Review - Cold Steel Urban Pal

Cold Steel, as many of you know, is an excellent knife company. Along with making great folding knives and fixed blades, they make a variety of unique knives, knives from different countries, cultures and for uses other than utility work. They're one of the few mainstream knife companies that unapologetically advertise their knives for self defense, which is actually something that I respect.

No different is the defensive series of fixed-blade keychain knives that Cold Steel makes. This series consists of the Mini Pal, the Urban Pal and the Super Edge. Although they can be used for utility work, the main reason for having these knives is to have a small but effective defensive tool with you whenever you have your keys with you, which is pretty much any time that you leave the house.

The Cold Steel Urban Pal is a great EDC defensive fixed blade.

In an assault, especially sexual assaults targeted at women, an attacker would usually grab a hold of the victim. In such a situation, a sharp jab from one of these knives will probably surprise the attacker enough to let go of the victim. Depending on the situation, this may give the victim enough time to escape and make the attacker think twice about going after the victim again.

The small size of these knives makes them great for concealing and also good for those who want a defensive knife, but not one large enough to kill a person with. With the small size of these knives, unless a major artery is cut, they will only cause superficial damage which is enough to inflict major pain but not to kill.

While I may review the others in the future, today I wanted to specifically look at the Urban Pal.

As the name suggest, this knife can be considered a "pal" in a difficult social situation;,situations that are far too often present in urban settings.

The Secure-Ex sheath holds the Urban Pal, well, securely.

The weight of the Urban Pal is only 0.6 oz and with the sheath, only weighs 1 oz. It's overall length is 3.2", with a 1.4" blade. Designed to maximize control over the blade in a minimum overall size, this knife has a T-shaped handle. Known as a push dagger by many, this handle shape allows for the blade to be held securely in the hand. The blade to handle ratio in the Urban Pal is so good that the blade (1.4") is actually longer than the handle (1.1")!

Made out of AUS 8A stainless steel, the blade holds an edge well. To maximize the effectiveness of the blade and to effectively increase the cutting area, the blade is fully serrated. Only a small portion of the tip is left unserrated, for fine detail work should this knife be put to utility use.

A knife is only as good as it's sheath and the sheath on the Urban Pal is fitting to the quality of the blade. The sheath is made out of Secure-Ex Polymer and holds the blade securely. The sheath has 6 grommet holes, which allow the blade to be attached and carried in many ways, not only as a keychain knife. However, it also includes a split keyring, making the knife ready to be carried from the keys right when you get it.

If you're in the market for a defensive blade but either don't want to carry a full-sized folding knife, or just want more options in the blades that you carry, the Urban Pal may be the blade for you. It would also make a great gift for a female friend or family member and would really show that you care about their safety.

With small but effective knives like these on the market, there really is no reason to be without at least one knife on your person anytime you leave the home.


The Cold Steel Urban Pal can be seen in action here in Cold Steel's video.