Cold Steel experts....remember this old folder?

SkagSig40

SkagSig40

Joined
Feb 1, 2001
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Cold Steel once had a Tanto Folder long before the Voyager series. It had a unique tanto shaped blade and a black zytel handel with rounded guard. Very heavy duty folder with a lock back. What was it called and what are they worth today. I may have a chance to buy one. Thanks!!!
 
The folder you described sounds like the Shinobu series. I'll see if I can find a link for you.

Regards,
3G
 
Good knives. If the price is reasonable, it's even a good user knife, very strong and sharp.
 
If Zytel handled, it sounds like the the "Ultra Lock" series. Shinobu's had the thermorun handles. These were the first one handed openers offered by Cold Steel too, the late 80's to early 90's. There was no thumb stud, but rather deep ridges on the top of the blade and you would thumb it open, think Bic lighter. The opening system was referred to as the "thumb glide" and it had a trademark. The locking mechanism was an early version of the now present CS leaf lock and withstood 70lbs of pressure. Blade steel was a 400 series, blade length at 3" with a stainless steel pocket clip. These were a short run between the Shinobu and the Voyager which was said to be an improved version of the Ultra Lock. They also came in three blade styles, tanto, serrated clip point and plain edge clip point and weight at 2.8 oz. I would consider this one somewhat rare in that you don't see them very often if at all for sale. I had a couple, lost one and gave the other away. Who knew these would later become a collectors. :) Good luck in your search!

Matador-
 
Rounded guard and lock back sound like Shinobu.

I gave away my tanto and PE clip point Ultra Locks and picked up a spear point since then.
 
I bought one of these new and still have it, very nice rubbery handle material, I think I still have the box, will have a look around, I used it for a few years till one of the scales fell off, they were just glued on so I epoxyed it back on and haven't used it since.
 
It's the one that started it all for me. I put it away in a safe place, took me 10 years to find it. While it was hiding, I started looking for other knives to replace it, and the rest is history. It's never been used, and not for sale.

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I've got the Ultralock Tanto and Clip-point. Wouldn't mind selling the tanto (or the other) if there's a good offer/trade! :D
 
Yes I do remember them, I had a couple.

The Cold Steel Tanto folders were very unique at the time. (1983-1984 maybe?)

These folders were state of the art at that time, really good knives.

It was the first laminated stainless steel blade folder I had ever seen.
I don’t think Fallkniven was even in business yet. If they were, I don’t recall seeing them in the USA at that time.

The inner steel, I don’t remember what it was, or the RH, was marketed as being much harder than anything else on the market. They weren’t kidding. It was much harder to sharpen than the softer steels I was used to.

I believe this was the first Tanto blade offered in a production knife, (in the USA anyway). It was pretty radical at the time.

The kraton rubber handles were also quite unique and helped start a trend away from wood.

The quality was very good compared to most of the current market.
There weren’t as many knifemakers then as there are now. Buck folders were ‘high end” knives in the 70’s and early 80’s. The Cold Steel folders were really nice, as nice as the Bucks, and expensive. The smallest folder cost about as much as a Buck 110 did at that time.

Overall, Cold Steel was one of the premier knife makers during that era, very innovative and progressive. Like I said, the quality was noticeably higher than most brands.

It’s sad to see a company lose its way over the years. Gerber lost its way. Buck hasn’t changed or kept up. Benchmade seems to be lowering its standards, (steel, fit/finish, and prices), to compete with Kershaw and Spyderco. Cold Steel has a couple good fixed designs left, but their current folders aren’t even what they used to be like.
 
If I recall correctly I first saw a review of a folding CS tanto in the early 80's. Like their other knives at the time I think it was made from their '400 Series' steel, had Kraton handles, and I think came in two different blade lengths. They were quite small, and the review I read of them in a magazine called 'Handgunner' was a little dismissive of their usefulness. I got my two Ultralock folders in 1991, and as they were sent by Cold Steel for review, I guess they hadn't been in production long then.
 
Apologies to Bearcut, I only just saw his post about the original tanto folder having a laminated blade. That is quite correct (you've a better memory than I have Bearcut!) They were in fact the CS Shinobu folders, which actually came in THREE sizes. The largest had a 3 3/4" blade, the medium size 2 3/4", and the small size had a 1 3/4" blade. They all had kraton handles.
 
bearcut said:
Overall, Cold Steel was one of the premier knife makers during that era, very innovative and progressive. Like I said, the quality was noticeably higher than most brands.
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Is that true, did Cold Steel ever actually manufacture any knives? I've always believed them to be marketers, not manufacturers, but I also owned the old Shinobu's and Ultra Locks and would like to know if CS actually manufactured them.
 
Yes they did. In fact, they had to stop production of the Trailmaster for a time due to a dispute with their workers. So Cold Steel did indeed make some of their line.
 
sodak said:
Yes they did. In fact, they had to stop production of the Trailmaster for a time due to a dispute with their workers. So Cold Steel did indeed make some of their line.
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Sodak, where did you get that information? I believe it is inaccurate.

Regards,
3G
 
I remember it being an interview with Lynn Thompson, he specifically stated they had problems with the TM production, and all the CS knife makers walked off the job. This was back in the late 80's/early 90's. IIRC, it was an interview with either Jan Libourel or Ross Seyfried from Guns and Ammo.

I might have the interviewer wrong, but I distinctly remember Lynn talking about it, because I was thinking, "Great, I'm just ready to try one, and they won't make them any more." So I can stand by what I remember, but I'd be surprised if Lynn would tell such an obvious and easily checked untruth.
 
I think Lynn was discussing the workers at Camillus. The fact that Lynn is basically a designer/marketer sticks in some peoples craw for some reason, as if such matters concerning the merits of a particular knife design.

As to value of a San Mai Shinobu, I recall paying about $80 back in the mid-80's for a large. My most recent large model was aquired for $50 or so, though I think that one was undervalued for some reason (it is like new).

The steel on these early San Mai knives I believe to be AUS 8, though I am not sure. In the day, AUS 8 was a "premium" steel, as was 440C. Time moves on.

I would't mind seeing a return of this model with a Triad-lock and a ZDP laminated blade.
 
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