Cold Steel Leatherneck SF & Survival Knife Theory 

Very nice knife. Ive had mine for 3years never been a let down. 1st year Had a lot of heads turn then compliments at deer camp. Second season three other guys had also shown up with the SF . Our deer camp use to be a buck119 favored camp.. Not anymore.

110 degrees out... workin' fire prep... playin' with cold steel... the couple things I really like about Cold Steel is that they over-build many designs with good metals plus materials to solid trustworthiness without being too gross or simply producing a chunky slab of metalwork. Secondly they do a very good job on QC and finishing touches. Good demonstration --- Thanks. One of my favorites in that combat/general-purpose-utility/camp-task/survival/bushcraft 'BLENDING of sorts' is my Gerber StrongArm... she's a well proven working blade all seasons and all environments for here in Alaska.

Great video mate! I'm literally holding this knife as I watch it. It's my first Cold Steel knife and I love it.

Mine came razor sharp rite out of the box sliced my finger open pulling out of the sheath great knife!

The knife would look a lot better if the logo wasn't stamped on both sides of the handle imo. But nonetheless I like the KA-BAR design.

Can you imagine if Cold Steel made this knife is CPM 3V? That would be pretty dope!

Glad to see I'm not the only one who had some issues batoning with this knife. It's a great chopper and shaver, but for some reason seems to have trouble batoning through wood.

I believe part of the issue with batoning through the log is the hollow grind.

I just ordered one of these today in D2 tool steel.

It is NOT a woods/bushcraft knife. It’s a combat knife. Full guard stops an incoming blade attack. Pommel is made for attacking an assailant. The clip point profile is made made to stab flesh. Keep this knife in prospective. Combat.

Australian wood is some of the hardest woods out there. We have some here in California. I've broken a knife batoning eucalyptus logs before.

I freaking love mine. It goes everywhere with me. Well all Most everywhere lol. But yeah I take it hunting fishing camping and hiking. Rite beside my ruger sp101 357 mag lol ☺👍✌

That knife runs about 40$ here in the U.S that's an awesome bargain, I can't stand the hand guards though:( esp for wood work it would drive me batty. Ontario's Gen2 Spec line is also a great deal they have some awesome blades for a great price. I bought the SP47 leaf shaped Boar style camp knife and cut the upper guard off its perfect now:) The SP49 is an 8in beast with a slight drop point and a very slight leaf shaped blade, its made from the best 5160 springsteel on the market, I think it would be an awesome blade for your neck of the world. That OKC specline is 100% USA made they have a bunch of blades for everyones taste, I haven't seen any bad reviews either.

I just ordered one today. I’m gonna grind that top guard down half way

Would not have been surprised if this knife broke as well. Clearly this log was not meant for such a light tool. Once you began to cut the sides of the log the knife performed well. So this would prove that although Böker may have overhardened the steel, this log was too much for any knife of this size. What is the solution? Not to abuse the knife, but start with small pieces. I wager Böker would have stood up to the smaller abuse well. So at the end I support the forum which says Do not Baton with knives.

it's a good woodsmans knife and is like half the cost of the boker d2 you just got to know it's a little brittle and go from there . yeah the long span of the boker let it tweak and snap.

Good review and demonstration. Shows why it's better to baton the edges and not go right for the center. Much less stress on the blade and just makes a lot more sense. Same thing when chopping; hit the wood on an angle not straight down and it will peel and scallop off much easier and quicker; less stressful on the blade.

G'day Pete, Great initial testing video. I recently bought one of these and haven't had time to use it yet. Thanks for confirming my 'wise' purchase. I too had a Ka-Bar USMC classic but, like you, I just didn't like the balance, even for a 'fighting' knife. I just gave it away for a USMC charity raffle. I've got plenty to thank you for with your Rold failure. I've been wanting one of those for a long time. Now I don't have to bother. I've been doing some research which tells me that FFGs with a variable heat treatment done by someone who knows what they're doing will produce an FFG that will suffer the crushing embrace of tight, twisted woods. High 'sabre-vex' or full convex on thick stock will always be my favorites; but a good FFG done by an experts, like LTWK or Pete Kohler etc.will be far less prone to failure. Enjoyable video, once again. Cheers, BH

Great review. One other criteria is if it breaks will CS stand behind their product . The answer is YES. If sent multiple knives back with short note all were replaced . Started knife journey in the scouts at eleven carried CS. In Usmc until 1999 when I was discharged. Great company that is not pc.

