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“Stay ‘unreasonable.’ If you
don’t like the solutions [available to you], come up with your
own.”
Dan Webre
The Martialist does not
constitute legal advice. It is for ENTERTAINMENT
PURPOSES ONLY.
Copyright © 2003-2004 Phil Elmore, all rights
reserved.
Cold Steel Tai Pan
By Phil Elmore
The Cold
Steel Tai Pan is not a utility knife. This is obviously a fighting tool, 7
and ½ inches of AUSA 8A stainless steel blade honed to extremely sharp double
edges. The Tai Pan is not small, either, at 13 inches in total length. I took
it out of the box and immediately fell in love with it.
I’ll
admit it: I like daggers. This one is very good. It handles quickly and well,
spinning in my hand and shifting through grip transitions with ease. The wide
spear point is very strong and gives the knife an attractive, solid look. The
pointed “skull crusher” pommel is a nice addition, too. The point of balance
appears to be right below the oval, stainless steel guard, at the metal collar
below that guard.
The Kraton® grip is very secure and quite comfortable. My wife, examining the
knife for me, commented on this before I could mention it. I doubt anyone
could pick up the Tai Pan and not be impressed with this aspect of it.
Borrowing the idea from
Pete Kautz’
excellent article in KnifeForums Magazine on test cutting, I suspended
some plastic bottles from the ceiling to do test cutting with the Tai Pan.
Soda bottles were no match for it and came apart easily under its edge. A much
thicker iced tea jug was left with significant lacerations each time I hacked
at it. The spear point of the Tai Pan punctured it easily, rather than pushing
the jug forward through the air.
Moving on to a cardboard box wrapped in an old
shirt, I flayed the helpless box mercilessly. The Tai Pan sliced through both
cloth and cardboard without trouble, easily cutting more than one layer where
the box joints got in its way. Thrusting left deep holes in both the shirt and
the box, without pushing the box forward along the surface of the table.
The Tai Pan sheath is of nice black leather, though I don’t
like its design for a knife of this type. It has a belt loop and a wrap-around
leather collar that completely encloses a portion of the handle. While this is
very secure, it isn’t the sheath type I would prefer for a fighting blade. A
kydex friction-retention sheath with an IWB clip or other mounting means would
be more appropriate. I tried carrying the knife in its leather sheath by
placing it under my belt behind my hip or positioned for a cross draw across
my stomach. These methods worked okay, but the leather collar of the sheath
prevented a truly rapid draw.
If you are drawn to the sleek lines and twin
edges of a good dagger, you can do far worse than the Tai Pan. It is a
pleasure to hold and to wield.
While the factory sheath is not perfect
for the application, this remains a blade that deserves consideration.