cold steel all sizzle and no steak?

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What he said.
Gadfly22 said:
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?).
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I have only owned one cold steel product. I got a kukri machete and it came dull as a butter knife with a smashed tip. Not really going to judge the entire line by a 16.00 knife but a but more attention to detail would have been nice. Will put it on the belt sander when I have some time and see what I can do with the edge.
 
Tsujigiri said:
That's pretty demonstrably untrue, too. How about the Spyderco Resilience? As a bonus, you get a better handle material plus SS liners. Or for less you could get an Ontario RAT-1 or Byrd Cara Cara 2. For someone who seems to be claiming not to drink the "fanboi" Kool-aid, you sure seem proud of being CS's self-appointed white knight. The OP seemed to be asking for reasons; you fanboys might be a little more convincing if you provided some instead of getting mad and claiming that anything with the Tri-Ad lock can do no wrong.
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Thank you for tying your own noose. I own all of the knives you name. They don't hold a candle to the new Voyager and I am a big fan of the Tenacious, Resilience and Rat 1. I also own knives like the Kershaw NRG and Skyline, all great (truly great) low-budget folders. The Voyager blows them away, the lack of G10 notwithstanding.
I am a fanboi of no brand, check my posts on any knife I own. But you really should get that pathological Pavlov-like Cold Steel aversion looked at by a professional. :rolleyes:
 
Throwing my hat in. Don't shoot!

I've bought CS knives for years. Mostly folders. They've all been as advertised & made me happy. The price was fair, if not exactly special for the product. They were always sturdy & at least slightly overbuilt. They made a few designs I liked that no one else made so they owned the market. I sent 2 Recon 1 folders with soldiers, one to Iraq, one with my brother to Afghanistan. Both did great.

I'm very pleased with the 2010-2011 folders, especially the Voyager lineup, of which I have three so far. They're just hard to beat for $40 to $50. Demko's designs & input have given CS a second wind & slowly won over many of the company's critics on this forum in the last year or two. If they ever see fit to throw in a higher end steel option they'll silence most of their critics. And if they get back to more of the old satin finishes I'll stop whining too.
 
Just started buying Cold Steel a year or two ago when people started talking positively of them and due to listening to all the anti's I missed out on some great knifes such as the scimitar, the Ultra Lock Recons when they were cheap and readily available. Guess it pays to find for yourself. As for the knife's currently with the Demko lock and their heat treat I don't think you can find a better hard use folder for the money or even twice the price than the AK's , Recons, or Lawman. Sure they aren't in the flavor of the week for I steels but they are well heat treated in a steel Cold Steel probably does better than anyone else, and easy to maintain to boot. Well thought out ergonomics, probably the best lock on the market, and tough as nails and all the knives I mentioned can be had for less than $70. So you are getting a whole lotta sizzle for you hard earned dollar.
 
citizensoldierNY said:
Just started buying Cold Steel a year or two ago when people started talking positively of them and due to listening to all the anti's I missed out on some great knifes such as the scimitar, the Ultra Lock Recons when they were cheap and readily available. Guess it pays to find for yourself. As for the knife's currently with the Demko lock and their heat treat I don't think you can find a better hard use folder for the money or even twice the price than the AK's , Recons, or Lawman. Sure they aren't in the flavor of the week for I steels but they are well heat treated in a steel Cold Steel probably does better than anyone else, and easy to maintain to boot. Well thought out ergonomics, probably the best lock on the market, and tough as nails and all the knives I mentioned can be had for less than $70. So you are getting a whole lotta sizzle for you hard earned dollar.
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Yeah if you listen to the parrots and trolls you will miss out on a lot of nice knives.

If you like something just buy one and see for yourself. :)
 
Ankerson said:
If you like something just buy one and see for yourself. :)
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Isn't this the best advice in this whole thread?

I would only add that, if you don't have the cash to experiment with buying knives you might NOT like, if you see a knife you might like, read and watch reviews about it. Not reviews about the company, or the owner of the company, or the ads, or the hype. Learn about that particular knife. Positive or negative, if you see and read enough reviews (and don't stop at just one), you'll get a good idea about the consensus of opinion about the steel, the lock, the handle material, the best uses, the overall quality and the bang for the buck. Then decide.
 
Do I like/covet/want to save up for a CS knife, no. But I can say the same for Spyderco, CRKT and several other brands. Do I "bash" these companies and their fans, no. The few knife companies that I buy from are disliked by some people but I've been around here long enough that I don't really care. Do I buy knives based on personalities of the owners of said companies, no. Are there personalities that I don't care for, sure but who cares. CS gets a lot of non-knife people interested in knives, a good thing. A lot of those people move on to better knives but retain a soft spot for CS, no problem there. Some people totally move on, once again, good for them. ANY bashing thread is basically a place where people with no self esteem come out to express an opinion hoping that people will take them seriously when they jump on the prevailing bandwagon. The most these threads are good for is for an early morning read to get a chuckle from before going to work.
 
