Spyderco, Benchmade or Cold Steel? Essential EDC Knife Showdown: Mini Recon 1 v Mini Grip v Native 5 

I own each of these and thought I would never say it but the Cold Steel for this comparison is hands down the best because of the incredible price point. You won’t find a Spyderco or Benchmade with G10 and comparable steel for anywhere close to what this Cold Steel costs.

If Your life depends on the knife, take with You The Recon 1 the other two are more decorative knives.

If you baton with your folding knives that Tri-Ad lock really comes in handy xD

Full size Recon 1 for me..

Cheers! Would you say that the Native is the sturdiest

Nice comparison video, I found it informative. I would agree with your thoughts on the Benchmade Mini Grip.

Needless to say; Cold Steel will be the blade everyone should get one inside their pocket. Good metal, razor sharp out of the box, even its black but having the DLC coating which need not worry any scratches with hard use of it and the infamous Tri Ad Lock, the strongest mechanism in the folding knives industries! Many people dislike Cold Steel just becos they dislike how they (Cold Steel) market their product like cutting of pigs, chicken and the arrogant boss of Cold Steel..but we are getting good knives, nothing to do with people whom produce/design the knife. Cold Steel definitely is the blade without any thoughts

Great review

Why would a 3" blade be unfit for self defence? If you slice someones chest open, it doesn't matter if the blade is 3" or 4".. It'll create one heck of a gash either way.

Nice little graphic you made for the channel avatar 😊

the reco 1 is the strongest but a lot of reviewers play that down but at the same time don't bring up the littles part that break on the (g) lock ( axis ) and on none triad back locks ! I have broken back locks on buck 110 and broken spring on axis locks ( replaced with better (G) lock springs )! I have never ever broken any part of a recon 1 ! so lock strength and lock part strength is an issue ! when I customize the recon 1's they work easy and become fidget knives ! I have both of these knives and if I could only have one it would be the recon 1 because it is the strongest and most reliable ! that does count even in a small knife ! the spiderco isn't in the same class with the benchmade or the cold steel accept in size !

Love them all, need them all

The Benchmade is my favourite. And I love the colour on that one. And it fits my hand well.

I wonder if the results would be different if you used a standard version of the mini grip. I think that version is better, but you also pay for it. The standard version is closer in price to those other two knives.

Did you add the scales to the griptillian and if so what brand are they? I have the griptillian and just do not like the handle feel, and probably love it if I could upgrade the handles. Good video!! For the value Cold Steel knives are hard to beat!!

I carry the native 5 lw and a cold steel verdict g10. Both light and tough.

A better comparison would have been the Native 5 with G10 D s35v steel.

I have code 4 love it

I can't figure out how he ended up with the Spydie being anywhere close to the price of the Benchmade. When I look it up the Benchmade is like $50 more and the Spydie is only about $20 more then the Cold Steel. Also S110 I actually haven't found to be that bad to sharpen with a decent set up (I use a Hapstone Pro). 3rd he should've compared either the 154CM model of Griptilian or gone up in class with the Spydie and Cold Steel to make it a legit comparison.

Nice video man.

If you think S110v is hard to sharpen, have a go at ZDP189 - it took me weeks of honing and stropping. It's sharper than volcanic glass now though. I'm almost scared to use it....!!

What is your favorite one?

Hands down Recon 1

plz help me choose between coldsteel recon1 (spear point) & American lawman (spear point)... this will be my first edc knife🔪

What if I live in Canada and I dont have to carry childrens knives like what u got. I carry a new 2016 recon 1 with a 4 inch blade. As far as carrying in a sheath there's no restriction in size. Lol. UK and Australia are so restricted it's a joke.

If the benchmade had a full flat grind it would be better

I only buy USA made knives so I will never buy a Cold Steel knife. Until recently I was leaning towards the Benchmade now undecided. Great review thanks 🐱

im a big spydie guy but id get the mini grip hands down so expensive for aussies thats dedication

I think if I had to rank them, I'd put the mini grip first, spyderco second and the cold steel third. I've just never been fond of the way cold steel does handles, on a lot of their knives, the handles are so that they pretty much make you hold it in a certain way with finger choils and such.

I really like my mini griptillian but Benchmade has serious issues with quality control..I have a native5 that came flawless as well as a mini ak47..love all three but the grip took three trys to get one that after a few hours of work getting the edge straightened out is now on par with the others..

Your like my daughter, the blue did it

Good vid and il I've your new user picture

firs of all SPYDERCO...spYDer-COW _____sounds better. (their designers have probably got hooked on Opium (or something). CREATIVITY !!!!!

My heart will always go for spyderco ... but benchmade runs very close

Any knife is a fighting knife

Not needing a strong lock just sounds stupid. The stronger the better. You may not need it every day but if you ever do then you have it.

Why does it take 20 minutes to say Cold Steel. Whoever makes the biggest edc is clearly the best knaff co

No pm2?

They are all cnc made knives !

appels and pears.

Any Blade is defensive....do you have any military experience? Thanks

All American companies. The one made in USA wins. Go figure.

if you didn't use a guided sharpener for all three knives and set the edge angle the same with the same grit finish, your cutting test wouldn't be accurate. Even that aside the difference in blade shape would even still present an element of inaccuracy.

COLD STEEL

Yeah yeah, benchmade is a Flicker fun fun and look at all the colors …………NOT ….recon all the way, NUMBER ONE safety, #2 price and #3 reputation with owners with bad ass jobs and pure reliability. if you want to flick and flick get a gonzo for $20

With those 3, I will take the Cold Steel😏

my mini griptilian #256 first run is a safe queen

You're comparing the best Benchmade vs a budget Spyderco (with the upgraded steel). I'd take a PM3 every day of the week over any of those options though they're all quality knives (Native is one of my least favorite Spyderco knives). The axis lock is severely flawed IMO as the springs will and do fail (same reason I hate assisted opening knives). FRN and FRCP I don't like on medium or larger knives. On the delica I can almost stand it until I hold the G-10 version. Still, any of these options would be fine knives if you could only have just one... minus the axis lock spring issues.

Obviously a Benchmade Fanboy!

cold steel all the way. spdygay handles look so cheap and plastic. tri ad lock is the best.

Spyderco has that stupid hump and hole on top of all their knives that looks ugly asf.

And the winner is: Cold Steel Ultimate Hunter.

1 Benchmade,2 Spyderco!

i can promise you 100% that my new (green) MORA....Yeh MORA slice better & faster (have you seen the blade on the new MORA Fire-starter (WoW)...AND is cost 1/4....he he (Spydercow).

Biast much

The cold steel doesn't belong in this category. It is a cheap ass china knife. Nothing more. Benchmade griptalion all the way..

Recon 1 is a tactical blade 🤦🏽‍♂️ come on dude know your knives