, sharp and feel good in hand right out of the box. Basically the only bad thing about the blade is nothing but the black coating which failed big time on the Recon1. People can get scratches on the black coating easily by just using the knife for normal work. I am sure this is about the same with the Cold Steel Recon Tanto too. I had cut some cans with it and can already see the scratches coming. What a torture to see this great knife fail on such small thing - the black coating!

Cold Steel Recon Tanto is a great knife, just like the Leatherneck SF but better, tougher and better balance in hand. The grip is t he best part of this knife, it's so sticky and gummy like rubber with anti-slip feature, haha!  This is the best grip ever!

Cold Steel Rajah II Review and Destruction Test - mega blade!

Cold Steel Rajah II, another mega size folding knife by Cold Steel, with a 6" long Japanese Stainless Steel AUS-8A blade, secured with the super tough and strong Tri-Ad lock. Cold Steel Rajah II had impressed me because of it's sharpness and the unexpected smooth and easy lock mechanism. I have the Cold Steel Espada XL in G-10, but the lock was awful for a few months, then my daily exercise made it transformed.  This one comes super smooth and it doesn't need any exercising!

Cold Steel Rajah II is like a Kukri blade, it's not easy to sharpen with a normal stone for sure, but it's extremely sharp out of the box. The blade is very thick too, much thicker than the Cold Steel Espada XL, scary eh?

Here is my full review and destruction test with the Cold Steel Rajah II:

 After playing with the Cold Steel Rajah II a few days, I would love to try this as my EDC in the future, but now I am more inclined to the Cold Steel Espada XL in G-10 more because of the grip and that 1" longer blade.  The handle of the Cold Steel Rajah II is better as in "round" and "thick" but not the non-slip feature. It makes you feel like holding a fixed blade more than a folding knife, fun!

If you have to choose between the Cold Steel Rajah II or the Cold Steel Espada XL in G-10, which one will you take for EDC?  Honestly, carrying Cold Steel XL blades is an addiction. You fear the size is too big, then you carry it a day or two, you fall in love with it, and now you don't want to size down but just carry another one in your other pockets!  Sigh!  I am deeply diseased! 

Cold Steel Paradox X Review and Destruction Test

Cold Steel Paradox X, a butterfly knife style-like blade but you not illegal in Canada!  This is a great blade from Cold Steel because it's made to be legal for most places that prohibits butterfly-knives for whatever silly reasons. Honestly, many knives law is stupid because people who commit a crime don't care about the law anyway, and how hard is it to conceal a kitchen knife and stab people with it?  Does the criminal care about the law, or even read the law?  These knife laws takes away our fun and leisure, they restrict the honest and innocent citizens abut help the criminal to bully us without worrying that they will be sliced by a "butterfly knife" while they threaten you for money. As a great blade owner, we need Cold Steel, they make our dream come true - we can finally hold a butterfly knife like thing in hand without having to worry about these stupid laws.

Cold Steel Paradox is made with a typical Cold Steel's choice stainless steel - Japanese AUS-8A. This steel is great for pocket knives and it's really proven to be as strong as it is in the promo videos by Cold Steel.

Check out my review on the Cold Steel Paradox with some destruction test!

Cold Steel Paradox is a great slicer, stabber and fun toy to play with while you are drinking your daily coffee. It's a toy, yes, a toy for knives lover like us. We hate the stupid laws that doesn't make any sense in our eyes, and that is why we must support Cold Steel on this Cold Steel Paradox thing. They make people realize that we can HAVE whatever is restricted by the law, without breaking the law. No matter what, I am sure Cold Steel make my day here. This is something we need to have in the market. Now, let's make more Cold Steel Paradox like stuff and let the law fade out with time. If we can one-hand open this Cold Steel Paradox with ease, what can the law do now? Ban everything? Hope we don't fall into the UK-trap in the future!

Cold Steel Paradox, one of my favorite in collection because it reflects on the knife laws and showing us how we can still own things that are illegal to own without breaking the laws. With creativity, no stupid laws can stop us from getting the good stuff!

Cold Steel Shanghai Shadow Review and Demo in Action!

 

Cold Steel Shanghai Shadow is one of the most affordable functional Chinese style ring dagger on the market. Even a cheapo Kung Fu PROP blade pair cost about the same price as one of these live-edge!  It's really the best deal out there!  For Kung Fu, I would love to weld two of these Cold Steel Shanghai Shadow together for my form!

