A2 Steel Update

Chris_Texas said:
It's hard to convince people to pay high end money for products from a company that also (or even largely) makes low end stuff. There is a reason Rolex doesn't also make digital watches-- they would devalue their name. In the same way it is tough to get people to spent a couple hundred bucks on a knife company that they see prominently featured in Walmart blister packs. You can't really show off that product to your friends..

You can chase the bottom dollar into the sewer, but you are gonna end up covered in feces.
Click to expand...

I think that's true for a luxury brand but it's easily disproven by looking at Spyderco or Benchmade, for example. Spyderco sells some knives in Walmart. They also sell knives for hundreds of dollars. Benchmade has Griptilians and also has the Gold class.
 
AF said:
I think that's true for a luxury brand but it's easily disproven by looking at Spyderco or Benchmade, for example. Spyderco sells some knives in Walmart. They also sell knives for hundreds of dollars. Benchmade has Griptilians and also has the Gold class.
Click to expand...

Buck as well. I got my first 110 there, and it's as solid as the Custom 110 I ordered.
 
OPINION: Cold Steel has decided to trade their good name and reputation for quick cash... OR... Cold Steel was purchased by another company and this is the "exciting" new direction. Either way, future customers will get royally screwed believing that the Cold Steel name ensures that they will be getting an exceptional knife at a fantastic price. Now they will be getting the opposite, a poor quality knife at an outrageous price.

This isn't new. The entire 2020 lineup reflects this new direction, and several people have commented on it. Lots of low grade crap and Chinese garbage steel. Even the Lynn Thompson signature series Ti-Lite is made of junk 440C. Seriously? 440C? For reference, last year's Thompson Vaquero was in CTS XHP.

Anyway, I spent decades as a hard core Cold Steel and Lynn Thompson fan. Not today. This is an insult.
 
Last edited:
Chris_Texas said:
OPINION: Cold Steel has decided to trade their good name and reputation for quick cash... OR... Cold Steel was purchased by another company and this is the "exciting" new direction. Either way, future customers will get royally screwed believing that the Cold Steel name ensures that they will be getting an exceptional knife at a fantastic price. Now they will be getting the opposite, a poor quality knife at an outrageous price.

This isn't new. The entire 2020 lineup reflects this new direction, and several people have commented on it. Lots of low grade crap and Chinese garbage steel. Even the Lynn Thompson signature series Ti-Lite is made of junk 440C. Seriously? 440C? For reference, last year's Thompson Vaquero was in CTS XHP.

Anyway, I spent decades as a hard core Cold Steel and Lynn Thompson fan. Not today. This is an insult and a fraud.
Click to expand...
:) IMO , there has always been a tension between LT the martialist / warrior / weapons designer vs the more practical capitalist businessman .

I have a tremendous respect for the former but also understand that the later pays the bills . :confused:
 
I feel like LT is the one disconnected from the market though. In fact CS could used some corporate governance, since they whole company seems to predominantly only focus on making what LT aka “Bossman” wants.
Bossman likes coated blade, so make everything coated only. Bossman likes XL blade, so only make XL knives. Whatever bossman wants beats any market research.
 
"4034SS
A Japanese made medium grade stainless steel that
admirably resists corrosion due to its higher Chromium content.
It is also relatively easy to sharpen and features a moderate
degree of wear resistance.
Often it is used for kitchen cutlery or for smaller knives that
are of a generally good quality..."

This is from CS current catalog .

Note "kitchen cutlery or for smaller knives "
 
If CS wanted to save money, the easiest way would've been to whittle down the list of products. I've been a CS fan for a long time and always enjoyed looking through the catalog at the more "interesting" or eccentric products. But, CS has gone over the ledge IMO with having a bizarre number of swords and impact weapons, some so much like others that it didn't make since. A polypropylene cricket bat?

The CS of the 90s made sense to me. They had a wide array of products to suit most every whim, but not enough to equip the cast of Mel Brooks' History of the World. And they brought out occasional "out there" products in their Special Projects line. It was an obviously successful business vehicle, but maybe it was driven off a cliff at some point.
 
Well, it's been a week since this update was posted. No further interaction or response from Cold Steel. Obviously they neither want to discuss nor explain themselves to the die hard Cold Steel fans.

