What I wanted in a knife was top notch, unserrated stainless, a solid locking mechanism, and a metal handle which was shaped to keep my fingers off the blade. Nothing too small, but weight well under 5 oz. To keep law enforcement happy (everywhere west of the Mississippi), I did NOT want assisted opening, or gravity opening, anything over 3.5", or anything which might be looked at as a "combat knife." I already have a Spyderco/Byrd Meadowlark in a stainless handle, which I like a lot and carry all the time, but wanted much better edge retention than 8Cr13MoV offers, since I use my knives daily, and rarely get around to sharpening them.What I found was that my wish list generally means a $150-$400 street price. There are few knives below that range which use ultra-premium steel, and fewer still which use aluminum or titanium for the cases (those which had stainless steel cases were usually too heavy to qualify). While a couple of less expensive knives came sort of close, those which nailed all of my requirements started at $120, and were mostly >$160, except for the Cold Steel. For $69, this looked like an amazing deal, and the delivered knife lives up to my expectations. It does everything a pocket knife should do, using excellent materials, and won't destroy one's pocket or one's wallet.I do have one criticism however, and that's the (infamous) Cold Steel pocket clip design. It's very snug when new, but can be bent to the desired amount of tension, which is all good. The problem is that the clip is very short. On a folder which is both thin and smooth, one naturally tends to grip the clip with the fingertips in the process of opening it with the thumb. A full length clip can make a slippery metal-cased knife, like my Meadowlark, much easier to handle and open. On most Cold Steel folders, the case is made of grippier stuff, and the clip length doesn't matter much. On this particular model, I think the short clip is at its worst, and can't find anywhere that sells a longer replacement.Ergonomically, I find the Spyderco-style blade hole preferable to the Code 4's bolt, but not by a wide margin, and it does make for a slightly lighter and more compact knife.To sum up, I consider this a 5 star knife in absolute terms, minus one star for the clip, plus one star for costing much less than the competition. If your knife wish list is similar to mine, it might be 5 stars for you, too. Those who want the ultimate in ergonomics and aren't so worried about the materials used, or who don't mind paying >$200 for a knife, might prefer something different.My EDC and most used knife. I am a tremendous fan of Cold Steel, especially the folders. They have an amazingly strong lock when opened and I never have a concern about losing fingers when working with a Cold Steel folder with the Tri-Ad Lock system. Look up the Tri-Ad Lock and watch some of the videos to see the strength.This knife has great steel and I haven't had any issues with it. It stays sharp longer then most knives and the razor sharp edge is easy to maintain. I strop it about once a month and sharpen it about every three months. It has a good weight and is slim and sits in your pocket like it belongs there. This is an excellent EDC folder and it just feels strong in your hand, is perfectly balanced and shows no signs of use to this point. It holds its edge and is easy to maintain, excellent qualities in a knife.Depending on the steel, they have some real bargains, but prices have gone up recently due to an upgrade in the steels used and the coatings used on the black, tactical series of knives. I think it's still an excellent knife for the money, some of us just need to save a little longer to pick up another knife. Once you have seen the strength of the Tri-Ad Lock i just don't know how you can trust your fingers to any other brand. It's my opinion but it's a strong opinion.FWIW, It seems that Cold Steel has a Love it or Hate it fan base but I just love most of their knives. The company owner, Lynn C. Thompson seems to be like his knives, a love him or hate him kind of guy. I have never met him but think I would like to buy him a beer sometime. So I guess I'm a love the knife, love the knife maker kind of guy. Try one, you'll like it. This is an excellent knife. Highly recommended.Just received this knife, arrived as promised in perfect condition. Amazon is awesome by the way the price dropped by a little more than $2 after I ordered and Amazon cust service refundede the difference. Hard to find the level of customer service/ satisfaction that Amazon provides these days. Any way back to knife its large and the handle is rather slick but I knew that before purchase so no issue for me. Its super thin and light weight for its size. Blade is centered perfectly and fit and finish are without any flaws that I can see. The blade opens smooth and there is a nice solid lock up from the tri-ad system. I did not have any trouble with lock release as some customer have stated. The knife blade steel is the CTS XHP, says it on the blade. This is a great value in a knife with a premium steel, I was not fond of the old aus-8 steel that cold steel had but some folks had great results with it, mabey just me. The knife blade the frightening how sharp this thing is. I performed the paper cut test and it passed no sweat, nice clean cut no drag at all. I the shaved the hair off the back of my hand as if I were using a Gillette razor. This knife is awesome, exactly what I wanted. I am very happy with this purchase for the great price. Review update: 6/24/17, with the size of knife being what it is and the slick handle I have found deployment of the blade to be a little tedious, I have found if I strategy to open blade with thumb stud and then flick my wrist making sure to hold handle securely locking a ring finger around pocket clip to prevent handle from slipping the opens pretty well with one hand, I may still add some grip tape/ skateboard tape to handle, everyone should be very careful trying to one hand open this knife, I don't think this blade would have any trouble taking a finger off.super produkt super