The word Spartan conjures up the bloody history of the battle of Thermopylae, a tale of hardcore courage in the face of devastating odds. The Spartans were a tough breed, trained from childhood in the art of war and inured to most privations, both mental and physical. Engaging them at close quarters was something to be avoided at all costs.

Designed by Mr Andrew Demko, the Cold Steel Spartan is a folding Kopis scaled down to accommodate the demands of a tamer, more civillised world, although if you were to wander around the streets of any UK city centre late at night it can often resemble the blood thirsty battle of Thermopylae, especially Bristol! The 4" blade evokes the classic Kopis of the ancients with its characteristic recurved edge, big belly and sharp, acute point. It's hollow ground from Japanese AUS 8A stainless and has some similarities with a Kukri. Like the Kukri, the Spartan lock knife always presents its edge at an angle to the material being cut to produce a deep sheering effect.

The Spartan also echoes the ancient Kopis in its handle. It's designed to help the hand resist the pull of centrifugal force and to retard forward momentum in backward movement, when hammering or smashing with its pommel. Injection molded out of Grivory with steel liners for strength, it's heavily contoured for comfort and features irregular fluting and a heavily textured surface finish for an exceptionally effective grip.

The Spartan has dual pocket clips to assure ambidextrous carry and for quick draw opening, it features a thumb plate that can be used to open the knife like a conventional "one handed opener" or be snagged on the edge of a pocket during the draw stroke and opened automatically. Additionally, the Spartan  incorporates our Tri-Ad locking mechanism, which has proven, under torture testing to be almost impervious to stress, strain and shock. It's almost impossible to overcome and offers a huge margin of safety not found in our competitor's folders.

    Imperial     Metric

Weight     7.5oz     0.21kg

Blade Thickness     0.16"     4mm

Blade Length     4½"     11.4cm

Handle     6"     15.2cm

Handle Details     Grivory w/ Steel Liners

Steel     Japanese AUS 8A

Overall     10½"     26.7cm

Clip     Stainless Pocket/Belt Clip