Cold Steel Laredo Bowie

Excellent knife. Great steel (CPM 3V). Might be the best right now for large blades. A much better knife, overall, than when it was introduced. Cable tang is meant to buffer vibration. G10 handle is more than capable of surviving the impacts, where the older handle (faux Cocobolo) wasn't as sturdy. This version is well worth the extra money over the 4034 blade, which is a budget steel. Balance point is about an inch in front of the guard--a little blade heavy, as desired, and quick for a big Bowie. I nearly bought this a couple of decades ago. I'm really happy that I waited. It's designed as a fighter, really. Not going to baton logs with this. I just want to swing it around and, maybe, hang a chicken on a rope or something for my own Forged in Fire experience. I've held the Natchez bowie, which is a beast. It's a beautiful knife but the Laredo feels great and I'm glad that I chose it over the Natchez. The sheath is alright but I'm going to look for another one worthy of the Laredo--custom leather or kydex. If you're on the fence go ahead and jump over it. Fantastic knife and a great value.

Looks pretty good - no badly uneven grinds or obvious flaws.

This is a knife. The 3V steel is gets very sharp. The blade spin is thick so this is a good chopper, but with the point of balance only 1" out from the guard, it still feels quick. Only downside is that it is a bit expensive. There will be limited circumstances where you actually need all the performance this knife offers.

I saw a video on YouTube of an older man taking the handle off for a customer of his and it's half tang with a little spring attached to it. Wtf?

Overall I like the Laredo I received. It has good fit and finish, the blade is not overground like you see on some of the reviews posted here, there is no appreciable gap between the blade and the guard that would allow liquid to seep down into the handle, and the G-10 handle is a lot less slippery than the polished Micarta handle on the O-1 version I purchased. The guard and the metal piece immediately under the guard are NOT brass like on the O-1 version. It seems to be stainless steel since my magnet will not stick to it. I like this arrangement much better since the part where your thumb rests when using the sabre grip gives you a better gripping surface like it was jimping. It is much easier to grip the knife than with the brass version. One negative is that the blade is not really 10.5 inches like cold steel says. The cutting edge is only 10.0 inches. The last half inch of the blade is all ricasso, with no cutting edge. This compares unfavorably with another very well made top brand whose cutting edges on their knives are actually exactly what is stated. i.e both of the knives I purchased from them state their blade length as 7.5 inches. I measured the blade cutting edges at 7.5 inches, then the ricasso begins bringing the total length to 8.0 inches. I feel this is a bit deceptive on cold steel's part to state the blade length is 10.5 inches, when the cutting edge is only 10.0 inches and the other half inch is all ricasso. Just my opinion, but something I think the buyer should be aware of. I found this same discrepancy on the O-1 version of the Laredo as well as three other well know cold steel knives I purchased through Amazon. So, caveat emptor!

Love the classic handle and always wanted one

What all the pictures/description fail to tell you is these "Laredo Bowie tm" knives are ""Made in China"" and marked as such on the reverse of the blade. Just look up the same knive(s) on eBay for all the pictures. So... a $10.00 knife is worth this much to people....

These knives are made out of AMERICAN made particle metallurgy steel, produced by Crucible. Furthermore, they are heat treated by Peter’s in Pennsylvania. Then the bare blades are sent to Taiwan for finishing.China doesn’t factor into the equation at any point in the manufacturing process. I don’t know why that troglodyte J.R felt the need to lie about it.FYI Peter’s uses a low temperature tempering cycle with cryogenic treatment to get optimized performance for a knife blade. So, when you buy one these blades, you are getting the best steel with best heat treatment possible.Only negative I can really give here is that the included sheath isn’t leather like the old ones. Though the steel is so hard that the secure-ex sheath doesn’t even dull the edge.Whether you take it or leave it, this is the best Laredo bowie that Cold Steel has ever produced. I liked it so much that I bought a second one.And watch out for that swedge! It’s quite sharp!