You may be talking me into ordering one just to say I have a 10 oz folding knife
Man, me too! I DO NOT need a 10 oz knife. But it sure is cool! But trying to be more reasonable, I started looking into the AD10, which is slightly less ridiculous. Found then on sale at Chicago Knife Works for $130, which seems to be about the same prices as we saw around Thanksgiving.
As a reminder to myself, I still don't need this. But this massively overbuilt folder is not represented in my collection... We’ll see how I feel about it tomorrow.
Today I am carrying this Shaman. Which I love more than any Cold Steel I've handled. However, I do like the American Lawman too. A nice knife for me, but it is often overshadowed by my Spydercos, especially the PM2. But all this talk of Cold Steel made me get it out (my only CS).
In defense of the Shaman, it's an ergonomic masterpiece. I also consider the model to be like a folding fixed blade, it can definitely handle a heavy workload! I've also put one of my best edges on my 4V Shaman...I promise you, it slices like nobody's business
i handled a shaman at the sfo when i was visiting denver. at the time, it was only a little more expensive than the manix and i thought it would end up replacing the manix as my favorite knife. when i got it in my hand, i was surprised to find that the contoured grip didn't make much difference for me ergonomically, but the lack of some bulk under my ring and pinky fingers did make a difference. it couldn't beat the manix for me and it wasn't different enough for me to get it anyway. then the price went nuts and now i'm pretty much anti-shaman. the 4max is better in my mind for a hard use knife and the manix is just as capable as the shaman anyway.
...i don't have popular opinions about the shaman.
You may be talking me into ordering one just to say I have a 10 oz folding knife
Man, me too! I DO NOT need a 10 oz knife. But it sure is cool! But trying to be more reasonable, I started looking into the AD10, which is slightly less ridiculous. Found then on sale at Chicago Knife Works for $130, which seems to be about the same prices as we saw around Thanksgiving.
As a reminder to myself, I still don't need this. But this massively overbuilt folder is not represented in my collection... We’ll see how I feel about it tomorrow.
Today I am carrying this Shaman. Which I love more than any Cold Steel I've handled. However, I do like the American Lawman too. A nice knife for me, but it is often overshadowed by my Spydercos, especially the PM2. But all this talk of Cold Steel made me get it out (my only CS).
nice! i wish i had bought an american lawman back when they were xhp and in the different colored scales. i still think about grabbing one every once in a while, but i know i'll prefer the manix for that style and size of knife.
nice! i wish i had bought an american lawman back when they were xhp and in the different colored scales. i still think about grabbing one every once in a while, but i know i'll prefer the manix for that style and size of knife.
yeah, I regret selling my XHP hollow ground lawman. My newer flat ground s35vn is not nearly as exciting.
I’ve noticed a handful of comments lately comparing the CS 4Max Scout vs the Shaman.. Thought some pictures might help anyone interested visualize the size difference..
There’s no two ways about it. The 4Max Scout is a big ******* knife. It dwarfs the Shaman in every possible metric.
Praise of the 4Max Scout is warranted though, imo. It’s very well done, especially for the price. The grinds on mine are excellent.. it’s not a laser beam slicer by any means, but it was very sharp ootb and is a surprisingly good cutter in spite of its girthy blade. The ergos are also really good.. I especially love how CS does the index finger choil on the 4Max. Action is good & the lockup is extremely solid, to be expected with any CS Tri-ad lock. It is a very robust, over-built, heavy use workhorse of a knife, no question about it.. All that said, I could tie a rope to it and use it to anchor a boat in Boston harbor. It’s heavy, takes up your whole pocket when carried, scares the crap out of the general public, etc.. hahah put simply, it’s generally impractical in every way.
A closer Spydie-comparison to the 4Max Scout is the Manix XL, which comes a little bit closer to the overall size profile.. at about half the weight..
