Cold Steel Air Lite Folding Knife - Overview and Review
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 ก.พ. 2021
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**DISCLAIMER** This channel's content is meant for educational purposes only, and encourages the proper/safe use, handling, and understanding of tools. #everydaycarry #edc - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
Dude, this a excellent knife and bought it on Amazon for
$54.95. LOVE this knife!!
your BODY THANKS YOU:)
These are like $50 on Amazon now. Such a great deal.
It's crazy good their prices go up and down. I got a couple at $47 a year ago and now their $80 or something on Amazon.
In my experience, the triad lock is actually more likely to have vertical play when it's new, but will go away with use. You can test it by flicking it out hard to see if the lock bar sets deeper.
Will it go away? I have only one that came with a lil bit of up and down play
I’m glad I waited to purchase this knife. I just picked it up for $45 from Amazon. It feels great, has superb lock up feedback. Should be a good beater to use at work. Will be swapping my QSP penguin out for this guy for the next few weeks.
Consider my air lite drop point to be a nearly perfect utility EDC. Big enough for real work, tough triad lock, and thin and light. The clip is my only knock, it works ok but it’s pretty damn big, also s35vn I prefer because I can put a better edge on it. Still all in all excellent EDC !
The Air Lite's pocket clip is BIG and i wish it was black because black clips don't glow and shout LOOK I HAVE A KNIFE IN MY POCKET!...But the long BIG clip gives the thin knife a wider profile on the back end and it slides in and out of swim trunks jogging pants etc. Andrew Demko decided to use this clip because he wanted it to be able to slip into the waste line smoothly. Andrew was on a canoeing trip when he got the idea for the Air Lite's design he probably had on swim trunks. God Bless.
I agree; this knife is subtly brilliant in how capable it is for how light and compact it is. Personally I think it would be a good one to make an upscale version of (higher end steel and details).
Super basic definiton: Annealing is the process of using a kiln to thermocycle metal/glass/ceramic to improve the structural integrity and ameliorate the various forces which build up inside it. I never knew that's what the "A" after AUS steels meant though.
I have 2 Cold Steels, both fixed blades. Don't really care for their folders. Thanks for the look though, MC. Stay well.
Just today received the new 4Max in s35vn. Absolutely rocksteady, no play anywhere and perfectly centered. But it is also much more expensive.
I have quite a few CS tri-ad knives & only ever experienced minor blade play on a tuff lite that had been thoroughly beaten up & used for prying. Although I did have to return a brand new AD-15 after it developed vertical play just from flicking it open & closed to test the scorpion lock.
I don’t know much about steal, but I did watch a glass blowing show once... an annealer is basically an oven that slowly lowers in temp to make sure glass doesn’t shatter from cooling too fast. Maybe annealed steel is somehow more stable or less prone to breakage because of the annealing process.
I agree with the s35vn commentary... It took me a while to pull the trigger on mine and I waited until I got it for much less than $80 - $85.
As for the centering, yeah I can't get mine perfectly straight - I chalk that up to thin G10 scales and pretend I'm good. That blade play is a problem, though... Mine is rock solid. It's a little finicky if I don't open it solidly, but I believe that's because of the design of the lock.
If you're worried about the flex on those scales I think you're probably alright... Check out the video Demko & CS did strength testing an Air Lite against a Bugout - not because you'll be surprised, but because of how wide a margin there was between the two. Granted, there are stronger knives out there, but I'm reasonably sure I won't be putting that kind of pressure on one of these, or any knife for that matter...
Good video, Sir... I appreciate you taking a look at this one. I've been carrying mine daily for months now and so far all has been as expected.
According to the manufacturer, AUS10 is the strongest in the AUS series.
I have an AirLite Tanto that I leave in my truck "just in case" I forget a pocket knife OR have a jobsite use case that I don't want to mess up a fancy knife on... it's fairly empowering to have a knife you don't mind breaking available... also, I've never broken a Cold Steel.
