Black Steel

Black Steel

Cold Steel knives are known for their sharpness, durability, reliability, workmanship, and performance. This is the only company that I know of that regularly and rigorously tests the strength and cutting ability of its products. From the myriad of fine blades that Cold Steel produces, several stand out as truly works of functional art. One edged weapon in particular resonates in my memory and which I own since about a decade ago is what Uma Thurman, who played a retired assassin in the movie, Kill Bill Part 1, successfully deployed against one of her nemesis, Copperhead. Such a fixed blade is the Tai Pan from Cold Steel designed for sheer combat effectiveness. Its composition and characteristics are the reasons for its fighting ability.

Tai Pan is one of Lynn Thompson's, the company's president, Special Projects, a division of Cold Steel. It is essentially an improved "Tanto" style dagger made from VG-1 San Mai steel, a new and upgraded material surpassing AUS-8A Stainless in strength and edge retention. The Tai Pan that I purchased years ago is made from AUS-8A, which is an already accomplished steel. Furthermore, it features a tapered and checkered black Kraton handle, a rubber composite, with an oval cross section such that the knife will remain secure in the hand of the user even under the most severe conditions.

Unlike traditional daggers with fragile points because of their thinness, the Tai Pan has a robust spear point with sufficient thickness and width to penetrate through layers of leather or sheet metal of vehicles. The blade's twin edges are razor sharp right out of the box and can be twice as devastating compared to a single edge blade. The knife fighter does not have to rotate his/her wrist when slashing overhand or underhand. This also makes double slashes quicker to perform. For instance, the user only takes a split second back and forth motion to slice an arm, leg, or neck of an opponent on 2 opposite sides without turning the blade. Furthermore, the Tai Pan is fitted with a solid oval tsuba made from 300 series stainless steel. It offers the hand further protection from sliding onto the double edged blade and is designed to block impact and other edge weapons. Another design improvement incorporated into the butt of the knife is the tapered, semi-pointed pommel. The shape maximizes the impact on a reverse thrust.

The fixed blade has the ideal dimensions for personal carry. The blade measures 7.5" with a thickness of 3/16" and an overall length of 13". It weighs 10.8 ounces.

Beyond its aesthetic and superior material qualities, the Tai Pan has a center of gravity located behind the midpoint of the guard or tsuba. As a result, the knife feels "alive in the hand," as the saying goes among the stick and knife fighting community. Just to reiterate, the blade readily goes where the hand goes. It is symmetrical along its horizontal or vertical midline such that the blade carves a straight path when it is thrusted and penetrates a medium. These aerodynamic qualities also make Tai Pan a balanced throwing knife.

I was initially leery in practicing with my Tai Pan using Escrima, a Filipino martial art, techniques since the back edge's razor sharpness can easily slice my "check hand" when applying "inside" and "cross blocks". Both of these techniques employ the check hand making contact with the spine of a knife or the shaft of a stick. I just have to modify the techniques a bit by applying the blade of my check hand behind the hand guard and angling the blade outward more when using a dagger type blade. More proper practice equates to better execution of techniques, minimizing injuries during training sessions. Plus, the knife fighter gains more knowledge in handling different kinds of knives, especially the Tai Pan.

A politically conservative American with backgrounds in law enforcement, martial arts, electronics, computer engineering, and information systems management with emphasis in digital security. Currently dabbling in SEO and info marketing.

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Tricky - Black Steel (West 54th 1998)