Cold Steel Espada XL Folding Knife

Recently bought the espada xl to add to my humble collection after many years on the fence trying to justify it to myself due to cost, a recent monetary windfall mixed with a brief moment of why not, sealed the deal, if you are looking at this knife I imagine you will of seen enough youtube reviews of it to know what you're getting into, as I am not a martial artist or a self defencer-ist this is mainly to be sat in the collection to be smirked at in awe of its total cold steelness. Excellent fast shipping as always, though a tad disappointed when it arrived at the fact that the box had obviously been opened and closed several times previously and the red warning label usually wrapped around new cold steel knives was just loose next to the knife not wrapped around the closed knife in the bubble wrap, which I'd hope means heinnie's are checking the knives for possible defects before sending them out, but the condition of the opened box flap leaves me feeling like it was either an ex-display item or a previous customer return which isnt ideal when your paying a not exactly trivial sum for the knife, that all being said as I'm not one for faffing about with complaints or returns and the knife seemed in excellent order so I accepted it as is, you "potential buyer" on the other hand may want to assure that your getting something brand new in box so you're not left wondering. All in all though a great knife..

I already owned an Espada L and was impressed by the size and quality. It took me a long while to decide to buy the XL version of this knife, the main reason being the (in my opinion) hefty price tag. Having said that, once I bit the bullet and the knife arrived I have not regretted my purchase once. The knife is of solid and excellent quality as you would expect from CS, comes in the typical ‘no nonsense’ simple packaging and is delivered razor sharp. Despite its ridiculously large size, it is surprisingly easy and comfortable to carry in your pockets providing they’re deep enough. The signature Andrew Demko thumb stud does it’s work most of the times and deploys the blade extended and locked when drawn from pocket. On some occasions it opens it most of the way, a simple flick then secures it in place. Due to its monstrous size I would seriously warn anyone presenting/deploying this knife to anyone to do so only to fellow knife enthusiasts or imminent threats, as anyone else would most likely call the armed police on you (I’m based in UK) In summary: product is amazing, but expensive

People, you simply need this. Forget about the price tag and just buy one. I already had the Espada Large and was in two minds about splashing out on the XL….. I’m glad I did. The knife is superbly well made like all CS products, it is ridiculously large and makes anything in my collection seem tiny. Be mindful in front of who you pull this beast out as it is guaranteed to make an impression.

Well what can I say. Or can't I say about this monstrosity. I've only ever purchased 1 coldsteel in my life. A Luzon XL. And I've seen this quite a lot..I seriously thought , for that size folder it's surely a bit gimmicky maybe. I have to say that the tri-ad lock is the toughest lock I've felt on any blade/ or what it may be classed as. And the warning cover saying how sharp it is. I've expensive benchmades that don't cut half as good as the esoada XL. You may be hesitant at first to buy it. Once you have it in your hands. It's just a big WOW everything. Mu favourite blade shape too. This is worth every 21000 penny's. Maybe as heavy too. Its a great knife. Highly reccoment.

Incredible knife, stunning to look at and incredible sharpness. Just buy it you won't regret it.

More or less the same reaction as the last reviewer Mike took one look at this knife and just thought ridiculous but in reality fantastically well made very sharp and importantly no issues with the locking system at all works perfectly and once again great service from heinnie

when i had stopped laughing when i unboxed it, i took a good look at it--this thing is insane, it is HUGE, the quality is fantastic, locks and closes easily and is razor sharp, i mean this cuts phone book paper straight out of the box, couldn't be more pleased with the product and the helpful, friendly service from richard-five stars, definitely.........

You will see my review below giving this knife one star rating and the reasons for it so I wont go through all that again or people will become bored. But basically once opened the knife was very difficult to close and one that I bought from another company wouldnt shut at all and I had to send it back open! Well with this one the box had long been recycled but I phoned Richard the Sales director who knows me as I have been buying knives and equipment from Hennies for more years than I care to remember. He could not have been more helpful, he picked one off of the shelf and sent a video of him opening and closing it to my phone and told me that I could have that one to replace it. I received it today and as soon as I tried opening and closing it, it was obvious that it was totally different to the original one, no problem at all in closing it. The knife itself if very impressive, they are certainly substantial and razor sharp, the knife feels huge in the hand I reckon that you could chop a tree down with it. I would recommend it to anyone, but just make sure it is tested before you get it for closing as there is clearly a fault in the locking design that surfaces on the odd one. THIS IS WHY IT IS WORTH STICKING WITH HENNIES AND GETTING ALL YOUR GEAR FROM THEM, THEIR SERVICE IS SECOND TO NONE, AND THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT RICHARD HIMSELF HAS A LOT TO DO WITH THAT, THEY CAN BE TRUSTED AND THAT IS WORTH A LOT, THANKS VERY MUCH TO RICHARD HE IS A GREAT ASSET TO THAT COMPANY.

There is a huge design flaw on this knife and that is the locking mechanism. The much lauded 'Trilock' system which cold steel boast will hold 600lb or an engine block suspended from it without the lock giving way is useless because once you have it open which is easy, you will need incredible strength to depress the trilock lever on the top of the knife to be able to close it. I am a large male, fit ex forces and I really struggle to close the blade. I originally bought the one with the expensive scales on it from another company as hennies didn't stock it, and that one once opened I couldn't shut at all, despite putting it in a vice and using an iron bar on the lock. In the end I had to send it back still open. I assumed that it must be a faulty one and noticed that hennies had the one with the cheaper scales on it so I bought that. Well I have managed to shut it but only by using protective gloves and maximum effort, I won't be opening it again it's just not worth the trouble, and it is very dangerous, the blade is razor sharp which is good, but to shut it you have to put your fingers/hand in harms way and it is a frightening prospect as it would produce a deep cut if you got them in the way. So I would say don't buy one, I certainly wouldn't have bought one if I had known the problem. But now that I have bought it I can't send it back. So BE WARNED!