The weight of these Cold Steel Shanghai Shadow is excellent for daily carry too. They are light weighted, thin, and very tough. I had dropped one of mine on the ground and the tip hits the ground right on, broke the tip a tiny bit, but not worry, I can always get that fixed up by rounding the tip off a bit, just like how swords are fixed sometimes, especially antique swords. A round tip is always stronger than the sharp tip, but it is less appealing to the eyes.

The group of these Cold Steel Shanghai Shadow is very much "plastic" but they can be removed with ease and you can mount anything on or even wrap it up with paracord if you like. Yes, you can slide the handle in a slotted dowel and make your own "spear" too!  This is the best part of this Cold Steel Shanghai Shadow, it's so raw, and so easy to mod!  The finish is very tough too, which means it's very scratch resistant!

Here is my take on the Cold Steel Shanghai Shadow, showing you a review and my Kung Fu demonstration by using these SHARP daggers.

I will give the Cold Steel Shanghai Shadow 10 out of 10 for what they cost and their quality. These are extremely good blades for their price. Just like all Cold Steel blades, they are build strong and tough, ready for any crazy abuse.  You might doubt their ability to cut when you handle them on day 1, because of their weight. Try cutting with them, slashing ropes and cardboards, you will surely change your mind. Cold Steel Shanghai Shadow, one of the best dagger out there you should get!

Cold Steel Scottish Broadsword Review and Demo

Cold Steel Scottish Broadsword, another 1055 Carbon Steel blade by Cold Steel. This is one of the Cold Steel sword that you will say "WOW" to. It's not really fancy or expensive, but it's practical and heavier than you may expect from a "Broadsword". Here is my full review on this Cold Steel Scottish Broadsword. Enjoy a review:

and here is is my video on how to use this Cold Steel Scottish Broadsword as a Kung Fu weapon:

The Cold Steel Scottish Broadsword is extremely classy if you take a close look at it, but it's not bling bling fancy, it's practical fancy that I am talking about. The blade is sharpened only 1/2 way from middle to the tip but the back edge will give you a nice blocking-edge for parrying without having to make you worry about dulling or chipping the edge there. This Cold Steel Scottish Broadsword is very heavy as compare to other brands. I have heard people say that it's like 1 lb heavier than the Hanwei stuff too. If you are not looking for a super heavy blade for training, this one might not be for you. For me, I would love this more than the other brands because I am a fan of "heavy blades"!   It's great for power training!

Cold Steel US 1860 Heavy Cavalry Saber Review and Cutting Test

Cold Steel US 1860 Heavy Cavalry Saber, another 1055 carbon steel blade by Cold Steel!  As expected, it's really tough and heavy. This is my first time handling Cavalry Saber, but this piece had  got me interested in this style of blade. If you are new to my blog, you might not know that I am from a Kung Fu background and I am a Kung Fu master. These "western blades" are new to me but I am trying to see what I can get out of it with my knowledge in blades and weapons.

Here is my review and test with the Cold Steel US 1860 Heavy Cavalry Saber.  Hope you like my test cutting too!

The Cold Steel US 1860 Heavy Cavalry Saber is only sharpened 1/2 half and the back 1/2 is non sharpened or  even a faux edge. It cannot cut but it can be enough to chop into someone's shoulder with force. If you like to sharpen that part, you can do so, but it's not something I will do. Honestly, I find that the blade is sharpened that way for its purpose, and so I will leave it alone and try my best to learn from the blade.

A lot of people had commented about this Cold Steel US 1860 Heavy Cavalry Saber, saying that it's too heavy or too heavy toward the tip. As compare to the historical piece, this Cold Steel US 1860 Heavy Cavalry Saber is heavier and harder to handle. Well, it's alright, I won't mind handling a heavier blade!  In fact, I love it for the weight!  What do you think?

Cold Steel Latin Machete STEEL CAN Destruction Test

Cold Steel Latin Machete 18", a super tough and durable machete made with 1055 carbon steel. This Machete is NOT like that when it first came to my house. It's suppose to be fully black, including the edge. Just like all Cold Steel machete, they come DULL but enough to cut paper, and not your skin. It's just dull in my eyes, so I took it to a sharpening session and put on a convex edge on it myself!

Anyway, so after that, I hyped my student up again and he started trying out his CAN TEST with this again! This is crazy man, chopping a steel can in half with his Cold Steel Latin Machete!

Yes, we are Cold Steel Fans and we know what Cold Steel's blade should be use for!  A can opener!  This is one of the best survival skills you will need. Cold Steel Latin Machete as Can-opener, can you believe it?  If you own some Cold Steel blade, you will know why we are so into these test, because it makes you realize your money is well spend!

