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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
27 of 28 found the following review helpful:
A Great Little Dagger Oct 21, 2010
By Andre
After some research into push knives, I finally ended up choosing this Cold Steel model for everyday carry, as it seemed a nice compromise between small but effective blade size, reasonable price, quality handle, and well-designed sheath.
Out of the box, one can immediately see that this is a very light, strong and sharp weapon. It is designed for thrusting; the edges are sharp but not razor-sharp, which is proper for an impact/penetration tool in order to avoid rolling the edges when in contact with harder material such as bones. This penetrates through most stuff easily, given its design and the leverage you get by holding it in your closed fist and "punching" through things with the blade. It is possible to slash with great strength as well, but this takes a little while getting used to.
By the way, you hold this knife by placing the handle horizontally across the palm of your hand and closing the fist, keeping the blade protruding either between your 3rd and 4th fingers, or between your 2nd and 3rd fingers. Held either way, the geometry of the handle is such that is it extremely difficult even for a novice to be disarmed.
The steel is the Japanese AUS 8A stainless steel. Though not a premium steel, this is considered a reasonable compromise between hardness (keeps the edge), toughness (difficult to break even under heavy use) and resistance to corrosion (particularly important as this is a knife you will carry very close to your body, and it should be resistant to humidity and sweat).
The blade is sharpened only on one side, and the other side is flat. This is known as a chisel grind, or a single-edge grind. Some people call this a "meat grind", used in many Japanese culinary knives. It makes for a sharper edge that cuts in a curved direction. In a combat situation, this would result in a larger wound channel.
The handle is really well designed, providing a beefy, firm, comfortable grip. The rubber absorbs part of the impact protecting your hand.
Please don't think that just because this knife is small and easily concealable it isn't capable of inflicting major damage. A push knife is not a utility knife; it is designed for quick and repeated thrusting, and is considered illegal in many places. Its use might not be seen as reasonable self defense in many situations. If you really want a self defense weapon, consider carrying a non-lethal defensive tool such as a kubotan (personally I carry a Comtech Stinger with me all the time, which is a little piece of plastic with a design similar to a push knife). Go for the Safe Maker if you want a vicious close quarters weapon.
You can use the sheath in different ways; I like the belt clip but the knife is light and small enough to be carried sheathed in a pocket unobtrusively. The sheath locks the blade tightly. In fact, to me it felt too tight for a fast draw. This was easily corrected by applying WD-40 to the blade before inserting it into the sheath.
There are more sophisticated - and expensive - push daggers around. I also have the Mercworx Seraphym, a 1/4" thick blade made in the top-of-the-line S30V stainless steel, that currently sells for something around 6 times the price I paid for my Safe Maker. Even though the Seraphym is as indestructible and beautiful as a dagger can be, strictly in a self defense scenario I'm not really sure how much more effective it would be... to be honest, I actually prefer the handle and sheath of the Safe Maker, which also happens to be much sharper than the Seraphym. I also have the Safe Maker I which is the longer version in the Safe Maker series, an impressive push dagger not as concealable as the SMII, that I carry when I want something bigger and more effective.
Push daggers are not for everyone. I like them, and I'm lucky enough that where I live they are not banned. I carry one (or two) with me nearly all the time. You can argue that there are better or more utilitarian knives, but if you do not carry them in a way that they are ready for use, what's the advantage?
PUSH DAGGER PROS
* Small, light, concealable and easy to carry all the time
* Due to T-handle, the push dagger is much shorter overall than an ordinary fixed blade knife with a same-sized blade
* Immediate access and use - just draw from sheath clipped at belt
* Robust construction - no opening or locking mechanisms to break or malfunction
* Simple to use: if you can punch, you can use the push dagger
* Allows for tremendous strength when thrusting or slashing
* Almost impossible to disarm
PUSH DAGGER CONS
* Illegal in many jurisdictions
* Limited use and options compared with an ordinary knife (for me this is actually an advantage - in a knife fight I would rather go for simplicity and efficiency rather than an unlimited number of grips and moves)
My recommendation? If a small push dagger is what you're looking for, get the Safe Maker II. If you want something big, go for the Safe Maker I. Above all, learn how to use it! Get educated about the realities of knife fighting - I recommend Don Pentecost's hard-to-find classic "Put 'Em Down, Take 'Em Out!" book. Alternatively, get the USMC Close Combat Manual, which can be found for free online. Practice quick jabs in the air with the dagger. No heavy, slow punches - just quick, non telegraphic straight jabs with this knife, plus the weight of your arm and shoulder behind it, are all you need.
