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.