Cold SteelCounter Point II Knife

This is a nice little knife from Cold Steel. I have several of their knives and got this one for a small pocket knife to put in my car in case i needed one. It was sharp out of the box. The reason for the 3 sars is because opening of the knife is slightly dificult. The handle is very thick and doesn't allow for your thumb to get an easy hold on the thumb catch to open the blade quickly.

I bought this a few months ago, and have really liked it so far. I do not really carry it as I prefer the Spyderco Delica. Also, its appearance makes it much less public/police/university friendly. However, it is a very cool little stiletto like knife.It does have great ergonomics, and the texture of the scales is very nice. The scales feel like they are rubberized, but are not sticky or tacky. The thumb ramp and finger choil really lock your hand in and let you get a solid purchase. As other reviewers have noted, the pocket clip is pretty stiff, and the combination of its strength and the slightly rubbery scale surface make it difficult to insert into your pocket. The thumb studs have rings cut into them for grip, but the very top ring, where your thumb would sit, is beveled and smooth negating this to a small degree.It is true that it is hard to open at first. I could flick it almost 3/4 open with the thumb stud and had to use a wrist flick to get it to lock. I left it opened halfway overnight to weaken the spring. Now I can solely use the thumb stud to open it, though it is not as easy as liner-lock knives. I have listed a number of small flaws, but these should not turn you off from this knife. I think the looks and feel in your hand outweigh these small minuses.

I have to say that this is an amazing EDC (every day carry). The 3" blade is perfect length. My home state has a 4" law on non-switch blade knives so I have too look for sub 4" blades. This is hard when you are low on cash and trying to find a blade that is of quality and doesn't have all the fancy addons (assisted opening, fancy colors or design, etc). I always bought cheap blades since I don't have much cash to spend and they always fail (the slash in my hand/pinkie tells it all). This knife is a whole nother story though.PROs:To start off with, it is of good steel. I haven't been able to use and abuse it yet to test it, but my other AUS 8a knife has performed better than any 440 blade I ever owned. Second, the handle has a great shape to hold the four fingers. Third, they clip is good. There are holes on both sides allowing for both left and right handers. It is pretty tight so it holds on pretty well. I've had knives with 1/2" clips that don't hold on as well as this one. And last, and probably most import, IMHO, the locking system. It uses the Tri-Ad lock which has a lockback design. All I can say, I would probably trust my life to it. It is very tight at first, but becomes easier to close after about 200 open close cycles, without diminishing the strength of the lock itself. Though to close it, you must use your thumb, no other finger has the strength.CONs:The cons are definitely subjective to me.1: The handle is about 2-3mm too short for me. (I know, way to be picky about nothing, right?).2: The lip on the top of the handle is a little hard to hold the thumb on if you need that extra torque. Again, that's just my thumb, but hey.3: You must use two hands to close. (What can I say, I'm lazy like that.)4: It doesn't come with a sharpening stone?Other than that, I would say this is an amazing knife. Great if you live in length law states.

The locking mechanism was so hard to push, I kept opening and closing it maybe 50 times a day for a few weeks hoping to make it easier to use. The mechanism now doesn't work everytime. I have to make sure now every time it's locked in. And when the bar doesn't set in the blade seems to be touching it inside. Disoppointed with this knife.

I have to say, this might be the best-designed knife I've ever held. The handle is amazing, which is a strange thing to say, It has little grooves and raised bits that make every single position you hold it in feel very secure and natural. The lock is rock-solid, as well. I do take some issue with the pocket clip, though - it's far, far, far too strong. It can make it a real pain to get it out in a hurry. Also, the texture of the handle is just rough enough to slowly fray fabric. Fair warning.It's actually pretty easy to open and close the knife with one hand, but one needs to be reasonably careful when closing it. Firstly, the lock mechanism will quickly snap the knife shut by itself once the knife is about 50 degrees from being closed. Secondly, the blade was absolutely insanely sharp when I took it out of the box. Also, good lord is it ever pointy. That might be the finest tip on a knife that I've ever seen. It just glides into things.Despite it slowly destroying my pockets, I carry this knife with me almost every day. It's very reliable and sharp, made of good metal that doesn't dull quickly, is small and discrete enough in a pocket that it doesn't cause any kind of alarm, weighs almost nothing, and I don't have to worry about it lopping off my fingers. I wasn't a fan of the pocket clip facing the other way at first, but I've gotten used to it and it's now just as natural as any other orientation.

I like carrying this knife in my shirt pocket. It's not much bigger or heavier than a pocket screw driver. This knife is just about the right size to where I can open it up in public and not make anybody nervous. Strong blade lock. Decent steel. This was the first Cold Steel knife I've had that wouldn't shave arm hair right out of the box. (But it does now that I've sharpened it a bit) Cool looking blade geometry with a wicked sharp point. The pocket clip might be a little on the tight side; there's no way this knife will EVER fall off by itself, that's for sure! Overall it probably is not the best choice for defending oneself against grizzly bars, but is good enough for all the other 99.9% of the times you need a knife.