buying cold steel ti lite.

K

Kochi

Joined
Mar 14, 2006
Messages
6
i hear a lot of bad things about cold steel, but it seems to be all about marketing and target groups.

so, i don't know, are they're KNIVES good? this one, it looks nice, but is it flimsy? is zytel crap material?
 
I've had one for about a year now and recommend it. Mind you, I haven't been popping the tip through too many car hoods, but for an overall EDC, you could do a lot worse.
 
its a well made knife for the money, cuts well & carrys well.
 
I carried one for a year or so, mostly at work.

It was a first year production model.

Good knife, but I did need to reprofile it to increase its slicing ability. The grind is thick. But I found the point advantageous for the jobs I needed it for.
 
I love my Ti-lite. It is very high-quality and the quillion is nice. It is thicker both in the handle and the blade than I like but that only makes it stronger than it looks.
 
I love my Ti-lite. It is very high-quality and the quillion is nice. It is a little thicker, both in the blade and the handle, than I like, but it only makes it stronger than it looks.
 
I have one as well. I don't use mine that much, but the one I have has excellent fit and finish. Definitely one of the sharper ones coming out of the box:D The edges and jimping on the flippers are quite sharp and you need to develop some calluses:) Very solid piece of work. I bought mine a few months ago when I had one of those "don't know what to buy next" moments - I'm glad I got it:) That long thin blade works great on sandwiches and subs....

- gord
 
Don't pay any more than about $40 for a zytel handled tilite (4" blade). I have the 440A version and the new ones are made in AUS8. I love mine, but it did need a litle break-in time to be able to open it by the thumbstud. Lock up is very solid. I plan on putting some PB washers to replace the nylon ones it came with. My only main gripe is that dirt likes to collect in the handle holes, but it gives me an excuse to take it apart to clean it good.
 
just something to think about:
i have owned two of these ti-lites and i loved both of them, but the newer one had a diffrent blade profile that was much more pointed and is curved from the handle to the tip, the older one has a sort of straight edge that tappers of to a point. the newer one stabs and slices much better, but both performed very well.
if i remember correctly i managed to cut a empty water bottle in half with the newer one!
 
I have 2 5" voyagers, 2 4" voyagers, a ti-lite they all are razor sharp out to the box, actually so sharp they are dangerous be careful handling them.

All work fine, cut very well, durable, the ti-lite is an extremely nice design and well built.

For the money spent, one of the best knives you can buy.
 
AHHH the Ti-lite I have a love hate relationship with this knife. My first zytel version could not pass a spine wack to my palm. I do not make a habit of it but after accidently tapping the spine against a corner and it failed I did it again but making sure of my pressure and it failed. I did it against my palm and it failed. I lost alot of confidence in that knife. I bought the Ti version and love it it just felt sturdier. I also have the 6in blade and its a cool knife to carry just for its sheer size. For the stilleto cool factor I really like this knife but as an EDC I find its blade a bit thin. I like it for a self defense style carry for sure. the zytel ones can be had for not much money, go ahead and get one and if you like it buy a titanium one.
 
titanium is the only way to go on this one, but as the previous poster said, I also have a love hate thing for this knife, it is a great knife cuts great manuevers and balances excellent, if your thinking for combat applications, but the only thing is it doesn't always stay closed in your pocket and sometimes comes slightly open when pulling it out, you might get an occaisional prick on your finger or two, but it might be worse. There are better choices, benchmade ruckus or skirmish is very good, although I don't really like the shape of the benchmade skirmish,(I prefer straight knives like a dagger or bowie) knives that have that fly swatter feel, but it does cut like a frickin laser beam.
 
I have a 4" FRN ti-lite, a 6" FRN and a titanium version. All of the guys in my family EDC the 4" FRN ti-lites (except for me these days) they're good knives for the money. They basically have an unlicensed wave feature in that the guard can be used to deploy the blade just like a wave (but with more damage to your pocket)

My titanium handled version is a real lemon. The blade pivot is way too tight and resisted all of my efforts at tuning. I ended up taking the thing apart so I could stone some of the innards and try to get the tolerances right. No go. When I put the damn thing back together my gunsmithing torx bits were too hard for the cheap screws and completely stripped out one of the fasteners, so there's no way to take it apart again or return it. Total waste of money. I should have bought a Paramilitary instead.
 
