CPM 3v Tai Pan. Got it after years of debating whether or not to drop the money. Wow!! Mine arrived with a flawless grind, a consistent edge sharper than a new utility blade, and all components beautifully polished and aligned.The sheath is tight. The knife will not slip out with strong shaking.This is my first blade bought mostly for aesthetics. The satin finish on the blade has a stunning luster. This is enhanced by the hollow grind that takes advantage of the strength of the CPM 3V. Perfectly balanced, right behind the finger guard.As to the hollow grind, Cold steel videos show the Tai Pan slicing through meat like a light saber, the depth of the cut being equal to the length of the blade. How many daggers, which are designed for stabbing, can do this?Best blade money ever spent:)Another great knife from cold steelLike most people, you probably wont receive an absolutely perfect knife. This review is of the 12” 3v blade.Mine came with the following issues:The factory sharpening was inconsistent; the bottom of the blade was great, however, about 3in above the tang there was a noticeable burr that continued to the tip of the straight edge. The angled edge was much more dull than the rest of the knife and the angled tip came with a small deformity which needed to be reshaped. 2 hours of sharpening/shaping fixed those issues.My sheath does not hold the blade unless I buckle it in. There is no resistance, the blade falls out under its own weight.The handle is made of a much cheaper metal, hard to say what it is but if you tap the handle while holding the blade it gives a lot of vibration off, I imagine the taper on the tang is pretty extreme or possibly a stick tang, also, whatever style tang it has I doubt it runs to the bottom of the handle, from what I can tell its prob half of the handle.The rubber grip, while comfortable came slippery out of the box. I washed it with a little degreasing soap and it helped (prob grease from the factory).At the end of the day you’re getting 12” of 3V steel. If you receive one with a good grind and small deformities it’s worth a little time to get the edge that the fine grain steel would take. I’d still buy it again.The first star was removed because for the most part, I am happy with it however the pommel nut is not straight and this bothers me. For the cost, it should be straight so I will be returning it.- The second star was removed because I will be asking for a refund instead of a replacement because I don't feel the knife, even with a straight pommel nut, is worth the +$200 cost. Since GSM Outdoors bought out Cold Steel, the quality has gone downhill.Knife is ground evenly, kind of sharp, not realy cold steel sharp though. I can sharpen easily enough. The knife wont go all the way into the sheath. I will figure out what to do to fix or replace. I have many cold steel knives, machete, tomahawks, and a 2 handed gim. Dissatisfied with this sheath and will probably refrain from other cs purchases for quite some time.There are easier carry knives. You probably own several. Bushcraft knife is better for bushcraft. That's not why you buy this. If you like the design, you should love this knife. I'll probably replace handle material but the feel of this knife in my hand, the balance and speed are awesome. Durability should be great but I was still slicing paper after hacking on 2x4's. Should hold up well. Side note: if you get the black DLC and you want a Gorgeous satin finish instead of finish that looks like black paint wipe it with 70% alcohol and the black will wear down to a Beautiful finish that changes colors in the light. I bought another because I'm going to be hard on the 1st one and I want a pristine backup in my collection. Enjoy these while they last.I’ve wanted a cold steel tanto for quite a while, but I was never fond of the plain steel versions. When they released the nightfall series in cpm-3v with DLC coating I had to have one. This is a very impressive knife and at one of the best prices anywhere around. I also have a similar model from KABAR, the cold steel design has it beat hands down. The knife came extremely sharp, evenly ground the entire length of the blade and is balanced well considering. Some complain about the sheath, I’ve had no problems with mine as far as removing and reinserting it so over all I’m completely satisfied with this purchase.Have not used it yet but aesthetically it is pristine and perfect. Sharpness 9/10 out of the box. Only complaint is that the tanto blade on the nightfall magnum tanto, visibly, appears to be narrower than the Master tanto and the Recon tanto. Meaning, the width from the spine to the cutting edge is 2-3mm narrower on the Nightfall Magnum tanto.Es un cuchillo pequeño, simple y muy caro, pero vale cada maldito peso, el material es muy superior al de primera calidad del SAN MAI o al VG1, se ve en sus acabados y en su estructura que no es ni un juguete y que no se hizo a la ligera, es una verdadera pieza maestra con un gran balance, acabado y detalle, es un verdadero cuchillo asesino que facilmente podra resistir los estragos de ser usado como uno de supervivencia y si no, es una incrieble pieza de coleccionThis is one impressive knife. More like a short sword, yet light weight and fast. It comes very sharp and the sheath is spectacular. Holds the knife secure and sits on your belt just right in order to put it into action. Great reach when swinging this knife. Good grip with rubbery handle. This knife is just magnificent.I’ll NEVER buy a knife from Amazon again. The box which the knife came in was very scuffed. As soon I opened it (consisting of a top outer and bottom inner piece that slide together) I immediately noticed damage to the inner bottom piece. Upon taking the knife out of the sheath, I was shocked to see the number of scratches and pin-like dings on the finger guard. They go right through the black coating. Someone has either tampered with it , or it has been brutally neglected by Amazon to have such damage. Either way, this is unacceptable on their end.Cold steel is an awesome company which has far better quality control than to send a knife out looking like this. I highly recommend, NOT fromAmazon. Find a proper knife store, they will certainly care more about doing good business and not leaving you disrespected as a customer.However the blade came very dull and I would probably bet on this being very much inauthentic.Very well built, very sharp out of the box (finger felt itchy for a while after testing the blade)feels like a durable high quality product.However, the picture shows a CS13BN, and the product description says 13QBN.The actual product is 13QBN which has a black coating.