Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Ease of Opening, Handle Feel, Handle Material, Lock Ease of Use, Lock Type, Overall Quality, Pocket Clip, Sheath, Weight
Cons: None
I bought another!
I liked the first one so much, I bought another!
Reviews and Ratings for Cold Steel 20NSC Pro-Lite Folding Knife 3.5" Clip Point Blade, Black GRN Handles
(18 reviews) 4.5 out of 5 stars
5 star
11
4 star
6
3 star
0
2 star
1
1 star
0
Customer Reviews
Bob
PennsylvaniaAug 08, 2024
Edward
San Antonio, TxJul 30, 2019
Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Pocket Clip, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness
Cons: None
Good price, GREAT knife
Came SCARY sharp. I've shaved missed facial hair with this thing. I've never gotten a knife this sharp from the manufacturer. I love the light weight. The pocket clip is sturdy and correctly placed for left and right hands. The lock is a bit stiff, I know that this will change with usage.
Dave R
Jacksonville FlDec 09, 2016
Pros: Weight, Pocket Clip, Blade Sharpness
Cons: None
Great knife for the value.
Bob
PennsylvaniaAug 02, 2024
Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Ease of Opening, Handle Feel, Handle Material, Lock Ease of Use, Lock Type, Overall Quality, Pocket Clip, Weight
Cons: None
Just the right size!
Perfect size! Strong lock! Thick blade! Good clip! An all-around great knife.
J. Sabia
Fannin county GADec 25, 2018
Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Pocket Clip, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness
Cons: None
Excellent work knife
I'm most always in search of a great work knife . I'm in construction and go through them often enough . This knife is really light weight and locks up like a tank . It feels good in the hand . Came super sharp .
Dunha
São Paulo-SP, Brazil.Nov 19, 2017
Pros: Weight, Overall Quality
Cons: None
Boa Ferramenta.
Bonito, discreto, leve e seguro. Numa emergência, pode perfeitamente ser usado em defesa pessoal. É uma das melhores opções para EDC urbano atualmente.
Tim
SwitzerlandFeb 22, 2019
Pros: Weight, Pocket Clip, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness
Cons: None
That's an excellent knife for not a lot of money!
Used it for over two months now (mainly opening packages and cutting cardboard) and really enjoy it more now than I thought I would. The best thing about it has to be how sturdy it is (and feels) despite being extremely lightweight. The only bad thing is the blade steel - it just won't keep its edge for long. But this is merely a nitpick considering the whole package you'll get, since resharpening it is so easy and the overall fit and finish is impeccable at this price point. The Tri-Ad-Lock is notorious for being stiff sometimes - mine however is more on the smooth side and even allows for fast opening with some wrist action. If you're looking for a straight forward, highly affordable, sturdy beater knife and don't call yourself a "steel snob" I can safely recommend the Pro-Lite to you!
Joe
Charlotte, NCAug 27, 2016
Pros: Weight, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness
Cons: None
Good buy!
I just got my new Pro-Lite, as in opened the box about 10 minutes ago. Obviously I haven't put it to much use yet, but my first impression is excellent. It is a good, practical size with a useful blade shape. It locks up very tight & the handle seems surprisingly stout given the light weight. The lock is a tad stiff, but I imagine that will work out with time. The blade may not be a premium steel, but you can't expect that for $30. It has my experience that 4116 performs quite well for an inexpensive steel, much like the Sandvik steels, because of it's fine grain structure. Oy yes, the blade was extremely sharp out of the box, as I expect from Cold Steel. If you're thinking about one I'd say buy it.
Daniel K
CaliforniaJul 11, 2016
Pros: Weight, Pocket Clip, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness
Cons: None
Fully loaded
Bought this as a stand in while my sebenza gets a new blade. Wanted something strong that wouldn't break the bank, and then ProLite from CS is basically the best bang for your buck on the knife market today. Blade finish is super, grind and swedge are awesome, love the shape of the clip point blade and the handle (God made our hands to hold a stick -ThrApostleP) is excellent. Light weight. The price only sweetens the deal. Also, you get the triad lock so you know you have the strongest lock on the market. Cherry on the cake is the perfectly centered blade. Only con, which I don't even consider a con, is the 4116 German steel used in the blade. It dulls fairly easily, but it also sharpens in about a minute, so for me it's totally fine, and gets hair whittling sharp with very little effort.
