Review of the Cold Steel BUSHMAN - The Fixed-Blade-SPEAR-Knife on a tight BUDGET.

[@CanadianCuttingEdge]

I bought my Cold Steel Bushman from White Mountain Knives where you will SAVE 10% when you shop there and use our discount code: CCE BUT, their price is a fair bit higher than you can find it at other stores, so I have included links to multiple places where you can buy a Cold Steel Bushman A) Amazon.com $21.10 or bowie for $16.99 - amzn.to/3Ly3J4o B) Amazon.ca $42.49 or $36.87 fro bowie - amzn.to/3BOv7HX C) Canadians may want to try Blades Canada for $29.99 or bowie $28.99 instead - www.warriorsandwonders.com/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&keyword=cold+steel+bushman D) WMK $36.99USD or Bowie style for $29.99 or folder for $33.99 whitemountainknives.com/search/search-results/?search_query=cold+steel+bushman E) DIRECTLY from Cold Steel - www.coldsteel.com/bushman/ $24.99USD free shipping to USA

[@charlescollier7217]

Spring tempered and super, super tough. I have three - one of these and two of the Bowie type. Great hard-use knife, and very versatile. Needs mods to fix various limitations, but the mods are all easily doable.

[@CanadianCuttingEdge]

I agree

[@BenoJ3000]

Dollars to donuts, the pocket bushman is one of the best purchases I ever made. Insane value for what I've done with it.

[@CanadianCuttingEdge]

I have heard others say the same thing.

[@valencearden559]

Finally, some one who takes a good in depth look at the knife and it's capabilities and design. Too many people just want to throw it as a spear or hack at car doors with it??? Earned a follow.

[@CanadianCuttingEdge]

Thank you very much. I agree, too many people call a video a review when really they are just playing around. Those videos have a valid place but they aren't actually reviews in my opinion either.

[@jelkel25]

Can't deal with destruction test videos, I was brought up to look after your gear where possible even if it didn't cost a lot.

[@juliusgonzo7527]

Great review of this knife. I own one and love it, but only used it casually in the woods, as I own many others. But I DO apprehend much detail and analysis you put into your reviews... Impressive.

[@CanadianCuttingEdge]

Thanks.

[@ANIML57]

So good to see you healthy my friend! Have had my peeps on this one for a long while. Probably gonna scoop it up! Be well and take care. XO

[@CanadianCuttingEdge]

Thanks. I am doing fairly well - health wize. It's a very decent knife for the price. Sure it has limitations and querks but that's just how it is.

[@barrybaldwin5535]

As usual, I value your logical approach to your reviewing skills. At 72, I've collected for many decades & I dare to say that I have a high percentage of Cold Steel's different model offerings in my collection & certainly the highest percentage of my cutlery is CS brand. Keep up the excellent content & stay safe.

[@CanadianCuttingEdge]

Thanks for sharing, and the encouragement.

[@jelkel25]

That was an impressive, indepth review. Have the Bowie version on the way, had anticipated it needing a little modification and some time on the stones. I think part of the appeal for me was it's modification potential. Good stuff!!!

[@CanadianCuttingEdge]

Thanks

[@bushcraftbasics2036]

I appreciate your reviews and how you call it like you see it.

[@CanadianCuttingEdge]

I appreciate that

[@EattinThurs61]

I have bushman bowie and I find it to be a good knife. If you put a piece of wood in the handle it will feel better in the hand. I sharpened it with a ceramic rod from IKEA, the one I have in the kitchen & then on my steel sink since I do not have a cast iron stove like my grandfather had & used to sharpen his knives on. Cast Iron is much harder than carbon steel. I used a strop with fine ground charcoal on for a while...but it is not ideal with that edge, but good for convex edged blades as a Tramontina machete. One can always finish with stropping on newspaper, idealy with chinese lettering since the spacing of black and white is better. There is supposedely iron in the black print... Good review .

[@CanadianCuttingEdge]

Thanks for the comprehensive comment

[@phillipnunya6793]

Wanting the same things for every knife isn't always great. Some knives and companies are better for some things or applications than others. As for your recommended hardness, this is a niche knife. Hardening it more than it already has been would just make using as a spear much worse and much less safe. They make plenty of other knives if you want a knife and just a knife. I put some Wilson Pro Comfort overgrip on the handle and it really helps with retention and comfort. I suggest you try that mod next. Well worth it. You could also put some cord through the hole and use it as a lanyard. If you size it right, it should make slipping up on the blade pretty hard.

[@CanadianCuttingEdge]

Definitley, each knife type has a different set of parameters that it is best to be made by. Thinking that every knife should have the same steel is completely silly - thankfully I am not that dumb about knives. This review is about THIS knife, and the comments are about THIS knife, not all or even most, knives. I did not say that it should be harder than it is - I said that I believe it should be harder than 54HRC. In my educated estimation, it is several points harder 54HRC. This is primarily a knife, not a spear, and I am of the opinion that to make it according to the requirements of a spear would compromise it too much as a knife. In my opinion, it's not 50% knife and 50% spear, it is a knife (according to Cold Steel). It could, in some instances, be used like a spear and therefore it needs to be a good knife first and foremost. Good point about the possiblity to use a lanyard.

