Cold Steel SRK v. SRK-C? And is 3v worth it?


heldfast

heldfast

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I'm teetering between the full size and compact SRK for regular carry (I live in the woods), and I was content with Sk5 until I saw Midway has the 3v for a good price. I understand the grind difference, as well as the grip difference - I'm tall with long fingers. Just looking for advice ... yes, both may be the long term answer, I know, but I have to start somewhere. I've read all the threads I could on here about them, but what I found was old so even a follow up, long term review, would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
It really depends what you plan to use it for. The SRK leans towards survival/combat knife - the SRK-C is more of a general purpose belt knife (if that makes sense).

SRK-C handle is a bit skinny, but long enough for my larger than average hands. 3V, well it depends on how good the price is.

What I did and recommend is buy the least expensive (probably orange SRK-C) SRK available, try it out, and then decide if you want a full size or -C and if the 3V is worth it to you.

I did and decided a Ranger Puukko is the answer for me. Anybody want a lightly used, orange SRK -C in SK-5? ;)
 
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If you want to test out an SRK-C, I have one in SK5 with the orange handle that I have not used yet. It's just been sitting my closet. I can send it to you to mess around with if you want. I'll be out of town until Tuesday but can ship to you next week. If you want to give it a try just PM your address.
 
MEC003 said:
If you want to test out an SRK-C, I have one in SK5 with the orange handle that I have not used yet. It's just been sitting my closet. I can send it to you to mess around with if you want. I'll be out of town until Tuesday but can ship to you next week. If you want to give it a try just PM your address.
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I appreciate the offer! I’m not sure what I want to do yet, but I’ll PM you.
 
Regarding 3V, Here's my SRK in 3V. I reprofiled the edge so it can actually cut things. In my opinion, it's not really worth it in 3V. It's such a beater knife. The thickness of the blade is really the source of its toughness. Get the carbon steel. When it rusts just scrape it off with some sandpaper or steel wool and then slather some mineral oil on it. Or don't. It doesn't matter. I have a buddy that keeps a carbon SRK outside all year round by his fire pit as a dedicated batoning knife. I've seen him use it on hickory, oak, black locust, and even osage orange. The blade itself is nearly indestructible. The handle came loose on his and he took a butane torch and melted the rubber back in place. (I don't let this man anywhere near my knives).

In my opinion, get 3V on a really nice knife if you can.
1000059293.jpg
 
A Seedy Lot said:
I really like the vanadium steels but I don't know if I would spend $200 more for 3v. For the price they want for 3v you can buy a knife from on the makers here on bcusa.
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The 3V SRK is only $82 at Midway right now, just like the one in @LuckyMud ’s pic above.

But he pretty much confirmed what I suspected; the design itself doesn’t call for 3V really. (Thanks @LuckyMud!)

And the more I look into the SRK line the less interested I get, ironically. That happens; I can chase a shiny thing so far but more often talk myself out of it before I buy.
 
This is the very reason we all have a drawer full of knives.....sorry, but I just buy them and try them....If they look right grind and geometry....normally an established company won't sell a bad knife....not good for business....

I swear by the old carbon 5 SRK....I keep one of those.
 
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The Srk-c is good but for a beater blade, I will always recommend a Hultafors GK Heavy Duty. $19 on Amazon. Lightweight but also indestructible. I like the hard plastic handle more than rubbery handles. Give it a little convex love and it cuts great. There's a seller on eBay called "Randy's Knives and Kydex", makes kydex sheaths for them.
 
dan keys said:
This is the very reason we all have a drawer full of knives.....sorry, but I just buy them and try them....If they look right grind and geometry....normally an established company won't sell a bad knife....not good for business....

I swear by the old carbon 5 SRK....I keep one of those.
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I have two drawers full … should probably be more focused on getting a new drawer.
 
LuckyMud said:
View attachment 2109856
The Srk-c is good but for a beater blade, I will always recommend a Hultafors GK Heavy Duty. $19 on Amazon. Lightweight but also indestructible. I like the hard plastic handle more than rubbery handles. Give it a little convex love and it cuts great. There's a seller on eBay called "Randy's Knives and Kydex", makes kydex sheaths for them.
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+1. That's my daily beater.
 
Brings back memories. Back in the 90’s everyone had an SRK. My local hardware/bait & tackle shop couldn’t keep them in stock. Pretty much the definition of a sharpened prybar. And the recon tanto version came out it was in every movie and tv show.

Fell out of favor as time went on. The rubber melts with deet after a while, CS for some awful reason switched to a hollow grind where before it was a low saber, and full micarta exposed tangs became all the rage as beating on the handle became “necessary” for a survival knife.

If they still make them in 1095 or whatever carbon steel in a saber grind, I would not hesitate to grab one for a good price.
 
