Cold Steel Pro Lite 3.5" 4116SS Clip Point Razor-Sharp Blade 4.5" GFN Handle Everyday Carry Pocket Folding Knife w/Tri-Ad Lock

I picked up the prolite and it’s bigger sibling, the SR1 lite (I also have it’s older brother , a large voyager , and a 4Max scout).This is an amazing , light weight , tough, easy to carry knife.It was pretty stiff out of the box , and I might be inclined to subtract a ½ star for a very stiff lock (and again, I’m very familiar with cold steel tri-ad locks). That would probably be a whole star if this wasn’t such a great knife , and for $28.It easily has the best , most pocket friendly clip I’ve ever had on a CS knife (The SR1 lite , soars with fantastic action and a very easy to disengage lock, but a much more typical CS pocket clip that’s going to take some work to make useful).I’d been eyeballing an Ak-47 or Ultimate hunter as a possible smaller knife to have in pocket , but this little budget beast is going to fill that spot instead.

I own several cold steel knives and have had good luck with them. Bought this one because it was inexpensive and I wanted another "beater" for my work/edc rotation. I find myself carrying this one more often than not. The knife is light, and the pocket clip works well. 4116 steel so it requires frequent touch-ups, but you can put a stupid sharp edge on it rather easily. The handle is extremely ergonomic (my gloves are size large), and the triad lock is one of the toughest on the market. Mine came with really smooth blade deployment, no wrist-flick required. I would say if you are on a tight budget and need a tough 3 1/2 inch blade that's easy to carry, this is the one you're looking for. Probably the best $20 folder you can buy.

I love Cold Steel knives. They are super sharp, tough, and well designed. I bought it because it is a Andrew Demko-designed knife on the super cheap. It feels great in my hands and the jimping on the hand is perfect. The German 4116 steel is fine enough for me. This has a razor-sharp edge and I'm sure that I could sharpen it back to a razor. They are made in Taiwan and I'm impressed with their Taiwanese work. I have an Ontario RAT1, Blackhawk BE-WHARNED, and 2 Cold Steel Tuff Lite and this ProLite. They are all built well and have great blades.I know that anyone that owns a Cold Steel realizes it isn't a "flipper" or "fidgeter" kind of knife. I like to flip my knife a little bit. This one is a two-hander kind of knife. The Tri-Ad Lock is way too rough to release the lock. I read the reviews complaining about opening the Tri-Ad and I was with the sissy's complaining. I'm joining the sissy club. I'm a strong-handed man, but had to release it with Channel Locks! I added some lubricating oil and worked on the lock about 20 times. It's better, but it's a manly press to release the blade. 1 star!This is a great EDC knife. It's a Demko, razor-sharp, and solidly built. The German 4116 is a softer steel, so you will have to sharpen it a little more often than super steel. We all should sharpen our knives a little bit. Strop with a diamond paste and you are done sharpening in a couple of minutes. The Pro Lite is worth the $28. The Tri-Ad is a little bit of a hassle, but it's easily overcome. I think my knife is a factory problem. I could be right or I could be wrong. Enjoy your Cold Steel!

I would've never thought a budget knife would've become my go to for a self defense knife. What. The. Heck. I did a practice test on an empty gatorade bottle [probably should've took pictures, but I threw it away. Sorry], and keep in mind I have a knife phobia, and it went through the entire bottle. This knife is sharp, way more than I was expecting and looking back I would've just bought this knife instead of the others I have bought to pair up with my gerber swagger knife that my dad got me as a christmas gift. In terms of the Pro-Lite, it's already been used in terms of simple household tasks. I can open the knife with one hand, but not as the same speed as my gerber swagger, but it's probably my technic as I've seen others be able to open it quickly. The grip is oddly comfortable and grippy despite it not uitilizing g10 scales, this became evident in the gatorade bottle test. I highly recommend buying this knife. But do be sure to figure out which blade type is best for you before buying one.

Great EDC knife. If you should ever need to trust a knife, trust this one.

The steel is not a high speed crucible. But. For the price it is amazing - what I truly love is the indestructible lockup of this amazing tool. And, it looks good!

I could not close it with my bare hands. Had to use both hands and pushed it against the edge of a table. Sent it back. Got the CS American Lawman instead. It was hard to close at first but not so bad after it got broke in.

Initial thoughts are: I love this knife. I’m a huge fan of clip point style blades and Cold Steel sends it sharp from the factory. My blade was dirty upon arrival (literal dirt, I suspect this was a return) and the lockback mechanism is not properly machined to the tang of the blade. Sometimes I have to use two hands to release the blade, sometimes it works fine one handed. I can definitely see other reviewer’s issues with being unable to close the knife without a pair of pliers, just depends on your luck.The handle feels very cheap, but it is adequately grippy and also lightweight. I found this to be the same on the Finn Wolf, another budget EDC model by Cold Steel. Would love some aggressive jimping on the spine of the blade. They tried on the back of the handle but it is useless.The centering is perfect and I enjoy the action. I’ve been able to flip the knife open with a little wrist action and let me tell ya it deploys with authority once you get the motions down.To summarize I recommend buying this knife, and if you get a lemon return it and try again. I’ll end up buying a couple more as gifts or drawer knives because of the value and performance. Are there better knives at this price? Yeah, see RAT1/2. Do I like this knife more? ...yeah. Clip point is life.