The biggest problem with this knife is the CODE4... aluminum handle, S35VN and less expensive. CODE4 for the win
As of yesterday, the Air Lite costs $55 on Amazon
That's a pretty nice looking knife, simple but actually attractive looking. One man steered me to it due to the triad lock for a good option for self-defense as well as EDC; I believe it's more for EDC than self-defense the deploy is too slow for self-defense in my opinion. Thanks for the review. 👍
Have Drop-point and Tanto: Tanto obviously thicker at tip so haven’t noticed but drop-point off-center to same degree as yours(tried pivot, too). Am in love with it, though. Seriously considering ordering couple more. Every time I think Lawman, etc I consider how thin, strong and light this is. A bit of a miracle, I think.🇦🇺👍
Sorry I've been late to all your videos lately! Started a new work schedule. Good review ! Makes me wanna give this one a look. I like how thin it is!
If you are craving S35VN, get a Cold Steel Broken Skull while you can (actually get one in CTS-XHP if you can find one). Yes, it's a truly dork-tastic knife, but don't judge the book by its cover.
The reason why the opposite side thumb stud is shorter is so it doesn't catch on the pocket as you pull it out of your pocket.
Since the triad lock "shouldn't" be able to develop play, doesn't vertical play on a triad knife basically mean there's play between the blade and the pivot bolt? There's nothing else it can be right?
Regarding the blade play: I have an old Recon 1, it was perfect but I got a little blade play after disassembling it and putting it back together with the pins in different positions. After I put the pins back in the right positions, the blade play disappeared. Not sure if it's the same with the new models, but check with the owner if he disassembled the knife, this might be the cause.
Just to clarify: the lockbar pivot and stop pin were switched
Had slight up and down play on my American Lawman but it vanished with use. Might have been burr or dirt that kept lock interface from seating tight.
The triad lock has self adjusting properties built into it.
Nothing wrong with playing devil's advocate. Also I agree with you they should of used S35VN. Especially considering EVERYBODY is looking at Cold Steel after the sale of the company.
A strong lock for sure even with slight bladeplay. Probably not the best tolerances on every Cold Steel. Even my sr1 lite that is considered beeing one of the strongest cold steel knives developed some bladeplay after hardcore chopping and stabbing. And when closing it doesnt snap back in place. So the detent became weaker. The idea of having the strongest lock is very cool but having the option of a flipper tab and a smooth action while still having a very strong lock is also a nice thing to have.
Hey it’s my birthday and wanted to say I watch your vids every day and great content. 👍
🎉🎂🎈👍
Happy birthday savage.
Grabbed it for around 65$ here in PL ;-)
PS, probably including some cost of customs etc.
With mine, I've found if you open it slowly there tends to be some blade, if you flick it open or open it with some force it has no play. Dunno.
I totally had no idea this blade is satin finished. Not too common for Cold Steel right? I want this in the Tanto (I think) but I'll definitely do an acid or stonewash on the blade. I keep coming back to this guy, and though I am also wondering why this is in AUS10 for the price, but it's a good steel, and this has so much of what I want, I'm happy to pay 55-65 bucks for this guy on Amazon (which is where you'll find the best price, hands down). Full G10 construction is actually amazing when done right like the American Lawman, which is probably my favorite user folder knife. Def my fav out of what I own at least.
I bought one in a tanto and it was awesome! No blade play whatsoever. AUS10A is still a little new to me, kind of like Spy27. Still a great little knife. If I was going to EDC a cold steel it would have to be this one. I love mine.
What is annealed steel used for?
Annealing is a heat treatment process which alters the microstructure of a material to change its mechanical or electrical properties. Typically, in steels, annealing is used to reduce hardness, increase ductility and help eliminate internal stresses.