At a certain point, a knife becomes “heavy duty enough” to handle any necessary (and appropriate) knife related task.. good enough is good enough, imo. The Shaman meets and exceeds this threshold as far as I’m concerned. Building beyond “heavy duty enough”.. ie the 4Max Scout.. is cool and all, but eventually the overbuilt characteristics of the knife outweigh any practicality, and this is generally how I feel about the Scout. Don’t get me wrong, it’s cool as h*ll.. if you are interested, buy one.. it’s a great knife.. and it’s a really fun knife! But the Shaman is better, imo, because it puts all of those “heavy use” characteristics into a package that is also much, much, much more practical as an edc knife.. I honestly can’t really think of any appropriate knife task that my Shaman couldn’t handle vs. my CS 4Max Scout. Same goes for the Manix, since that was brought up also. I’d take either one of them over the 4Max any day, if I’m being honest..
Idk.. all good, just different I guess.. That Sal is a wise man!
Thanks for posting those comparisons Rick. That thing is MASSIVE!! Did not expect it to dwarf the Shaman like that.
Yeah, honestly, it's pretty ridiculous hahah.. I only really ever carry it around the house on weekends occasionally. But damnit if I don't giggle a little bit every time I open it haha.. it's definitely one of those knives that "brings joy," as Marie Kondo would say haha! It's just fun to own! And for ~ $80 bucks (you can usually find them on sale..I got mine on sale @ Knifeworks in Dec 2020).. idk.. i think they're absolutely worth buying/owning hahah!
Thanks for posting those comparisons Rick. That thing is MASSIVE!! Did not expect it to dwarf the Shaman like that.
Yeah, honestly, it's pretty ridiculous hahah.. I only really ever carry it around the house on weekends occasionally. But damnit if I don't giggle a little bit every time I open it haha.. it's definitely one of those knives that "brings joy," as Marie Kondo would say haha! It's just fun to own! And for ~ $80 bucks (you can usually find them on sale..I got mine on sale @ Knifeworks in Dec 2020).. idk.. i think they're absolutely worth buying/owning hahah!
yes. thank you for posting the comparison pics. i don't have a shaman to do it myself.
as far as what i was saying, my point was that the shaman is overbuilt for its size, which means it's not as good at slicing as the manix, while also not really being overbuilt. it's relatively small to really be hard use, which means it just has the disadvantages of a thicker blade without the advantages of being big and more robust. the manix can do anything the shaman can do and is a better design, as long as it fits your hand. it's also a much better value.
as i said regarding the 4max, it's definitely the largest knife i feel i can justify carrying around as an edc. with dressier pants, it obviously doesn't work, but it's fine in jeans. i even still carry my phone in the same pocket.
i suppose the manix xl is a closer comparison in overall size, but it still has the thinner blade of the manix, which is why i made the comparison with the shaman and not the manix xl.
i agree with everything you said about the 4max, except that it's impractical in every way. it's huge and great. i did have it sitting out on my desk at work the other day (where i'm pretty sure i'm not even allowed because of its size) and one of my bosses a couple levels up walked by and commented that it was a nice blade. i agree with him. haha.
one more thing about ergonomics... the picture comparing the manix and shaman shows clearly what i've been saying about the grip under the ring and pinky fingers. the manix is still swelling under this part of your grip, while the shaman has already thinned out. the whole grip of the manix is more comfortable to me, but this area makes it far superior in my opinion. the rounded scales do nothing for me compared to the manix that fits me like a glove.
thanks again for all the comparison pics. i've actually been considering picking up a standard 4max scout. i'm a sucker for a stonewashed blade. it's the only thing i like about the shaman besides the compression lock.
when you walk out into the snowy woods and you don't want to carry a belt knife, you carry a real just in case knife...
cold steel 4max scout (dlt exclusive)
when you walk out into the snowy woods and you don't want to carry a belt knife, you carry a real just in case knife...
cold steel 4max scout (dlt exclusive)
You got me to order a regular one… for $79 delivered i gotta see what it’s all about.
when you walk out into the snowy woods and you don't want to carry a belt knife, you carry a real just in case knife...
cold steel 4max scout (dlt exclusive)
You got me to order a regular one… for $79 delivered i gotta see what it’s all about.
that price is great. when i ordered my dlt exclusive, the standard version was the same price. if it had been $80, i would've been happy with the standard. like i said, i've considered grabbing a standard version just because.
i hope you enjoy it. it's a beast and it's a lot of fun to use. and with the triad lock, it might as well be a fixed blade, so you don't have to feel bad about really abusing it.
either way, you can feel good about getting a huge beater knife for about a coffee more than a dragonfly.
's in 10 different steels
