Review of the Cold Steel Spartan Knife
I have carried the Cold Steel Spartan on and off for about 6 months now as part of EDC. It is a good knife and well built but not with out its flaws. Honestly I don’t really like it as an EDC tool but must admit it is a formidable self defense tool.
The Good
- Very solidly built
- The lock has amazing strength and zero play
- Good self defense tool
- Excellent feel in the hand
- Can be used as an impact weapon for non lethal use
- Opens extremely fast once you get familiar with it
- Despite being large carries very nicely due to the high clip placement
The Bad
- Not practical for EDC, draws to much attention when in use
- Curved blade is not practical for any type of intricate use
- The over-sized handle is not practical for a lot of tasks
- Might be seen as a “weapon” by under informed LEOs
- Doesn’t open easily with one had, need to flick or pocket draw
This knife is a very good tool as a defensive weapon over all but not very practical for much else. They are available on Amazon.com for about 55 dollars. My recommendation only buy this knife as self defense tool or to add to your collection if you simply collect knifes of all types. It is a purpose built tool in my view and not the best thing for EDC.
Interestingly enough this knife showed up in my Amazon “More Items To Consider” section the same day you reviewed it…
Very solid review…thanks for your time, and for the heads up.
I got one of these as a Christmas present last year. They are well built but mine never proved to be very useful – I found that my older Cold Steel Land & Sea rescue knife was a better EDC knife and one I carried much more than the Spartan knife. That being said, if I had to fight with one of these, the Spartan would be a better choice.
It appeared in my Amazon “consider” page also. In fact, when I clicked on “View or edit your browsing history” link which is right under the “More Items To Consider” section, it showed this knife under recently viewed items. I never viewed this knife on Amazon. They have become very proficient data miners. My guess is that they are scanning open browser/tab windows and matching found items to what they sell.
Very good review Jack. I’m glad you pointed out that the knife is form over substance, looks over utility. If someone is so afraid for their life, they shouldn’t be carrying around a gut ripper like that – they need carry a firearm.
While I don’t own the Spartan, I really agree with Jack’s assessment. I own several Cold Steel products and like them, but they also get pretty cartoony (or “pimp” even) with some of their products. I like them for solid, durable, and affordable work knives. The “fancy” stuff…not so much.
A bit off the topic, but I’ll just second the usefulness of the Cold Steel Kukri Machete that Jack showed. I’ve got that exact one, and I’ve been using it recently for cutting brush and for batoning (splitting) wood (practicing fire craft).
I’d look forward to Jack’s review of that Machete.