Cold Steel Gladius Machete BEST Can Opener Chop!

Cold Steel Gladius Machete, one of the best machete by Cold Steel made with 1055 carbon steel blade, sharpened to a razor sharp edge. I must say that call Cold Steel machete come with a very DULL edge, and this Gladius is the only exception so far. The Cold Steel Gladius comes as sharp as their pocket knives. You can expect it to be a live edge sword and not a machete. I fell in love with it because of it's sharpness too! I am sure you will love it as much as I do!

Many people use machetes to chop wood and cardboards, but how often you see people chopping metal stuff like a "soup can"?  I hand did my soup can chopping test with mine but I don't think it will convince you much. Here is my student Tin Yang (Kyle) from SC, showing you what a man's can opener should be like. Using a Cold Steel Gladius Machete as a can opener, he really kickass!

If you got a Cold Steel Gladius Machete, you will now feel proud to be an owner and to be owned. This thing is a beast!  I thought the Cold Steel Gladius Machete is filmsy, but turn out it is not!  The gladius in the video is just a factory edge machete, can you believe it?  It's REALLY SHARP!

Cold Steel Inferno Pepper Spray VS UDAP

I always wonder about how the better brands like Cold Steel's pepper spray works. Yes, it's illegal in Canada, sigh!  But luckily my student Tin Yang (Kyle) in SC can purchase it for self-defense purpose!  So he got the Cold Steel Inferno and the UDAP pepper spray recently and did a wild test!  Here is him, doing the test to show you what a real pepper spray should taste like! Behold!

After seeing his test with the Cold Steel Pepper Spray and the UDAP pepper spray, I must say that the UDAP is a very LETHAL pepper spray as compare to the Cold Steel Inferno, but yes, both will get the job done at the end.

Honestly, would you like to use pepper spray for self defense? or a blade?  To be honest, I would not want to risk my life by shooting out pepper spray because I might also cough and suffocate if the guy bang into me too fast and the pepper spray blew the wrong way with the wind!  A blade is what I want. Now I carry the Cold Steel Ti-Lite 6 as my primary EDC for day and the Cold Steel Espada XL for nighttime EDC. Call me crazy, but yes, I carry over 6 blades and 4 flashlight on me for EDC, or else why do you want to watch MY review to pick your EDC? haha!

Cold Steel Axe Gang Trainer Review and Destruction Test

The Cold Steel Axe Gang Trainer, is a polypropylene trainer weapon, build as strong as other Cold Steel products. Except for metal, you can basically smack this on anything and expect it to be "okay". I have the other Cold Steel trainers swords too and I can tell you that this thing is no different from their bokken, wakizashi, o bokken and so on. In fact, this Cold Steel Axe Gang trainer got more style and design to it, see the colors and wooden texture on the handle?

Here is my full review on the Cold Steel Axe Gang Trainer, you will find this video very funny! Instead of just using it as a trainer weapon to spar with, you can also use this as a non-lethal impact weapon, or even a massage tool!  I am not joking, it really gives you a good reach to the lower back when you need it!

Cold Steel Gang Axe trainer is actually one of the best trainer weapon out there because of the weight and durability. The only thing you need to know is that these trainer weapons won't break if you hit them on wood, plastic or soft stuff. But if you use it to hit against metal edge, it will cut in. They are impact proof but not blade proof. Hope you enjoy your trainer as much as I do!

Cold Steel Ti-Lite 6" Aluminum Full Review with Destruction Tests

Cold Steel Ti-Lite 6" with Aluminum Handle is what we are going to review here. A Japanese AUS8A stainless steel blade with super tough liner lock that you will never expect to see. I used to be a fan of the Tri-ad lock because of the Cold Steel promo video's test. Yea, think about the 600lb on the Cold Steel Espada XL, that's what I call a good lock.  But liner-lock?  I don't think that is what I will like. Oops, this thing proved me wrong here. The Cold Steel Ti-Lite 6" with liner lock is extremely durable, strong and tough as the other Cold Steel blades. I must take my words back. If you are also thinking about the same issue with the strength of this liner lock, you can take my words for it, this is NOT a normal liner lock.

See my full review on the Cold Steel Ti-Lite 6" with aluminum handle here. I am going to show you some test cutting, deployment methods and also tips on how to make the lock " easier to close".

