Scott
Somerville, Ma

Jul 03, 2021

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness

Cons: Blade Material, Sheath/Scabbard, Materials

Hard to beat for the money

This is the entry-level SRK. What a phenomenal value. It's a larger mid-sized fixed blade. This knife is the one that you can beat on and not be as concerned but still a nice knife. You can baton, stab, slice, wedge, scrape, etc quite well. The blade geometry makes for a versatile heavy-duty blade. The sheath is nothing fancy but it gets the job done, drains well. The nylon belt loop is easy to put on without taking off your belt and let the knife move when bend or sit. The handle gives a good wet & dry grip and works well with or without gloves. Especially nice in cold weather. Coated blade helps prevent rusting, sharpens easy and holds a decent edge. This is a well-made reliable knife and a great value for the price.

G2t2
Nevada

Mar 30, 2026

Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Finish, Handle Material, Materials, Overall Quality, Sheath/Scabbard, Weight

Cons: None

Needed an SRK

Ok I've wanted an SRK. I'm very pleased with this one. KC shipped fast.

Danger Ray
Key West

Dec 23, 2025

Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Finish, Handle Material, Materials, Overall Quality, Sheath/Scabbard, Weight

Cons: None

excellent all around knife

This is an all around good survival/camping/ dive knife, nice thickness, strong, good grip, and very good price for the quality. The sheath also has nice fit and mounting features.

Ninjaeveryday
North Carolina

Oct 19, 2019

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Sheath/Scabbard, Materials, Finish, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

Nothing but great things

I give this knife two enthusiastic “thumbs up” as a piece of Ninja adventure gear. I have loved mine for years and regularly recommend it to anyone who asks me about an affordable knife that you aren’t afraid to count on and use hard.

Albert
Laredo Texas

May 24, 2017

Pros: Materials, handle material, Durability, Sharpness, Design, Balance, Weight

Cons: None

Jack of all trades

This knife is perfect. You can use for pretty much anything you need a knife for. Its a jack of all trades. Nice thick blade. Light and limber enough for defense. Its also just the right size to process food.

Jan
Brussels, Belgium

Jun 29, 2017

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Sheath/Scabbard, Finish, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

Fantastic knife!

It's a fantastic knife! Feels ideally balanced in the hand (and I have big hands), just the right weight so as to feel serious but not too heavy to be cumbersome, ideal sharpness. The scubbard is great, holds the knife with a click action very well even without the additional strap for the handle. The handle material is very good, provides the right amount of grip. An all round, superb tool. It is smaller than the more sturdy Ka Bars, but it is also its strength, because it draws less attention when you carry it around (you don't look like you are dragging around a sword), and yet it will do most of what the bigger knives can do (maybe not coping done trees, like the Ka Bars can though). Excellent knife overall!

John Q. G
United States

Jan 09, 2022

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Sheath/Scabbard, Materials, Finish, Blade Sharpness

Cons: Handle Material

Very appealing knife

This knife feels fantastic in the hand. I haven't put it any formal stress tests as yet, but it has a very comfortable grip coupled with what seems to be a very resilient black coating over the blade. The edge on mine was extremely sharp on arrival. Liking this knife very much. The one thing I'd like to see is changing the guard protrusions to a metal alloy. I tend not to have that much confidence in a plastic guard protecting the user's fingers not much more than a small amount.

Sj
Texas

Dec 31, 2020

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material

Cons: None

Used and abused for 15 years

A buddy gifted a massive 12 1/2", 1 pound monster knife made by Colt just before I deployed to Iraq on my first tour. I wore it on my hip to Iraq and I remember, during the commercial flight portion of the trip we were asked to surrender our knives before the flight - but we were allowed to keep our rifles. We got a good laugh, on the plan, without our knives, but with rifles. By the time we made it through Germany, then Kuwait, additional training, i was tired of that hunk of metal on my hip - was just too big and didn't sit well in a Humvee. While transiting a large base in Iraq on the way to my duty station I picked up an SRK at the PX. Strapped it on and never took it off. I wore my SRK for multiple tours in Iraq, and later for multiple tours in Afghanistan. It was overseas with me in different parts of 9 years from 2005 to 2014. After leaving the Army, I added it to my bug out survival bag except for when I go hunting or camping and then it is strapped to the belt again. I've used and abused this knife for years. It has some pretty solid scratches at the tip going back 1 1/2 - 2" and a pretty good gouge (1 - 1 1/2 mm, 3mm long) in the blade from when I did something stupid with the knife. During the Covid lockdown I took it to my sharpener and spent 3 days trying to remove enough metal to get the gouge to dissappear. Attesting to the hardness of the blade, I never did get it out completely but it is so small now that it is barely noticeable. I had the knife out today and the blade is razor sharp. It has served me well, has a hard and strong blade, keeps an edge, and has a very good look. If SHTF it would be my "go to" knife. Not too big, not too small, very comfortable and strong.

