From the Sharpening Bench: Cold Steel Trailmaster in O1... Awesome!

Here's a quick look at an awesome fixed blade from Cold Steel, The Trailmaster. This is a survival / woods / fighting knife with a 9 1/2" blade, a 5 1/4" handle and a gorgeous satin finished clip point blade. The semi-full tang design makes it a capable chopper or batoning knife. The blade design and full cross guard make it a great finger-severing tactical blade. Housed in a plastic "Secure Ex" sheath, the Trailmaster is pretty much ready for any large knife application.
But the BIG NEWS is the new blade steel, O1. It's a big upgrade from the former "base model" steel in the Trailmaster, SK5. With better cutting performance and edge holding, as well as better corrosion protection, this design was just begging for some old school O1, and it finally has it. Awesome!!!

[@ericsierra-franco7802]

The Trail Master is the finest fixed blade that Cold Steel has ever produced.

[@shubbagin49]

9 months of use, still awesome chopper, handle is perfect, cut up a few pallets about a month ago, because some twat had altered the doors to a large cellar in which logs were stored and had not removed the said pallets, 2 hours constant chopping and prying reduced everything to kindle and not a blister anywhere on my lily white hands, wiped the blade off with an oily rag and touched up the edge, can still cut paper Rob. I took it to an English Civil War enactment do which a couple of my buddys are into where they have stab bags and stuff to give people a feel of what it would be like to use a pike or a short sword, showed them the usefullness of the back cut in close quarter combat, everybody was most impressed at the bowie design. Yes its a handy knife in the right situations all right, good thing to defend yourself in a narrow doorway, know what I mean brothers.

[@markhansen3111]

Great knife. I bought this blade many years ago and am very impressed with it. It takes a great edge and retains it well. The fit and finish is close to perfect. I like the sheath. It functions very well. To me this is a must have knife if you are a knife person. My only knock on it is it is heavy, but it is to be expected on a knife of this robust design. Get one.

[@shubbagin49]

Crusty old Scot here, took Morag (thats her name) out for a spin the other day, clearing limbs from felled trees for our fire in the shoot hut. Great heft, cut through inch to two inch in one hit, thats beech and ash. After a couple of hours work the edge just got a touch up on the sharpmaker, good as new. A word of warning to all choppers, use a lanyard, wrap round the thumb and thong across back of hand. I will not be doing any batoning with Morag so I have sharpened up the swedge, would make a Dixie knifefighter proud, not that we do that kind of thing in England, not so sure about my home town in Scotland though(Glasgow).L.O.L. Great knife at double the price if you are a woodsman. God bless all.

[@ActionHero29]

+Laurie Campbell hehe nice comment.

[@danielm7585]

I’ve got one when they first came out. Carbon v steel. And it’s been through hell and it’s still an amazing knife

[@jesusgarciajr]

Wish i could unsee this. Never really gave it a second look until now.

[@TheApostleP]

Jesus Garcia I know!!! It's even worse when you have it in hand... trust me. This just made the short list.

[@SpectrumSurvivalist]

+TheApostleP It's just like the Recon Tanto, you can't really appreciate it till you have it in hand. I got one of the Old Carbon 5 Recon Tantos with the Kraton handle and Kydex sheath, it's black, some might even call it ugly, but when you got it in your hand you just know this knife will not fail you. Cold Steel is overlooked by a lot of people, they don't think they make quality knives, but they sure do.

[@ronalddunne3413]

@@SpectrumSurvivalist Well they DID make quality knives 'n stuff... Now Lynn has sold the company and Lord knows WTF they are going to do... Glad I got MINE, many in C-5... I take issue with your comment that C-V is a lesser steel that 0-1 or SK-5.. I own and have used all of those steels. The C-5 is my personal favorite- a basic 1095 which was discontinued when Camillus went under- Camillus had been supplying the C-5. This info came from a CS employee... Interestingly when Camillus went under a lot of product was auctioned off and I got a couple of their knife-blanks which look for all the world like- C-5 Cold Steel blades. Now CS knives are mostly made in Red China.. a sad end to the Cold Steel story. FWIW I have sharpened the clip-edge on one of my TrailMasters. A lottadamnwork it was, too! Now it will back-cut, something useful in a fighting bowie dating back to the Master, Jas. Bowie Himself...

