Late to the party. But I’ve got the same issues with my Cold Steel knives. I’ve got the Master Tanto, Magnum Tanto II and the Magnum Tanto XII along with SRK’s, Kobun’s, Survivalist, etc… All of them fit from worthless retention to, “Ma! Git tha tow truck! I need ta pull my knife!” When you spend money on a premium knife. You should be getting a premium sheath to go with it. Cold Steel used to have some really nice leather sheaths with their knives. I know because I’ve got some really old Cold Steel knives with sheaths. I’m not a fan of the Secure-Ex sheaths for their more expensive Tanto knives. Or many of their other expensive knives for that matter. They could be doing better. I could tolerate the Secure-Ex sheaths if they included a system where you could adjust the retention to suit your desires. But Cold Steel seems to only make sheaths as an afterthought. Cold Steel - “Here’s a really awesome blade you can buy. We have included a wet, moldy sock we found behind the washing machine for you to keep it in. You’re welcome.”
My Cold Steel Magnum Tanto's sheath is pure garbage it does not snap in it is a cautionary tale for me on any future Cold Steel purchases. Cold Steel should offer a leather option for their garbage plastic sheaths !!!!
@@Gary-yt8ee I absolutely agree. Having the option to throw in a bit more cash for a leather sheath would be far better than just the Secure-Ex junk they come with. Or maybe a Kydex option for a few more bucks would be good. At least with Kydex you could heat it and mold it a bit for better retention. I’ve never had much luck doing that with Secure-Ex sheaths.
I have some secure ex sheaths that are 10 years old and still working fine, but I recently got a Scottish Dirk with a sheath that looked like a 3rd grader's arts and crafts project that earned an F. It was falling apart right out of the package. I sent GSM pictures and a copy of the receipt months ago. They did nothing. Their customer service is as bad as their quality control. I'm willing to stick with a company that makes a mistake every once in a while as long as they fix it. Not willing to keep buying when they don't stand by their products.
You can get a perfect fit on the sheath if you use a heatgun or a hairdryer. Carefully heat the sheath and you can use your fingers to mold it in to shape. Start where the problem seems to be located, a small area at a time. Good luck
Thank you for the suggestion. I used a hairdryer without the knife in to soften it, and then put the knife in and continued to heat around the top "clip in" part. The fit is now so much better and it clicks in rather than what is shown in the video where it just doesn't fit. Recon tanto san mai.
Thank you for your review and I absolutely agree with you. For example, I have a Morakniv Companion and it is a 22 dollar knife. It has a polymer sheath, doesn't wiggle and comes out flawlessly when I draw it. I carry it when I go camping and never once worried about it falling out. I love Cold Steel knifes, however I only have their folding knifes. My suggestion to them would be to offer an alternative to the kydex sheath and in my opinion it should be leather, even if it kosts a few dollars more. I would gladly pay extra.
Just received a Master Tanto today that won't lock into the sheath at all, so I looked around to find out if others had similar issues. I found your vid. I 100% agree. There is quality control problem with Cold Steal's "Secure-Ex" sheaths and they should be more consistently better based on the cost and quality knives. And others (e.g. K-Bar, SOG, & Gerber in my experience) do a much better job locking in with no rattle. In my case the the retaining tabs were too big for the knife to snap into place (even with much more force than I should ever have to use to sheath a knife). I end up having to trim down the tabs a big and now it at least locks into place. Still rattles, though.
That's one thing I hate I just recently bought the Recon Tanto and I bought me a taco style Kydex sheath because I don't even like the fact that the sharp edge of the blade is going against a ninety-degree angle I think you should have that taco shape where it doesn't touch anything! I don't like the securex because of that, they they look good and yeah they snap the knife in there nice usually, but I just don't like my Sharp Edge against a ninety-degree angle I think it should be a taco shape Kydex sheath surely they can do that, maybe even give somebody a choice. I don't like to spend 100 plus dollars and then have to spend another 30 or 40 for a sheath and for me it's not just the Cold Steel issue I've even had to do it with Tops and other companies! Nice review... looks like you almost got a thousand subscribers I'll subscribe to you also and congratulations I'm having to re-subscribe to my subscribers because of RU-vid I don't know why they're doing it but anyway we'll look out for that friebd...