After a small modification to the top side I can now choke up on it comfortably.. Be very careful not to take to much off.. As its the hilt that locks it into the sheath.. Amazing what a difference 5 mil can make.. Still a tactical knife.... but now has other uses..

Confession: I've been having a renewed binge-watch of my favourite YT #KnifeNerd channels.

Is the knife sufficient for self defense against people or large animals?

Fire is totally a necessity here in America. It got down to 18 degrees today, but I still managed to make a fire with the wind and snow against me, with only natural materials I gathered from my yard and slightly wet wood. I also need to visit my local lumber yard to pick up some lumber so I can have some wood to burn, some birch bark, some pine resin to start the fires, hickory and maple for cooking, etc. I hope to go hunting sometime this season and bag a deer up so I can skin it up and eat it.

Say Heah Cedric, I went Cold Steel this weekend. That Leatherneck looks like the S. R. K. on steriods, with a different handle. The larger knife I brought my Recon Scout, mine is in the CarbonV. I'm glad I brought it, I almost forgot how good of a knife it is. It's a natural chopper, and baton's with no problem. I also brought my Master Hunter in 3V a lovely piece of kit the two are.,,.

Got a roo loose in your paddoc mate, battoning that log !!!

I really enjoyed this video. My ideal knife probably would be the Cold Steel Recon scout in O1 or Carbon.

Love to see this Cold Steel Marine Knife vs Ka-Bar Bk2 since Bk2 is wider. Interesting and it's 1/2 the price of the Ka-Bar

I got one recently made in German d2. Really decent knife. I wish they had leather stacked handles for this bad boy though

Notice the extra wide tang at the bottom of the butt cap compare that to the K-bar military knife, and cold steel advertises this leatherneck as having an extra wide tang and it is thick as the blade

Hadn't heard of this knife before. I'm quite impressed. Reminds me of my fake K-Bar which has taken beating after beating. Probably because its a softer steel. SK-5. Something like 440 stainless. A bit of a shock to see that knife breaking like that...

hi dude i was sure it would brake, i am impressed and thanks for the reviw

Excellent video and good observations, thats a decent survival knife for the money looks like a budget version of the cold steel trailmaster. My CPM 3V Blade would hold out well with that log, Good demo of the knife, I would have given up in frustration and grabbed a big ass Log Splitting axe. look forward to the A1 review, one of the Hall of famers

Have you seen Survival Lilly's review of the F-1? This Leatherneck is something I want. Excellent blade.

but I like the low maintenance of stainless or high carbon stainless .

I have questions, I will sharpening this knive, what angle is the best to sharpening leatherneck

Cleavers still has the D2 version for $66, i am thinking this maybe my next fixed blade purchase (the D2 version from Cleavers) Great review.

SRK in 3V, smashes this knife. And I really like the Leatherneck!

Instead of a knife, axe, and survival knife you could get a machete. The ultimate survivor tool.

I have the Leatherneck in 4116 and D2 and I have not seen any major difference in toughness though I have not tried to put either through any sort of extreme use. Mainly light batoning and chopping. The D2 version does have noticeable better edge retention over the 4116 version but not as good as my 3V SRK. I think the D2 steel is an improvement over the 4116 and SK5 versions but I would love to see Cold Steel offer this knife in 3V or 52100 like their Dropped Forge series. That would be an amazing knife!

I cannot decide between this one or 5.11 CFK7 -the latter is certainly better for some jobs and imo LOOKS better BUT it is also a lot heavier...difficult choice...

Thanks!

Pretty much all knives are hollow ground unless it's a full flat grind. Wheels are cheaper than belts.

Aussie wood is pretty hard.

