Cold SteelAD-15 3.5" S35VN Steel Ultra-Sharp Blade 5" G-10 Handle Tactical Folding Knife with Scorpion Lock and Pocket/Belt Clip

When I open the knife, the blade locks in position and doesn't exhibit any play. The scorpion lock is great. When the pin falls into the groove of the blade, I know for sure the blade will not move. I can close the knife with one hand by lifting the pin from the groove. It is a beautiful design.

Nick Shabazz deemed this knife “a gem” which is his highest rating. You are getting a production run of a 600$+ Andrew Demko custom knife. This knife is ALMOST indistinguishable from the custom.The only clear drawback that I can see is the handle is very aggressive and will tear up your pocket to some extent as you take it in and out. I’m not too concerned because when I am sporting this knife I’m always wearing denim or Dickies.This knife is a huge honker. It is “over built” as they say. That is all part of its charm. This is the knife I will be taking with me when I go camping and when I’m planning on getting my hands dirty. The handle is large enough to hold while wearing gloves.The scorpion lock takes a minute to get used to, but now it is second nature and a fun one-handed fidgeter for me.This is the best 136$ I have spent on a knife! You could have squeezed 200$ out of me!

I was intrigued by the Demko version but just couldn’t bring myself to make such a purchase. I was a big fan of the 4Max and Cold Steel nailed it with their production version so I had hopes that they would somehow bring the Scorpion lock into their lineup. They did. We now have the Cold Steel production version of the Demko AD15 and... it’s pretty close to perfection.As soon as it was announced, I put it at the top of my list. I missed out on the first run (which instantly sold out). I got busy with life, kinda forgot about it over the Summer, and just recently picked one up. So here I am, months late to the party, but here nonetheless. I have to say I'm impressed. Very impressed. Right out of the box, I was awed with the build quality, heft, smoothness and overall fit and finish. Then again, I’ve come to expect this with Cold Steel over the years.The Classic drop-point is a winner, as we all know, and I’m smitten by the handle, balance, and overall feel, but what I’m going to talk about right now is the Scorpion Lock; sometimes, you come across something so ingenious you’d swear it was beamed down from the aliens. What looks like it might be a gimmick is deceptively functional and just ridiculously fun to use. Yes, there is a bit of a learning curve (especially if you’re used to framelocks, like me) and there is a tiny bit of stiffness to overcome as it breaks in. At least there was on mine. Neither of these are much of an issue because you will find yourself flicking this one. A lot. In fact, good luck putting it down and you may want to apologize in advance to your dedicated edc, because it’s about to take a back seat. Yeah, I picked this up as a toy. I didn’t know what I was getting into. It’s been a couple of weeks now and I already sold my previous edc. It’s that good. What you’re getting in terms of functionality and materials far exceeds the price and that’s something I don’t just throw around.Does any of this mean the AD15 is for everyone? Absolutely not. First off, it’s not a dainty knife. This is a pocket bayonet and you feel that heft when you pick it up. Goes without saying that all of this strength comes at the price of a weighty blade. It’s not going to disappear in your pocket and you won’t forget it’s there either. That’s not a knock against the knife, but it’s something you’ll want to think about if you’re one to cry about “pocket real-estate”. Some might take issue with the pocket clip and the texturing of the G10. Yes, this is a Cold Steel hallmark. Good for keeping it secure in your pocket. Bad for your pocket. Then again, this one doesn’t have a pocket snag so it’s not like you’re going to be waving it off your pocket anyway. Again, not a knock. Just something to point out. Anyway, I’m getting in the weeds here, so I’m going to wrap this up.If you have enough interest in this one to be here and you’ve stuck it out long enough to read this amateurish write-up on how awesome I feel this knife is, you’re probably a part of the target audience and should jus hit “buy”.

Yes you will find this same basic review for the Lite model. I liked it so much I bought the fancy model and another lite for a friend. I've been collecting a long time and have all kinds of steels, locks, shapes, blade geometrys, colors, etc. The AD-15 quickly took over as my main carry knife. This is the easiest and safest lock I have ever used next to an axis lock and I prefer the ease of the scorpion. Fingers are 100% clear of the blade at all times. I have permanently damaged finger tips so sustained pressure can be a problem and this lock removes that factor entirely. As I also use my blades as fidget toys crossbars usually have sharper studs that makes them not fun after awhile and compression locks require more pressure than is comfortable. Anyone who can't figure out how to use it has not watched Demko's video when he explained the lock years ago although it shouldn't really require a lot of explanation just by looking at it. Very simple design to clean and maintain for tinkerers. To be clear EDC yes survival knife no. But that should be obvious. It does take a little breaking in as all folding knives do but that's how I became a knife fidgeter. I put some Bondic UV plastic under the clip to create a smooth ramp and that worked great without having to sand the handle.

This is the first Cold Steel I have owned. I would consider it an every day EDC, but nice for camping and hiking.The blade a bit stiff to open, but most of that is due to the locking mechanism. This would be a 5 star if it weren't for that. The knife is a bit heavier than any of my other EDC, but VERY sturdy. The fit and feel is solid. I would recommend it to someone looking for a solid knife for outdoors. I will probably use this as one of my camping/hunting knifes.