Dave
Collegeville, PaNov 06, 2019
Pros: Weight, Blade Material, Blade Sharpness
Cons: Lock Ease of Use
Amazing Value For The Price
I love the blade on this knife. It is very solid and the fit and finish are very good to excellent. The handles are functional and, overall, the knife is lightweight. What I would like to change is the strength of the spring used in the handle to hold the blade in place and lock it. I was using Blue Lube to make opening a little easier, working the blade open and closed quickly, but without opening it all the way to lock it open. Not sure how I did this, but I lost my grip and the blade closed down on my index finger. All of a sudden there was a lot of blood. Totally my fault! But I don't think it would have been so serious if the spring was a little more relaxed. I have two of these knives. The only other thing that is lacking in both of them is the locking mechanism. Opening is easy, but it takes a lot of effort to depress the spring-loaded lever to unlock the blade to close it. I tried oiling the notch and that helped a little. But I require two hands to unlock the blade and close it on both of the knives I purchased. Even though the opening and closing is kind of stiff, I still think it's a great value for the quality of the materials. If I can, I would like to replace the handle material and fine tune the spring. Just can't beat this knife for the price.
Simpleman
FloridaDec 03, 2019
Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Pocket Clip, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness
Cons: None
If you loved the original Voyagers...
This knife is everything good about the original Voyager line, before they got so expensive. Good steel, very strong Tri-ad lockback, simple steel clip, comfortable FRN handles with no steel liners to add weight. High value, Dependable working knife for about $20, can't go wrong.
Mauguilar
Encino, CaMar 18, 2018
Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Pocket Clip
Cons: None
Had this knife for 1 year I like it.
I love it. easy to carry
David
GAOct 16, 2020
Pros: Weight, Blade Sharpness
Cons: Lock Ease of Use
Solid folding blade
Con- even though I knew about the reviews about the stiff lock, I still have have to take a star off. The lock is just ridiculously stiff. Otherwise it come sharp, and looks great. This is the perfect knife for any task you might otherwise hesitate on a higher priced blade. Just work it with no worries.
David
Goshen, InSep 05, 2019
Pros: Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness
Cons: Lock Ease of Use
Great Value For The Price
I bought this knife because I happened to be ordering some other things and couldn’t resist the sale price of less than $25. The knife is just what you would expect from Cold Steel; well made, lines up nicely, really sharp, and locks up tight. Unfortunately that’s a bit of an issue. It is really difficult to unlock. If it weren’t for that, I would have given this knife five stars just on value alone. A solid, simple, robust knife. Excellent value at the sale price.
Sneakypop
Out WestJun 16, 2016
Pros: Weight, Blade Sharpness
Cons: Lock Ease of Use
Not bad
It is really hard to disingage the lock, (on mine at least) especially if you open it too hard or fast. If you open it slow or two handed (aka a buck 110 etc.) it doesn't have an issue. Nevertheless, I spent a morning tearing up cardboard, cutting vines, trimming rose bushes etc. with no issue. It was 30 dollars, so I didn't expect it to be perfect, and it wasn't. It should make for a good beat around blade though.
Lisa
, AlAug 15, 2016
Pros: Weight, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness
Cons: Lock Ease of Use, Handle Material
Larry
Chandler, AzSep 07, 2019
Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Pocket Clip, Blade Sharpness
Cons: Handle Feel, Lock Ease of Use
Worthy EDC Beater!
I, too, chose this knife as an add on to a kitchen cutlery order. After operating the tri-ad lock a few dozen times I can now close with ease. The handle is a little blocky, unfinshed, but not an impediment to carry or use. A worthy EDC beater.
Alex
Houston, TexasJun 06, 2017
Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Pocket Clip, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness
Cons: Lock Ease of Use, Lock Type
Not Very User Friendly
This knife is of excellent quality, and if the locking mechanism were "user friendly" would be a knife that should be in everyone's pocket. The blade was substantially sharp, perfectly machined and the handles were first rate. The only problem? Well, the blade opens easily enough, but what opens must sooner or later be closed. And here's where my problem comes in. It's almost physically impossible to push the lock -- located on top of the handle -- down far enough to allow for routine unassisted closure of the blade. An email from the Knife Center folks indicated that was a normal feature of the knife. So unless you have King Kong's thumb strength, or the willingness to use a screwdriver blade or other tool to complete the unlocking process you may find this otherwise desirable knife to be one you'd leave at home in a dresser drawer most of the time rather than out being used.
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Close-up of hand holding knife, opening or unsheathing knife, and then closing or sheathing knife.