Badass knives come in all shapes, sizes, and designs. But the latest Badass Knife of the Week is like no other knife that came before it—well, maybe not for a couple thousand years at least.
The US Gladius Thraex XII is a unique knife that’s based off the design of the Roman Gladius sword from 19 centuries ago.
Unlike some of the other brands, Condor Tool & Knife releases far fewer models each year. This has some upsides and downsides. The upside? You can better digest the new stuff. The downside? There are fewer new things to marvel at.
Last year, Condor TK released a small selection of new items, a few of which turned out to be pretty huge hits. Let’s see what they have in store this year.
The first item on the docket is the Cloudburst Axe. This looks like a pretty classic axe with a naturally finished 1060 high carbon steel head. The 23-inch handle is American Hickory.
The Compact Dagger is exceptionally thin and narrow with a dual-edged blade made of 1075 carbon steel. It has black traction powder coating and features Micarta handle scales. The Kydex sheath has a ball chain, so you can wear it around your neck.
The Eco Survival Golok Machete is another entry into their “eco” series. They previously released the Eco Parang and the Eco Survival El Salvador Machete. It’s 14.5 inches long with a natural blade finish and a high impact polypropylene handle.
The AK-47 is one of the best-known assault rifles in the entire world. Since its invention by Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1947, the AK-47 has become the people’s rifle thanks to its affordability, simple operation, unmatched durability, and overall reverence. Cold Steel set out to create a knife as reliable and ubiquitous as the classic gun.
That’s where the latest Badass Knife of the Week comes into the picture.
The Cold Steel AK-47 is essentially the knife version of the iconic gun. This folder is rugged, easy to use, and beloved by everyone who wields it.
Designed by the esteemed Andrew Demko, the AK-47 features a 3.5-inch clip point blade with black diamond-like carbon coating, which increases resistance to wear and corrosion.
Yellow is the color of energy, optimism, and hope. That’s why it’s no surprise so many rescue knives feature yellow handles (well, that and yellow is highly visible).
We continue our look at knives in different colors with yellow. You can find some of the other colors we’ve done on the knife colors category page.
First up on the list of yellow knives is the Spyderco Ladybug 3 Salt. If you’re into knives with yellow handles, then Spyderco is your brand. Spyderco features dozens of knives with yellow handles. All the knives with H1 stainless steel in the Salt Series come in yellow handle scales.
This Ladybug 3 Salt has a 1.94-inch blade with the Round Hole. Made from truly stainless H1 steel, the Salt Series is designed to be used on the high seas or anywhere else you’d find moist and corrosive environments. The yellow handle is made from bi-directional FRN.
Next up is a classic slipjoint knife. This Old Timer Middleman is a traditional stockman model with a clip, sheepsfoot, and pen blade. The handle is yellow Delrin, making it a recognizable Old Timer. The nickel silver bolsters surrounding the handle material makes it pop even more.
Like Spyderco, Case has a ton of knives with yellow handles, but since we already had a traditional stockman on the list, we thought the Case TrapperLock was a great knife to highlight. This single-bladed folder features yellow handle scales with nickel silver bolsters and brass pins. An engraved thumb stud adds some extra awesomeness to the clip point blade.
If you were to travel into the future, you would see some strange things: hoverboards that actually hover, robot butlers, air conditioned suits, etc. Our latest Badass Knife of the Week would fit right into that innovative and slightly bizarre future.
The Gerber Remix looks like it came straight out of a sci-fi movie, with a design that’s completely original and unlike any of the knives you see out there.
The handle of this lightweight knife is made from anodized aluminum that’s been coated with titanium nitride. One of the hardest materials known to man, titanium nitride adds some durability and shine to the handle.
Complementing the skeletonized grip of the Remix is a noticeable and large finger hole, which is what the blade pivots around.
We’re closing out the unofficial SOG Week with a look at the knives they’re releasing in their 30th year. It’s a pretty exciting slate of folders from SOG this year, so let’s dive right in.
The SOG Quake is a knife that made plenty of people pretty excited when people got to see an early look at the beginning of the year. The Quake is a tactical folder with a dual-tone VG-10 steel blade. The 3.5-inch blade engages using SAT 2 opening mechanism with something pretty cool. Instead of a thumb stud, a cross guard folds in when the knife is closed and helps engage the knife when opening.
The knife also comes in a larger Quake XL iteration. With a blade length of 4.5 inches, it’s one of the largest models released by SOG. It has much of the same features as its smaller brother, including aluminum handles, a deep carry pocket clip, and stainless steel liner.
Continuing SOG’s foray with better quality folders is the Targa. This model has a satin 3.5-inch VG-10 blade with an interesting modified tanto shape. It uses SOG’s Arc-Lock. Its stainless steel handle has a minimalist framework that helps reduce the overall weight, making this a great EDC.
