COLD STEEL COUNTER TAC I 5" Japanese AUS8A w/ Stonewash Finish Spear Point Fixed Blade Multi-Purpose Tactical Game Hunting Boot Knife, 4-1/2" Kray-Ex Handle, Weather-Resistant Secure-Ex Sheath

I bought this knife for self defense only as I don't believe a "dagger point" will be much good for anything else. The knife came razor sharp on both edges with a wicked point. It has a full tang and feels quite sturdy. The shape and length of the handle fit my hand perfectly. I was worried about all the nubs on the handle, perhaps being made of soft rubber or something else that would not be durable. The handle material is quite firm yet very "grippy". I have read some reviews where a buyer has complained that one side of the knife is flat while the other side has the normal raise triangle shape associated with daggers. It's true that the top of the knife has beveled edges and the bottom is actually concave. But I personally see this as an advantage. I don't think that a true "diamond" shaped dagger would slash as well or as deeply as this knife will. The blade says that it is made of AUS 8A steel which as I understand it, is considered an upper mid-range steel. It is marked as made in Taiwan, which I don't find to be a deal breaker. The blade is straight, the edges are well ground and sharpened. There're no tooling marks or defects that are visible. The "Secure-Ex" sheath is black plastic material and holds the knife firmly in place. It has a removable belt loop if you're going to secure to your Molle with straps. This isn't a high end fighting dagger, but then you're not paying high end prices for it either. Overall, I am very happy with this knife purchase and feel that I won't be disappointed at all.

The knife for the price is quite good. It’s a decent steel and a strong full tang. However the grind pattern is unorthodox making it not really a good slicer. It will be able to slice but not as good as other knives. This is primarily a self defense knife specialized in puncturing and it should do the job quite well but not really versatile for utility because of the grind. The grid however makes the tip stronger and more durable. The sheath and clip are also quite good providing good retention for both the knife and when clipped to your belt. I don’t need to use my thumb to deploy the knife. The Handel is contoured and fits my hands rather well with good grip. For context I’m 6 feet tall.

Perfect fit for my hand. This knofe is a bit big for a concealed carry situation, however for a defensive blade I don't think you can do much better than this. Triangular wound channel that would be created by this blade would be very hard to repair. 40% of stab wounds are fatal, this blade would qualify if it needed to be deployed in that manner. I found however that it is just a bit big for an EDC situation. Still a good blade and I do personally like Cold Steel products, I think they are a great value for money, often times with good steel that is easily sharpened and holding a good edge. If you need a good sticking blade this will do nicely.

It's a nice knife! It's lightweight, but feels substantial, the blade is good quality, the size feels like it would be handy for uses beyond just self defense, and I really like the grip texture on the handle! Now for the down side... As some other reviewers have said, the blade in the picture is just one side, the back is totally flat, which pissed me off at first, but the more I play around with I don't mind it to much. The one thing I really didn't like was the "removable belt clip" on the sheath... It's very awkward to remove, and once you do remove it, it's almost impossible to put it back correctly, and mine actually broke after the third time I tried to reattach it. So I would say that if the blade doesn't bother you, this is a 5 star knife, but that belt clip knocked it down to 4

As I said - Meh. Blade is fine- sharp enough, flat on one side so easy to get into things. Sheath is UTTER TRASH (like all Cold Steel sheathes). Clip is horrible and breaks if you look at it wrong, Cold Steel doesn't care, so you're looking for a way to keep it on to your belt. Holes don't line up well for a standard 9x9 MOLLE belt clip like a Tek Lok. Not the worst knife I have, but not nearly the best, either.

Looks like a very competent knife. Ideal for "get away" situations. Probably less so for fine work around the camp but that is not its purpose. Not as sharp as some other Cold Steel products but that is due to the acute angle of the grind and the thickness of the blade. It is plenty sharp, and the real issue here is the pointed nature of the blade for thrusting. That leaves nothing to be desired. Very sharp at the point. I think this one is a keeper.