Say Heah M8, Lately I've been practicing using a One Tool Option. I started with the Ka=Bar Johnson Adventure Potbelly, now I graduated to a Ratweiler, even though I teamed it up with my Rodent Solution, I still use the Ratweiler the most even when I wear my Mora 510 as a neck knife. The trick the knife has to be well balance with enough weight to be able to chop and a choil for the more delicate work. But on extended trips and having the luxury of taking more gear like a Axe, saw, I do carry a 2Knife combo. One of my Fav's is my Rodent 7 and my Rodent 4 a real nice 2Knife combo. Thanx for sharing your knife.

Hi there, I might have miss : what steel is on your Leatherneck ? D2 or 4034 ? Recently found that 4034 seems to be quite tough steel - is somehow comparable with 420hc D2 also seems to be reasonably tough but lately it seems that CS changed steel more towards 4034 Anyway, great review - and totally agree with your considerations regarding blades geometry

I was thinking between kbar and sf,sf won just ordered one

go with the Crack .the biggest check or Crack .even when splitting with a 12 pound splitting Mall .but if that doesn't work then go around taking pieces off .

It’s Dec 2020. Is it still a good choice nowadays, or are there better choices available now? Thank you.

Nice blade

I'm between this one and the Cold Steel survivalists drop forged ..any suggestions ?

Do you still have this knife Pete?

Nice touch, those slippers, batoning on12.12 min/sec., I am taking you much more serious now!

hi mate can you please tell me were to get on becouse it is not on aussieknifes.com

I’m planning to buy this on amazon and is it full tang?

Great video nice blade I know, I own one 👍

Australian monster wood...

Buy SRK if guard is a problem

D2 is a good knife steel If you're using your knife as a knife Not if you're using it as a hatchet or prybar I like D2 but it is brittle And can break if you're not mindful of this fact Hint Use your knife for a knife Not a hatchet or prybar And you won't have any trouble with it breaking

I have this blade. Expensive but durable.

The tanto version is stronger and heavier

Nice review! Youre right about THE Blade style! And a real full Tang! Compared to ka-bar this One is tougher! Ok its heavier but i rather have this One! Than a ka-bar My personal thoughts are as follows! A knife so much all in One! As possible! Fighting, utility, buschcraft, survival etc! And a second back Up knife! As well.

the late boy scout .youtube .had a failure with the leather neck like you had with the Vox rold . the botoning is a very hard use and if anything in the heat treated is off .if it's a little to hard then it's brittle it break .to soft it rolls or bends and stays bent . another youtube knife reviewer think the hard d2 with fail in cold weather . but I don't dismiss a brand because one off the rack of hundreds fails .

Isn't this a D2 steel?

DOLPH LUNDGREN ♥️

That Tripp steel is no slouch

have you ever used your kabar usmc out in the woods I'm looking at getting one as a utility outdoors knife

this I have and the SRK. I haven't used it because the darn SRK won't get destroyed (normal use). But the potential of this geometry is solid. I think its the best for survival knife... but its not an axe.

That's actually a very nice video. But it's NOT a full tang! 🚫 It's a hidden tang... Please don't inform people wrong 🧑‍🏫🧑‍🎓

why are you batoning through the middle of the log ?

A1 pro!

Is this the 4116 steel?

How many logs can a tanto cut if a tanto was used to cut wood🤣🤣🤣

This is not a survival knife this is a combat knife...

Good vid dude. I definitely like this knife better now then I did before. might have to get one ;)

Why don‘t you buy an hatchet?

I think most people expect too much out of a knife. People should really be carrying a hatchet and small knife.

you are working to hard to prove a point

Maybe its just me, but if you are using your knife to split wood then you deserve failure. Use an axe. Sorry, if this offended anyone

you dont know to use this knife !!!!

I would have ordered this blindfolded if it wasn’t for the fact that it’s Made in Taiwan and the hideous writing on the handle

Bushcrafters are ignorant about Combat Knives. ULtracrepidarians are horrid.

Oh no...its made in Taiwan😔

WHO CARRIES A SORE ...WHAT EVN IS A SORE