1849 Rifleman’s Knife, Brown/Silver, 12"

The knife i received came well packaged and is razor sharp. I'm pretty sure this is old stock because there was some old grease that had dried on the sheath. This is not a detriment as many have reported new stock not being very well sharpened. Mine was perfect. Edge alignment was as i would expect. The sheath is well made and of very heavy leather. The metal appointments are excellent. I've wanted this knife for a long while, and it was well worth the wait.

I'm not likely to get an authentic Ames M1849 Rifleman's Knife at a reasonable price and condition, and I don't mind getting replicas and reproductions. This is excellent for getting an idea of the heft, the look and reach of the M1849. It's an impressive knife. I wiped off the grease and used that as an opportunity to closely check it out. The grind was done right, and it's even, the fit of brass to steel, and brass to wood is great. While the scabbard isn't the real design, it's rugged looking and nice and thick. This scabbard is much better than the one that came with my Cold Steel Bowie.

I must admit I was a little dubious about 1st purchasing this knife... The reviews were not so positive. But the price and the fact that I had a gift card made me venture to give it a shot. I am truly glad that I did because the product I received was incredibly well made and was original cold steel product. The fit and finish of both the knife and sheath were impeccable... The way it was shipped protected the wood on the handle and the coding on the blade and the brass accents when polished off brightened up the entire piece. The sheath was mated to the knife perfectly... I cannot say enough about the quality and care put into the manufacturing of this piece. Its beauty is truthfully matched with its strength and design. This is going to be a truly proud piece placed in my collection...

To get it out of the way, the knife arrived quickly, but was wrapped in plastic and there was NO Cold Steel box or paperwork leading me to believe it was a knockoff and i'd been had by the supplier. It was rattling around in a large box, but luckily was not damaged. The quality is good, though purposely NOT 100% accurate to the originals to discourage the knives becoming a base for forgeries. The blade is slightly UNDER 1/4" thick, with no distal taper, and the edge is thick, and is technically sharp, though if one wants to do any work beyond splitting up kindling or a little chopping it will need a significant reprofile. Handle has brass pins, and is of a slightly different contour than that of the original, though its comfortable and useable. Guard fit is poor, some pretty good gaps left that look like they were left behind by angry brass beavers. This is not an expensive knife- though they were $250 when they first came out- and at that price its unacceptable. Particularly from an area of the world thats been making edged weapons for hundreds of years. Sheath is well made, but also of a different design to prevent fakery, this is too bad as the original design with the frog stud mounted to the throat is excellent for actual use, despite being an old design. Feel in the hand and balance is good, and it feels lighter in hand than it is, while still having a blade heavy feel. Despite it being more of a tool its fast in the hand and does all the bowie knife moves we know and love, though the convex false edge is less than ideal for backcuts. The bottom line: Get one. If you like the Ames knife and want to do some work with it but don't have an extra $10-15K on hand, its a great buy.

Bought it just to have one like this. Looks very nice but don't know if it would hold up to really hard use. Guard and handle fit well but are just tightly pinned together. Tang is hidden. Sheath is also very handsome. Originally designed by an Army committee?....too big, heavy and clumsy for camp cooking or precise camp chores, but great for close combat and a tough enough blade for digging, carving up cans, etc. I can imagine an 1850's trooper using it for many things. Mine came shiny, symmetrically ground and pretty darn sharp. Note: blade protective grease easily cleaned up with alcohol.

I have ordered several knives from Coldsteel off of Amazon. This one is the most refined and best made including the sheath. It does have a sharpened swerve which surprised me. Highly polished,some minor flaws that don’t affect the function. Bravo Lynn Thompson and Coldsteel.

Excessive corrosion on the brass fittings and on the blade, despite being completely covered in a large amount of oil to the point it was dripping everywhere. I have tried many meathods to fix it but the corrosion comes back in a couple days. Also It is very heavy and thick. I thought this was going to be like a machete but it is the exact opposite. Save your money and buy something else.

Poor quality knife. Handles are not finished well and blade came with a rolled edge.

Tank you

Ein beeinduckendes riesen Messer das man fast als Kurzschwert bezeichnen könnte. Für den Preis ist die Qualität und Verarbeitung sehr gut. Das Messer dient, als Requisit für historische Darstellungen.

Damaged and banged up coating on the sheath straight out of the box for a functioning presentation knife I expected better QC. Knife appears fine after a wipe down.

Not impressed. This product is made in India. Came in a plain box and does not have the quality of Cold Steel products. Albeit, it looks good on the wall there's too many blemishes and beginning of patina. I just got it today and it's already got flaws such as inconsistent mill work on the quillion. Buyer beware.