Many thanks Jerry! I’m going to have to pick up an aftermarket for at least a couple of these blades if I have any intention of carrying them. But yes, again, it’s the whole issue of “I just bought a knife, I don’t want to have to buy a sheath now”. It should be good to go out of the box. Thanks for the sub!
@@MattRoseKnives, that's too bad. Although it always works for me. That's what I did to my Buck's GCK sheaths, too. Works fine. Anyways, like the vids. Keep up the good job!
Yes, I live in the UK and love my CS knives, but my latest master tanto doesn't even click in. Apart from that the blade-damaging effect. It just doesn't make sense.
The newer SecurEx sheaths are the ones that suck. My theory is GSM is now contracting the Chinese factories that used to produce the best forgeries. Now they are making official runs. Problem is dimensionally it is not an exact match. GSM, stop that.
i gotta say, yeah the secure ex sheaths are terrible. Mine for the magnum tanto doesnt even fit, its loose- if the button comes undone its a hazard. Unacceptable!
Yep, got the 3v magnum tanto, had to heat the sheath with a heat gun and slowly insert the blade, it took a few times of heating the plastic and shoving the blade in until it "fit". Probably wont buy another cold steel for a while. The handle on that blade is for a 10 year old, but i wrapped that with tennis racket tape and helped it quite a bit.
I have many Cold Steel gixed blades. I've had the same experience. Some of it depends on the weight of the knife. My Drop Forged Survivalist will fall out with some shaking. It's a fairly heavy knife. My Recon Tanto will never come out. My Chaos Bowie will also fall out with some minor convincing. It's not a problem, until you want to scout carry one of your blades. Your options become buying a custom Kydex sheath, or figuring out some way to retain the knife handle with a self made strap.
I recently purchased two Magnum Tanto XIIs, one in San Mai and one in 3V. My 3V Magnum Tanto has the same issue yours does. In comparing the 3V and San Mai I noticed that the 3V was slightly heavier and then noticed that it was slightly thicker, and I think they use the same sheaths, so that could be the issue with the 3V Magnum Tanto XII sheath. My Recon Tantos fit well as does my San Mai Magnum Tanto XII but my Master Tanto rattles. I also have an original Cold Steel Tanto I purchased in 1989 and it came with a high quality leather sheath. The only issue I see with it is that it should have had a snap rather than just velcro.
Good review man, it’s not so much the dulling of the blade for me it’s the fact that it’s scratching the hell out of both sides of the blade. I just bought a Recon Scout 3V and has a nice polished blade but now I’m afraid to use the sheath.
I recently bought the C.S. battles ring 2. The Ulti clip is sapose to be removable via a small button on the back. The first one I got the little nib that holds the clip on the sheath was mushroomed over making it impossible to remove. I sent it back as defective. Well the second one arrived today with the exact same mushroomed retaining nib. No way in the world will this Ulti clip come out. Did I get the luck of receiving 2 defective sheaths in a row, or did they change the design? It looks as though it was intentionally molded to be permanently fixed on both sheaths. Video reviews I've seen on here don't have a messed up retaining nib and the Ulti clip is removable.
I’ve got the drop forged boot knife with a Ulti-Clip. I just checked it to see if it was faulty. I removed the knife from the sheath, pushed the little grooved tab below the end of the Ulti-Clip and the clip slid out of the sheath slots with no problem. They must have screwed up on those retaining pins on yours. Steal the emery board your old lady does her nails with and sand the edges off that shroomed pin. That’s about the best fix for you if Cold Steel won’t fix it.
IMPORTANT PSA: NEVER PUT YOUR KNIFE IN A COLD STEEL SHEATH!!! For my Master Tanto 3V, the weird retention is accomplished when the widest part of the blade enters the sheath and, by design, the spine and THE EDGE are pressed against the glass reinforced polymer thus dulling the edge. WHO TF THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA?!? Love the blade, design, grind, balance (courtesy of the guys forty years ago who apparently knew something). This "Secure-Ex" sheath is a crime against humanity.
Matt I noticed immediately that the Master Tanto sheath you received is made for the Japanese cold steel tanto which had a longer ricasso. I have the Japanese version and had the opposite problem when I ordered a custom made sheath made for the latest version of the Master T. Due to the shorter ricasso area, my knife would not enter past that short molded area. I believe you got the older Japanese molded sheath style. Maybe. Also since Cold Steel is under new mgmt. (Lynn Thompson was kept on) they might better address your concern.
