Cold Steel Recon 1 4″ S35VN Razor-Sharp Blade 5.375″ G-10 Handle Tactical Folding Knife w/Tri-Ad Lock, Ambidextrous Pocket/Belt Clip

3 reviews for Cold Steel Recon 1 4″ S35VN Razor-Sharp Blade 5.375″ G-10 Handle Tactical Folding Knife w/Tri-Ad Lock, Ambidextrous Pocket/Belt Clip

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   hatuletoh – October 27, 2023

   
   If this knife cost maybe 30-50% more it would still be a good knife, but I probably would have rated it at four stars, because it has a couple features that aren’t perfect. For example, the handle is linerless G10 with a G10 backspacer, and the only metal is part is the lock along the spine. Paired with a 4″ blade, it makes the knife have an odd balance that feels squirrely in the hand, because all the handle’s weight is at the top. The knife feels like it wants to roll out of the hand, and I think a little more weight at the butt end would improve the balance. Another thing I don’t love about the knife is that the that the shape of the handle–specifically the big index finger choil–can get in the way of the sweeping thumb motion needed to smoothly deploy the blade. It’s possible, but not very easy, to flick the blade open, so one really needs to keep contact with the thumb stud and push the blade open until it locks. Unless I’m opening a $500 Sabenza, I prefer to be able to snap open the blade with a flick of the thumb, and if I do have to push the thumb stud all the way through its pivot arc to get the blade open I don’t want to catch my thumb on the handle so that the blade only deploys halfway. It appears that thumb stud is designed to be of equal height (width?) to the scales when the blade is closed, but I’d rather have a slightly taller (wider?) thumb stud to ensure more reliable deployment.So the knife isn’t perfect, but I still gave it five stars, because for the price of about $100 (and I paid even less on sale), it’s excellent. Incredibly well built especially for the weight, still relatively light for its large size; it rides well in the pocket; and after a several months of moderate use, the blade has needed only some touch up sharpening and the DLC coating, or whatever CS coated the blade with, has only a few small scratches. Of course it goes without saying that the Tri-Ad Lock is like a bank vault, but one word of warning: when the knife was new the lock was so stiff I had to push down the roxker with all the force my thumb could muster and wiggle the blade with my off hand to disengage the lock. But after several dozen times of opening and closing the blade, the lock loosened up enough that I can easily depress the lock and shake the blade about 25% closed.I still need two hands to get it all the way closed, but I wouldn’t want a drop shut Recon. This isn’t a sleek “gentleman’s knife” that you slip into a suit pocket and pull out in a board meeting, this is a beefy folder meant for heavy work. And if that’s the kind of knife you need, for the price, it would be hard to best the Recon 1.

2. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   MartinTheWanderer – January 3, 2025

   
   When I discovered the Recon 1 series a couple years ago, I already knew from the pictures that this would be my “last knife”. Of course preferences, use case, hand/grip, etc. are very personal and can’t be generalized. But for me, this is the ultimate knife. Brilliant, simple design, perfect blade form, perfect handling, extremely sturdy. And great value for money – I have blades 3x as expensive that rust away in some drawer because the Recon is just BETTER.I got one with half-serrated blade, CTS XHP steel, that is always in my pocket.And now got the non-serrated version in S35VN steel (slightly easier to hone) as a backup.I am a very happy man. (at least knife-wise…xD)

3. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Brows Man – December 9, 2020

   
   I bought a Recon 1 about 10 years ago and it is smaller than the current version as you can see from the photos. The blade on the smaller version is about 3 inches and the newer version has a blade that is 1 inch longer. As near as I can tell the older version has been discontinued.I have several other folders of similar size to the older Recon such as a Delica and Rat 1 and some older Gerbers, but the Recon has been my favorite. At first I had problems with my first Recon as I felt the handle was too rough and the clip was too strong making removing from my pocket hard, but I lightly sanded the entire handle and I pried up the clip slightly and that took care of the issue. Also I was concerned about the lack of metal liners in the handle, but that turned out to not be a problem at all as the handle is very strong without metal liners.As I said my older Recon 1 was my favorite folder and edc for 10 years. The blade was sharp and sharpened easily, I think the blade is Aus-8, and there still is no play in the blade in either direction, the blade is still centered perfectly, and it is light for its size. I used it for edc and for hiking and camping making feather sticks, cutting cord and food prep.Then I decided a larger Recon 1 might be better for outdoor use, so I bought the newer version which is considerably larger. I was not disappointed. All the desirable traits and qualitys are there in the newer and larger version and they say it has better steel. The blade has no play and is perfectly centered like the old one. It is remarkably light for such a large folder. The handle on the newer one is not quite as rough as the older one and won’t require any sanding although the pocket clip is still too strong and I might have to pry it up a little, but no biggie. I didn’t baton with the older version but I think this newer one might take it. The newer one is a little big for edc, but certainly viable in that capacity and definitely more intimidating if an unfortunate situation for self protection should arise.Anyway I am very happy with my new Recon 1 and don’t anticipate buying another folder for a long time.