cold steel awesome

Hard use? Google recon 1 batoning wood. Fit and finish claims by people who haven't owned the knives is tough to believe. Claiming the knives aren't suited to hard work is also ignorant.
 
I used to hate (maybe "hate" is too strong a word) Cold Steel, mostly because of the goofy ads and the even goofier owner because I felt it misrepresented knife enthusiasts. The outrageous claims in their catalogs or the bashing of some good knife companies or designers by LT didn't help either.

Later on I was somewhat forced to work with them because I opened a knife store and my customers wanted CS products. I handled quite a few, ended up keeping a couple (at first only a Camillus made Master hunter and an old VG-1 Voyager). When the new Recon 1 came out I kept an old model that nobody seemed to want, mainly as a beater. That was my first experience with their AUS8 and I must admit it was good. Through my own experiences and those of two close friends who are big fans of the brand with whom I shared a lot of trips and time outdoors, my opinion about CS began to change (at least about their knives).

The addition of Demko's Tri-Ad lock folders certainly helped. I bought an early American Lawman and was very favourably impressed. While I tend to gravitate more towards Spyderco, Benchmade or ZT, I have to admit that CS offer some very good knives at pretty decent prices. They don't use fancy materials, but AUS8 is good enough for most uses and whoever makes their knives seems to have the heat treat down.

I think Cold Steel's strength is in their budget and middle tier models, but I feel their higher end stuff is over priced for what you get.
 
I have to agree that the coating they used on the Lawman sucks. Not really a big deal as I stripped the ones I had.
 
My C.S. knives are inexpensive and tough. If I lose or break one, which I've never done, I'm not out much.
 
I own about 30 models......all of the krupp series, a few machetes, recon scout, gurka kukri, trailmaster in sk-5(used hard for years) and carbon v : tanto, oda, LTC, true flight and trailmaster.
Lawman has been great......gave 2 to lawmen in my family to much appreciation as a duty folder.

Rifleman, trailhawk, norsehawk and trailboss which is not a bad trunk/canoe/camp axe
Now that they finally offer the recon1 in straight edge I might have to pick one up.

Never hear anything about the outdoorsman but it has been a fantastic working slicer/user for me.......got it on a good deal(pricey)

Not everything they have is for me but what I have bought has not failed or disappointed me, especially for the price point.
 
I am a long-time Cold Steel fan and have to point out that the Cold Steel Recon 1 came out in 2001. Not 1995.

The Benchmade Axis-Lock came out in 1999 and the original Cold Steel Recon 1 featured a lock similar to it called the Ultra-Lock.

They work the same as a type of cam-action lock that rides or engages against the blade tang.

The main difference is that the Ultra-Lock had a slot cut-out for the cam to ride along instead of just riding along the open tang like the Axis-Lock does.

The current versions with the Triad-Lock came out in 2010, and they have added new sizes since then.
 
I've had a chance to use CS knives before, one of my friends is a fan of them, but never owned one so I decided to buy an AK-47 to test out and let you all know how it goes. I figured CS was one of the few major brands I didn't own yet so I'd give it a go.
 
mcrow iam glad youre not a brand fan boy and are willing to check out new stuff Most of my knives are kershaw and they set the bar pretty high but Iam getting tired of assisted knives and the cold steels and benchmades have taken over for a little while.
 
Hands down for the money you can't beat cold steel. Strong, light, big fast opening. And feels great in the hand. I have the recon 1 tanto and its still hair shaving sharp. I've had. I've had it a year. Worth the money. Sanmi idk....don't hesitate. There worth it
 
mcrow said:
I've had a chance to use CS knives before, one of my friends is a fan of them, but never owned one so I decided to buy an AK-47 to test out and let you all know how it goes. I figured CS was one of the few major brands I didn't own yet so I'd give it a go.
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You might be surprised by the fit and finish - honestly out of the dozens owned or handled since the 90's only one wasn't damn near perfect. I put up a post discussing that one and how it was suspicious. The coating on my 2012 Mini Recon was only affected by contact with other metal, probably a little better than previous teflon coating - had to give in and check out the stonewash under it...
 
OrdnanceBubbaUSMC said:
You might be surprised by the fit and finish - honestly out of the dozens owned or handled since the 90's only one wasn't damn near perfect. I put up a post discussing that one and how it was suspicious. The coating on my 2012 Mini Recon was only affected by contact with other metal, probably a little better than previous teflon coating - had to give in and check out the stonewash under it...
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I've seen several Cold Steel knives in person, my friend owns about a dozen of them but he didn't have an AK-47 so that's the one I decided to try out. I was not impressed at all with the Cold Steel knives my friend owns including a Recon.
 
Well I've owned a ton of CS, benchmades, and spydercos. All Benchmades and CS knives I had were awesome, but I had issues with the locks on 2 spydercos failing.

Other than that, I honestly can't tell a difference between the performance of CS and BM.
 
mcrow did you're friends recon have a triad lock or was it the older axis type lock? Reason I'am asking is the newer ones feel more solid and have bronze bushings.
 
bertosknives said:
mcrow did you're friends recon have a triad lock or was it the older axis type lock? Reason I'am asking is the newer ones feel more solid and have bronze bushings.
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Might have been the old version because it is about 4 years old, I think, though I got to use it a bit when it was pretty new. It cut well just felt sort of cheap.
 
I have never had an issue with any of the Cold Steel knives I own. I have a few of their folders and some of their fixed blades. Frankly, the fit & finish on my Recon 1 and Am. Lawman is the same or better than many of the Chinese or American made Kershaws I have owned. I think they are very good knives for the price point.
 
I could never destroy the mini ak47 i used to have. I've stabbed through many steel sheets, used it as a throwing knife on targets such as steel drums and concrete blocks. The only damage to it was a blunted tip and a few small chips. The lock never failed once. Amazing little knife.
 
Got my AK-47 today.

First impressions:

Likes-
#1- Grippy G10 handle
#2- Clip blade shape
#3- Very sharp out of the box
#4- Emerson works good
#5- Definitely as strong a lock as advertised
#6- Like the glass breaker on the pommel.


Dislikes-
#1- Damn back lock leaves a dent in my thumb trying to close the thing.
#2- Detent is too strong making opening it difficult with a thumb and not easy to flick.
#3- Thumb disc is a tad too small
#4- Overall length is questionable for EDC, IMO

The detent and lock stiffness are damn near deal breakers for me they are so bad. Hopefully they'll loosen up with use.
 
mcrow said:
Got my AK-47 today.

First impressions:

Likes-
#1- Grippy G10 handle
#2- Clip blade shape
#3- Very sharp out of the box
#4- Emerson works good
#5- Definitely as strong a lock as advertised
#6- Like the glass breaker on the pommel.


Dislikes-
#1- Damn back lock leaves a dent in my thumb trying to close the thing.
#2- Detent is too strong making opening it difficult with a thumb and not easy to flick.
#3- Thumb disc is a tad too small
#4- Overall length is questionable for EDC, IMO

The detent and lock stiffness are damn near deal breakers for me they are so bad. Hopefully they'll loosen up with use.
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The ak-47 Is an odd beast I got one and ultimately ended up carrying my lawman. heck the spartan is close enough in size that it gets carried more often then my ak-47.
 
Klok said:
The ak-47 Is an odd beast I got one and ultimately ended up carrying my lawman. heck the spartan is close enough in size that it gets carried more often then my ak-47.
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I think I'm going to make it my car knife. Might check out a Recon or Lawman.
 
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