I have a newer 4" Zytel one in AUS-8A. It push-cut newsprint and shaved hair readily out of the box, but the opening was very stiff. It loosened up after a couple hundred openings & after taking it apart to re-adjust the pivot. The jimping on the guards is overkill - you'll end up with a callous after flicking it open for extended periods of time. I've since filed the jimping on my guards off with a dremel and sandpaper.

I rarely carry it because I find it makes for a horrible utility knife (and the initial novelty wore off), but it's very slim (not thin, mind you, just very narrow) and unobtrusive in the pocket. Very pointy and should make for a great stabber:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:.

It's the only knife in my collection that I purposely abuse (hope Mr. Thompson doesn't see this - might void my warranty when it finally Gives up the Ghost :rolleyes:) to see if it'll break. Throwing it hard into heavy slabs of drywall, tossing it 25 ft. in the air so it lands on my carpet (opened), stabbing it into hard woods and aluminum...just stupid, nonsensical shit. Still locks up fine. The spine is heavily dented from overzealous spine-whack tests - no gross failures yet, either. Mine locks up a little more than halfway on the blade tang. Pretty stout knife, but what would you expect from The Greatest Knife Manufacturing (see also: Outsourcing) Company on Planet Earth? :rolleyes: ;)
 
I've carried a Ti-Lite VI off and on for the past 2 years. It is a substantial knife with an incredibly strong lock-up. The tip will likely snap if thrown repeatedly or used as a pry bar -- so use another knife for that sort of activity.

My only complaint was that the mechanism was so tight, out of the box, that I could only get the "wave" to work 75% of the time, and it shredded the corner of my front jeans pocket. After about a hundred openings, though, it loosened up nicely -- never even used oil or graphite on it. Can't snap it open like my Vaqueros, but the wave feature works every time now.

This knife is only for collectors and martial artists -- it is strictly "non-utilitarian" in form and function.
 
symphonyincminor said:
It's the only knife in my collection that I purposely abuse (hope Mr. Thompson doesn't see this - might void my warranty when it finally Gives up the Ghost :rolleyes:) to see if it'll break.
Click to expand...

I think the time it took you to write that post was probably longer than the life of your warranty on that knife.:D

In all seriousness, IMHO, Cold Steel's warranty on folders is very short-lived, to say the least!:rolleyes:

Regards,
3G
 
moonwilson said:
My titanium handled version is a real lemon. The blade pivot is way too tight and resisted all of my efforts at tuning. I ended up taking the thing apart so I could stone some of the innards and try to get the tolerances right. No go. When I put the damn thing back together my gunsmithing torx bits were too hard for the cheap screws and completely stripped out one of the fasteners, so there's no way to take it apart again or return it. Total waste of money. I should have bought a Paramilitary instead.
Click to expand...

Maybe they purposely have them built that way so they don't fold up as easily when they're making those incredibly impressive video/DVDs.:jerkit:

tyr_shadowblade said:
I've carried a Ti-Lite VI off and on for the past 2 years. It is a substantial knife with an incredibly strong lock-up. The tip will likely snap if thrown repeatedly or used as a pry bar -- so use another knife for that sort of activity.

My only complaint was that the mechanism was so tight, out of the box, that I could only get the "wave" to work 75% of the time, and it shredded the corner of my front jeans pocket. After about a hundred openings, though, it loosened up nicely -- never even used oil or graphite on it. Can't snap it open like my Vaqueros, but the wave feature works every time now.

This knife is only for collectors and martial artists -- it is strictly "non-utilitarian" in form and function.
Click to expand...

Maybe the reason that the "wave" (as you called it) feature didn't work is because it actually isn't a "wave" feature?! Ernest Emerson (EKI) holds the only patent/copyright on the "wave" feature, so I think it is rather disrespectful to attribute his name for his invention to anything made by another company, unless of course, they licensed it through him. On a CS, the device you are referring to is termed a "quillion". Only on an Emerson (or Emerson licensed product-like the Spyderco "waved" Delicas and Enduras) is it a "wave"!


Regards,
3G
 
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