I have a tanto and a drop point and both are centered with no play and can fall when the lock is disengaged. Maybe they had some QC goofs. The handle is very thin for me and i have little hobbit hands. I enjoy the Lawman much better; i think if this was as thick as a lawman with s35vn, that would have been cool because i find the handle on the lawman quite tall for how thick it is. The jimping is insane, theyre like the saw teeth on a bayonet. I had to round the corners of the teeth with a dremel. The pocket clip feels nice in the hand but its so long and wide, they could have used the one off the Tiff Lite and let it be shorter and ambidextrous. I dont get why they have the asymmetrical thumb studs. The sr1, ad10, ad15 have giant symmetrical ones. The Counterpoint 1 has the same studs as this and the lawman but the other side is the same length. I wish i could just get like a bag of Counterpoint thumb studs. Mine have stayed relatively sharp after some HARD USE cutting packing tape. The spine, however, feels just as sharp as the edge.
i agree they shouldve kept the same quality instead of downgrading and charging more ive also had to deal with their customer service already took 4 calls before i got somebody to help they also completely deleted my whole account and all my orders so that was fun trying to get my order they took 2 months to fill
I have two recon 1s, a code 4, and an american lawman. Lock up is solid for all except one recon 1 (up and down). I get the feeling that breaking in the knife might fix the issue tho.
Cold Steel claims their heat treatment process is particularly good so they add an A but the composition is the same as any other AUS-10.
Cool review. Not a bad looking knife 😀
How would the air lite compare to the sr1 lite?
The SR1 is wayyy bigger and thicker. The air lite is much better for general edc
Washers? Pb or Teflon?
AUS10A is on par or a bit better than D2. My lock up is rock solid. I like this knife so much I'm getting a 2nd and a 3rd in the tanto version. I have the feeling this knife will be discontinued in the near future. For me it's a near perfect EDC. BTW, the tri-ad lock is self adjusting and that up down play will disappear with moderate use.
Anyone know if they’ve done anything different with their triad locks? Like if they updated them or if maybe they’re dropping the ball on them more recently? I just got a code 4 in and it’s the first time I’ve gotten a knife from them since about 2015ish. Back when they were still using cts hxp whenever that was. And I remember really having to break in the lock. This one feels like my triad that I’ve been using for years right out of the box. I wasn’t sure if they made them easier to use or if it was a red flag.
Also, if you buy a cold steel from Amazon, CE Showrooms is full of horse shit. They advertised in the description that it was the old version with cts hxp and it’s not. I’m not particularly butt hurt about having s35vn, but I’m pissed that they did that. That was the only reason I jumped on buying it right then. Otherwise I would have maybe shopped around a little more or set the money to the side for a little bit.
AUS10A is very similar in composition to 19c27, which is way tougher than S35VN, but less wear resistant and less rust resistant. It is perfect in large, "jackassy" Cold steel knives
I see cold steel and blade play I click and go straight to read comments. I'm a simple man 🤣🍿
Never understood the comparison part with saying the benchmade griptilian and showing the Doug Ritter hogue. I understand the “in this case” part but leads on they’re the same size and they’re not. I’ve watched for a very long time and never understood that part 👍
The griptilian was a best seller for a long time. So there is a lot of people who have one or at least have an idea of what it is in hand.
All I want from cold steel is less bill boarding. Nothing else should change... ok maybe putting the hollow grind back on the AD10...
Nice knife
Just got mine today in the mail. t will me my work edc knife plus I only paid 60 dollars for mine...
Thanks for the thorough review. Saved me from buyers remorse. I’ll look for a different model.
I own the Tanto version and that knife is more than AWESOME!!!!.....The Tanto Air Lite will eat a Benchmade Bugout!!!....his M.C's Air Lite must be a Lemon but my Tanto Air Lite is one of my favorite Cold Steel's ever or even best edc design period!..And i own most if not all of Cold Steel's offerings from at least 10 years or so and i own over a hundred folding knives.
How are you doing today metal, do you know when I noticed most light knives that don’t have full liners there a bitch to Center
Just need a good banana flex haha
@@BParker55 That’s why the only Knife I own with no liner is the 941 Osborne carbon fiber is 3.8 times stronger than aluminum
Blade play?Adjust the pivot,not adjustable?Send it back
The angle on the bottom part of the pocket clip makes me think it isn't really reversible / ambi.
