Cold SteelScottish Dirk,Black

I saw a few recent reviews claiming the handle was plastic, not rosewood. Those reviewers are absolutely wrong. They need to check themselves if they cannot tell the difference. I scratched the handle to be sure, and sure enough the red wood popped through. It's clearly wood. Dont be fooled by an idiot who cant tell plastic from wood.The knife is solid. It comes with the crap indian bevel that needs to be changed, and with an hour worth of sharpening to change it, it now is acceptable. I withheld one star for that.The handle is very secure. I've taken the dirk out and punished it cutting alder and it cuts like a hatchet. Using this as a bush craft knife works well. It holds up well. The weight is perfect for chopping.The frog is meant for a 4" kilt belt. If you use a regular belt, you'll need it modified. It is not great leather, but has held solid so far.The knife hangs edge backward, which sucks. Dirks are traditionally carried edge forward for the fight ready ice pick hold. Modification leaves the stitching facing out. That is a minus, but it is what it is. The scabbard fits snug. There are two flaps of plastic inside the scabbard that holds the knife in place even when jogged upside down.The blade comes very well greased. The factory grease wipes off easily. This is not stainless, so dont be a fool and treat it as it is. Oil your blade with gun oil of your choice and it will stay nice.In all, I recommend. For bushcraft, it's a great knife and will hold up to any reasonable request you ask of it. For everyday carry, I like it and have no issues. For gutting and skinning, it's not that type of blade. It will dispatch, but be prepared to switch to a dedicated skinner.Update: I bought another one...

Blade is sharp, but very hard. SBlade is also spring steal, so it does have very mild flex.Overall, cold steel is a very reputable brand and company. Their blades are the modern standard which even custom builders rave online about as a very high baseline. Very high.Durable, beautiful appearance, and balanced like a Dirk

Let's face it--New Year's is okay, but the thing to which most people are really looking forward at that time of year is a Rabbie Burns Supper. Right? Right?!For those who don't know (read: everyone who isn't Scottish), a Burns Supper is a dinner held every year sometime around late January to celebrate the life of Robert ("Rabbie") Burns, the National Poet of Scotland, who died in 1796. It is a night of whisky, poetry, ribaldry, and, of course, the one other thing for which Scotland is (in)famous: haggis. As we all know, haggis is the Scottish version of meatloaf, "containing sheep's pluck (heart, liver, and lungs), minced with chopped onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and cooked while traditionally encased in the animal's stomach." Yum.So what does any of this have to do with a big-ass fighting knife? Well, one of the highlights of a Burns Supper is the ceremonial setting on fire and subsequent ritual disembowelment of the haggis, and it's this last part where a good dirk comes in handy. I recommend the Cold Steel Scottish Dirk for that role. A little about this bad boy: the blade is 13" long, forged--not stamped from 1055 steel, which a medium carbon steel. The blade comes very sharp, so be careful, and also has a groove just under the top edge. Is it really there for "blood" or is it just to lighten/stiffen the blade? No one is sure; I just know that it looks cool. The blade also comes with a sheen of machine oil, so if you are planning on using it to stab a haggis, make sure you remove the oil and wash the blade first! The grip is Rosewood hand-carved into a traditional shape and design. Yes, it's real wood; anyone telling you different is just wrong. In short, this is an impressive tool/weapon and one can easily imagine using it in a number of different situations. As many have noted, the sheath ain't that great, and that's a real shame. It's not that it's completely horrid, but it looks and feels cheaply made (because it is) and you will definitely have to be careful when sheathing the dirk.I'll tell you what, though--the dirk and sheath look awesome when paired with someone wearing formal Scottish wear. And that's why I got this, as a gift for a Scottish friend dressed in a full formal kilt who was performing the haggis murder at a Burns Supper. His eyes lit up and the grin was ear-to-ear as he attached the dirk to his belt. It just fit, like it had been there all along, as it has for Scotsmen for hundreds of years. Talk about completing the look! Sort of makes you realize why the English made the Scots swear oaths on their dirks; it was the most important thing to them for a long, long time.So whether you're thinking about the Cold Steel Scottish Dirk for attacking meatloaf, as a big camp knife, or just because you like edged weapons, this is a pretty cool blade to have. It's solidly built, very impressive, and a good bargain at this price. Do it!

This dirk is great! It takes a very sharp edge and is easy to resharpen. It's carbon not stainless so keep it clean and oiled. It seems very tough I've used it as a machiettie with no damage and it's still sharp enough to pry splinters out of your fingers. I've not experienced any problems with the sheath, which is attractive, tirmed in metal, quiet and sturdy. Maybe they have corrected the problems mentioned by other reviewers.

I can only laugh at this point, but right after new years the price for this dirk went up to $122 and I think about 2 days after that went back down to $109. Anyhoo, the dirk I received weighs a pound without the scabbard and feels and acts like sk5 (the metal that the Gurkha kukri is made of). I don't know for certain that they changed the material of the blade, but I have seen that on Amazon sometimes when such changes are made it takes them a little while to change the description. I didn't like the material for the kukri because it tends to chip much easier then the carbon steel that cold steel previously used for the same blade. However, if the blade I received is made from sk5(?) I think it is great for this dirk, I don't intend to use it as a hatchet/machete substitute and don't anticipate having the same issue with chipping. I also like the fact that the dirk I received weighs about 1/3 of what it's appearance would suggest. As another reviewer stated it does not come razor sharp, I stupidly, decided to remedy this with my easy lap and scratched up a beautiful blade in the process. Therefore I recommend doing as the afore mentioned reviewer did and taking it to a knife shop for sharpening-unless you have the tools and skills to sharpen such a blade without marring it. It is a beautiful blade upon arrival and it seems a shame to scratch it up right away.