If you run out of patience and want to go straight into the lock issue, here is the tips:

When you get the Cold Steel Ti-Lite 6", you will for sure realize the lock is a big problem - it's too strong, it's too hard to close, and it's giving your thumb a torture.  No worry, flick it open, close it, and repeat this about 200 times in a few days, your lock will now transform and make your life much easier! Enjoy my review and test!  Hope you also enjoy your Cold Steel Ti-Lite as much as I do, it's now my daytime EDC primary! (Just swapped my Cold Steel Espada XL out and using that for nighttime EDC instead.)

Cold Steel Butterfly Swords Review and Demonstration

 Cold Steel Butterfly Swords is one of my favorite weapon of Cold Steel. The reason why I love this pair of Butterfly Swords is because of the weight and balance it gives you while it's a live blade, and not a blunt prop for doing Kung Fu demonstrations. You can feel the blade is solid, securely constructed and very toughly build with a nicely done convex edge.

Here is my full review with the Cold Steel Butterfly Swords

You might seen a lot of videos on how people use this pair of Cold Steel Butterfly swords to cut and chop stuff up, but how many people can actually use it to practice their skills everyday?  Now you can see it in action!

If you are looking for a pair of Butterfly Swords for your Wingchun practice, I would say that this will not make every Wingchun master happy, but surely makes me happy!  The problem with most people is that they are stuck with the impression that Butterfly Swords HAVE to be light weighted, shorter and so on. Well, that's the point I want to make - this pair of Butterfly Swords are not for weaklings to work with. The weight is heavy but the balance is great. If you can have the stretngth to manipulates it, you will love it as much as I do! I don't see any problem with using this Cold Steel Butterfly Swords to do wingchun too. It's one the the BEST weapon out there for any zombie-situation that might happen in the future!

For more information and photos of this Cold Steel Butterfly Swords pair, please see my post -Cold Steel Butterfly Swords Total Review and Destruction Tests

Cold Steel GIM Sword Review and Demonstration

Cold Steel GIM Sword is one of the best practical live edge Chinese sword on the market today that you can buy under $300. This sword is made with 1055 carbon steel and constructed in a real deal live edge sword construction. You can see the sword is build simple, but strong and tough. Beside the specs, here we will show you some good reviews and demonstrations on the handling and cutting of the sword that you can't find anywhere but here with me - Mak Jo Si.  Here is the first impression review, handling the sword:

The Cold Steel GIM Sword is one of the cheapest live edge sword on the market today that is build for use and not for look. You might find a lot of videos online with people cutting paper, bottles and so on with this sword because it is a live edge sword, and so people are all into cutting and slashing with this in hand.  What about doing a form?

The Cold Steel GIM Sword have a lot of philosophy behind the design too, you might not know it, but it's closely related to the philosophy of how Chinese see "Virtues" of a martial artist or a person with a sharp weapon in hand!

Overall, I am very satisfied with the purchase of the Cold Steel GIM sword!  It's a very practical and very affordable live edge sword that I want to keep for sure. I won't mind a few scratches when cutting things because it is at least not a fancy Damascus blade.  The only problem is that I feel the sword is too light to be my beloved sword. I needs more weight near the tip to make it better. Here is my full photography review with the sword -Cold Steel Gim Sword Review with Great Photos and Video

Cold Steel Battle Gim Review and Demonstration

Cold Steel Battle Gim is a new Damascus Steel blade Chinese sword by Cold Steel in 2012. It's another great sword that I am going to review here and show you the sword in action instead of showing you the features and specs. As a sword lover and a Kung Fu master, I will dig into the practical aspect of the sword more than the beauty of it here.  First, let's take a look at the review I did on first impression handling this sword.

Looking at the Cold Steel Battle Gim above, you might think the guard is weird or the blade looks too heavy, etc. Let me tell you what, it's not. The design of the Cold Steel Battle Gim will not stop you from fast and fluent movements in a sword form. Here I had put together a nice form in Tin Yat Lineage to show you how I am manipulate this sword in full control with lots of wrist movements.

You might be the first time seeing Tin Yat Lineage Kung Fu, but yet, don't be shock about how I can perform so many crazy movements with weapons (SHARP!) in a compact space. I can even do a Kwan Dao form or a fast staff form in this space too. That's not the key point we want to talk about here, let's skip this first... what we want to talk about is the sword itself...!

The Cold Steel Battle Gim have great character, and you feel the grip is slim and flat at the same time giving you a very secure feeling with that special guard. It sort of lock your grip in a set position so that your hand is just above the "flower" thing on the back portion of the grip. Not bad, this design was not nice looking at first, but now I sort of love it more and more everyday!

