Cold Steel Mini Tac Bowie

Once again, Cold Steel comes through with a great knife at a reasonable price. The blade came scary sharp, like all of the ... I think 30 CS Knives I own. The coating is excellent, the temper is good, the shape is great for it's purpose, but like almost all commercial Bowie's, the top of the clip came unsharpened. The Griv-Ex sheath is fantastic and holds the knife with a positive "click" that won't let it fall out, even though I've tried pretty darn hard. I have lots of neck knives (I've been collecting knives for almost 6 decades) and only my Cold Steel knives have positive retention without the addition of an external lock, like the Ka-Bar BK11- which won't come out of it's sheath as fast or as quiet as necessary if you find that you suddenly need this particular knife. The ergo's of the handle are supernatural, given it's small size, and it lays so flat that it won't print through a tee shirt. Altogether a 4.5, since there are no perfect knives. Now, I bought this knife because I like CS and I liked the look of this knife, but in my opinion, the CS push knives are a better choice for a desperation weapon. What I'm *really* looking for is a 3.25-3.5" skeleton or otherwise very thin handled, Scandi grind neck knife with a sheath that will NOT let the knife fall out in the field under hard hunting/bushcraft/emergency conditions, that sells for around 40 bucks....more for a leather sheath, although that isn't important, what's important is to have that knife to still be hanging around my neck if the poo hits the primitive cooling device and something unexpected and really bad has happened, and that it has that Scandi grind.

This knife occupies a rare space in the knife world: prioritizing blade length over a full sized handle. The user can fit the index, middle, and fourth finger on the handle and the pinky will form a fist below the end of the handle. For the tasks you are likely to do with a blade of this size it's a great move. The CRKT neck knives feel flimsy in comparison, in my opinion. The cutout for the index finger, found on a lot of "fighting" fixed blade knives (fighting the evil cardboard boxes) adds a lot of security and is the right width for my hand size. It could always be widened with a dremel if someone has thick index fingers. I am between a medium and large elastic glove size and it fits well. Fit and finish are flawless, with polymer handle slabs that feel much like G10 due to the texture, very grippy. No gaps between the handle and blade unlike a CRKT minimalist bowie I once had. The blade width (from edge to spine) is substantial giving toughness if someone really felt they needed to place lateral stress on the blade. The upswept belly is very pronounced which predisposes itself to slicing motions. Flaw: The fiberglass sheath while sturdy and form fitting, slightly dulls the blade. If you are into sharpening it might bother you to do your best job and upon withdrawal from the sheath notice a little glinting on the belly of the blade. The edge must be making contact with the glass fibers of the sheath. If this is a working knife or an emergency knife, you won't notice. A kydex or nylon sheath wouldn't have this problem but also wouldn't have the rigidity the included sheath provides. For the price this might be the best value in a micro / compact fixed blade capable of EDC. Very slim package, less obtrusive given the amount of work this is capable of. Even knowing the sheath slightly dulls the blade I would have wanted one as the design / engineering of the blade and handle are innovative. I purchased the polymer cold steel belt clip separately and use only one of the two included to attach it to my 1.5 inch belt on occasion.

This is a pretty mean little knife. I ordered it with intentions of it being a boot knife. Unfortunately it didn’t come with a clip on the sheath. Aside from that, I have nothing but good things to say about this little guy. - Fits nicely in the hand. - Takes up very little space on your person. - Very nicely designed clip point Bowie style blade. - Came very sharp out of the box. - Comfortable grip. - Nice matted finish. - Well balanced. - Great quality for the price. Over all I’d say this is well worth the money.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I purchased this knife, especially given the price. It received much love, so it seems that others like it, too. Also, the clip point was the least expensive version and the most functional for my needs, so it seemed ideal. On paper, it has excellent specs - 8cr steel is hands down the most cost-effective trade-off between strength, edge retention, toughness, and cost. At 2.5mm with a full-length tang, it offers excellent overall strength. The Cold Steel Griv-Ex scales are a plus, and since they're removable, you could upgrade with a set of custom scales. The blade arrived in perfect condition - properly cut and formed and razor sharp - and had no manufacturing issues, which are so common in less expensive knives. It comes with a Cold Steel Secure-EX sheath that is very secure, and a metal-bead neck chain that I swapped out for paracord (personal preference). The bead chain is serviceable but cold! The sheath itself is tactical, so you could cross-lash it for scout-carry. That said, it is a smaller sheath, so it may be too small for belt carry. YMMV! Ultimately, my final view on a knife is whether I would replace it if I lost it. For this knife, it's a resounding YES!

The cold steel tac mini bowie is an incredible value!Among my around forty mid to high end knives,I previously only had two small fixed blades,a Guardian 3,and an Essee Xancudo,both of which I prefer in horizontal carry.The ONE downside to this cold steel is,the cold steel clip you can get does not conform to horizontal carry,however,it comes with a neck chain,and is very comfortable and accessable under the shirt.I really like how the cold steel fits in your hand,better then my other two fixed blades.Also,the blade is very slicey and pokey.The knife came very sharp,however,after ten strokes on my sharpmaker,it is RAZOR sharp.The steel is budget and surely wont hold an edge as well as even vg10 or 154cm,BUT it is so easy and quick to sharpen,thats not really an issue for me.For the price,this knife is an absolute steel,and in several ways superior to knives costing much,much more,(my guardian3 cost 119,and my essee xancudo cost 124-of course both are made of high grade steel).If you arent good at free hand sharpening,(which Im not),get yourself a lanskey four rod turnbox for around twentfive bucks-ANYBODY can easilly put a good edge on a knife with that system! Update,after a month really dont have much to add,except after reading some of the negative reveiws,its obvious that its hit or miss getting a good one,especially with the sheath.However I suspect the complaints about the sheath being to tight,or dulling the blade from drawing it stems from not knowing how to use it-you use your thumb pressing on the ramp to withdraw,and just use a little awareness when removing or inserting into the sheath,just keep the blade towards the top and you wont dull it.I recently aquired a neck knif I like better,but unless you have 250 dollars to blow on a neck knife,Id stay with this cold steel!