[@captainnyet9855]

I wish there was more affordable socket knives on the market; if it they made something like this but with a smaller, handier blade on it I'd buy it in a heartbeat. For the price point I can probably just buy one and chop it down to the desired size, but it'd be a lot of time and effort putting an entirely new edge on it and I am not sure how good the result would be.

[@CanadianCuttingEdge]

I have wondered why they haven't made a simple spear tip like this (with a sheath system) so that the consumer just needs to add the handle themselves.

[@bmoviebmovie]

Very informative. Please do more fixed knives.

[@CanadianCuttingEdge]

I am indeed increasing my fixed knife reviews. I have done more this year than I have in all the years before combined, and I am still increasing the number.

[@charlier8233]

FYI Midway has these on sale at the moment $14.39 for the Bushman and $13.59 for the Bowie.

[@CanadianCuttingEdge]

Now that is a GREAT price for this knife, thanks for sharing the info.

[@phillipnunya6793]

Wish I had known that before I bought mine. Thanks for the tip.

[@richardhenry1969]

Just FYI SK5 is really Japanese 1080. So it's a very capable steel. I'm a coldsteel fan. Mostly because I only use lockback knives. I had a liner lock fail twice. The last time cut me very deep. As a mechanic I need my fingers. Frame an liner locks fail very easily with a light hit to the back of the blade. Back to coldsteel no other company has a stronger lock with quality steel for such a good price. Voyager are incredible the rahja2 is one of a kind. The large Espada in g10 and xhp is my absolute favorite knife. With my broken skull in my back pocket I feel nothing I can't accomplish. Coldsteel really is options which is what I like. You can find anything you need and usually for a good price. Like mini pendleton hunter aus10 best fishing knife ever.

[@CanadianCuttingEdge]

I feel for you and that injury but its simply not my experience that liner lock and frace lock knives "fail very easily", nor with "a light hit to the back of the blade" because I have carried this type of knife since they first came out decades ago. I have also done extensive spine whack tests (hitting the spine of the blade VERY HARD). I have never had an easy failure on that test and only a tiny minority failed under HARD whacks to the spine of the blade. I readily agree that the various versions of lock back systems (like the triad lock by Cold Steel) are stronger than liner locks and frame locks. If you find what you like at Cold Steel then keep buying from them. If there are products that you don't like then don't buy them, it's really that simple.

[@torpilo]

Wish they came up with a thicker version...

[@CanadianCuttingEdge]

you and me both

[@babyrabies]

i purchased the latest revision of this knife months back and it felt totally different from what i had a decade back. Though the design looks the same, the material felt different. Hard to explain but the old bushman felt springy or should i say lively but tougher. The new ones with the made in China printed on felt a lot stiffer. The deflection range is very very narrow and ramps up quickly. If i try to push past that , i felt i could just break the knife with my bare hands. That feeling of brittleness restain me from ever using it. I gave it to a stranger after that.

[@CanadianCuttingEdge]

I don't know much about the original Bushman but if it was made in USA then it very likely was made with a different steel than the current version is made of. That would explain the difference. I can tell you that I certainly could not break the current version with my bare hands, but I would be able to if I put the middle of the blade in a vise and pulled on the handle.

[@tomasjasicek3489]

well, the knife has to be thin and flexible so that it doesn't break on the long shaft of the spear... it's beautifully flexible... that's the point... the thin blade is also a huge bonus for easy penetration of anything... batoning is excellent, especially the short handle is a very effective machete, the work productivity is high... you can cut down even an old spruce without any problems thanks to the fact that it is thin and short... make an ergonomic wooden screw handle with a short handle (ideally oval at the grip point so that it holds well )...it cuts unbelievably!!!!! Carry a sturdy screw and a short screwdriver or multitool with you

[@CanadianCuttingEdge]

It "has to be thin and flexible"? Are you sure, have you checked out museums of historical spears? If you have you will find that most spears are neither thin nor flexible in any appreciable amount. Actually, it is thin and flexible because that makes it a better knife. Is it useful for a lot of tasks as you describe - most certainly.

[@BenoJ3000]

The old bushman had a weld on them in the handle. The handle was quite robust

[@CanadianCuttingEdge]

Ahhh, that would indeed make it a fair bit stronger. Thanks for sharing that bit of information.

[@Thomas-dz4eg]

l would love to find a nice Canada made production knife with a decent blade steel. Unfortunately, Grohmann makes nothing that l would ever buy either. Cold Steel at least makes some interesting products. l have don’t have a use for spear knife, but people do hunt wild hogs with spears in the US. The softer steel would be an advantage when stabbing your game animal. Mounting the blade and sheath on a walking stick might be a useful jic tool in the bush.