I grabbed a 3V SRK a year or two back on Midway when they had it on sale for $80-some dollars plus free shipping (the good ol' days where you didn't need $99+ orders to get free shipping!), and love it. I don't have an SK5 SRK to compare it to, but can tell you it holds an edge for longer doing the same stuff I'd do with my ESEE 4HM, mainly turning bigger pieces of wood into smaller pieces of wood. I like it and have been quite happy with it.
 
I don't like the SRK. Just too fat, doesn't really cut well.

I changed to the Demko freereign which for me is much nicer.
Screenshot_20250427_080545_Google.jpg

I am moving back to cheaper steels. So I have the Demco in Aus 10. (They do a magnacut)

I think super steels make less of a difference than their marketing suggests.

And edge retention is also defined by the edge angle and the geometry of the knife.
 
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Something about how Cold Steel does the satin finish on the 3v SRK makes it really easy to wipe any sap and dirt of it with just some water. I've had other satin finished knives that don't wipe so easily. The SK-5 SRK is going to have a pretty weak tip, so is the compact. Keep in mind the sheath on the 3v is gonna have a pretty tight retention, I took mine apart and sanded the inside down and cut the bumps that dull the blade, now it works fine. The 3V SRK is $82 on Midway, that's REALLY good, and its only twice the price of the SK-5 and your getting a "super" steel. The 3V is designed a little more as a survival knife than the SK5, it has a 90 degree spine, a flat grind, a sharpened swedge, and a better steel. That's my opinion at least. Don't get me wrong though, the SK5 SRK is still a really great deal, check out the Recon Tanto, it might be a better beater for the same price, there's a pretty good Gideonstactical vid on it on YouTube. I love the shine of the 3v in the sunshine.
 

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heldfast said:
I'm teetering between the full size and compact SRK for regular carry (I live in the woods), and I was content with Sk5 until I saw Midway has the 3v for a good price. I understand the grind difference, as well as the grip difference - I'm tall with long fingers. Just looking for advice ... yes, both may be the long term answer, I know, but I have to start somewhere. I've read all the threads I could on here about them, but what I found was old so even a follow up, long term review, would be appreciated. Thanks!
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I own both knives.
I bought both <I actually bought 2 of each, for myself and my son> on sale....the-C compact size, is horrible for my large glove size hands. It is nearly impossible to hold comfortably.
The large size was $1 more than the smaller one, and it fits my hand just fine.
If the compact knife had a larger handle, I would favor it over the full size, as I have come to understand that large knives arent always better, and that smaller knives are easier to control when doing fine detail work.

This is just my opinion. Its only true too what I need in a knife. I honestly like both, I just need a bigger handle for my damaged hands.
 
Paul Foreman said:
Much like my SRK-C, but I did put my own micarta handle on it, and built my own sheath to make me love it. Well worth the money and the work.

View attachment 2109445
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I love this handle. Any chance you could give a quick rundown on replacing the original rubberized handle with this micarta handle? I have both an SRK and an SRK-C. I would love to re-handle.
 
Snakeshooter said:
I love this handle. Any chance you could give a quick rundown on replacing the original rubberized handle with this micarta handle? I have both an SRK and an SRK-C. I would love to re-handle.
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Sure. It'll have to be words. I think I didn't keep any build photos. Anyhow, I used mortis construction: I cut a long, slim "U" from a micarta sheet the same approximate thickness as the tang. I think I milled the surface of the tang or micarta so the thickness matched perfectly. This created the "meat" for the handle sandwich. I used Gflex to glue up one handle scale and the tang/mortis. Then I drilled the pin and lanyard holes. After drying, I glued up the other scale. Then came the drill press again, using the tang/mortis/first scale holes to drill holes through the second scale so everything matched up. Then came the pin and lanyard tube gluing, then the finish sanding. Hope this was helpful. It is easy to slice and peel the factory grip from the tang.
 
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andylate said:
It really depends what you plan to use it for. The SRK leans towards survival/combat knife - the SRK-C is more of a general purpose belt knife (if that makes sense).

SRK-C handle is a bit skinny, but long enough for my larger than average hands. 3V, well it depends on how good the price is.

What I did and recommend is buy the least expensive (probably orange SRK-C) SRK available, try it out, and then decide if you want a full size or -C and if the 3V is worth it to you.

I did and decided a Ranger Puukko is the answer for me. Anybody want a lightly used, orange SRK -C in SK-5? ;)
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@gohammergo
 
MEC003 said:
If you want to test out an SRK-C, I have one in SK5 with the orange handle that I have not used yet. It's just been sitting my closet. I can send it to you to mess around with if you want. I'll be out of town until Tuesday but can ship to you next week. If you want to give it a try just PM your address.
Click to expand...
Darn fine folks in this family.
Blessings.
John.
 
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