Wow, very little false statements regarding the PRODUCT this time around. I think if you are affected by the advertising that maybe you should stop watching youtube so much and get outside.
 
crom said:
Wow, very little false statements regarding the PRODUCT this time around. I think if you are affected by the advertising that maybe you should stop watching youtube so much and get outside.
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+1 :thumbup:

I will say this though. I am sick of seeing LT kneeling over a dead African animal with a rifle in his hand and big cheesy grin on his face like he just did something special. Shooting an animal doesn't impress me. I WOULD be impressed however, if he took out a buffalo with a cold steel Trail Master in San Mai III.
 
:thumbup: Cold Steel products. There are a few dog turds but most are of decent quality for their price range.

:thumbdn: Cold Steel marketing. LT should tear a page from Sal Glesser's book. Shiny footprints. A businessman has no business saying things like, "The competition makes me laugh!" or putting in print that one of your competitors is a convicted felon (I still don't know who LT was referring to). IMO Cold Steel needs to show more class than that.

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Edit: I see now it was probably Mick Strider (Mickey Ray Burger). It was a big controversy a few years ago. Just because Strider told lies to sell his knives doesn't mean Lynn Thompson should be talking trash. Two wrongs don't make a right. And the two companies' product lines are not even remotely in the same price class anyway. They aren't competing for the same customers.
 
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Lynn Thompson has been one of the most innovative knife makers and designers for the past several decades, IMHO. I have bought about a dozen CS knives over the years, and they all do what they're supposed to do: cut. I currently own an original tanto, a couple of Master Hunters, a SRK, a pair of Voyagers, large and small Twistmasters, California drop point, an Ultra-loc (one of the best liner locks ever devised). As for his marketing approach, you can take it or leave it.
 
chad2 said:
my biggest problem with them is they dont use good steel aus 8 is ok but come on they would sell 100 times more knives if the use 154cm or s30v i thin they need to up grade
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Since when isn't AUS-8 good steel? Sure it isn't S90V or 154CM, but it is tough, sharpens up fast and keeps a decent edge. Your average knife buyer wants that. Coupled with the fact your average knife guy doesn't care about steel, this means that they won't be interested in S30V because it's more expensive and it's a bear to learn how to sharpen.
 
AUS 8 is a great steel in my opinion. In a few years everyone will be saying S30V sucks because it wont be the latest and greatest anymore. That doesn't make it true.
 
ibute21 said:
Since when isn't AUS-8 good steel? Sure it isn't S90V or 154CM, but it is tough, sharpens up fast and keeps a decent edge. Your average knife buyer wants that. Coupled with the fact your average knife guy doesn't care about steel, this means that they won't be interested in S30V because it's more expensive and it's a bear to learn how to sharpen.
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I'd have to agree with you ibute21. CS's makers do a very nice job on the AUS8 folders that I've owned. Razor sharp, even grinds, beautiful satin finish. They aren't Hinderers, Striders or Sebenzas but they're d*mn good folders for the money. I can't speak to the new 2011 Voyagers but mine in VG-1 are great edc knives and my Recon-1 w/o lliners is a beast, the only thing I'd add to it is jimping.

They're indeed very easy to put a new razor sharp edge on with simple tools like a Sharpmaker etc. I also think like someone who posted that - we are a very small nut on the tree of knife sales (being collectors and knife fiends). Cold Steel makes a folder or fixed blade that targets everyone not just steel snobs etc.. I'm sure they do quite well at the end of the day with their market share. :thumbup:

stabman said:
I still remember when it was a "Super Steel"...
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Yer an old dude? ;)
 
ibute21 said:
Since when isn't AUS-8 good steel? Sure it isn't S90V or 154CM, but it is tough, sharpens up fast and keeps a decent edge. Your average knife buyer wants that. Coupled with the fact your average knife guy doesn't care about steel, this means that they won't be interested in S30V because it's more expensive and it's a bear to learn how to sharpen.
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THIS IS NOT TRUE look at the buck vantage pro it is the highest seller out of the buck vantages. call buck they will tell you straight up which one sells more if people did not care they would pay almost half the price for the 420hc steel check your facts befor you spit out nonesense.

aus 8 is a great steel yes but there are way better steels for a slight diff in price and cold steel brages about how good they are but they use a low quality steel compared to the really good ones out there. also there are better steels and alot of people how would rather a better steel. like i said aus 8 is ok and yes it gets the job done but not like 154cm
 
ibute21 said:
Since when isn't AUS-8 good steel? Sure it isn't S90V or 154CM, but it is tough, sharpens up fast and keeps a decent edge. Your average knife buyer wants that. Coupled with the fact your average knife guy doesn't care about steel, this means that they won't be interested in S30V because it's more expensive and it's a bear to learn how to sharpen.
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chad2 said:
THIS IS NOT TRUE look at the buck vantage pro it is the highest seller out of the buck vantages. call buck they will tell you straight up which one sells more if people did not care they would pay almost half the price for the 420hc steel check your facts befor you spit out nonesense.

aus 8 is a great steel yes but there are way better steels for a slight diff in price and cold steel brages about how good they are but they use a low quality steel compared to the really good ones out there. also there are better steels and alot of people how would rather a better steel. like i said aus 8 is ok and yes it gets the job done but not like 154cm
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NONSENSE?

It sounds like you are parroting or agreeing with ibute21, except for the portion that I underlined. :confused:
 
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