The Targa also comes in a version that uses a black TiNi finish on the blade and handle. All the other specs are the same.
Next up is the Sideswipe. This folder has contoured anodized aluminum handles with textured GRN inserts to offer a stronger grip. Its 3.4-inch blade is made from bead-blasted 7Cr15 stainless steel.
The knife community has its stable of opinions, but if I always listen to what they have to say, then there’s a good chance I would have already missed out on a number of great knives.
Today’s review is on the SOG Flash II, a slick budget folder that could have easily passed me by had I not started formulating my own carry knife criteria. This knife isn’t just tacti-cool, it’s tacitly practical.
For a long time, I had openly resisted the SOG Flash II, mostly because of how the knife looked on paper. But we have to get away from this style of thinking. Paper opinions or even YouTube reviews can’t compare to how things really apply to your daily life.
Many in the knife world claim the Flash II to be lame, cheap, or something only a novice would carry, but I’ve been trying to challenge those opinions head on. Despite some of the opinions about this knife, I believe the SOG Flash II is the perfect knife for getting shit done.
My preference for carry knives swings back and forth from bushcraft style blades at one side to tactical knives at the other. Needless to say, the pendulum is currently swinging toward the tactical side of things. I wanted to add a level of contrast to my daily routine by trading in my Ontario RAT 1 for something a little more aggressive and badass.
That’s where the Flash II comes in.
The Flash II packs quite the versatile punch. It has an overall blade length of 3.5 inches, half of which comes equipped with very stout and useful serrations. Its FRN frameless handle makes the Flash II’s weight almost immeasurable. The assisted-opening mechanism makes one-handed or gloved-operation a breeze.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of SOG Specialty Knives. The founder of the company, a designer named Spencer Frazer, established the company to reproduce the original SOG Bowie knife created by a highly classified US special ops unit in Vietnam.
Since the early days of the company, SOG Specialty Knives has expanded to create a full line of innovative tools for all types of people. To honor the 30th anniversary, we’re celebrating an unofficial SOG Week here at Knife Depot. That’s why this week’s Badass Knife of the Week is one of their best-selling knives: the SOG Trident.
With amazing grit, performance, and craftsmanship, the Trident is one of the most badass knives you will ever hold. Period.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of SOG Specialty Knives. For three decades, SOG has created some of the most innovative knives on the market. Considering the sheer amount of competition and knives that have come out since 1986, that’s saying something.
Let’s take a deeper look at the brand and what they have in store for their 30th anniversary.
The origins of SOG date back to the Vietnam War when members of a highly classified U.S. special ops unit carried a unique combat knife on covert missions. At one point, the U.S. Government denied the existence of the group, which was known as the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG).
Here’s more about the group from an article by Leroy Thompson published in 1986.
Separate from “conventional,” unconventional operations of the 5th Special Forces Group were the clandestine operations of Military Assistance Command Vietnam/Studies and Observations Group (MACV/SOG). The Studies and Observation Group (SOG) was a cover name to disguise SOG’s real function, and the name “Special Operations Group,” as it was sometimes called, described its real mission more accurately. Activated in January of 1964, SOG was a joint services unit composed of members from all four branches of the armed forces, including Navy SEALs, Marine Recons, Air Force Special Operations pilots of the 90th Special Operations Wing, but predominantly Army Special Forces.
MACV/SOG’s missions included: cross border operations into Cambodia, Laos and North Vietnam to carry out intelligence gathering or raiding missions on the enemy’s ‘home ground’; gathering intelligence about POWs and carrying out rescue missions when possible; rescuing downed aircrews in enemy territory (“Bright Light” missions); training, inserting, and controlling agents in North Vietnam to gather intelligence or form resistance groups; carrying out ‘black’ Psy Ops such as operating fake broadcasting stations inside North Vietnam; kidnapping or assassinating key enemy personnel; retrieving sensitive document so equipment lost in enemy territory or in enemy hands; and inserting rigged mortar rounds or other booby-trapped ordnance in enemy arms caches (OPERATION ELDEST SON).
Needless to say, this group of heroes was no joke.
If you take a look at the reviews for the Benchmade 275BKSN Adamas Folder, you’ll notice everyone agrees on one thing: this knife is a beast.
Designed by Shane Sibert, the Benchmade 275BKSN Adamas is a heavy-duty folder that’s touted as a battle-tested knife strong enough for pretty much anything you throw at it. The 3.82-inch blade is made from D2 tool steel, and the G-10 handle scales are a no-nonsense tan. It includes Benchmade’s beloved AXIS locking mechanism.
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