Cold Steel Peace Maker III First Impressions
Kevin Felts 02.01.19
The Cold Steel Peace Maker III is marketed as a boot knife with a four inch stainless steel blade. Even though it is described s a “boot knife” I decided to pick one up and use it as a hiking, camping, backpacking knife.
Packaging was very basic. The only markings were Cold Steel stamped on each side, and “Cold Steel 20PBS” on one end. It would have been nice if a pamphlet would have been included with specifications. So for specification we turn to the Cold Steel Peace Maker III webpage.
- Part number: 20PBS
- Weight: 3.4 ounces
- Thickness: 2.5mm
- Blade Length: 4”
- Handle: 4 1/2″ Long Kray-Ex
- Steel / Material: German 4116 Stainless Cryo Quenched
- Overall length: 8 1/2″
- Sheath: Secure-Ex
- Lanyard hole: Yes
Checking those specs against my own knife:
- Weight without sheath: 3 ounces
- Weight with sheath: 4.25 ounces
- Blade thickness: A hair over 1/16 inch.
- Blade length: 4 inches long
- Overall length: 8 7/16 inches
This means the specifications listed on the website are very close to what the finished product may be.
Boot Clip
As mentioned earlier the Peace Maker III is marketed as a boot knife. The clip measures around 1 3/8 inches long, 5/8 inch wide, and has a 1/8 inch space between the clip and the sheath.
To test how well the knife worked as a boot knife, it was clipped inside a Tony Lama work boot, model number RR3206. This is a steel toed work boot I wear around the farm. Every step I took the knife made an audible “tap” sound. The tap sound is from the blade rattling inside the sheath.
In other words, the blade may tap the inside of the sheath with every step you take.
The good news, the clip fits MOLLE webbing rather well.
One problem with the belt clip is how low it sits on the sheath in regard to the knife handle. From the top of the knife handle to the top of the clip measures 2 1/2 inches
Compare that to the Morakniv Basic 511 which measures just 3/8 inch from the top of the handle to the top of the clip.
What does this mean? It means the handle leans away from whatever it is attached to and creates a long profile.
We will do some side by side comparisons between the Peace Maker III and other knives in future articles.
Blade
The blade came acceptably sharp from the factory. Not razor sharp, but not dull either. Straight out of the box I feel the blade is sharp enough to take on a hiking trip, or even skin a deer.
- Blade measures:
- Length: 4 inches
- Width: 15/16 inch
- Thickness: Hair over 1/16
Stamped on the blade is: Peace Maker III on one side. On the other side is Cold Steel German 4116 Taiwan.
Final Thoughts
Even though the Cold Steel Peace Maker III is described as a boot knife, I would not use it as a boot knife. The blade makes too much noise when it taps the inside of the sheath.
This would probably make a good pack knife, or hunting / skinning knife. However, wearing the knife on the outside of a backpack may create a problem because of how high the handle is above the clip.
The handle has nice texturing, but the sheath needs a better design. In other words, I like the knife, but not the sheath.
First impressions are mediocre.
After taking the knife out on a few hiking rips, or using it to carve up a brisket, a more in depth review will be posted.
