View Full Version : Cold Steel Braveheart
I’ve always wanted a Sgian Dubh but was put off by the traditional models which basically had poor steel qualities. When it comes to Knives I am a user and I don’t like pretty Knives sitting around doing nothing. At one stage I bought a couple of Sheffield Carbon Steel Blanks off Spencer but never got around to finishing them and gave them away or sold them.
Anyway I had an order for the CS Braveheart (of course the Sgian Dubh wasn’t around in that era – the Sgian Dubh was developed from the smaller of the Gralloch Knives and was traditionally a clip point skinner and it is also said that Rob Roy carried an “armpit Knife” which was similar) and after looking at it decided I’d give it a try as it appeared well made and was of AUS8 steel made in Japan.
As I have had a fair amount of success with the Kabar Doziers in AUS8 I knew that the blade would work well.
Although the Braveheart appears to be a bit of a fantasy Knife it works quite well as an EDC. Contrary to the traditional Sgian Dubh the Bravehearts handle is flat and thin although quite comfortable and it is not the type of Knife one is going to use for a length period.
http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/csstoreonline_1948_6591516
(http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/csstoreonline_1948_6591516)
It’s specs are:
Weight: 2.8 oz.
Blade: 4"
Thick: 2.8mm
Overall: 7 3/4"
Handle: Kraton®
Sheath: Secure-Ex®
Steel: AUS 8A Stainless
The sheath is reasonable and you can clip it on your belt or clip it on your boot. It works well for me in my long sheepskin boots now that winter is here. You can also comes with lashing slots so you can remove the clip and attach it to your gear.
The Braveheart has the traditional jimping on the spine which besides providing a good grip for your thumb lets you find the spine in the dark.
As far as the Knife as a Knife is concerned it works well. Out of the box it is sharp and cut through 3/8” hemp rope before slipping and once I had touched the edge up it made 28 cuts. As an EDC it works at opening parcels, cutting up boxes, cutting string and rope. Also it does well on food whether peeling an apple or slicing cheese or a salami or spearing olives out of the bottle.
I haven’t tried it in the bush or on the farm yet but from the bit of whittling I did it will work in those scenarios. I wouldn’t say it was a hunting Knife although the point should work well cutting around the bung hole.
In conclusion I would say the Braveheart is good value at $69.00 if you were looking for something different in an EDC. BTW it is not a threatening Knife I showed it to Carol’s Spinning Group the other day and they had no objection and actually commented how well weighted it was. So I’ll be keeping mine even if it ends up as a letter opener or in the picnic basket.
seems good, why not write a review about it once you've handled it for a while? With your knowledge I'm sure it would be a good one, besides I believe we need more reviews. With the number of knowledgable people we have on this site, it'a amazing we don't have more!!
With respect that is my review – what more do you want?
I did an edge retention test; I explained what I had used it for; I made reference that I hadn’t used it in the bush but that I had whittled with it.
I write my reviews for the “Knife Knews” and I drop a copy to this forum, albeit often précised as I am restricted by the number of words I can post, because Forrie asked me to post some reviews here. So far bar this one I have posted 5 reviews and received 11 responses so how much interest is there in the reviews. I am not looking for kudos I am happy if my reviews help people to make a choice in their knife buying.
Because all too often on forums I am accused of having a vested interest in posting reviews or I am asked not to post reviews because they are considered as “advertising” I am reluctant to post my reviews on forums.
What sort of reviews do you want? I am always open to suggestions but if you are looking for Cliff Stamp like reviews then forget it – I test my Knives within the limits for what they were designed for.
JDee i reckon you should forget what others think . I would be more than happy if you were to have a weekly or fortnightly or whatever review of a knife and advertise the fact that you have that knife on sale at the moment . We welcome your opinion on blades mate. Just state that you have this particular knife on sale and that you recommend it for this particular task .
Mate most of us here are collectors or either have our own Users so to speak . So anything you recommended would be more than likely bought by someone wanting that particular knife for that particular task !
Just run it by Forrie mate but i reckon it`d be Sweet . Also what are your thoughts on organising a group by for Laventrix members ? Just in case there were a group of us that wanted to obtain the same knife ?
Cheers Matt !
warrigal
09-06-2007, 09:03
Jdee that was loverly. Nah, serious I do enjoy your reveiws. I often don't comment because you have said it all
Don't worry about Myron having a bit of a winge he is a Pom after all.
