Cold SteelDouble Agent II Plain Edge Durable Lightweight Japanese AUS8A Steel Clip Point Shape 3" Fixed Blade Tactical Outdoor Hunting Knife, Griv-Ex Handle, Secure-Ex Sheath

There are many lovely, expensive knives on the market that you could wax poetic about. This isn't one of them. The grip is plastic, the case is plastic, and I found a little rust on the blade after taking it with me into a campground shower. However, when it comes to self-defense weapons, there is always the issue of weighing a weapon's usefulness to you against the danger of it being taken and turned against you. I don't foresee that happening here. When this thing is in your hand, it stays in your hand. The grip is absolutely deadly.PROS:1. The grip.2. The price. It is very affordable. I don't worry about taking it everywhere with me, I don't worry about water, because it didn't cost me an arm and a leg. Its value is in being able to have it with you, not having it safe at home where it can't help you if you should need it.3. The secrecy. The blade is large enough to do serious damage, yet can be easily concealed. Strung on paracord, it is light and comfortable around your neck. After a minute of wearing it, I forget that it's there.4. Accessibility. Here's how to optimize this knife: Ditch the cheap metal chain that comes with it. Get two feet of paracord. Starting at one end, weave the paracord through all the holes in the sheath, up from the bottom, around the point, and then down the other side, like you're sewing. When you've done that, you'll have lots of paracord left over. It's time to adjust it to the length that you want. The idea is to have the knife pointing upwards as it hangs around your neck, so pull the loop of paracord at the very tip of the sheath into as long of a necklace as feels comfortable for you. You may have to loosen your "stitches" to pull the paracord through. When you've got it at the correct length, tie the paracord ends into knots near where they exit the sheath, cut off the excess cord, and melt the end-knots with a lighter (I pulled the knots out of the sheath a few inches so as not to burn the sheath while I did this, then pulled them back tight against the holes). The advantage of wearing it this way is that, when you need to draw the knife from the sheath, all you need to do is get one hand under the front of your shirt, reach up to find the grips, and yank the knife down and out of the sheath. There's a safety clip on the sheath, but it releases without being pressed if you just pull firmly. Practice doing this one-handed, wearing the knife under your clothes.CONS:1. Cheap, like I said. If only everything cheap were this well-made. Nothing about its cheapness compromises its safety or functionality. Wipe a little WD-40 every so often onto the metal, for rust.2. You might forget it's there. Practice drawing it often, so that it becomes instinctual and panic doesn't cause you to forget to use it. Also, don't accidentally wear it to the airport or anywhere security will take it away from you. It would be easy to do.BOTTOM LINE:This knife is awesome. It's there when you need it, and it can be deployed quickly and effectively. Every person who worries about their ability to defend themselves should own something like this.

WOW! This is a nice piece of steel. It is not high carbon steel but for $30 what do you expect? About equivalent to 440 grade, but raw steel is made in Japan instead of US. Easy to sharpen but dulls quicker than a high carbon steel. Will not rust and there is the trade off with a high carbon steel. Decent all around steel for the price. The blade came very sharp. Typical with Cold Steel knives. I have a medium size hand and it fits well. The blade is on the thin side, fits well against my chest, and is easy to pull out with a little practice. NOTE: The Secure Ex sheath is for right handers but can be used by left handers by using thumb instead of index finger to operate release button. Knife is very secure in sheath and will not fall out until released. While the blade is on the thinner side it is a very solid knife, Cannot tell I am wearing it. Even with a thin t-Shirt, knife cannot be seen from outside. I love the 2 finger holes. Adds some brass knuckle action along with the flesh shredding properties of this blade. Also has a hard knuckle sticking out of the bottom of handle to act as a kubaton. This knife can do damage!

So I just got this so a future update may be coming but here it is in a nutshell:Pros:1. this knife is secure in your hand and many standard disarm techniques will prove ineffective against the double ring grip.2. It is lite and lays flat making it an ideal neck knife3. The grip will prevent sliding and accidental cuts4. For a small knife it has an intimidating profile, ideal for avoidance of actual use, a goal most of us have in mind while being ready to use it5. It came sharp and the blade geometry will make it effective against flesh6. The scabbard can be effective as a tank release or press release of the chain is changed for paracord (I highly recommend changing it, don't fiddle with releases if you really need your blade).7. Price, for what it is it's reasonably pricedCons:1. The chain they sent is garbage and the holes in the scabbard are too small to accommodate standard military grade paracord that is most commonly used.2. The ring grips are not angled to accommodate a standard fighting knife grip for those who are trained to fight with a knife in this style. The angle of your wrist will be wrong for traditional knife fighting grip no matter how you try, someone will disagree but try it on your practice dummy if you have one and you'll see I am right3. The handle is cheap plastic and would have been much better as g-10 or even just rubberized grip4. Not really a con as it is a neck knife but this is definitely not an edc type use blade even if you carry it everyday, won't be good for carving or regular cutting and the type of steel may be susceptible to corrosion more than a premium edc blade. To me that's fine because it is not an everyday use knife, if you want one of those there are many nitride, titanium coated kerahaws and ckrts that you should look at first.The long and short, but it if you like a last ditch knife and regularly find yourself in basketball shorts and a t-shirt eliminating other fixed blade solutions and smooth deployment folding knives.But get it and buy paracord and make a necklace for it. That chain will bust leaving you with a plastic scabbard instead of a blade in a tense moment. You don't need that.