[@powerplay4real174]

Wow that is a well Polished Edge ,I've seen jewelry that doesn't shine that fine ,a knife with Bling Bling and the brass looks outstanding.

[@user-dn8kg1yk6x]

I like the Trail Master because of how well it's balanced, it's like a big dagger. The only downside is the Secure-Ex sheath CS uses that eats away at the fine edge put on the blade.

[@donnellis8865]

What a beautiful knife and edge. The edges you put on knives are astounding. Hope to become that good some day.

[@eipi5173]

you'll love this knife even more after a workout in the field

[@shubbagin49]

Thanks Rob from the Crusty old Jock, as you know this knife will be taking some stick in the wild woods of Britain,I do understand about the full cross guard hindering fine work, but its not going to be used for much of that anyway.I would go so far as to say that it could become nearly as well loved as my old Dirk, not that I am causing any mayhem or panic to Freedoms enemys in these Autumn days of my life. This beastie will be perfect for hazel,beech, birch and the occasional smaller chunks of oak and ash. The 01 steel was a clincher for me buying this practical bowie and your polished edge does make all the difference Rob. God bless All.

[@GregFowlerPlus]

Totally agree a fine polished edge beats a toothy one anytime. Good work.

[@blackwaterdogs4256]

I bought a 1st-gen Trailmaster way back in 1986 (Carbon V steel, made in Japan). It was my first convex edge knife....I tested it by chopping down an 8 or 9-inch cherry tree, hacking some of the limbs off, then hammering the point into the stump of the tree, standing on the handle, and bouncing up and down. No damage. After all that, I cut up about 75 dollars worth of 1" manila rope, had 3 inch free-hanging bundles taped together, the knife went right through them with one swipe, you just heard a little "click" sound as the blade zipped through the rope. Most impressive ! The double guard was not comfortable, so I cut the top part off and filed it smooth....big improvement ! These are great knives for the money !

[@howabouthetruth2157]

Man! What a honkin' blade on that thing. Beautiful too. Even Crocodile Dundee would be runnin' for the hills of ya brandished this one. The 01 tool steel is the icing on the cake. I can understand some guys preferring toothy edges, but they certainly have no grounds to bash on a polished edge. They oughta know good & well that a polished edge excels at resisting rust..........not to mention lending to a super duper keen edge and edge retention.

[@Greenmachine305]

O1, if properly heat treated, makes this very easy to buy.

[@tfr51]

Never paid much attention to this knife till now. There are not to many with a 5/16" blade.

[@RichAllfieldnohit]

Mine has 01 also, didn't know it was a step-up from SK5, in fact I almost thought it was a clone or something. Thanks for the education.

[@ActionHero29]

I wish this came with a micarta and/or wooden handle too.

[@VicariousReality7]

they have a wood handled model but it has a shitty wire tang for some reason.... nonsense

[@tikkidaddy]

You can split stove wood using it like a froe too but I don't did that! There's a difference between stove wood and shake wood !!

[@mattwpolo1990]

Would love to see a review on the fallkniven F1. Have only heard good things. Wondering what you think

[@lckgilmo43]

Superb knife. I think that the Trail Master is Cold Steel's no.1 knife. I freehand sharpen my knives on a wet stone then pass them on a ceramic rod and leather belt. If a knife don't shave hair it ain't sharp. Aus-8 is better at cutting than O-1 but I don't recommend chopping with it.

[@kerberosWXIV]

Awesome gleaming edge. Btw, how much you charge for the work on this Trail Master?

[@danmartin4552]

Well this is one advantage of the EdgePro over my Wicked Edge... it would be quite the feat to secure this 5/16th thick FFG monster in the clamp. I had a hard enough time with my .25 thick SP-10 with large flats. I like the Trail Master, but a few things has held me back, and ultimately I ended up going for a cheaper Ontario SP-10 and re-profiling it with a half high polished convex. I still may get one one some day, but I just don't think I will carry it as much out in the woods. And it is not the price, I thump on my few $200+ folders.

[@shcmoly]

Recon and SRK (even though it's stainless) are coated but never the Trailmaster? It's curious how Cold Steel touted the O-1 steel for years but I just started seeing it available recently.