Kevin
Dallas TX

Jan 04, 2018

Pros: Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Sheath/Scabbard, Materials

Cons: Weight

Great knife.

Really cool knife. Feels great in the hand. The handle material is comfortable and causes a secure fit without feeling too "grippy". Overall a very functional knife for my needs. I will be mainly using it for camping which means the size is overkill but oh well. I prefer a larger knife so it will be a great fit. The Sheath is very functional and I do not plan on looking for a 3rd party sheath for it.

Winstonthepatriot
majortkdoc@yahoo.com

Apr 02, 2017

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Sheath/Scabbard, Finish, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

quality knife/exceptional price

Excellent knife that covers all the bases.... simple, durable, dependable, affordable, effective for any/all tasks you engage. This knife excels when used for survival and/or defensive purposes.

Jan
Brussels, Belgium

Jun 27, 2017

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Sheath/Scabbard, Finish, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

Fantastic knife!

It's a fantastic knife! Feels ideally balanced in the hand (and I have big hands), just the right weight so as to feel serious but not too heavy to be cumbersome, ideal sharpness. The scubbard is great, holds the knife with a click action very well even without the additional strap for the handle. The handle material is very good, provides the right amount of grip. An all round, superb tool. It is smaller than the more sturdy Ka Bars, but it is also its strength, because it draws less attention when you carry it around (you don't look like you are dragging around a sword), and yet it will do most of what the bigger knives can do (maybe not coping done trees, like the Ka Bars can though). Excellent knife overall!

Jaymus
PA

May 11, 2017

Pros: Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Sheath/Scabbard, Finish, Blade Sharpness

Cons: Weight

Incredible Value

I waited way too long for the arrival of the SK5 version and it was worth it. I do not own an srk in other steels, however, in comparison to a recon tanto vg1 that I own the SRK in SK5 steel is super lightweight. It weighs just as much as a kobun tanto if you got one. Came in razor sharp which CS is known for and with clean grind lines. I haven't had much luck with grind lines and blade geometry from Cold Steel lately but I think it depends on what factory your knife is coming from ( just my guess ). Overall for less than 50 usd you cannot beat the quality and reliability of this knife. Although this knife might be too light for heavy duty work in the woods, in contrast it would make an excellent backpack knife because of that. I would bet my life on this knife in any situation. Awesome.

Juan
Harlingen TX

Dec 07, 2017

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Sheath/Scabbard, Materials, Finish, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

Cold Steel SRK

Delivered quickly, once knife was available from Cold Steel. Very please with the notification process and quick delivery. Knife is everything I expected and wanted.

Doc
alabama

Sep 30, 2021

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material

Cons: Finish

Solid knife. Worth the money and more

All around great knife. Sharp out of the box. Fit and finish perfect. Saw some complaints about f/f. Mine was great. Even grinds. Really liked the handle. Wish it came without the blade coating though. Steel holds a nice edge and sharpens easily. Not to large or heavy for a hunting knife which is what I use mine for mostly. Tough enough for a camp knife. Batons fine. Didn't beat on it though just small firewood. Make a knife same size, same ergo's, same steel, just no coating and a drop point. Oh. And same price!

Winstonthepatriot
Indiana

Apr 04, 2017

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Sheath/Scabbard, Materials, Finish

Cons: None

It's about time

No B.S. here.... very hard, very tough blade with excellent edge retention. If you're one that values QUALITY utilitarian features over useless bling this knife is destined be your lifetime companion.

Old Man From Thunder Mountain
SE Ohio

Jun 27, 2017

Pros: Weight, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Sheath/Scabbard, Materials, Blade Sharpness

Cons: Finish

SRK

Fantastic product, but the finish is lousy. Wood pieces stick to blade due to roughness of finish. Finish is tough as well and after several batoning experiments mostly remains, which requires steel wool to remove wood fibers from blade. Overall product is really impressive. Mine made in Taiwan, not Japan. Harlie

Reviewer80
IL.USA

May 22, 2017

Pros: None

Cons: None

lighter SRK

This latest version of SRK (Sk-5 steel) is noticeably lighter than all the other ones. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing. The regular SRK in VG1 or 3V is already lightweight as it is. The SK-5 SRK is even lighter. This is mainly due to the hollow grind but also the handle which seems like it's lighter as well. I have just handled and compared both. VG1 has heavier handle. I'm not sure how the tang is inside the new SK5 SRK and there's no way to find out without doing x-ray or cutting off the rubber. Unfortunately for all you bushcraft people out there who like to use the spine to strike fire rod, the new Sk5 SRK does NOT have 90 degree spine whereas the VG1 SRK has sharp enough spine to strike the rod. (both have different coatings) Is the new Sk5 SRK a better deal than the more expensive VG1 or 3V ? I don't know but I do know that I'm not getting rid of my AUS8 / VG1 SRK's as they seem to be more solid.

