Cold Steel Medium Luzon 4" 8Cr13MoV Razor-Sharp Clip Point Blade 5" GFN Handle Tactical EDC Folding Knife w/Leaf-Spring Lock

A nice, small carry knife. It's almost unnoticeable in your pocket. It has a good clip for attaching to the top of a pocket. Nice and sharp, with a good secure liner lock. It seems to be quite sturdy too. One of my favorite knives.

This is my second Luzan. I lost the first, and immediately ordered another one. I don't think you can find a better EDC knife for the money, and this is coming from a steel snob who has spent $400+ for several hgh dollar knives, all of which presumably have much better steel than this but none of which match its utility. It's easy to pay for more quality than you'll ever need, but it's really hard to find quality like this for extremely affordable prices, like sub $30! It took me a long time to come back to Cold Steel, but Lynn Thompson knows knives and knife design like few others. This Luzan is quick deploying, razor sharp out of the box, and wickedly useful with its 4" blade, stay open lock, and, something I'd never seen before, its nylon pocket clip. I didn't like that at first, but guess what, it not only works, it doesn't cut up car seats or couches. Now I think it should be universal on pocket knives. With its thin blade and rapid flipper opening, its useful and handy for opening Amazon boxes, but would also be a wicked self defense tool, as I think an EDC knife should be. Btw, I paid full price for both of my Luzans from Amazon and am not being compensated in any way for this review. I simply think this knife is the best bang for the buck out there these days. A real sleeper bargain if ever I saw one

Like me start off by saying that I also own the Luzon XL, which I consider an excellent knife. It came stupid sharp out of the box, it opens easily both with the thumb tab and as a flipper. The lockup is positive and solid. The liner lock is easy to access and easy to manipulate. I found it lightweight, well balanced and a joy to use. For a "budget knife" it's a well made beastie.Now on to the Luzon Medium. At first glance it looks like Cold Steel tried to make a scaled down version of the Luzon XL. Operative word is "tried". They failed miserably. True, the edge is stupid sharp and it is a good looking knife, but that's all I can say for it. The thumb stud is next to impossible to use, and the flipper is downright painful to use. Using the liner lock to close the knife, well forget it. It's a machosists dream. Talk about painful. Added to the pain, the lockup is inconsistent. I bought it to use as a utility knife, but what use is an edc utility knife if you can't get the bloody thing open reliably? I sincerely doubt Lynn Thompson was involved in the design of this knife.Shame on you Cold Steel.***********************************************************(edited 6/16/2024)In my original review I was very critical of how stiff the knife was in opening it. After having and using this knife for a bit I have to change my opinion. Put a few drops of oil at the pivot and work it open and closed, it will eventually loosen up and you will find this knife is your new bestest edc buddy. I absolutely LOVE this knife now and use it even in the kitchen. I highly recommend it. It even makes a good whittler!

No, this is NOT a balisong aka butterfly knife. It DOES follow right in the “use case” scenario of the balisong as used in the Philippines - cheap, paring knife length, decidedly utility-oriented rather than “tactical”, but as good as a paring knife (albeit thicker, stronger blade) for last-ditch self-defense (always keep in mind it takes VERY little knife to be a thug, but a LOT of knife for defense). Excellent food prep, the best in a folder thanks to the paring knife size, which is to say, 4”, and thinner blade stock.If the Buck 110 made field dressing and ranch chores practical in a folder, the Luzon 4” makes urban chores practical. Perhaps THE most difficult urban chore- hold on, you’ll laugh at first then see the truth of it - is cutting up and sharing a Costco rotisserie chick or two with a work crew. No, a Buck 110 etc won’t work, fat gets in the pivot, it doesn’t have enough blade length.The Luzon does. Weight only 3.5 ounces. Nail nick opening option.This is what the PI balisongs were all about. Cheap and utilitarian. Until Benchmade and Taylor got in the game in the 70’s, PI butterfly knives were really crude, but cheap and they could be carried safer than any modern pocket knife other than a few safety lock versions. Bruce Lee did some amazing butterfly knife tricks in one movie and got them banned for us. A “weapon of street destruction” as it were.So there you go. This is solid and legal where 4” isn’t a problem, and I’ve just stockpiled a 4th, but my most current is hardest to open and off center. It’s “cheap” in both $$$ and quality control. I trust it, but it’s not for quality control bragging rights like a Civivi. It’s just the most inches for the buck short of an Opinel.Grab one before discontinued. Grab a Cold Steel Kiridashi for your Amazon boxes - not as scary looking.

I go through pocket knives like socks because I carry one at all times and I end up losing them pretty often, so I've bought a bunch of different ones, and this is my favorite. It came razor sharp right out of the box, it flips open smoothly and easily, plus the blade is a little longer than most. I like the way the end of the blade is shaped so I can wedge it in tight spaces when I'm trying to cut of zip ties. It's light too, and possibly my favorite feature is that they pocket clip is a very thick piece of plastic, so it doesn't bend when it gets caught on something, which is how I end up losing all my knives with a metal clip, once you bend it, it'll never clip tightly again. Very solid buy.