[@40belowful]

nice knife:) looks very much like my 80's gerber excaliber. I just measured my gerber and exact same size/thickness as the cold steel. I bought it brand new for 89.00 in 1987. still new in box and its says USA. I have no clue what steel it is.

[@brianminkc]

SK5 is the Japanese equivalent to 1080 carbon steel.

[@powerplay4real174]

And it's a very good steel (SK5) for blade 8 to 13 inches in blade length, but the 01tool steel is a upgrade. Cold Steel still uses SK5 on their Chaos knives and SRK knives and maybe even a few others ,the Japanese know their steels very well for sure.

[@timbo4374]

Old video, but I just found this knife on sale for $113.99 on Amazon, and at that price, I just couldn't pass it up. As if this knife wasn't pretty enough to start with, looking at it with your edge on it, makes me seriously consider coughing up the money to have you sharpen it for me. Awesome looking knife, with an even more awesome looking edge! As awesome looking as this knife is..can you imagine if it had a nice black linen micarta handle? Dang...I wonder if I could find a knife maker who could re-scale it for me? Just a thought. Great video as always. May God and his only begotten son Jesus bless you!

[@CliffStamp]

Any difference in how you sharpen a blade of that size?

[@TheApostleP]

Cliff Stamp I guess I do it a little differently than Ben does with the Edgepro... because he's so good with it. He just gently moves the blade between each stroke, with great precision. I tend to keep the knife in one position for 20--25 passes at each location on the table, with the blade marked at each location for consistency of overlap in my strokes. I guess I just don't do enough large blades to become as fluid with the Edgepro as the master ;)

[@dennisleighton2812]

You could do a review of the San Mai III ! It is quite a step up from this one.

[@B-leafer]

Q? Did you sharpen the swedge?

[@ferizb]

Does SecureEx sheath dulls the edge?

[@danielheller9624]

I am soon going to get a large knife, probably an esee junglas or BK9. Maybe a coldsteel something or other. Any ideas anybody?

[@austinfeeman6055]

I broke mine! lol! buts its pretty awsome I'm about to send it out to cs for them to replace. which they better it broke on soem mosquite branches I was stripping from a log

[@aaronnaylor59]

How would I go about getting you to sharpen a knife for me? I have a rat 5 I'd like to get sharpened .

[@cz75fanatic]

That's what she said!

[@rickjwilliams]

Yep...all nice and shiny. Wait for all that rust to grab hold.

[@philipmarcus97]

A little Patina and light rust (not red rust) won't hurt a big o'l woods knife like this one. Just take care of it and it'l serve a lifetime.

[@rickjwilliams]

Much easier to put a coat of Duracoat on it. I have one of these ..and yes O-1 rusts up real easy.. I kept a coat of of Vaseline on it for awhile til bought some Duracoat and put it on. It's OK now.

[@philipmarcus97]

+Rick Williams cool. I like to let my carbon steel knives age and patina. I almost always strip the coating off if the knife has one. To each his own tho. I've never used duracoat, I hear it's great .

[@357bullfrog]

In your opinion is this knife worth the 146 dollar price as a daily carry and heavy use knife?

[@jhonmosley2330]

357bullfrog if you want to EDC that knife, get a Southern Comfort Sheath.

[@Bigchoucroutte]

made in usa ?

[@ctford27]

Me want!

[@jakehansen3418]

I heard this wasn't full tang is that true?

[@TheApostleP]

jake hansen I believe it is true. It’s been awhile since I did that research, but it might be the cable tang. I really don’t think it matters, however. The balance is on the money, and I’ve never heard of one breaking inside the handle. The “full tang for strength” argument is largely a social media and marketing myth. I can’t remember the last time I saw even a photograph of a fixed blade knife with a broken handle due to tang failure. This was actually a topic of discussion at the June Bark River Grind In. No one could remember ever seeing that. It was all chuckles and eye rolls about what knife buyers think they have to have.

[@jakehansen3418]

@@TheApostleP I prefer full tang for durability as I've seen non full tang knifes fail I had a trail master for many years it worked great not knocking the knife but if it ever broke I would garentee it would be were that tang ends.