Woodland Tactical
California

Mar 18, 2018

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Sheath/Scabbard, Materials, Finish, Blade Sharpness

Cons: Overall Quality, Blade Material, Materials

Awesome knife with one drawback

This blade absolutely rocks. However, freezing cold weather seems to not agree with SK-5 steel. My SK-5 SRK passed my tests which were pretty abusive with no failures on a 44 degree day. My friend in New York however had the tip snap off of two of his SK-5 blades. His SRK's tip snapped during some light stabbing tests and his CRKT Rakassan's tip snapped while batoning. Everything else on the SRK is amazing. I would only recommend if you live somewhere that snows a lot that you pick an SRK with a different steel because SK-5 absolutely HATES freezing temperatures.

3Dm
PNW

May 23, 2017

Pros: Materials, Ease of Use, handle material, Durability, Sharpness, Design, Packaging, Functionality, Size

Cons: Overall Quality, Construction, Finish

Good Knife, poor QC

I bought this knife from knifecenter and it arrived promptly and in good condition. Unfortunately my model appears to have had a poor heat treatment. This is not the fault of knifecenter, but of Cold Steel. I contacted KC and they were very helpful. They took care of me (making up for the mistakes from the manufacturer), and I was offered a replacement or a refund. Onto the knife: aside from the heat treatment problems, I could still get an idea of the product. The sheath is excellent, and the design is classic, great for a medium-large survival or bushcraft knife.

Al
Summerside, Pe

Mar 05, 2018

Pros: Handle Material, Blade Sharpness

Cons: Weight

Cold steel sk5 ? Ill keep my vg1 thanks

I own the srk in vg1 and when i recieved this one you van instantly see the thickness difference the sk5 tip is like a needle i know it will snap if it is put to abuse in any way its an ok knife but i dont need to compare the two the older sabre models like my vg1 will blow it away in strength iam not saying its no good iam saying that i would rather pay extra and get the older models and the new vg10 model i wonder is that made the same as this one with a hollow grind? Cold steel why fix something when its not broke??i paid 100 or better canadian for my vg1 and id do it again

Anonymous
Indiana

Apr 15, 2018

Pros: Handle Material, Sheath/Scabbard

Cons: Overall Quality, Blade Material, Finish, Blade Sharpness

Get what you pay for

The age old saying "You get what you pay for " rings true 99% of the time.The SK5 model is a decent value but,several corners were cut,and it shows..Subpar H/T,subpar f/f,hollow grind versus sabre grind on other SRK models,and a reduced thickness of the tip..I personally would recommend fans to spend roughly $30-40 more and look at the grossly underrated Leatherneck in D2,which is a far superior knife compared to this,or simply get a VG-1 model SRK..You'll be happier in the long run if you do..

Jake G
Colorado

Nov 28, 2017

Pros: Sheath/Scabbard, Blade Sharpness

Cons: Overall Quality

Tip

The knife was sharp out of the box. I have an srk in vg1 and compared to the vg1, this knife seems just a little cheaper in quality. It's not terrible, but it just doesn't seem as robust. The tip snapped within 2 minutes though. I stabbed a piece of soft pine just to test it and it snapped instantly. It was needle sharp out of the box and is way thinner than my vg1 and I knew as soon as I saw the knife that it wouldn't hold up to much abuse. I really hope that this is just a bad one from cold steel, but I have read other reviews saying the same thing about them.

Justin
NEW YORK

Apr 04, 2018

Pros: None

Cons: None

Knife center is awesome not there fault

This Steel that it was made maybe was a bad heat treat I don't know. This Steel is not mountain man tough and the first ten minutes of use of this knife the tip snapped off. Survival Rescue knife in this steel the name should be changed because it will not survive a rescue real situation I test knives and steels and this blade failed. But I believe it the heat treat and steel maybe it was also like 20°F that being said is no excuse I have many knives that cost less way less and survive way better and still get used and have not broken. I'm not a professional and don't have scientific machines to tell the problem. Just testing and using and it failed so if you are in rescue or police or military I beg you not to buy this Sk5 steel in the SRK series get the others in a better steel this knife failed me and may fail you don't risk it.