I don’t believe they have changed the sheaths since they dropped the Ricasso down. The sheath print appears to have the larger ricasso on the SRK, recon Tanto, and master/magnum Tantos. Likely a cost saving move
Interesting...I have probably a dozen Cold Steel's with secure-ex sheaths and they are all perfect. It's my favorite factory sheath. Just wish they would get rid of that nylon dangly piece and put their own version of a tek-lok on them so I don't have to.
The Freestyle Swordman had the same problem with his 12" blade Tanto and he was not to happy about the sheath issue either. The knife should fit the sheath properly, I have a GI Tanto that will not fit at all pass half way and it's been years 7 of them that I owned it ,it not a expensive knife but it's no good with it's sheath unfortunately. But when you pay up it the one hundred dollars or more there should be no issues it should be check for correct Fit & Finish as well as Quality Control 🥃
Yes sir you are absolutely correct I have cold steel knives , I bought the outdoorsman when it first came out in Canada beautiful knife but absolutely garbage sheath ( leather )...not just coldsteel that is lacking in knife sheath design tho. I have a few other knives from very reputable knife makers and their sheaths aren't any better. Glad I came across your video👍
I live in canada and the sheath issue considering the cost is a big pet peeve of mine, a U.S. $200 dollar knife in Canada would be around $350-$450 unless its on sale then we pay closer to U.S. price. I just bought the Recon tanto in san mai and sk5 and im thinking I'll be making horizontal carry leather sheaths for them, they have a cheap nylon with a snap closure to hold the knife but i can tell it'll only be a matter of time before the sheath alone won't hold the blades and i dislike nylon. I ordered the warcraft xl tanto in san mai also but received the 4034ss model, amazon is sending me the san mai when its back in stock and letting me keep the 4034ss for the mix up and wait, so now i will have two 12" blades to make sheaths for also lol. For the cost I'd love to see something better.
Sheaths are not the featured item that you buy. That's why companies do not invest their energy into the sheath design. They invest in the knife itself. The sheath is nothing more than a temporary storage case until it's replaced with a worthy aftermarket sheath.. People who are very serious about their knives usually go aftermarket, kydex, leather. Kydex is very popular, durable and depending on who the maker is, can be excellent. And there are some bad ones out there, so do your research.
Sad thing to see that the knife and the sheath does not constitute a SYSTEM! Selling budget knives is one thing. But a properly executed system goes a long way in marketing. This is when big name saves money and ruins it, when it could spend 1 dollar more and win it.
I agree with you 💯 👍 I am huge fan of CS premium knives as collector,,,but I literally can't stand kydex sheaths at all as I like knife in good quality leather sheaths ... I think CS should consider seriously get two options of sheaths (leather/kydex) and I think its about time they do this especially for their premium blades which are definitely not coming cheap at any stage ... Good premium blade deserves to have adequate quality leather sheaths , kydex or any other gimmicky plastic garbage shall never be put on blades of CS premier category knives IMO , not only they make overall knife look cheap, they really dull the blades and are only adequate to 20-50bucks category budget blades ....
@@MattRoseKnives By the way your fantastic video review about Cold Steel Master Tanto got my attention,,,watched it few times over again,,,,and thanks to this I pulled the trigger on this blade , it was well worth it 👌 fantastic craftsmanship on these series,,,shortly after got also Magnum Tanto 2 , have also Trailmaster in 02 ,,,looking to get Trailmaster in San Mai in near future
Kydex would be superior to Secure-Ex. At least with Kydex you could more easily reshape the sheath with heat to better suit the way the knife is retained. These Secure-Ex sheaths seem to be impervious to heat molding. I’ve tried to fix a few of my loose sheaths and it didn’t work out. I wouldn’t mind some well designed Kydex sheaths for some of my CS knives. Or maybe some good leather sheaths. But to me, these Secure-Ex sheaths gotta go.
Loop paracord through the bottom holes large enough to place your shoe in, put your foot in the loop and pull the knife out. Thats how i got my 3v magnum tanto out.
The Cold Steel sheaths are absolutely CRAP!!! I have a an older Natchez Bowie of 01 steel. The knife snaps in fine, but when trying to draw the knife back out, it takes two people. I've had to literally loop para cord through the bottom lashing holes and tie the end of the cord to an object to anchor the sheath while I pull on the handle to dislodge the knife. I have two other non-tactical models where all you have to do is shake the knife while upside down and the knives merely fall out. I will no longer purchase CS products regardless of how much I revere the knives themselves. I have several of the vintage CS Japanese made knives with the tried and true leather sheaths. Why the hell they stopped producing the leathers is beyond me. I'd rather pay considerably more and get leather rather than the inferior plastic junk they've been producing.
