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The SR1 series of knives by Cold Steel are inspired by the Cold Steel SRK favoured by US military and the training knife used by US Navy Seals during BUDS training.
Designed by Andrew Demko, he used his signature design style to create knives that are straight to the point – no unnecessary embellishments or flourishes.
These are purely functional, no nonsense, practical knives.
The SR1 Lite knives take this same approach but some of the key materials have been changed to make them a great budget alternative to the more highly specced SR1 range.
A Closer Look At The SR1
Let’s take a good look at the Cold Steel SR1 series before we jump into the SR1 Lite – just so we have a solid base upon which to build our comparison.
The SR1 comes in two flavours – a clip point blade and a tanto blade.
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Cold Steel SR1 -
Cold Steel SR1 Tanto point
Both of these knives are absolute units. It’s not that the blades are long – they measure 4″ – it’s just the thickness of the blade compared to it’s length that really impresses.
They are, in the words of my doctor when describing me during a physical, chunky. Damn chunky.
That’s a really useful attribute when it comes to a workhorse knife like this.
Both SR1 models feature 5mm thick CPM-S35VN steel blades.
Yes, you read that correctly – 5mm thick.
For comparison, a one pound coin is a mere 3.5mm thick. Pah!
This is a thick, solid feeling blade – in the hand it feels really substantial, like it’ll tackle pretty much anything you throw at it.
It’s difficult to exactly describe how substantial this blade is – it’s just so nice and weighty but not so heavy that it’d cause fatigue after continual usage.
In the hand both knives feel good to hold. The G-10 handle feels very grippy indeed. I’m a big fan of G-10 as a handle material – it’s as tough as old boots and doesn’t feel cheap and plasticky at all. It has a slightly course texture and never feels in danger of slipping, which in a knife is a very good thing!
All the SR1 knives have solid feeling ‘lockback‘ locking mechanisms. When unlocking there’s a satisfying snap as the blade locks into place, with solid thumb studs making opening the weighty blade even easier. The thumb studs are on both sides of the blade, so it’s perfect for lefties too.
Another neat feature for the ambidextrous among us is the reversible pocket clip which itself looks strong enough to support the weight of a small family car, fixed in place as it is by 3 hex bolts.
Every detail on the SR1 knives feels rock solid.
SR1 v SR1 Lite – the key differences
The SR1 and SR1 Lite have practically the exact same design – same blade and handle shapes, same thumb studs and lanyard hole, same locking mechanism and the same chunky blade width.
All the the highly practical features on the SR1 also feature on the SR1 Lite.
They are, for all intents and purposes, the same knives except for two key differences – the blade and handle materials used.
The SR1 has a blade made from CPM-S35VN steel, whilst the SR1 Lite features a 8Cr13MoV steel blade.
Purists will explain, at length, how much more superior the CPM-S35VN blade is, and that is fine, but for most folk the difference wouldn’t be substantial enough to really make a difference to their knife usage.
The handle on the SR1 Lite is made from Griv-Ex™ rather than the G-10 featured on the SR1 – it’s also black rather than the green colour of the G-10 handle.
The handle is where the knives feel the most different. The Griv-Ex™ handle feels less substantial overall and feels a bit cheaper, which of course it is. It still, however, feels sold and grippy.
It actually feels slightly less course than it’s G-10 stablemate which might be preferable for some.
Overall, I prefer the feel of the G-10 handle, but would I be willing to pay the rather large price difference just for that? Probably not.
SR1 v SR1 Lite Price Comparison
The SR1 Lite knives weigh slightly less than their SR1 siblings, but are much lighter on the wallet!
| Clip Point | Tanto | |
| SR1 | £188.95 | £195.95 |
| SR1 Lite | £56.95 | £56.95 |
Looking at a direct comparison between the SR1 and SR1 Lite knives, the SR1 Lite is significantly cheaper.
You could literally buy three SR1 Lite knives for the price of a single SR1 and still have change for a fish supper.
If price is not a factor then the SR1 series would be the knives to go for. They are really nice, substantial knives that would be absolutely solid workhorses.
If you have a smaller budget, but still want the ruggedness of the SR1 without the price tag, you really need to take a look at the SR1 Lites. For the money, they are bang on.
They are just as chunky and tough as their more expensive relatives – you just know that you could throw anything at them and they’d shrug it off.
Honestly, at this price, you’d be daft not to consider the SR1 Lite as part of your kit.
The SR1 and SR1 Lites are both excellent knives.
They just feel so substantial, with that thick blade giving them a superior and hefty feel that you know would take a beating and keep on going.
Of course, the SR1 is a superior knife, simply because it is made from better materials, but at less than a third of the price, the SR1 Lite doesn’t feel like a massive compromise at all.
If money were no object, I’d go for the SR1 – it just feels better in the hand – but as I’m not Bill Gates, the SR1 Lite would do nicely.
Very nicely indeed.
