Aug
In South Africa there is a design of knife known as the ‘Okapi’. It’s a folding knife with an unusual ‘ring’ locking mechanism. It’s a good design but generally is made from very poor materials, isn’t that sturdy and, relative to quality, is quite pricey. Despite this, it still sells in it’s millions!
Cold Steel decided to take this knife design to the next level by taking the basic design but improving on the build and materials used.
Thus, the ‘Kudu’ was born – a Kudu is a South African antelope, and it features as a design on the Cold Steel version of this cheap and cheerful folder.
Out of the box, the first impression is that this is a light knife – it weighs in at just 2.4oz, which for a knife which is 10″ inch long when unfolded is a low weight to length ratio.
This lightness comes from the materials used. Traditionally this style of knife features a very thin but very sharp blade. The Cold Steel Kudu has a blade which is just 2mm thick yet razor sharp straight out of the box.
The 4 1/4″ mirror finish clip point blade is made from 5Cr15Mov steel, which is a low budget stainless steel. For a low budget folding knife, it’s ideal – it can be sharpened easily and has good corrosion resistance. Maintenance with this kind of knife should be simple as the steel is very easy to work with.
The handle is made from durable glass reinforced Zy-Ex which has a wood grain style texture for improved grip. There is a steel handle adornment which represents the Kudu.
In the hand, the knife feels very light, the thinness of the blade reduces the weight a lot so it feels easy to hold. The handle is quite lengthy with a slight curve so it fits the hand comfortably.
The locking mechanism is unusual on this knife. The Cold Steel Kudu blade is locked in place via a ‘ring lock’ mechanism. On the back of the handle there is a steel spring mechanism, which locks the blade in place. Pulling the ring raises the spring mechanism so that the blade can be folded.
This is definitely a two handed blade, the ring is located close to the blade pivot so that one hand is pulling the spring whilst the other folds down the blade. Cold Steel claim to have tested this to destruction and are confident that this locking mechanism is extremely tough and will firmly hold the blade in place until the ring is pulled.
Cold Steel also have the Kudu Lite, which is the same knife except instead of a ring lock it is a slip joint.
This by no means a premium knife, the materials are designed specifically to be low cost and that is reflected in the inredibly low prices. It’s an effective and easy to live with knife, as easy on the pocket as it is on the eye.
If you are looking for a well designed folding knife but really don’t want to spend a lot of money, take a look at the Cold Steel Kudu and Kudu Lite. These folding knives offer a lot for an incredibly low price. You are unlikely to find a knife as good value as this anywhere else.
