Cold Steel Finn Bear Review: Light, Sharp And Up To Snuff

A very simple and practical design, Cold Steel’s Laplander-inspired knife cuts through chores.

It’s nice to see a lightweight knife that can fill a multiple range of uses. While attending Norway’s ski school, I was introduced to the Laplander style of knife.

Very light and super sharp, it is used for most every cutting chore. The Cold Steel Finn Bear reminds me of such knives. And don’t let the thin blade fool you, it’s a sturdy cutting instrument.

Cold Steel Finn Bear Specs

Blade length: 4”
Blade steel: 4116 stainless sub-zeroed
Rockwell hardness: 56-57 HRC
Blade grind: Hollow
Blade @thickest: .098”
Handle material: Textured polypropylene modified diamond
Weight: 2.8 ozs.
Overall length: 8.5”
Sheath: Polymer; pouch type w/clip
Country Of Origin: Taiwan
MSRP: $20.99

Finn Bear Sharpness Test

Slicing 20-pound bond paper checked the new edge for sharpness. It sliced quickly and smoothly. I had to move my fingers quickly so I didn’t nick myself. It was a great factory edge to start off with.

Finn Bear Light-Duty Cutting

Double-walled cardboard was next on the docket. Again, the Finn Bear was very smooth in its slices. It worked faster with a push cut rather than a pull cut. The knife made full-blade-length slices. The edge was very aggressive. The tear-drop handle shape designed by Tapio Wirkkala provided great control.

I fetched a piece of scrap 8-ounce leather to slice next. The material offered no resistance to the super-sharp blade. I could hear the edge biting into the leather. It was hard to control the depth of cutting as the blade zipped straight to the bottom of the medium.

Using the other side of the leather strip, I did some skiving. The blade was very aggressive and cut as fast as I could move my fingers out of the way. It rendered smooth slices in the animal skin with hardly any pressure. I could hear the leather crunching sound with each pass. The tear-drop handle was very controllable.

Finn Bear Heavy-Duty Cutting

It was time to whittle a firestick from pine/fir wood. The Finn Bear produced the best curlicues I’ve seen in a long time—smooth wood cuts with multiple curls on each whittle. Performance at the task was excellent.

Next up: baton the knife into a 2×3. The thin blade split the wood in no time with no edge damage. Gripping the handle tighter to control the knife made the bottom of the tear drop seem too pointy for the shape of my hand—not uncomfortable, just harder to grip.

It was on to the half-inch sisal rope. The Finn Bear quickly crunched to 200 cuts and was ready for more. I had to change my grip to more of a sidewinder style. I couldn’t place my thumb on the spine because of the blade’s thinness. No matter how I held the knife, it cut the rope. The knife is very sharp indeed.

Finn Bear Edge Retention Test

For the final test, it was back to the 20-pound bond paper. The Finn Bear sliced the medium just as quickly as the first time. I did have two tears in the paper but that was due to it being soggy. It rained the whole time I was testing.

Final Cut

I would make the bottom of the handle a tad wider for a better grip. The Finn Bear is a “should have” knife. It’s lightweight and cuts like the wind. It’s perfect for everything from camp chores up to chopping.

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