Cold Steel – Competition Cutting Sword
In stock
$279.99
- Shipping estimated at checkout
- Every blade inspected before shipping
- 30-day returns
- Class
- Battle Ready
- Blade
- 1050 High Carbon Steel
- Overall Length
- 42 7/8"
- Weight
- 2 lb 14.5 oz
- Brand
- Cold Steel
- Era
- Medieval
Overview
Cold Steel - Competition Cutting Sword
The Cold Steel Competition Cutting sword takes its design and proportions from the Type XVIIIc swords which are well known to be excellent cutting swords with their wide-bladed design. The sharpened blade is forged from well-tempered 1050 high carbon steel and is optimized for slicing and cutting tatami mats, cardboard tubes, rope and other relatively soft targets used in cutting competitions. The crossguard and pommel are steel and the long grip of leather-wrapped wood gives its wielder plenty of leverage for fast and powered cutting strokes. Included with the sword is a black leather scabbard with a steel chape and locket.
Specifications
Every measurement that matters
- Brand
- Cold Steel
- Era
- Medieval
- Pommel
- Nut
- Overall Length
- 42 7/8"
- Blade Length
- 31 1/8"
- Blade
- 1050 High Carbon Steel
- Weight
- 2 lb 14.5 oz
- Edge
- Very Sharp
- P.O.B.
- 2 3/16"
- Thickness
- 4 mm - 2.6 mm
- Width
- 68 mm
- Grip Length
- 8"
- Class
- Battle Ready
- Country of Origin
- India
Reviews
What collectors are saying
Q&A
Questions from the community
Q What is this sword built for? Common Question
This is a competition cutting sword modeled on the wide-bladed Type XVIIIc arming swords, built for slicing tatami mats and other soft cutting-competition targets. The 1050 high carbon steel blade ships very sharp, and the long grip gives you the leverage to drive fast, powerful cutting strokes.
Q Is the blade sharp out of the box? Common Question
Yes, the edge is listed as Very Sharp, so it arrives ready to cut. This is meant for controlled cutting on prepared targets like tatami and cardboard, not for sparring or contact use.
Q How is the tang and pommel put together? Common Question
A threaded tang runs the full length of the grip and pommel, and a threaded nut secures the pommel down onto it, locking the whole hilt together into one solid unit. That kind of full-length, tightly fastened construction is built to stand up to the repeated impact of live cutting rather than just holding together for display.
Q What's the grip made of and how does it feel in hand? Common Question
The grip is wood core wrapped in leather, running 8 inches long, which is generous room for a two-handed or extended one-handed grip on cutting strokes. The photographs show visible binding ridges under the leather wrap for a secure hold during fast swings.
Q How is the weight distributed, and what does that mean for handling? Common Question
The point of balance sits about 2 3/16 inches out from the guard, keeping the blade's mass close to the hand despite the wide 68mm blade. Paired with a distal taper from 4mm at the base to 2.6mm near the tip, this keeps the sword lively and responsive through a cutting stroke rather than tip-heavy.
Q What does the scabbard look like and what's it made of? Common Question
The scabbard is black leather with a steel chape at the tip and a steel locket at the throat, both finished with a scalloped, decorative pattern visible in the photographs. It's built to protect the edge and blade in storage and transport between cutting sessions.
Q Can I store this sword in its scabbard long term? Common Question
For short-term storage between cutting sessions the scabbard is fine, but leaving the sword sheathed long term isn't a good idea. Leather can hold onto moisture against the blade, and trapped moisture against the 1050 carbon steel will accelerate corrosion, so for extended storage wipe the blade down, apply a light coat of oil, and keep the sword out of the scabbard in a dry place.
Q Where is this sword made? Common Question
It's made in India.
