Cold Steel Espada XL G10: Excessive, or Useful? 

Thanks! I'll try it without the clip. It does carry surprisingly well.

Thanks! I've been looking for a good quality large traditional Navaja.

I've got several great choices at this point, and they get a lot of regular use.

That is a great knife.

Thanks!

That's a rough lesson, my friend. Sorry that happened to you. But, yeah, a lot of weapon laws play on a manufactured fear to get easy votes rather than doing the hard work, and it's the law-abiding that get criminalized. And then they ease up some other law without thinking it through (latest in my area is no high speed police pursuits without supervisor approval, which criminals take to mean just floor it and they're not allowed to chase you).

@@michaelrizzo5523 love your videos and outlook. Thanks for the kind words it means more then you realize.

@@richardhenry1969When I was in Humboldt County we had a ridiculous number of home invasions that were always assumed to be "deserved" because it was often a grower getting robbed by former associates, but in Arcata they'd hit random residential houses just playing the odds that one might be a grow. And then CA basically de-criminalized all theft below $1000, and store employees who tried to stop the resultant looting got attacked with knives and hammers and fired for violating store safety policies. Things got post-apocalyptic, especially when the power company shut off the grid for days because they hadn't maintained the lines in decades and entire towns were getting taken out by wildfires. When I moved there in 2000 the biggest headline was someone's cows got loose.

I'm hoping for a red one in the Large size.

@@michaelrizzo5523 i agree,that would look very nice👌🏻 i am afraid they dont sell as much because men,you know,it's red🤷🏼‍♂️but I think it looks nice,a little more bling.very nice with the blackend blade. In polished aluminium, I think the large Espada is the nicest looking of them. But as practical users it is hard too beat the G10 version. Same strenght, flatter and better grip. The OD green looks nice to. Nice too see them come in color options. I just hope they can keep quality up and going. It is really a shame that Lynn dont lead the company anymore.

I've been looking at traditional Navaja and the Espada is a major improvement on the design.

Yeah, kinda like handling a two-handed sword that got broken off about 8" up the blade. Didn't feel right at all. Unless I'm using it as a pry bar.

Yup, chops surprisingly well. Tough blade.

Thanks!

Totally agree 💯 Mike has a very informing & enjoyable channel for knife & blade enthusiasts. 😊

Or when the neglected CA power grid gets shut off for a week and the whole county instantly goes full Mad Max.

That XL Clip Point is a great all-around big folder. The Marauder and the Black Bear Classic are pretty impressive.

Yup, that, for me, is the upside of having these stick up out of the pocket a bit, combined with the hook on the end of the grip.

Tried it. The only way I seem to be able to make it happen is to hammer grip it with the web of my hand right on the lock and squeeze down hard, and even then I have to turn the knife a bit in my grip so it's not into the softest part of the web, and with my hand and finger size that puts the blade out of alignment for me. But if I put pressure on the right spot, I get the wiggle you describe, like the blade is loose. I do something similar opening these when I don't want the loud click, but the sharp hot spot from the lock would make me get a different grip if I was carving or chopping. Where the lock is on the grip (higher or lower) compared to the finger grooves positioning your hand seems to make a big difference. Might need to do some more comparisons across the CS Triads, see which ones are more or less problematic, compare to other lockbacks. Doesn't seem to depress the lock nearly far enough to risk it unlocking (though some springs are stiffer than others--it's very inconsistent from knife to knife), but I did see the Dutch Bushcraft guys scare themselves batoning with an Espada and accidentally hitting the lock dead on. Interesting... Definitely a worthwhile experiment! Thanks!

@michaelrizzo5523 The trouble is it happens in the best hand position for power cuts. Its not a deal breaker but I wish Cold Steel could do something to avoid this problem. It doesn't happen on say, my Spyderco Police 4 which has a lockback

Several decades of various Kenjutsu styles, Chinese swordsmanship, a bit of FMA. The last handful of years I've been diving into HEMA, doing a lot of cross training comparing the systems and weapons. HEMA is a lot more approachable than the traditional Japanese and Chinese arts. I've also discovered Argentine Esgrima Criolla and North American Bowie, which are basically fencing with big knives.

That's pretty cool man. Could you recommend any good sources i.e. books for self training. I'm out in the sticks where it is an hour and a half drive to any martial arts studio, HEMA or other, that teaches fighting with edged weapons. If you are able to it is much appreciated.

@@user-wd4ge2zh2c I'm also pretty isolated, haven't been part of a school in a long time. I have a selection of "classics" from various eras and countries, but I need to apply what I already know to make sense of them. There are lots of RU-vid channels that can be a lot more helpful as you can see it in action.

Thanks for hangin' in! That sucks!