Corsican
Corsica is a large island off the southern coast of France. It's famous for giving birth to the concept of the "Vendetta" or blood feud. Corsica's modern political climate is rather stable now, but in centuries past it was anything but. Justice was almost unknown and taking it into one's own hands was the only choice available. On many occasions a minor insult would escalate into entire families and even villages feuding for many years! One vengeful murder would spawn another and, while firearms were often involved, it was the knife, or more particularly, the easily concealed Stiletto, with its long thin blade and narrow sharp point, that became the weapon of choice.
Around the world robberies, home invasions, rape, car jackings, murder and various terrorist attacks are crimes that threaten Americans, and the need for a slim, light, easily concealed dagger goes unabated. That's why Cold Steel has introduced their own Stiletto and named it the Corsican in honor of the island that inspired it. Designed for Cold Steel by custom knife maker Bud Nealy, it's an elegantly simple design that's focused on one missionthe thrust. The point of its narrow triangular shaped blade is quite sharp and acute, yet surprisingly sturdy due to its uniquely faceted tip. It's skillfully crafted from AUS 8A stainless steel, beautifully polished, and because it's been vacuum heat-treated and sub zero quenched, it's much stronger than you might expect for such a slim light blade.
The handle is fashioned from polished Micarta scales and is securely bolted to the Corsican's full tang. It offers a non-slip grip and is ideally suited for either a thumb reinforced reverse grip or a palm reinforced forward grip.
The Corsican comes complete with a slim, light Secure-Ex sheath that features a Blade-Tech belt clip, so it can be clipped lashed or taped just about anywhere on your body or gear.
Corsican
| Blade steel | AUS 8A |
| Rc hardness | 57-59 |
| Blade length | 6 1/2" |
| Length overall | 10 3/8" | | Blade thickness | 4mm |
| Weight | 4.3 oz |
| Made in | Japan |
More about AUS 8A steel:
The words "stainless steel" are misleading, because, in fact, all steel will stain or show discoloration if left in adverse conditions for a sufficient time. Steel is made "stainless" by adding Chromium and reducing its Carbon content during the smelting process. There is a serious performance trade-off with stainless steel. As the Chromium increases and the Carbon decreases, the steel becomes more "stainless". But, it also becomes more and more difficult to sharpen, and the edge-holding potential is seriously impaired. This is usually why most stainless knives are rarely razor-sharp and quickly lose what little edge they have. In contrast, at Cold Steel uses AUS 8A Stainless, a high carbon, low chromium steel that has proven itself to be the ultimate compromise between toughness and strength, edge holding, and resistance to corrosion.
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