Cold Steel Peace Maker III – Product Review

Cold Steel Peace Maker III

Cold Steel Peace Maker III

Looking for an inexpensive knife to throw into an “operator’s bag”, I decided to give the Cold Steel Peace Maker III a try.

I like fixed bladed knives and Cold Steel has satisfied my proclivity toward them for a number of years. I normally carry the Cold Steel Kobun as my EDC to accompany the Springfield XDs 4.0 .45. To satisfy the “want” for a good knife in a 4” blade length, the Cold Steel Peace Maker III was chosen from a number of knives.

Here are the basic features of the knife:

  • Blade Length: 4″
  • Overall Length: 8 1/2″
  • Blade Thickness: 2.5 mm
  • Steel: German 4116 Stainless
  • Weight: 3.4 oz.
  • Handle: 4 3/4″ Long High Impact Polypropylene
  • Sheath: Secure-Ex Sheath

Cold Steel Peace Maker III w/Springfield XDs .45

Cold Steel Peace Maker III w/Springfield XDs .45

The blade is sharp from the factory, but a little light honing made the edge just a little but sharper. “The Peace Maker’s “Scandi” ground blade bevel makes them very easy to resharpen, while the unique compound ground clip point -provides a very stiff, distal tapered point capable of piercing thick targets without compromising precious cutting power.

The knife is of the full-length tang design that adds strength to the overall knife. A lanyard hole in the grip provides for a nice place to add a Para cord lanyard. The grip is well-designed and provides adequate protection in preventing the hand from sliding forward onto the blade during wet operations. The grip is ridged top and bottom to ensure a good hand hold and has a curved butt to help fit into the little finger. This feature is handy when operating the knife from blade-forward or blade-back positions.

Although Cold Steel flaunts the Cold Steel Peace Maker III as a “boot knife”, the Secure-ex sheath’s design, I believe, prevents it from being a good boot knife. When worn as a boot knife, the grip should be readily accessible for easy retrieval of the knife; the design of the Secure-ex sheath prevents this from happening.

Cold Steel Peace Maker II At Home in the Secure-Ex Sheath.

Cold Steel Peace Maker II At Home in the Secure-Ex Sheath. Note How Much Handle is Available for a hand-grab from the sheath

The Cold Steel Peace Maker III slides into the sheath well and is secured by tension of two flaps and a grooves that are built into the sheath. The knife may, in fact, be held too well. The sheath flaps (for lack of a better description) cover about two-thirds of the knife handle. The operator must grab the upper one-third of the handle and pull until the knife is freed from the sheath, and a healthy pull is must be. When one is in the time of need to pull a boot knife, it is no time to be concerned about anything that might hinder the draw. My immediate thought was to cut off a substantial amount of the sheath’s flaps, but that can’t be done.

Cold Steel Peace Maker III. Note the Position of the mounting clip and the Tension "Flaps"

Cold Steel Peace Maker III. Note the Position of the mounting clip and the Tension “Flaps”

A well-constructed metal belt/boot clip is mounted to one of the sheath’s flaps. The clip is adequate to hold the sheath on a belt (up to 1 ¼”) or inside a boot. Inside a boot, the majority of the knife is hidden, as the clip is high on the sheath. There is only 3” of grip surface to grab above the clip and three-quarters of an inch of that is sheath. I have a number of knives intended for boot carry and all allow easy access to the handle. The Secure-ex sheath negates any fast draw of the knife. The Secure-Ex Sheath falls short, in my opinion, for adequate access to the knife handle. Although the Cold Steel Peace Maker III itself gets a 4-star rating from me, the Secure-Ex Sheath is a -1.

The Cold Steel Peace Maker III In the Hand

The Cold Steel Peace Maker III In the Hand

For my purposes; however, the Cold Steel Peace Maker III is a good knife; it is light and compact enough to fit into a pocket in my “operator’s bag” or be attached to one of the straps with a suitable retainer. The Cold Steel Peace Maker III fills a role more as a general purpose utility knife than as a boot knife.

The Cold Steel Peace Maker III is available through Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Cold-Steel-20PBS-Peace-Maker/dp/B00BD56SWA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417104011&sr=8-1&keywords=Cold+Steel+Peace+Maker+III) at a price of $19.15 and other fine stores.

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About Taurian

Taurian is a U.S. Army veteran and former LEO and Defensive Tactics Instructor. Taurian also has over fifty years of experience as a Technical Writer and Training Program Developer. After leaving home at the age of ten without any shoes, Taurian continues on with many years devoted to the keeping and bearing of arms.

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