[@Arielgauna]

woooooouuu

[@tikkidaddy]

EEZOX keeps rust under control on 01 and A2

[@collector7993]

Hey Cold Steel, turn it into the knife that started the knife craze back in the 80s, turn it into the First blood knife, it would make you guys so much money and make us knife nuts happy as a pig in #*"^. A fully operational First Blood knife at a reason price, a dream come true. Make it happen Cold Steel!

[@Greenmachine305]

Trying very hard to justify buying this...but living in Florida scares me off.

[@ebutuoy3504]

I thought all cold Steel knives were made in Japan. I see the one you have is Taiwan ? ? China ? ? I own two Cold Steel Trail Master knives in VG - SAN MAi lll . :-) I made it almost half way through . :-(

[@ChrisC30]

I have a Laredo in O1 and it's just as sharp and just as beautiful. The Natchez just is too big for my needs, but I love the Laredo. I've used it to open cans, even chop down a small tree.

[@georgeyoung4292]

V- edge on this knife makes as much sense as having Indycar tyres on Tractor.. Its almost like abuse😭

[@CampfireTalk]

It's almost too good looking to use...almost.

[@guusdejong2523]

wish the handles where micarta and the sheath leather.

[@Schroeder_-yh4sq]

I personally feel the spec plus line of knives has rendered the trail master obsolete. not that it's bad, but why spend 100+ dollars on a trail master when I can get a 1095 made in America knife for as low as 50.

[@Greenmachine305]

I feel the MT-151 from MTech kills this as a user. $15 for an identical knife in perfectly heat treated 440A stainless, vs. $150 for corrosion prone and chip prone O1.

[@jhonmosley2330]

Greenmachine305 it doesn’t. But if you enjoy the MTech, I’m happy for you. O1 is not prone to chips, at the Rockwell this knife is at. I only have the Recon Scout in O1, my Trail Master is VG1 San Mai III. Never was a fan on 440A in a knife steel. No matter the heat treat, it’ll dull if someone even as much as farts in its general direction.

[@jhonmosley2330]

who cares handle them. I don’t like the Becker’s, because my hands are very large, and the Becker’s give me a nasty hotspot on my pinky. The ESEE’s are awesome-I have both the 6, and the Junglas. Best production knife sheaths on the market, to boot. The Trailmaster, Recon Scout, and D2 Leatherneck are awesome as well. Securex sheaths are terrible though. Great design, lousy material (GRN). Same for the Becker’s, that are not in Cordura.

[@tigerpisces5506]

This is K-Bar knife alias bear 🐻 killer.

[@robkish1646]

I cringed when I saw you put that beautiful high polished edge into that crappy secure-ex sheath. I own many cold steel knives and those sheaths dull an edge in about four or five pulls.

[@TheApostleP]

Yep. Watch the paper test. It was silent and smooth before I shot the video.

[@darrendelozier207]

Had a really go commentary going on there, all the way up until you mentioned the asinine act of batoning. It's a bowie knife brother, not an axe. Now I'm aware we live in a emasculated society these days, but like or not bowie knives always had and will continue to have but one primary function, that is a killer of men,a pure and simple killing implement with few equals in the cutlery world.. Granted they may have occasionally been pressed into service clearing a little brush around the campsites, or cutting a piece of rope or leather here and there. But I can assure you that Jim Bowie or any that followed after him ever "batoned" with their knives, they were fairly sharp fellows they knew where to get an axe. I just have a problem with people who want to judge a bowie's worthiness on it's efficiency as a wood processor, and yes ,anyone with a modicum of common sense could tell at a glance that that long sharpened back edge is likely go to process your baton as well as your wood. I wish when ever anyone had the urge to review a new bowie knife , that they would pass up the wood pile,and head to the butchers shop instead, where they can secure some proper test medium in the form of a whole hog carcass to hang up and test it for what it was designed for.#sharpenyourswedges

[@gulfrelay2249]

Darren Delozier oh,YEEahh,Boyyy! whenever I watch batoning, I'm amazed at all the dead, easily burned biomass lying around the Yooboob star.

[@lordbuttonial]

Your reviews are good but the way you say the date is soooooooooooooo annoying lol.

[@franciscoarana6626]

San Mai , Japan, is superior. Much more in all aspects.

[@Eurotrash4367]

It's too pretty to use.

[@khloeenglund2407]

So far from sharp.