The Cold Steel Battle Gim is sharpened and profiled in a true diamond geometry blade, and so you might want to know one very critical thing - how's the tip like?

Stabbing it through a computer case, um... conclusion is, NOT BAD!

Want more Cold Steel Battle Gim's photos and detail photography? Check out my other post with tons of pictures! Cold Steel Battle Gim (Jian) Total Review With Great Photos and Video! (New for 2012!) 

Cold Steel Chinese Sword Breaker Best Review

 

Cold Steel Chinese Sword Breaker is not a sharp edged weapon but more like a smacking weapon with a sharp tip, just like a rapier and an iron whip combined together into a deadly weapon. You will never find a Chinese Sword Breaker in the market now with this kind of quality - build for actual usage. This is not a kung fu practice weapon or a prop, it's a real weapon, a weapon that you can really use to battle off your zombies!

Many will review Cold Steel knives but not many will do a full review on the Cold Steel Chinese Sword Breaker. Skip the normal stuff you will usually see where people copy off Cold Steel's site with the specs of the blade, now you are not here to read those stuff. You are here to see my exclusive reviews that shows you what you want to see as a future owner of the blade.

The Cold Steel Chinese Sword Breaker deserves a good review plus a demonstration!

The form in the video that i had demonstrated is a Chinese Sword Breaker form in Tin Yat Lineage which is not what you will find outside. Most Kung Fu sect don't do the Sword Breaker because it's "too heavy" for them or not "practical" - but it's all excuses because they just don't know how to use it. Let me tell you the truth - this thing is FUN!

The Cold Steel Chinese Sword Breaker comes with a nice rosewood sheath that is so tightly fitted with the blade to the point that it won't fly out even you put the sheath on for doing your kung fu!  I love this thing because it gives me two weapons in one deal!  I love to practice kung fu with the sheath on for power training and then take it off for some fun smacking with targets.  This is a great deal!  Get the Cold Steel Chinese Sword Breaker and enjoy it with me!

Also check out:

• Cold Steel Chinese Sword Breaker Review and Demonstration! (First On YouTube!)

Cold Steel Special Force Shovel Complete Review

 
Cold Steel Special Force Shovel, a ultra tough shove with an edge that you can use for chopping, cutting, and saving your life in emergency situation!  I must say that it's the best shovel ever.  The handle can be removed with ease and replace by a longer dowel or stick or anything you can find in the wild and now it's a long handle shovel too!  Nice!

Aside from the practical aspect of this Cold Steel Special Force Shovel, I also want to mention that the finish and coating on this shovel is extremely durable and very scratch resistant too. Unlike the Cold Steel Recon1 which will get scratch easily. This one won't! 

Here is my full review of the Cold Steel Special Force Shovel and the test on soft, medium and hard targets to show you it's ability. The edge can cut too, if you use some skills or sharpen it with a file (very easy). I don't think you will want to sharpen the edge too much though.

Cold Steel Chinese Swords Picking

Cold Steel offers three different Chinese Swords right now as of up to 2013. They offer us the classic GIM Sword, the Jade Lion Sword, and the Battle Gim of 2012.  These are all great Chinese swords with a live edge and real deal construction. I can't say anything bad about them at all but if you don't have a lot of money sitting around, and you got the Cold Steel disease in you, you just need to pick one and marry it, right? Here is my comparison of the three Cold Steel Chinese Swords. Hope can I help you pick!

Overall, I will summarize it in short here...

Cold Steel GIM Sword
Most practical if you like to chop a lot, and this sword offer you great amount of fun but surely won't be a sword that you like to treasure for a "house treasure" kind of thing. You will use it a lot and don't mind having a few scratches on it. It feels the lightest out of the three and the sword is very easy to manipulates too. If you like to USE your sword a lot, get this.

Cold Steel Jade Lion Sword
The most classy one out of the three, and the most collector's choice for sure. The Cold Steel Jade Lion Sword gives you the best appearance and presentation. Anyone who see this sword in your house will automatically say "WOW...." and want to touch it but fear to pay you $10k for putting a scratch on it with their fingerprints.  That's how precious it is. The sword is also easy to manipulate and handle. I will say that this sword will fit anyone who like to collect precious stuff, and have a piece of art at home.  Of course you can still use it, but you won't want to.... so after you get this one, in a few months, you will get the GIM sword too. haha!