Thanks for reading - hope this helps!
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
 Good, but not perfect Sep 30, 2010
By A. Vorce
I work a night shift and there has recently been a lot of crime around the areas where I live and work. So, I figured carrying a small and easily concealable knife on me would be a good idea. Being that I have a fondness for push daggers, and knowing that Cold Steel makes the finest push daggers I've seen available, I decided on this one. Amazon currently carries it for nearly 50% off retail price. And it's the ultimate self-defense weapon, considering it's nearly impossible for even an inexperienced person to be disarmed when wielding it.
I will say that overall, this is a nice knife. The kraton handle is far superior to the handles I've seen on other push daggers. Plus, the blade is beautifully shaped and polished. However, there are a few cons to it.
The main problem here is the sheath. This is obviously a self-defense/fighting knife and every aspect of it's design should be made with that in mind. So, while the sheath provides a very secure fit that ensures the knife won't accidentally fall out, it's a little TOO secure. The knife is fairly difficult to pull out of the sheath. And the belt clip isn't strong enough to hold on with the amount of force that is needed to pull the knife from the sheath. This is BAD if you actually have to deploy it in an emergency situation. The only solution I've found to this, is to not push into the sheath all the way, so the plastic teeth inside the sheath don't lock over the back of the blade. It still holds the knife securely in place and it's much easier to deploy.
Another problem I have with this knife is the fact that the back of the blade is hollow ground. With this type of asymmetrical grind, it will be extremely difficult to resharpen. And the cutting edges don't seem nearly as sharp as Cold Steel claims.
Furthermore, the specs on this knife list a 3.25 inch blade. But be advised that this is measuring from the tip of the blade to the beginning of the kraton handle. The actual usable part of the knife (cutting edges) is only 2 inches. But despite these few drawbacks, it is a very nice knife that should easily get the job done. And I would recommend it to anyone concerned for their safety.
9 of 10 found the following review helpful:
One mean knife Apr 21, 2010
By Z Matzen
"Z-Matzen"
This is one nasty knife. For personal close quarter defense I can't imagine a more ferocious weapon. Just a quick move of the hand and it would no doubt cause tremendous damage. The Safe Maker II does fit firmly in the hand and I can't imagine how anyone could wrench it out of someones hand without seriously injuring themselves, it basically becomes an extension of the users fist. The blade is just about the right size not being too big to get in the way of itself and certainly not too small to be brutaly affective. It is not legal in many places and doesn't leave my house or vehicle but stays close by for a last ditch weapon in case of a home invasion.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
 the good and the bad Apr 09, 2011
By nomercy870
The cold-steel safe maker is one of the best push stlyle knives I have ever come across. Out of the box it is very sharp, and fits very nice in your hand. The only problem I had was with the sheath. It was way to tight of fit and that made it very hard to pull the blade out. But for the money its still a lot of knife.
9 of 12 found the following review helpful:
Protection for trail runners in mountain lion country Nov 16, 2009
By Kevin K. Sinn
As a trail runner in the Sierra, I run alone and sometimes at dusk. The pepper spray I carry on my belt will probably work for predatory bears. However, I figured if I were to be jumped from behind by a mountain lion I'd just as likely end up spraying myself as spraying the mountain lion. Of course, a gun, even a small one, is out of the question for a trail runner. In addition, if a mountain lion were to grab the back of my neck I'd be back to shooting myself, but this time with a gun!
It seemed to me that a lightweight knife with a short handle that wouldn't interfere with my running could be the solution. The Cold Steel Safe Maker II is one answer. It fits on my belt just behind my hip so that the push knife's horizontal handle doesn't rub against my swinging arms. In that location, the knife is readily accessible, faster to grip with its horizontal handle, and easier to stab backward with in my fist. Its sheath fits securely on my rehydration belt, and because it's plastic it's unaffected by sweat. The knife's rubber handle also resists sweat and provides a positive grip. Although the blade is long enough to inflict repelling pain to a lion, the knife's light weight isn't noticeable when I'm running.
This little knife could provide some self defense to those of us who run in mountain lion country.
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