Great little knife! Easy to carry in pocket or bag, lightweight and convenient. Lots of blade for such a small knife, the knife handle while small give good control and is very secure in hand. The sheath can slightly dull a very sharp edge if drawn with force towards the edge side. A functional and usable EDC blade where fixed blades are allowed. I wish they still made the other blade shapes with this same handle, they should make them again and offer more blade options, I would buy more if they did.

Is it made in China, yes. But to get it under $20 in todays market and still have a quality product and turn a profit; you get it. When it was made in the US it was priced outside the market for a neck knife and had no buyers. So here we are. $20 and I have an every day carry neck knife, sharp out of the box, amazing shape and hand feel. I broke down a large cardboard box for recycling with this like a ginsu through butter. Not the purpose of buying it but a worthy challenge at the time and I wanted something to compare it against my trusty SOG pentagon elite pocket knife. The $20 China made neck knife won. It’s blade shape is very nice and aggressive. Moderately sharp out of the box. Not as sharp as other cold steel knives like the SRK out of the box but plenty sharp for a $20 Chinese neck knife. The chain is better than expected and I never notice wearing it. The sheath holds exceptionally well without any worries the knife will drop out and guillotine my mr happy. The release from the sheath is quick and natural in the event that the knife needs to be used expeditiously. Whatever your worries are, at this price just buy 2! If you hose one you have a backup. Don’t like neck carry; modify the sheath and ITB it. Point is; this is too good not to buy at under $20.

The Cold Steel Mini Tac Bowie is like the compact muscle car of fixed blades—small, aggressive, and built to handle way more than you’d expect. The 3-5/8" 8Cr13MoV stainless steel blade is razor-sharp, tough, and shaped like it’s ready to throw down. Whether you’re out in the woods, on the job, or just feeling extra tactical while cutting open mail, this blade gets it done. The Griv-Ex handle is lightweight and grippy, but it’s also not the beefiest—if you have big hands, expect a bit of a squeeze. That said, the Secure-Ex sheath is solid, holds the knife tight, and lets you carry this little beast without worrying about it slipping loose. Final Verdict: The Mini Tac Bowie is light, sharp, and mean—a great backup blade or EDC fixed blade option. 8.5/10—small but ready for a fight!

Anders, als die merkwürdigen Optik vermuten lässt, ist der Griff gar nicht schlecht. Sicher nichts für stundenlanges Schnitzen, aber sehr sicher in der Hand, ein Abrutschen ist praktisch unmöglich. Auch kriege ich mit Handschuhgröße M noch einen Vier-Finger-Griff hin. Angesichts der Größe durchaus bemerkenswert. Die geringe Dicke hat eine Menge Vorteile. Einerseits ist das Messer trotz seiner beachtlichen Klingenlänge sehr leicht, andererseits schneidet es richtig gut. Ich habe es vor ein paar Tagen sogar als Küchenmesser benutzt, da alle guten gerade in der Spülmaschine waren. Die Verarbeitungsqualität ist Cold Steel typisch gut bis sehr gut. Absolut gerade, gleichmäßiger Schliff. Der Preis für die Bowie-Variante geht mit zzt. rund 35 Euro noch in Ordnung, das Tanto empfinde ich mit ca. 50 als zu teuer. Die Scheide ist, ebenfalls typisch Cold Steel, sehr brauchbar. Es gibt ganz leichtes Klappern, es braucht jedoch durchaus den Willen, das Messer auch zu ziehen, um es herauszubekommen. Mein einziger Kritikpunkt: Ich würde mir eine etwas praktischere Klingenform wünschen, Droppoint oder gar Sheepsfoot. Bowie und Tanto sind nicht so mein Fall, die Skinner-Version noch weniger. Aber das ist Geschmackssache. Alles in allem ist das Mini Tag ein feines Messer, nicht von der Optik abschrecken lassen.

Bonita e confiavel! RECOMENDO!!!

El cuchillo es sólido, pero ligero a la vez, con acabados muy buenos. No es un microcuchillo, pero tampoco es grande o siquiera regular. Soy de mano chica, y el agarre para mi es perfecto a pesar de el meñique queda fuera del mango. Si eres de mano grande, quizás no sea para ti. El tamaño lo hace muy portable. Tiene su cadenita (se ve algo frágil) y está listo para portarlo al cuello. No se cumplica desenfundar pero a la vez no se suelta fácilmente (lo que lo hace menos peligroso). La funda es muy sólida, algo que caracteriza a la marca. Es mi segundo cuchillo de la marca y me está gustando mucho Cold Steel.

Way wayyy better than I expected especially at this price point. Ive had a lot of high end fixed blades and a good smattering of folders from Spyderco,Gerber, Benchmade and all the others from 30-300$ this is probably my cheapest knife and I absolutely love it. Feels great in the hand, it's small enough to have on body or in a small bag. It's light, handy and grippy. It came shaving sharp and slices through blister packs with ease. It's a softer steel yeah but it takes a great edge off a strop and does it a lot faster than s45vn or s30v. It's a beater that I would absolutely risk breaking or losing but makes me smile and I look forward to using it. For a comparison I absolutely like this more than the CRKT minimalist...... I may like it more than my pm2

Very nice little knife, I really like it. Sharp and strong and looks cool. Super convenient to carry everyday because its compact and use for anything.