Maybe you would have discovered by now, that while it is true the clip isn't reversible, but when such a design happens, a left side clip would be included in the box.
@@ziechontan1717 Some do, some don't. If it's not specifically mentioned, I'm not going to assume either way.
Mine came centered, no blade play, and $53. Buy it.
Tnxs for showing bud, I think cold steel is still cold steel, they just "switched ownership" for financial reasons 😄 or is it a conspiracy? 😂hava awsome tuesday bud🤙🤘hope allz good in yur neck tha woodz 👍keep on keepn on brother👊👊🤜💯🤛wootwoot haha
This is a pocket knife that can save your life in a pinch, the shine alone and the THUNDERSTORM lightning sound SNAP will back off most ANYONE:) This knife beat ALL my other knifes for weight (if you dont carry it it can only be a paper weight) its feather lite, why this moved into first place was the top blade knurling, the hand /finger guard is a PLUS, if there was a CONCERN it was that pocket clip, OMG it was so tight that it cannot exit a pocket when needed...............its tough, but way too tight, you wont get pick pocketed.......LOL, had to use two sets of chinese eating sticks turned on its flat side under the pocket clip for 16 hours.........RESULTS slides out easily and still secure in pocket.............my score is a 11 out of ten! Price was $50.00 compares and exceeds my three hundred knifes easily in every way for street carry in CA- no blade length, except LA and SF .ALTHOUGH state law says NO blade length...
Mine holds an edge better than my vg-10 spydercos...
I haven’t bought a cold steel in a while. I have 3 with tri ad locks and zero blade play solid as a rock. If blade play is a thing now with CS tri ad that is unacceptable.
I have to say my experience with cold steel hasn’t been good. I got an sr1 tanto and the centering was off, the general fit isn’t great, the hardware was tiny for the class, and the lock bar has a lot of heavy friction with the side. I broke the thumb stud after batoning (I don’t blame them for that, I’m really hard on knives) but customer service for my other issues has been nonexistent. I love the ergonomics and the quality of the blade so I have been pretty bummed.
Cold Steel's hardware is heat treated it will tear the teeth off of your torx bit. Just because they are T-6 and the new trend for screws is T-8 don't be fooled I have never destroyed any of my Cold Steel T-6 torx screws ever and i own and use them hard. Before Lynn Thompson sold the company all of their models are solid when it comes to hardware. And the sure fire toughness of the Tri-ad Lock. God bless.
.
I really like the printing on the clip side of cold steel. It looks cool to me. I absolutely cannot stand the show side printing on cold steel knives. So tacky. I wish I could take it off. Usually not a deal breaker (usually...lucky one! Big exception) but it always bothers me.
Clip looks familiar to me, maybe I saw it in a leek before it was released. Ba dum tss
Just got one opens and closes rough.
Not a 1 handed open and close knife.
It came very sharp out of the box.
I wouldn't buy it again.
No back lock should be off center. No lateral pressure on the blade.
While I do enjoy your video’s, this review seemed a little nitpicky. The lettering on the blade? Really? How is that going to effect the knife’s performance again?
Currently this knofe is $54 on Amazon. Perhaps that price would make the AUS 10A steel more acceptable to you. As you said, Cold Steel does a very good heat treat so e AUS 10A will probably perform quite well.
Ya im definitely nitpicky. When I reviewed it, it was more expensive. This would be more acceptable at $54, but I stand by my criticisms.
🤬 why not have the same size thumb stud on each side!!
I cant deploy this knife with a thumb flick to save my life. Hopefully it just needs to break in.
Rip cold steel 😭
That’s a 50 dollar knife all day long..!! It’s G-10 ish and not Plastic ish Bugout. I own 2 Bugs so I can bash them for being way to expensive for what you get lol.. If Benchmade and others can use Brass washers and have zero blade play then everyone can. Lol
Love the the vids can I please get a shoutout
Wow