I have a CS Culloden I have always like that needle like point The only bad bit was when I brought it I had the choice of that or a Benchmade Emerson CQC7 ( at least I think it was Benchmade or was it Balisong?? I did spend a lot of the time dancing with the demon drink in those days)
I took the CS because I didn't know what to make of the Chisel grind on the CQC7. Ah well dems the breaks.
Carl
P.S. come on Myron you know I wouldn't rag ya if you weren't so cute.
Beer-Man
09-06-2007, 10:14
Good review Jdee,
I have have read most of your reviews and found them to be very informative, Good work, I look forward to more reviews.
Thanks for the support for the reviews.
I’ll take some of your points in the order they were posted.
Matthew said:
I would be more than happy if you were to have a weekly or fortnightly or whatever review of a knife and advertise the fact that you have that knife on sale at the moment . We welcome your opinion on blades mate. Just state that you have this particular knife on sale and that you recommend it for this particular task .
That is something to look at and I have some ideas floating around in my head that I might put to Forrie. I appreciate what you say I just don’t want to a party to or an instigator for something that may grow out of proportions which IMO would not be good for the Forum exp., since with due respect it is a fledgling forum still seeking its own way and identity.
Matthew said:
Also what are your thoughts on organising a group by for Laventrix members ? Just in case there were a group of us that wanted to obtain the same knife ?
I have no problem with this at all – we do have a range of discounts for bulk buys. I’ll have to figure out a couple of things as I’ve seen these things fail in the past where a discount was given based on a certain number of purchases but when it was time for the money to roll in only half of those who put their hands up paid up and the seller whilst not losing on the deal itself quickly lost interest in doing it again.
If we organised it under the Laventrix Bannerhead then we’d have to ensure a certain percentage of the purchase price went to management.
Beer-man said:
I have have read most of your reviews and found them to be very informative, Good work, I look forward to more reviews.
I’ve probably stated it before but I’ll restate it again. All my reviews are on Knives that I have personally purchased – I don’t do reviews on “freebies” as IMO too much of this goes on in the Knife Media. I have seen reviews done in Knife magazines that have come out praising Knives that I know and others do to that the Knives are crap.
Yes! I have never written a bad review but it comes back to that they are reviews on my own Knives and I would not have purchased them if they were no good. Although even I am not infalliable as I did write a bad review on the Benchmade BM553 after I bought it.
But, there are changes afoot which will be announced in the next issue of “Knife Knews” and as part of those changes I hope to be able to do reviews on Knives from a wider spectrum as a service to our customers.
This will mean that I will do reviews on request – so if Members of the Forum ask for a review on a certain Knife we will endeavour to do so based on time and resources being available at the time.
Once again thanks for your support and I'm happy you appreciate the reviews.
I think Myron was talking about a full review with actual pictures of the knife instead of the factory marketing pic plus perhaps some pics of it cutting stuff. Seems like a reasonable knife but I try to steer clear of any cold steel stuff nowadays. Thanks for you comments though.
dhc4ever
10-06-2007, 07:20
Irezumi,
Why? Whats wrong with cold steel?
I think Myron was talking about a full review with actual pictures of the knife instead of the factory marketing pic plus perhaps some pics of it cutting stuff. Seems like a reasonable knife but I try to steer clear of any cold steel stuff nowadays. Thanks for you comments though.
A sound interpretation :)
P.S. come on Myron you know I wouldn't rag ya if you weren't so cute.
It's true I am :D
I am having trouble understanding why JD became upset however. As far as I can make out I wasn't rude. Ho hum :confused:
Yeh I was thinking the same thing myself Myron ...
Dhc - nothing wrong with them mate, just sort of moved on from them. I used to have quite a few, san mai tanto, triple action tanto, and heaps of others but now just prefer other more high end knives like CRK, Busse, customs, etc. Great for starting out though, so long as you dont pay retail. San Mai tantos are lucky to go for $180 on ebay when they occassionally come up second hand in mint condition, unlike the $600 you will pay at a shop (like the king of thieves and such).
warrigal
11-06-2007, 07:48
King of thieves I like that. However I have purchased a couple toys from there. Usally when a ( shopping ) center wide sale is on and catches up with reduced prices in side their shop as well. But for comparison we sell next gen Ka-Bars at $230 which is normal retail rates. That allows work to cover rent and employ someone with the good looks and wealth of experiance that I have. It allows the customer to hold the item before they buy and talk to someone who knows what the're on about.
KOK sells the same item for $330. With staff that have only handled it when they put it in the cabinet.
