Cold Steel Espada AUS10A Steel Ultra-Sharp Blades Matte Black G-10 Handle Scales Tactical Pocket Folding Knife with Tri-Ad Lock

Extremely good value for the money. I EDC the Espada XL and a serrated Tiger claw. Both of which are made by Cold steel. This is a very well made knife. Lock up is superb and very strong. There is no movement at all in the lock mechanism. The blade from tip to pivot is about 8 and 1/4 inches. From tip to end of the edge is 7 and a half inches. Overall length extended is about 17 in. It gives you about 13 in of reach when you're holding in a pistol grip. The blade came nearly razor sharp. It is a stone wash finish on the blade so it is not very reflective. The handle is it nicely textured very sturdy g10. There is a partial steel liner around the locking mechanism and the first half of the handle. The rest of the Spacer appears to be aluminum. The pocket clip is great for positioning the knife in the pocket for a draw. Or for positioning the knife caring it inside the waistband. I do not have a large enough thumb to open the blade using the thumb stud. I wave the knife open out of my pocket (with heavy pants or jeans that the material does not stretch). Or wave the knife out of my waistband (this works great if you have Dri-Fit stretchy pants on). The knife can also be flick open with inertia. Grip the handle tightly and snap your wrist or flick firmly downward and the blade will snap open (this is not a switchblade or a gravity knife it just takes technique to do so). This knife can be legally carried in several southeastern states. Including (Tennessee) as well as in California. This knife is great for defense and could also chop kindling in camp use aswell. The knife is very well balanced and has a thin profile. Most people think that it's maybe a cell phone in my pocket, if they see it at all. Great option for defense as a backup to a firearm or if it is your primary Carry. In places where it is against the law to carry a handgun. Very intimidating to looking at, which is perfect for violent conflict resolution in the street. Then everybody goes home safely with no issues. This is a very well-thought-out defensive knife. Definitely five stars! 👍

Can not go wrong with Cold Steel!!! The carry, overall design, and feel of the Large Espada is amazing. Even though I do not EDC this blade, I have put it through the paces for sure. still locks up tight, still as sharp as the day it arrived! From Zombies to Tomatoes this beast keeps on slicing!

It's big impractical, well made, razor sharp, easy to deploy. I am beyond satisfied with the espada. Don't think about it if your into big blades you will love this monstrosity of a blade.

This is a absolutely ridiculous and I love it. When you whip this thing out of your pocket people freak. It's shaving sharp and very useful despite it's overgrown size. I've carried a 5" or 6" knife for over 30 yrs and it's definitely not a burden to carry. It's balanced and easy to open. Great tool for self defense.

This is my 7th Cold Steel knife, and I love them all.Unfortunately for me, most are either 6 or 71/2 inch blades and in Texas those fall under restrictions in certain places.The regular Espada is 5 inches and under the 51/2 inch limit and able to be carried anywhere.Would hate to forget and get in trouble over a half inch of steel.

First and foremost the blade is beautiful and the stonewashed finish is the icing on the cake. The grip is amazing, the handle has a small diamond like patttern which makes the handle more comfortable. Opening is easy the thumb plate is very strong and reliable. Weight is surprisingly well distributed. It's a one hundred percent in value, if you can appreciate Taiwan steel and big blades then this mammoth sized beauty is for you.

This knife, or shall I say mini-sword, is built solid like a tank. Blade is extremely sharp right out of the box, better handle with extreme caution and use both hands when handling this folder.There is absolutely no blade play whatsoever in any direction. It's amazing considering how big this blade is. The handle is ergonomically sound. The handle is grippy enough even when wet.I have owned a bunch of Cold Steel, including the Espada XL, the Espada Large, various models and sizes of the Voyager Series, the Rajah II and III, the Black Talon II, the SR1, the Recon 1 series, the 4 Max, the Frenzy, etc and I have to admit that the the Triad-Ad Lock on the Espada XL is sadly NOT smooth at all. Even the Tri-Ad lock on Espada Large or the Voyager Large has smoother operations. The Tri-Ad Lock on the Espada XL, while very secure, is also extremely stiff and requires a ridiculously enormous (yes, ridiculously enormous, you read that correctly) amount of force to disengage for closing the blade. The pro is that no possible way for me to accidentally disengage the lock. The con is that I am going to have a hard time trying to disengage the lock when I intend to do so.Out of all the Cold Steel models equipped with Tri-Ad lock, the smoothest I have encountered so far is the SR1, effortlessly, like butter. The build quality and fit and finish of the SR1 is exceptional for its price, and I wish Cold Steel had done the same for the Espada XL.Not really sure what practical use a *HUGE* folder like Espada XL would have. Don't get me wrong, it's pretty exciting to own this mini-sword. However, besides the fun factor, I honestly am not too certain what to use it for. It appears to be too large to be EDC comfortably, but yes, it's true that, amazingly (gotta give Cold Steel credit for this), you can actually fit this in your pocket if you have pockets deep enough (as long as you do not store anything else in the same deep pocket). Yes, I can chop small branches with it, but I would never want to subject such beautiful blade to that regardless whether it's the more expensive S35VN or the less expensive AUS-10 (if one wanted to chop branches in the back yard, one would get a high-carbon-steel machete instead). Tactical? Maybe. The sound and vision of this humongous blade snapping and locking into place would probably scare away most malicious/belligerent entities, so it does have the advantage of that deterrent effect. But then if one wanted a tactical folder, one would probably be better off with the Black Talon II (or the Civilian/Matriarch or something similar) which was designed with that in mind. Camping/hiking/hunting? Sure it probably can serve those purposes if need be, but why not buy and use a fixed blade designed for those specific purposes instead? This is, after all, a folder.Overall a pretty decent and fun blade. Will I acquire another Espada XL? Probably not. Will I keep my existing Espada XL? Most definitely.

Had one in S35, should have kept it. But since this one isn’t as pretty, I don’t feel bad actually using it. Makes a decent pocket machete in a pinch. Plus, just deploying this knife, Whoa! That little fleck of pink is skin. Sucker is sharp