[@CanadianCuttingEdge]

Your're preaching to the chior, as they say. The thing is we don't have a knife making industry in Canada. We have a good hanful of tiny shops that make knives but Grohmann is the largest by a fair margin and the owners have no pressure to be better. Their knives are selling as well as they expect. Until that changes they are unlikely to change how they do things. A spear definitley has different requirements for what type of steel and the hardness of that steel. I agree, having the steel a bit softer than for knives is critical. The extra durability and toughness of whole thing is of more advantage than edge retention on a spear. I did read a blog of a guy who had an interaction with a mountain lion and then decided to put the Bushman into spear mode. The thing is with that type of high adrenalin senario, the time and dexterity it takes to remove the sheath would probably mean the animal has already sunk its teeth in you before you get the sheath off, in a senario where you are in a potentially dangerous backcountry it would be wise to walk without the sheath on, just like humans have done for millenia.

[@phillipnunya6793]

I bought one to put in an emergency "bug out" pack. Earthquakes and crazy storms happen often enough and they usually force evacuate everyone. This can cause high crime and general lawlessness. I figured it works well enough as a knife, so it's there if I need it. I already have better knives to choose from though and I would probably grab one of them. This then becomes a nice backup knife and spear if I need to defend myself. It being cheap definitely helps.

[@jimlahey5623]

Hello, i dont know who can answer my question. I found some offer real steel "camping" but it is on local market, i was looking for this knife on google, but it seems like such model doesnt exist. Someone know that knife? It is fixed blade very similar to ruike hornet, also 14c28n (thats what the seller said)

[@CanadianCuttingEdge]

Maybe they mean the Real Steel POINTMAN? That is a My review of it is here - kzbin.info/www/bejne/jqeaomtsopJ_g9U It was never a very popular knife but it is fairly nice.

[@jimlahey5623]

@@CanadianCuttingEdge thx! It looks exactly the same. For $40 on local market. 14c28n, i think it is nice!

[@jimlahey5623]

@@CanadianCuttingEdge how do you think, why it was not popular? Nice shape. Were there any negatives?

[@blueclothes1]

Would you wrap the handle with grip tape?

[@bdwillis8284]

Yes, I wrapped mine with hockey tape 20 years ago and still going strong. One of the best budget blades I own.

[@CanadianCuttingEdge]

Grip tape is a great idea, but just about any wrap will make it better.

[@dingogreens7472]

i do not think that steel in the 80s was not good, look at aeb-l, steel from the 60s, still a great steel if used with a good heat treatment. and that is the probem with grohmann, not that great of a heat treatment i promise

[@CanadianCuttingEdge]

Generalizations are not absolutes. Yes, there were some good steels back then, but if you remember back then they cost a lot more $ than knives like the Bushman are today.

[@stevenrobertson6656]

Algo comment.

[@CanadianCuttingEdge]

thanks

[@babyreps365]

Hatchet or axes no batoning ever lol

[@CanadianCuttingEdge]

Thanks for watching and leaving a comment.

[@johnjacobs3502]

........

[@CanadianCuttingEdge]

.... :)

[@pavarottiaardvark3431]

Great review, but now my youtube recs are filled with crazed right-wing nonsense, so that's weird.

[@CanadianCuttingEdge]

I hope it's not my fault, because I am not into nonsense on either wing.

[@pavarottiaardvark3431]

@@CanadianCuttingEdge nah, it's not your fault. It's just that "outdoor tool reviews" overlap slightly with "crazy survivalists"

[@DisdainusMaximus]

That hanging hole on the sheath is to hang it from a coat or shirt button.

[@CanadianCuttingEdge]

I seriously doubt that that is the original intent that Len Thompson had for the hole, but sure, you could do that with it.

[@DisdainusMaximus]

@@CanadianCuttingEdge You can say whatever you want, but the FACT is that, on scandinavian knife sheaths, the hole is for that purpose and always has been. Thompson probably just copied it.

[@Surv1ve_Thrive]

I think he's correct about the button. The clip looks directly copied from Moras and many scandi workmen traditionally hang the knives off a button.

[@1hh.]

Fake chino

[@CanadianCuttingEdge]

NO, it's not fake, it is a real Cold Steel product sold by a reputable knife vendor.

[@Sugardaddy501]

I can fix edge angles honestly; more concerned with weak breaking points when pressured.

[@CanadianCuttingEdge]

In all my MANY years, I have never broken even the tip of a knife. I don't think I am over gentle with my knives but I do respect my blades. So for me, what I hate is the amount of steel I have to waste when I properly sharpen most knives for the first time at home. I am getting so tired of all the extra time needed to fix all those edges and, as I said, the waste of steel.