Cold Steel fans are the most reasonable, logical and educated human being ever exists. I raise the same concern in Becker forum, as the sheath of my BK7 chamber is 1 inch unnecessarily longer and make no sense at all. Guess what, most replies are like: factory sheath deems to be dumped, shut up go get a custom sheath. Cold Steel Community does take comments.
I'm having this problem too. I bought a safe maker and the first time I tried pulling it out of the sheath while I wore it around my neck the ball chain snapped.
"Satisfactorily" is definitely a word. You just pronounced it a bit oddly. Back on the subject, though, the real problem with C.S. "Secure-Ex" sheaths is that they're just cheap glass-filled nylon, the glass component of which will dull the F**K out of a blade in no time flat. Any decent handmade Kydex sheath will have better retention and won't dull the blade like that. C.S. just wants to be able to mass produce their sheaths by cheap injection molding and not have to spend money on leather or custom fit. The very FIRST thing I do when buying a C.S. knife supplied with one of these is scrap it and start from scratch with Kydex and/or Leather.
No, you're not off base. Cold Steel sheaths suck. My (U.S. Made) Recon Tanto will FALL OUT if I turn it upside down. I used to run a small kydex sheath an holster company. Still have all my equipment. So, me? I don't give a shit, I will either press one out OR I will contact a customer leather sheath maker (love me some classic). However, everyone is not the same. For many folks the sheath that comes with the knife matters as it is the ONE they will have to use. Cold Steel is definitely missing a chunk of the market by putting good knives in dog shit sheaths. Just like Glock is missing sales by making you decide between plastic crap sights or night sights and not offering standard steel sight OR by not offering threaded bbl options out of the box.
@@justafloridamanfromthe75thRR So like, basically anecdotes then? No actual, consistent, reproducible testing? Why would a company that sell knives give you a sheath that dulls it? Technically every bit of contact with a blade dulls it, but at very slow rates, so it didnt matter if it was leather, or nylon, etc. I guess this is just one of those knife beard neck myths.
Cedric and Ada outdoors did a whole video on it. Check that out… also, it’s not a terribly difficult conclusion to come to. The sheaths are made of fiber reinforced nylon. The micro particles in the sheath will dull a steel edge.
@@MattRoseKnives well I mean everything dulls edges but I mean even if I pull the knife out. and do while minimizing the blade's contact with the sheath, it was still incredibly sharp. I have coldsteel and other knives in nylon/plastics and after hundreds of draws the knifes were honestly still sharp to no discernable level, so maybe on a practical level its not so damaging.
@@rmat9023 I think we’re on the same page! I have mentioned a few times that I don’t think the dulling issue is a huge deal. Especially with the nicer steel CS uses. I more have issues with their retention
Bought a Cold Steel SRK San Mai. Love the knife, but sheath is absolute garbage. It dulls the knife and it fits so tight that you can’t get the knife out with one hand. Worthless. I wanted to purchase a Recon Tanto San Mai but passed because I fear it too will come with a garbage dollar store quality sheath. So sad as Cold Steel makes amazing knives and the previous owner was awesome.
You want another example of a cheap, cheap knife with a great injection moulded sheath? Mora companion. In fact, basically every Mora ever with a plastic sheath. For something like an SRK or a Recon Tanto? Okay maybe this is acceptable. For a Magnum Tanto XII??? No. Not okay.
Mam master tanto,magnum tanto II,Magnum tanto XII v San mai a vsechny jsou s pouzdrem Secure-x vpohode!Ale pravda,pak mam Tai pan take od Gold steel cepel V3 a do pouzdra jde zasunout jen velice tezce,kdyz nuz natru olejem Vd3 pak ok!Takze ne kazde pouzdro sedi!Dle meho nazoru,beztak otupuje ostri a na cepeli dela male "skrabance"!Jsem take zastance spise kozenych pouzder!Mam tanto Oyabùn,Japonske z 90let s kozenym pouzdrem a i kdyz pouzdra Secure-x jsou dle meho vzhledove hezka,kozena jsou beztak lepsi!
