cold steel all sizzle and no steak?

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bladelover30

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as some one whos new two this forum i have to say one thing ive noticed more than anything else is the amount of anti cold steel feeling here. so im posting a thread to get everyones opinions once and for all.

as for my own opinion i will say this. cold steel is a company with ott advertising and some knives that dont live up tot eh hype. having said that they have made some very good knives. ive heard good things said about the recon scout for example and i do own a couple of cold steel knives myself. so thats it any one got an opinon good or bad lets hear it.
 
I own (or have owned) the Kobun, Recon1 (clip point and tanto), American Lawman, Mini Lawman, Mini Tuff and Ti-Lite (4") and the new Voyager clip point (medium). All that I bought (as opposed to traded for) were extremely sharp out of the box (except maybe the Mini Tuff). All but the Voyager and Mini Tuff that I bought were very hard to close at first, until the Tri-Ad lock loosened up.

My opinion: AUS8 steel is fine, and the Cold Steel heat treatment is very good. The Tri-Ad lock is extremely strong. But none of the folders are elegant in the way a Benchmade or Spyderco folder is. They are big and beefy, and the larger ones can be somewhat heavy, with outsized handles. The scales can be impossible unless sanded down (I'm looking at you Recon1). But if you want a big, tough knife, you can get one for $40-80 -- at a size and strength you would have to pay double for from a more elegant maker.

And yes, the advertising is completely over the top, and the product offerings borderline insane (blowguns? bats not intended for baseball? sjamboks?).
 
The premise of this thread is needlessly inflammatory. You will never "get everyone's opinions once and for all" on the topic.
 
Uh-oh.

canofwormsm.jpg
 
Anything Cold Steel makes in 1055, SK-5, or 4116 will do exactly what its design lends it to, and do it well. A lot of those are very high in performance/price ratio. Many of their AUS-8 blades are quite good values, but some of them just aren't worth the price.

If I had a large knife company with so many tough designs, I might be tempted put out video tests similar to Cold Steel's, but probably with fewer meat filled leather tubes. And if we cut a rack of ribs or a brisket, the video would show us grilling it up and eating it afterwards :D
 
CS makes good user knives for the ave Joe's price range. :)

The perform as designed and do the job well.
 
If you do a little searching you will find fairly lengthy threads discussing the topic in depth. Or beating it to death, if you prefer. :D

Most of the "anti" comments are about the owner and/or CS's marketing approach.
They have been using the same marketing approach for years and one must assume it works, since they are still around and going strong. They certainly produce a nice catalog.

I'm fairly neutral on the subject. They have numerous decent knives at reasonable prices.
Their higher end ''custom" knives, while freqeunlty attractive, seem a bit over-priced to me.
I have several CS knives and I like them, but I also bought almost everyone one on sale or closeout price. For example, the Black Rhino seemed at bit pricey at its normal price, but when they closed it out for $65 it was a bargain.
 
I agree with Phil. I've owned an original year issue MH and probably the finest hunting/bush knife I've ever used. I've used tons of others but none come close to the Master Hunter, but that is me. I don't think there is a finer made, or better for the price point heavy bush knife than the Trail Master in SK5. They are just good ass, inexpensive considering what you get deep woods bush knives. I think there Hold Out series of folders are excellent too. There advertising leaves a bit to be desired but I don't use advertising I use there knives! keepem sharp
 
In Cold Steel's bread and butter area, the 30-70 dollar range, they are unbeatable. Their high-end products can be hit or miss in value, but if you use just the mildest common sense when choosing their products, they are still top performers for the money. Homeruns in my book for them are the 2010 Recon 1, the 2011 Voyager series, the Recon Scout, the Trailmaster, and their machetes/hawks. At price point none of those products can be outdone.

That is, except for the Recon Scout and Trailmaster, which are still very good buys in a huge market with stiff competition. Still.. about 100 bucks for SK5 version is a good bit cheaper than most of the others out there and quite handy.

The thing about CS that turns off many knife nuts (other than the vids) are that they are comparing, say the Recon 1 to the BM 710.. ~60 bucks vs around ~140 bucks, we are talking totally different niches here. I bet CS sells 10x the number of Recon 1's than BM sells 710's

Most sporty people are looking to drop between 40-60 dollars on a folder, so CS's main competitors are SOG, gerber, Buck, and CRKT, and between those, CS's overall quality and pricing makes it king of that niche.
 