Carl
As I've said in other places if you want reviews with pretty pictures you'll have to go elsewhere because I can't take them.
Hey Warrigal..do you have a web link for your shop?
IMHO - reviews in any form are a great help to me, and I would assume, others like me. i.e. collector/user
'twas JDee's review that helped me choose a BRKT Snowy River as a user I'll be taking out on the track. [ ... on order with the latest run that's coming through from JDee's shop ... is it here yet? is it here yet? :D]
And other times it's been easy to ask an opinion, as anyone will see in a number of my posts.
Just as valuable information.
As a bushwalker, I frequently check BackpackGearTest.org - Home Page (http://www.backpackgeartest.org) for the latest on all sorts of gear. They have some reviews of knives that may be worth a look. I like the "long-term" review format they use.
My experience in getting good advice for camping gear in retail outlets has been mixed, and it took a little while to sort out the sheep from the goats, and I know I still have to have the BS detector switched on, more often than not. (Just as Warrigal wrote: "... only time it's been handled when they've put it in the display cabinet" [paraphrased])
And I'm a huge fan of Roger Caffin aus.bushwalking FAQ - Index (http://www.bushwalking.org.au/FAQ/FAQ_Index.htm) - he's Australian, and calls a spade a spade!
Back to topic: who are the good knife retailers in the Perth metro area?
JDee,
I enjoy reading your reviews. I find info that is more useful for a using knife than the destruction tests performed by others. But I will admit a certain macabre interest is seeing someone break a knife. However, as a retired Mechanical Engineer, the destruction tests don't tell me anythingthat I didn't already know. E.g. the softer and tougher knives don't break as easy and the ones built like a b****y big chisel cut like one and don't break easily.
I would enjoy your tests more if you were able to post some photos (even rudimentary ones) to illustrate the test. I am thinking of ones like the photos posted in your Snowy River test. I would like you to continue testing and posting those tests and this is meant to encourage this. Keep it up.
Myron
You say you have trouble understanding why I was upset.
It’s not that I was as much as upset as frustrated – I had gone to the trouble of editing my original “Knife Knews” Review for it to go on the forum and you come along and say “seems good, why not write a review about it once you've handled it for a while?” which from y reading of response seems to be saying that you did not consider my thread a “review”.
Further you say “it'a amazing we don't have more!!” – the reason probably is that in the past reviewers have received similar comments to yours.
Seems to me everyone else understood it was a review.
MDG
Thanks for your comments and encouragement.
The reason I don’t take photos like I did for the Snowy River (those were taken under duress) is that I physically can’t – years of making and sharpening Knives has incapacitated me to the extent that to hold a camera in my hand brings out the tremors. Thankfully I can still use and sharpen Knives but holding a camera is like holding a pistol – I couldn’t hit the side of a barn.
Hi JDEE..I have a small tripod that fits my camera..this will help you a lot. It is almost pocket size. I also have a bigger one for the video camera. They were both pretty cheap. They sell them at Bing Lee and similar places. Holding a camera still is difficult for anyone. The trick though is to get the auto focus to lock on (half press the button on most cameras) and then you dont have to remain so still.
I like the reviews as well.
Don't think any offence was meant by anyone.
I have a friend who regularly uses two tool forums, one Aussie, one USA based. He is actually a citizen of neither, but he commented the other day on how much more relaxed and tension free the Aussie one was. I was really glad to hear that coz I'd never thought of it but I think it's true.
I did a kind of review just now of the Busse badger and I am also a bit tired of the "look at me smashing a housebrick" stuff. No offence to anyone, and it is kind of amusing and surprising sometimes, but when I told my (older) mate who I tested the Badger with, that people do this sort of thing he just looked baffled and said,
"Well, you wouldn't use your knife for THAT!"
I guess he is pretty much right.
Actually a funny one (and I think the piece is now for sale) was where someone used a Swamp Rat Axe/Hawk to smash a ceramic dunny and of course it badly damaged the edges. Suddenly all these posters were saying "Oh wow, I've lost faith, I didn't think that would happen"
Ha ha. What did they expect? Ceramic is so bloody hard. I find this sort of stuff just abusive of a good tool.
I use my knives to bash dunnys about as often as I use dunnys to bash .........ummmmmm........well, you know.
JDee.
I appreciate the problem. I gave up riding motorcycles some years ago because I have problems holding on to the handelbars because of arthritis. If you want our advice then we can give it but until then keep on testing and giving us your opinion. Even without photos a good practical test is worth it.
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