Cold Steel Recon Scout

Cold Steel has a worldwide reputation for all manner of quality blades. This is largely how it’s represented in the UK, thanks to the importer BearArm Ltd, who largely services the re-enactment market with the specialist and historical blades, spears and swords they produce. Looking through the catalogue reveals a number of products that are excellent field tools for the shooter and countryman. The Recon Scout looked like a great place to start!

Big…

At 12.2” long with a 7.4” blade and weighing 15oz this is not a small knife, but it is certainly no machete. The weight comes from the .31” thick sk5 carbon steel blade with a full flat grind and sporting a subtle yet continuous curve from the choil to the tip with both slicing and chopping not being a problem. Made primarily for field work, I split half a week’s worth of fire wood with it the only evidence being a slight wearing of the black Teflon finish.

The chequered, Kraton handle is comfortable, warm to the touch and provides a secure grip, there’s a brass-lined lanyard hole at the base. I used a lanyard to hold the knife at the extreme end of the handle and found this greatly assisted with chopping. When splitting I used a wooden baton to drive the knife through the logs like a wedge; again illustrating the efficacy of this as a field tool in the extreme. There’s no doubt the Recon Scout can cope with the big stuff, but what about the finer tasks?

Shaving Sharp

The Rockwell rating is 57-58hrc and it will easily give a shaving sharp edge. I started the fine work by making a feather stick by holding tight up to the guard and placing my index finger in the choil. The only refinement I would suggest in this respect would be to reduce the guard length at the back and increase the size of the choil (to accommodate chunky fingers). Having said that it was just as talented at the small stuff as the wood chopping/splitting. The clip point affords a very strong tip with much of the blade thickness maintained to the tip, giving great confidence when using the knife for boring as there is little danger of the tip breaking or chipping.

The Secure-x sheath is great! Made of durable black plastic it’s self-draining (important with a carbon steel blade) with multiple attachment points both for cord or webbing. The belt loop is split with a good overlap of Velcro and a snap fastener for extra security both on the loop and one on the handles snap retainer. This set up allows for the knife to be added to/removed from a belt without taking it off and has proven most convenient getting in and out of the car. The belt loop/handle snap can be removed entirely by undoing the male/female bolts on either side so it does not encumber the user if it is mounted using the webbing slots on the sheath.  On the inside top of the sheath are four bumps in the plastic (two on each side) that secure the guard with a positive snap that holds it in place even without the addition of the handle snap retainer on the belt loop. 

I am seriously impressed with this knife; though it’s a little big for dressing animals it’s great for bone chopping. It will replace my machete in my hide building kit as it is easier to carry, less obtrusive and has proven to be a versatile field tool for a multitude of tasks.

PRICE: £127 + vat

FOR - Big and tough
AGAINST - Far too big for a deer knife
VERDICT - If you need a strong and practical heavy field knife this is it