The Cold Steel GI Tanto is a knife I bought as a cheap beater knife that I could lend to friends when I'm camping or whatnot. However, through use I have found it to be a supeior bushcraft blade, and at $20-$35, is one of the best values on the market. I have cut down many deadwoods, mainly oak, which, mind you, is a hardwood,cut many lengths of rope, even dropped it in water and on concrete, and this knife has held strong.




The blade is made of 1055 carbon steel, and is given a spring temper. I have found this steel to be a decent edge-holder, to be easy to sharpen, and not as susceptible to rust as you might believe. It's easy to sharpen, however doesn't hold an edge as well as one could have hoped. 1095 would have been a better choice, but would be much more expensive. It is a drop-point tanto shape, which is flat ground starting at the middle of the blade on down. The knife is balanced exactly where the handle ends and the blade begins, which is good for standard use and excellent for throwing.




The handle come in the form of two polypropylene scales, however, it's not perfect, so I took the handles off and wrapped paracord through the bolt holes a while back. I strongly recommend this to anyone who may own or purchase this knife, as it is a superior grip to the slick plastic scales.The handle has a decent guard, however I wish there was no upper guard and I'm probably just going to grind it off.





The sheath is made of very heavy nylon with steel rivets and a plastic piece guarding the tip from puncturing the sheath into someone's leg. It's not very fancy, but it's survived 4 day hikes, 5 camping trips, and 2 boat fishing trips.There is no MOLLE attachment, quick detach, or other fancy fastener, just a belt loop. Albeit, a generously sized, strong belt loop. There's a strap that secures the blade, which, again, is not fancy but is made to last. It's stitched together very well, and the overall decent is decent, however, the sheath isn't very impressive anyway.






In conclusion, the GI Tanto by Cold Steel is an excellent knife for the money. Whether it's a backup knife, your first survival knife or just another thing in your collection, there's few reason NOT to pick one up.