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Brave New Cold Steel
- Thread starter Zulus
- Start date
AntDog
Basic Member
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- Apr 3, 2001
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Made in Catalina Island, CA... but not American made? What are you on about?
I think he means the new cold steel products will be made with Chinese steel, if not stamped out there and all but finished, having only the minimum required work done stateside to avoid the made in China association.
Or something like that.
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- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
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- 1,138
Maybe if enough of us speak out on their social media they will listen. A lot of companies are moving away from PRC and they should.
I currently have recent examples of both Luzon sizes and both are marked as such.
Watch out for the smaller version. The one I have was barely functional when I got it. It was almost impossible to open the knife using either the thumb stud or the flipper tab. Cheap knife, so I opened it up to see what was going on and if it could be fixed. The detent was way too aggressive and wouldn't disengage without considerable effort. The lock face on the tang was poorly ground and had a very bad burr, to the point where the lock was pretty much non-functional. It took a couple hours, but to make it work I had to use a fine stone to clean up the lock face, fix the detent, bend the lock bar out a bit, polish some of the moving parts and put a bit of moly grease on the pivot. Once everything was right the flipper tab works perfectly and lock up is solid. However, the thumb studs are still useless, and they are no more than stop pins. The geometry just doesn't seem to translate from the larger knife very well.
The larger version on the other hand was far, far better. The lock face was a bit rough but after a quick polish the knife is perfect, opening easily using the studs or the tab.
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- Jun 29, 1999
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- 10,053
That's disturbing to hear. No one who believes in freedom should be supporting any firm manufacturing in the PRC or acquiring materials or components there -- including electronics. Taiwan, OTOH, is an independent democracy which produces high quality goods (I'm writing on one and have another in my pocket).
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2009
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Well, this is good. We haven't had a hard core political thread to teach us how we should act, where we should shop, and how we should judge each other. Could have the makings here...
I think that it is impossible for anyone, no matter how many secret but highly reliable internet sources they access to know what parts and pieces of any machines or devices are made here in the US. In the case of knives, who knows where screws, bearings, adhesives, blade blanks, G10 or FRN scale materials, stamping does, CNC machinery, other tooling and machines for manufacture and on and on are made?
I know we are supposed to be suspicious and hating on Cold Steel now since Thompson didn't ask permission (not even here!) before he sold the company he started and created. But I am THANKFUL for any jobs that are here for American workers. Absolutely thankful, especially in this economy.
Robert
I think that it is impossible for anyone, no matter how many secret but highly reliable internet sources they access to know what parts and pieces of any machines or devices are made here in the US. In the case of knives, who knows where screws, bearings, adhesives, blade blanks, G10 or FRN scale materials, stamping does, CNC machinery, other tooling and machines for manufacture and on and on are made?
I know we are supposed to be suspicious and hating on Cold Steel now since Thompson didn't ask permission (not even here!) before he sold the company he started and created. But I am THANKFUL for any jobs that are here for American workers. Absolutely thankful, especially in this economy.
Robert
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2019
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- 306
Also all the little t6 screws that hold your Benchmade together are from China by Benchmade’s
Own admission so.....
Own admission so.....
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2019
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- 306
I have higher hopes for cold steel than most I guess.....
I’m hoping this change in ownership will Produce some knives that don’t tear my pants off trying to remove it from my pocket (considering i could even get it in there in the first place) and Maybe some designs that appeal more to edc than ”tacticool” douche bags that think they’re some kind of cross between chuck norris and Bruce lee because they have an xl voyager (amazingly) in their pocket. (End rant)
I’m hoping this change in ownership will Produce some knives that don’t tear my pants off trying to remove it from my pocket (considering i could even get it in there in the first place) and Maybe some designs that appeal more to edc than ”tacticool” douche bags that think they’re some kind of cross between chuck norris and Bruce lee because they have an xl voyager (amazingly) in their pocket. (End rant)
For that matter, how do you know if a knife that is marked Made in Taiwan was actually made there? A while ago I bought a knife that was supposed to be made in Taiwan. The knife came directly from the "maker" in Taiwan according to the shipping labels. However, the knife packaging clearly indicated China as the origin of the knife despite claims otherwise. So, how do you know that some of these "Taiwan" knives are not being outsourced to PRC to cut cost, just as companies in the US and around the world are doing?
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2011
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- 3,236
It's easy to take off the clip, and do a little light sanding so it slides in, and out of your pocket.
Cold Steel was the only company offering sturdy "tacticool" knives that actually functioned as advertised.
Some of us "douche bags" like to collect, and not necessarily carry these unusually large, awesome knives.
If you want a good "EDC" knife there are plenty of other companies that make great little knives.
Why would you want Cold Steel to turn into CRKT? We already have CRKT.
Shizuka noh Ken, AUS8 Holdout 1
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- Jan 12, 2009
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A Arathol , If I could "like" this post 3 times, I would. Too true.
I started using tools professionally as a construction worker almost 50 years ago. There were big name tool Makers then, names that meant 100% American built and all parts sourced here.
Over the past few decades I watched at first in disbelief, then in anger as it became known the makers were outsourcing parts. Some Union jobs went so far as to ban those tools on Union job sites. Then more and more "outsourced" part crept in the assembly lines, and more and more "Amercican made" tools meant screwing together partially assembled component groups that came from all over the globe. Yet, tool makers avoided pissing people like me off by putting an American flag on the tool box and "Made in America" on it. It was in fact made in America, just from foreign parts and pieces and assemblies. We contractors thought we were supporting our blue collar brothers by paying more for the label, only to find it was an advertising angle.
Pretty soon they just move the whole manufacturing of their tools overseas. Made in China now means, made in China. Replacing and repairing tools these days I know that I am getting tools assembled in one place made from parts made somewhere else than the COO sticker (unless, but not always China) and simply badged.
It was a pretty bitter pill for a long time, but in the hand tool and electric power tool game that has been going on so long I'm over it. I tried to look at the overall quality of the product and call it a day. I wore myself out and found no success at finding a 100% American made tool line of reliable rools.
Robert
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