Cold Steel Battle Gim
This one is the best one for training because the weight is heavy and balance is more toward the tip of the sword, which gives you great amount of workout too. The wood on the scabbard and sword's handle is super good quality, and so it is not as simple as it seems. At least I would say that the finish on this one look much better than the GIM sword.  The scabbard feels thinner too, and gives you a feeling of a solid, scary and heavy sword. When anyone see this in your house, they might not get drooling about it, but they will if you let them touch it once. A must get for all Cold Steel Swords fans plus a real martial artist who favor power over fancy.

Cold Steel Chinese swords are great for their practical side and also the designs. I personally trained in Kung Fu for over 20 years already and I would say that these are the best swords I have handled so far. I would love to see a Cold Steel Dao sometime in the future, this is a must have for sure!

Also check out my other Cold Steel Chinese Swords review!

• Cold Steel Gim Sword Review with Great Photos and Video
• Cold Steel Jade Lion Sword (Jian) Total Review With Massive Photos and Videos
• Cold Steel Battle Gim (Jian) Total Review With Great Photos and Video! (New for 2012!)

Cold Steel Norman Sword VS Han Jian!

Cold Steel Norman Sword - a 1055 carbon steel blade put side by side with my Han Jian made in Damascus steel.  What do you think will happen? The Cold Steel Normal Sword feels great in hand but the guard seems to be too sharp and rigid edge for my hand. Probably I am not used to handling Euro swords? I don't know because I am new to this type of swords too. I know this is a post-vikings style sword and you can see the blood groove in the center is very classic looking too. I love that design there. From a Kung Fu background, I am trying to handle this sword the first time and comparing it with my Han Jian:

I am not going to comment on how the Cold Steel Norman Sword is compare to it's original antique, because it's meaningless to compare it that way. What I like is to handle these swords from Cold Steel and tell you what I can get out of the sword itself. What's the pros and cons are, what is the advantage of this design and balance, what is the bad side about it, etc.  People always say that Cold Steel is always made "too heavy" or "wrong balance" when you put the old antique side by side with Cold Steel. Hey, guess what, Cold Steel is not an antique replica company, they are a company that make good swords and knives for practical usage while having fun in giving you so many designs and options to choose from. If you want an exact replica, you can go elsewhere, because the exact replica can be not as good too.

Just like steel-science!  Steel in the past is not as good as the pure carbon steel we can have today due to the advancement in technology. Maybe in the past, people want to make longer swords too!  But due to the fact that the metal is not good enough, they can't do it. In today's technology world, we can do it!  That's why it's important to learn how to enjoy Cold Steel's swords and not to criticize it by using the old antique stuff to put it side by side and see how close they are like. If you do this, you miss out all the fun stuff.

I think this video shows you how different the edge is on the Cold Steel Norman Sword and the Han Jian. The Han Jian is much lighter in weight, and it's also sharpened to a sharper edge for fast cutting and slicing. Therefore it can chop the free-standing cardboard box in half with ease.  The Cold Steel Norman Sword is build for TOUGH use and it is not sharpen to a super scary sharp edge for fast cutting like this, but it can surely cut meat and bones with ease because of the weight. Now it's time to try this on a piggy, just like the Cold Steel guys, haha!  Enjoy my video!

Cold Steel Recon1 Deployments Methods

Cold Steel Recon 1 is one of my favorite folding knives and here is some great ways to open your Cold Steel Recon 1 that you might want to know. A lot of people EDC their pocket knives but not many dig into how to deploy them in different ways that can have different advantages and disadvantages.  Some people also favor the WAVE feature on the Cold Steel AK47 more than the Recon 1, but hey, the Recon 1 is chosen for the Marines, why not the AK47?  Good question, I will discuss this later.

Here is a video of me showing you the Cold Steel Recon 1 deployment methods.

You might think that the Cold Steel Recon 1 is very stiff and hard to flick open or even close, because the Tri-Ad Lock is super tight and stiff like rock when you got the knife on day 1!  Yes, same here. Here is a good thing to do with all your Cold Steel Tri-Ad lock knives:

Put the knife in partially open position, and make sure it holds out in an angle greater than 90 degree but not fully open yet. Leaven the blade somewhere safe and put it there for 3-4 days, don't touch it often and let it stay there. After 3-4 days, play with the blade again and you will find the blade loosen up a little bit more.  Exercise the blade by opening and closing it when you are enjoying your cup of daily coffee!  In a month, your blade will transform!

The Cold Steel Recon 1 is a great blade, but it takes time to get transform the lock to a practical one. After that, you will love carrying it around because now you can use the deployment methods I shown you in the video above!  Enjoy!