Video
See it in motion
Review and Test Cutting of Indian Tulwar by Cold Steel
Introducing - The Competition Cutting Sword
The Maker
Cold Steel
Cold Steel was founded in 1980; a stalwart of the knife community, Cold Steel also has a large selection of swords and daggers which are sourced from all over the world. Functional and competitively priced, Cold Steel products showcase a substantial variety of offerings and they cover martial arts weapons, historical swords, and robust tomahawks and practical machetes.
Often paired together
I got this sword to see if it was actually as good a cutter as Cold Steel claimed.
To be honest, it is a decent cutter, but otherwise it’d just a Sword-Like-Object that can be used to cut most soft targets such as pool noodles, water bottles, single Tatami mats and wet newspaper. Beyond that, it just LOOKS like a well made sword.
First, The specs listed above are quite true to the sword that I received. I am a bit surprised that Kult of Athena found ANY distal taper in the blade at all. On my sword and with my digital calipers, the thickness of the blade is pretty uniform at about 4mm along the length with a couple of spots where the thickness drops to about 3.7-3.8mm. It’s really only in the last inch and a half of the blade where it varies down to under 3mm. The blade has a center ridge (where I made my measurements) but it is definitely not hollow ground (no judgement… just saying) but on the “flat” of the blade there is also no distal taper found.
As to the edges, there is really no taper or thinning as the blade nears the edge. The edge is just a bevel, but sharp bevel to be sure.
The edge is sharp indeed and very even, make no mistake about it. With a very thin blade that is also quite flat, there is very little drag during a cut which lends to easier cutting. This blade’s geometry similar to some extremely fine cutters like XVIIIc blades offered by Albion and Arms & Armor which are true fighting swords, but the offering by Cold Steel really is just a specialty tool for cutting soft targets, and doesn’t feel much like a true, well designed weapon.
On the good side, this sword does lend itself to cutting soft targets, and it might make a fair-to-middling cutter like myself capable of making a few of my “almost went through” cuts into “all the way through” cuts. The competitors that I have seen who win cutting competitions however, are people who need absolutely no gimmicks to make solid multiple cuts with authentic examples of medieval fighting swords.
I admit that my review is a bit biased due to my affection for reproductions of sword that might have been used as weapons the way swords were meant to be used in battle rather than “Bearing Swords” or “Funeral Achievements” designed only for looks.
To sum it up I have to admit that this “nut-pommeled-looks-like-the-Arbedo-Sword” cutter really does cut well and on that note I would give it four stars, but because it’s more a tool than an example of what a medieval was like, I’d give two stars so I split the difference and gave it Three Stars.
It cuts great. It is well balanced, The grip is well made and allows for good indexing, which helps in the cutting. The blade is on the short side, and is hollow ground with a mirror polish. I got this with the factory edge, no extra sharpening. I am not really a fan of the pommel design. I would prefer either a wheel or scent stopper pommels. Overall the finish is solid. The scabbard is a bit rinky-dink, just okay. I will probably make my own. Due to the blade length, this could be easily wielded single handed. If you are wearing this to an event, you will be less likely to run the scabbard end into other people or object, LOL. I have a XVIIIc that is significantly more expensive that this sword, but this does just as good a job at slicing targets. Is it a reproduction of a extant artifact? Nope. But it is not marketed as such so I am quite happy with it.
Hello there, just posting to counterbalance another review. You know, there is another site that sells swords specifically catered to historic replicas and it even has ‘replica’ in the name. Maybe if someone is that concerned with it being a replica of a historic model, they should try that place out instead of making a good sword look like a not-so-good sword. I bet he already frequents that site and One Stars all the fantasy swords they offer…
However, I have no desire to drive business away from KOA; they do just fine with customer service and QC and have most of the items any of the other sites offer, and almost always at a better price, anyway. This is “Kult of Athena”; it’s about weapons and war. Others say this sword is a good cutter and that’s what the name of the sword implies and what it was designed for and for far cheaper than any similar model I’ve seen offered. No need to take points off for ‘historic accuracy’. It sure looks similar to a lot of replica models I’ve seen here and other places.