I actually find their advertising quite entertaining... it's not Oscar worthy fare, but there is a time and place for everything. Strongly opinionated people always have a polarizing effect, but in the knife industry you have to stand out somehow.

I own only their affordable stuff: the shovel, machetes, thrower, tomahawk. I have been satisfied with the quality of each and the entry they have given me to this hobby.
 
I like their knives, and have several CS folders and fixed blades. Most are very robust and not too spendy. The advertising is hokey, but doesn't detract from anything. For giggles, I think I'd like to see Mr. Sal cut through a hanging pot roast with an Endura sometime. Thats a challenge, Mr. Sal! :)

Bottom line for me is that they make some seriously robust folders that are reasonably priced. Thats good enough for me.
 
bladelover30 said:
as some one whos new two this forum i have to say one thing ive noticed more than anything else is the amount of anti cold steel feeling here. so im posting a thread to get everyones opinions once and for all.

as for my own opinion i will say this. cold steel is a company with ott advertising and some knives that dont live up tot eh hype. having said that they have made some very good knives. ive heard good things said about the recon scout for example and i do own a couple of cold steel knives myself. so thats it any one got an opinon good or bad lets hear it.
Click to expand...

As an admittedly 'some one whos new two this forum' you might want to try using the Search Feature next time you start a thread that's been done to death over the last 7 years ( since I've been here). I'm sure it was brought up before then as well.

In all actuality the Cold Steel sentiment has improved over the last couple of years, especially since the introduction of their vaunted Triad lock.

To end my little sermon I will say that , no matter what the naysayers say , love 'em or hate 'em - Cold Steel was-is-and will continue to be a major player in the cutlery world with or without anyone's approval. ( and I think that's what sticks in the naysayers craw the most )

Tostig
 
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You know, I thought I saw a couple of buzzards circling earlier this morning. Now I know why. A dead horse is being beaten again. :rolleyes:

~Chris
 
Tostig said:
As an admittedly 'some one whos new two this forum' you might want to try using the Search Feature next time you start a thread that's been done to death over the last 7 years ( since I've been here). I'm sure it was brought up before then as well.

In all actuality the Cold Steel sentiment has improved over the last couple of years, especially since the introduction of their vaunted Triad lock.

To end my little sermon I will say that , no matter what the naysayers say , love 'em or hate 'em - Cold Steel was-is-and will continue to be a major player in the cutlery world with or without anyone's approval. ( and I think that's what sticks in the naysayers craw the most )

Tostig
Click to expand...

I think it's funny how there are so many complaints about "beating a dead horse", or "re-opening a can of worms" on these types of threads. Forums are a place for communication and discussion... In any public arena, whether in or out of the net, issues get brought to surface repeatedly, it's how we are!

While discussing things at work or with friends (that may be highly opinionated or inflammatory) do we limit ourselves to discussing it once in our lives? While at the water cooler do we tell our friends and colleagues to Google the debate because we've already "beat that dead horse"? I'm sure that happens, but I'd wager a majority of people are willing to re-hash old questions and dilemmas, it's very common and acceptable (IMHO)... perhaps human nature? It can sometimes bring out new viewpoints/ideas, it can serve to clarify points and issues, or it can turn into an utter pile of crap. That's the beauty of discussion with different people. If you don't want to get involved in the new can of worms, I would perhaps suggest to not jump into the open can yourself.

Just my .02 cents. :D
 
I'm so glad that bladelover showed up to finally resolve this issue people have been arguing over for years...

But, I'll bite. Cold Steel makes knives that are outperformed and outclassed by other brands in every price range. That's not to say they make horrible knives, just that their knives should be much cheaper for what you get. Think about it. They pay for their advertising; how do you think they finance it? Their costs are factored into your purchase price, so you end up getting basic steel, Taiwanese COO, rough fit and finish, and substandard customer service for a price that could buy you a finer US-made knife with S30V steel and no questions asked repair. Advertising works for some companies to increase the resale value of their product, but Cold Steel's ridiculous campaigns do nothing for the customer. If their knives were maybe half the current street price, I'd buy them. But I'm not going to pay for dumb ads when I could be getting much more for my money.
 
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