Cold Steel Factory Edge Quality

T

The Mighty Ginsu

Joined
Aug 11, 2016
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I'm wondering what people think of the factory edges on Cold Steel knives.

Not counting a machete which I bought for fun, I have owned 3 Cold Steel knives. The first two were small Voyagers. I bought the second one because I lost the first one. These knives never seemed to wear out or show wear.

I cut myself almost immediately when I bought the first one. It shut lightly on my finger and went clear through my skin, leaving a clean, painless cut all the way to whatever that stuff below the skin is. It seemed like a good edge, based on what it did to me.

I just got a Recon I in CTS-XHP. I have used it mostly for opening Amazon packages and cutting Spanish moss off a leaf sweeper. It seemed like the knife was not all that sharp to begin with, and it lost its edge quickly on Spanish moss.

Last night I went over it with diamond hones, and today it cuts very nicely.

Should I generally assume that factory edges need to be worked over? I've seen some people say that manufacturers sometimes damage the steel at the very edges of knives by overheating it with sharpening machines.
 
Mine have mostly shipped with a more than passable edge. I'll often sharpen it anyway, just to get it to my liking, but I don't think I've ever gotten one that couldn't be put to work right out of the box. That said, I've gotten some mediocre to bad edges from companies that are well known for shipping knives very sharp, so I guess I wouldn't let the one you got put you off the brand. A burnt edge, as you suggested, is totally possible, as is a wire edge.
 
I hate sharpening a new knife for the first time. Some knives, like Swiss Army knives, come with super-duper edges that are hard to equal in subsequent sharpenings, and when I sharpen a new knife I tend to feel like I'm screwing it up. Irrational feeling, I know.
 
The Mighty Ginsu said:
I hate sharpening a new knife for the first time. Some knives, like Swiss Army knives, come with super-duper edges that are hard to equal in subsequent sharpenings, and when I sharpen a new knife I tend to feel like I'm screwing it up. Irrational feeling, I know.
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Irrational, maybe, but I think it's totally natural to have that feeling until you get comfortable sharpening. I recommend picking up a Spyderco Sharpmaker and using that, assuming you don't have one, as it takes a lot of the guesswork out and gives good, consistent results. Cold Steel sets the edge on their folders to be compatible with the Sharpmaker, as well, so you're not trying to reprofile, just restoring the edge.
 
I own TONS of CS products. Machetes from them I know will have a rough edge mostly burrs but I expect it. Especially for the price. Most Tomahawks arrive with a working edge. Of the many knives I've owned only one came with a mediocre edge. A Recon1 micro. It had a crap heat treat and wouldn't get sharp at all and I'm above average when it comes to sharpening. It was what I call a Friday night knife. The guy making it half assed it to go have beers with his buddies.
I really love CS knives and I trust their knives to not fail on my even during hard use/abuse.
Did you get an older Aus8A? Don't give up on them yet.
 
In my experience they usually come sharp. Sometimes the angle is a bit obtuse for my liking. Edges are usually highly polished.
They aren't up to Spyderco standards but probably ahead of Benchmade.
 
All of my cold steel folders came sharp. My recon 1 xhp was like a light saber. The fixed blades have mostly been good, save for a kobun and srk. The carbon v srk I sold because the edge was far too obtuse for my liking, and reprofiling would have taken a ton of work.
 
I have a couple dozen CS knives, and I've only had one come with a "meh" edge, the first Kudu I bought years ago. They generally range from very good to excellent. My Peace Makers (I and II) still rank among the sharpest factory knives I've ever owned. Being 4116, edge holding is kind of "meh," but they were gruesomely sharp when I got them (and really easy to bring back to that level).
 
Every folder I have had has been nice and sharp right out of the box, regardless of steel. I can't recall getting any fixed by CS except for machetes, and I have already griped about them in detail. The tomahawks come with fat edges that need refinement if you want to do more than throw, but I consider that a feature--a fine edge would get buggered and maybe broken by an unlucky throw.
 
My recon tanto vg1 was the sharpest fixed blade edge from the factory I have ever received. My OSS came pretty dull though a few minutes with the sharp maker had it insanely sharp I wish I could strop to take it to the next level.
 
I've found most all the Cold Steel I've gotten to arrive with a pretty sharp edge, but, if they didn't, you can put one on yourself too. I had ordered a CS Recon Scout fixed blade but found the edge too thick, while it was sharp, it was thick to take a lot of abuse, I returned it the next day, but not because it wasn't sharp on arrival.

Here is a CS Ultimate Hunter, quite a keen edge she had too;


G2
 
Most came scary sharp , especially the full serrated folders . Their "throwing stars" come dull by design . Some of their throwing knives (La Fontaine ) actually come TOO sharp for the purpose .
 
Good edge on every thing bought so far, but like everything else I am sure some "escape" with a less than favorable edge. At least no airbags to kill you and I have been happy with CS Warranty work(what little I have had done).
 
I've always had good luck with CS's out of the box sharpness. My gripe is the angle of the edge grind changing as you travel along the blade edge (for the most part, on their recent taiwanese folders). It almost seems like (when grinding the edge) the operator is trying to make the points intersect by changing the grind angle, instead of maintaining the angle and just grind until they meet.

I've seen a lot of CS's folders sharpened this way, as I have flipped many on Ebay. You can really see it when you reflect light off the edge

The knives are still razor sharp and cut great, so i accept it as CS's weak point.
 
The Mighty Ginsu said:
Some knives, like Swiss Army knives, come with super-duper edges that are hard to equal in subsequent sharpenings,
Click to expand...

Just shows people can live on the same planet and be on different worlds at the same time.
I have ALWAYS considered SAKs to be super great knives
BUT
the edges especially the wide angles are just the worst thing possible.
an AWFUL cutting edge.
I reprofile all of them immediately from . . . what is that factory geometry . . . like 60° inclusive ! ? ! ? . . . back to like 24° inclusive . . . 30° inclusive if I want to cut bones and bricks.
What is that factory grind good for ? I can't imagine. I can get it super sharp on the Edge Pro but that kind of geometry doesn't hold and edge for beans.
 
OK I got it out; again (about the SAK factory edges).

Hahaha this is what Cold Steel is capable of and on their very least expensive knives :
I have three of these Kitchen Classic paring knives and EVERY ONE OF THEM came from the factory literally hair whittling sharp. With any portion of the edge on all three I could easily cut little curls off a single hair while it was still in my arm. I mean that's what I shoot for in my privet sharpening and just never expect to see that level of sharpness from a factory edge.

I mean there was zero bur, no rolled edge, no dings.
On most other brands I get all that and worse along a single edge.
Other Cold Steel knives have been pretty darn good; at least shave sharp, consistently ground side to side and no real problems.

IMG_4997 2.JPG

I EDC two at a time carried in Mora sheaths. One toothy and one polished edge.
IMG_3578.jpg
 
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