I still enjoy my Cold Steel knives and am not planning on completely boycotting them or anything. I will not get a new Recon Scout, but I will get an older model off of the secondary market.

I will probably be extra careful before picking up any new production knives going forward, though. And I will probably lose a bit of pride in the brand when the 4034 models hit the market. But, this decision to go with 4034 won't make the knives that I already own any less enjoyable or effective.

Hopefully, the 4034 models will be clearly marked as such so that they can be differentiated from the higher quality versions of the same knives. Hopefully again, this isn't going to be a trend with them. However, I already have a ton of quality Cold Steel knives. If I have to stop collecting them it will be disappointing, but will free a fair amount of money up for other stuff.
 
^ oh,yeah i fully respect everything i have.Hey if they come out with a shark lock in s35 id be all over it. I have no problem with possible future products,only this move is just such a bad one. im still reeling over it.
 
Yesterday I was disappointed, today I am angry for the destruction of a great company's reputation, and for all the future customers who will be fooled by the reputation Cold Steel once had.

They are selling literal flea market steel knives and telling people that the steel is (and I quote) "Very high quality...proven to be extremely tough and strong." Forgive me for being blunt, but that statement is complete crap.

This isn't a step back in quality from the promised A2 -- that would be O1. A2 isn't even considered some kind of premium or high end steel, it's just good steel. Blade HQ ranks it as mid-range. The 4034 Stainless they are switching to is off the bottom of any chart, it doesn't even make the grade as a budget steel. Good "Budget" steel would be Aus8 or well done 440C. To quote Knifeuser.com (link at the bottom): "In my opinion, the 4034 steel is low low-end steel for knives. I may consider it one of the worst steels for your knife..."

And this is the stuff Cold Steel is calling "very high quality"?

But perhaps I am misjudging them. Perhaps they intend to sell these Harbor Freight grade knives for Harbor Freight prices. A 4034 Trailmaster with a leather sheath for $50 MSRP seems about right. It won't be the Trailmaster of old, but at least the will be giving people what they pay for. Here are a couple Bowies at this basic quality level to give you an idea what these new and improved Cold Steel's should cost:

https://www.bladehq.com/item--Uncle-Henry-Hunting-Fixed-Blade--87007 Faux-stag handle, leather sheath, 3Cr13MoV steel, $24
https://www.bladehq.com/item--Boker-Magnum-Giant-Bowie-Fixed--13741 Nice stacked-leather handle, leather sheath, 440 steel (so perhaps better steel than 4034), and all for $47

So what does this mean? Cold Steel and Lynn Thompson built their reputation selling knives that you could trust with your life. They wouldn't let you down, that was the promise. I will leave it to others to decide whether or not that promise still holds.

Read more about 4034 Stainless here:
https://knifeuser.com/4034-knife-steel-review/
 
strideruser said:
Dint know if anyone else mentioned but why not use 3v these knives. A 3v trailmaster would be a great choice! Who wants potmetal hard use knives? :(
Click to expand...

Yes, a 3V Trailmaster would be great (but expensive). Cold Steel knows this.

They have decided that instead of making good blades they are going to make REALLY CHEAP blades and just tell people they are: "Very high quality...proven to be extremely tough and strong."
 
I wonder if they will do one of those 'head to head' strength test videos... pitting the Trailmaster against the Mtech 151? They certainly won't be able to do their normal Proof videos with 4034... unless they decide to just fudge the results. I hope that it hasn't gotten to that point with them.

I guess that this thread has run its course...for me at least. Obviously, Cold Steel has nothing more to say on the matter or they would have returned to the thread by now. Probably just waiting for people to wear themselves out complaining about it.
 
Last edited:
Josephldoyle said:
I wonder if they will do one of those 'head to head' strength test videos... pitting the Trailmaster against the Mtech 151? They certainly won't be able to do their normal Proof videos with 4034... unless they decide to just fudge the results. I hope that it hasn't gotten to that point with them.

I guess that this thread has run its course...for me at least. Obviously, Cold Steel has nothing more to say on the matter or they would have returned to the thread by now. Probably just waiting for people to wear themselves out complaining about it.
Click to expand...

You can make any steel look "OK" in a 30 second promotional video.

They will probably just cut some meat, stab a boot and call it a day.

Ignorant buyers won't know any better.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top