COLD STEEL first impression

Mr. Pennypincher, I think that most of us would not agree with a lot you have to say. Even if you did talk to "most of the staff", it is really hard to believe that they were clueless about their own products. Additionally, Taiwan on the blade does not equate to cheap. Some of the best stuff I have has Taiwan on the blade. That's a recurrent area of discussion here.

I would urge you to develop more data by grabbing for yourself a Recon 1 or whatever, and hanging out (and laying low) on the Cold Steel forum for a while just to get the lay of the land. Initial impressions can often be wrong, as to both forum posters and knife companies. I don't think you are a troll, btw. I just guessing that maybe you got a bad impression of things from a brief visit to a booth, and your impression might change the more you hang out around here. So my challenge to you is to tell us what you think about Cold Steel after you hit the 300 post count. Rock on.
 
DShiflet said:
People saying the OP contradicted himself need to read closer. "I was at the booth looking Sunday sometime between 2P-3P, and Saturday I walked by not stopping because"

On SATURDAY, he says he walked by the booth without stopping. On SUNDAY, he says stopped to look between 2-3 pm. OP may well be trolling, but he's not contradicting himself, he's saying one day he stopped and one day he didn't.
Click to expand...

As I said Saturday the booth was too busy to get close to, so I moved on. Sunday it was not bust, I looked, asked a few question, and was surprised what I considered to be simple questions staff was vague about.

My final observation was I ask one staff member about what the SHEATH Material on one of the Under $60.00 Fix Blades was. I ask Kydex or? He called over another Staffer who replied it Blow Molded Plastic.

I ask what was the Warranty on the Sheath? I got a funny look, and was told normal wear & tear was not covered. As I had already commented to the first staff member the Sheath looked flimsy like it would not hold up long with a lot of use.

BTW I always thought these forum were about free expression, exchanging ideas, and information.

I understand great knives are made in Asia, also Asia is famous for making some not so great knives. Like I said i was surprised the couple of young people in the booth were not able to answer what I call simple product questions.
 
I checked with our team. There was only one younger employee working the booth that weekend and (admittedly) he has not been with Cold Steel as long as the other crew members that were present, but even if he did need to ask another employee for guidance about a particular process, no one would have replied "blow molded plastic".
Our sheaths are precision made from Secure-Ex, our own polymer.

The employees at that show comprised primarily of members of our PROOF crew (CS crew members who are instrumental in design, testing and production) and Lynn C Thompson himself who is not only the President of the company, but the designer of many of the products we sell.
The one junior member of the team present is a new addition to our sales team who is in training, but his product knowledge is already very good.

Our team have an excellent reputation at shows and events for their hard working attitude and their substantial product knowledge. As they are all also Martial Artists who study and train with the products that we make they also have a great deal of first hand knowledge of handling and use.
We take great pride in our work and we train hard and prepare intensively for every show. I am very surprised to hear that any of our crew, even a younger and less experienced member, would be unable to give you that information...and if they couldn't, that they didn't get the correct info from a member of staff without delay.

HOWEVER, if that's the case please feel free to peruse our site, find the names of the products that you had queries about and to ask me any questions you wish. I'll do my very best to answer them to the best of my ability.
 
Cold Steel Knives said:
I checked with our team. There was only one younger employee working the booth that weekend and (admittedly) he has not been with Cold Steel as long as the other crew members that were present, but even if he did need to ask another employee for guidance about a particular process, no one would have replied "blow molded plastic".
Our sheaths are precision made from Secure-Ex, our own polymer.

The employees at that show comprised primarily of members of our PROOF crew (CS crew members who are instrumental in design, testing and production) and Lynn C Thompson himself who is not only the President of the company, but the designer of many of the products we sell.
The one junior member of the team present is a new addition to our sales team who is in training, but his product knowledge is already very good.

Our team have an excellent reputation at shows and events for their hard working attitude and their substantial product knowledge. As they are all also Martial Artists who study and train with the products that we make they also have a great deal of first hand knowledge of handling and use.
We take great pride in our work and we train hard and prepare intensively for every show. I am very surprised to hear that any of our crew, even a younger and less experienced member, would be unable to give you that information...and if they couldn't, that they didn't get the correct info from a member of staff without delay.

HOWEVER, if that's the case please feel free to peruse our site, find the names of the products that you had queries about and to ask me any questions you wish. I'll do my very best to answer them to the best of my ability.
Click to expand...

Another example of how well this Cold Steel forum is run by their mod. As I said before, Cold Steel and it's forum do not get the attention they deserve. You do a good job man.
 
I don't see why people try to use one brand to cut down another brand. I have a lot of Spydercos and they are fine knives, but they are different than Cold Steel, I don't like everything they offer in both brands, but I do like some of what both have. It's not something to come on a forum and start trying start crap about. I know the mod at the Spyderco forum doesn't allow it and has asked members to cease that behavior.
 
Thanks for the kind words guys.
I'm not here as often as I would like, but feel free to ask any questions you want. If I can help at all I will, and if I can't...I'll find someone who can :D
 
ALLHSS said:
Another example of how well this Cold Steel forum is run by their mod. As I said before, Cold Steel and it's forum do not get the attention they deserve. You do a good job man.
Click to expand...
+1

jill jackson said:
I don't see why people try to use one brand to cut down another brand. I have a lot of Spydercos and they are fine knives, but they are different than Cold Steel, I don't like everything they offer in both brands, but I do like some of what both have. It's not something to come on a forum and start trying start crap about. I know the mod at the Spyderco forum doesn't allow it and has asked members to cease that behavior.
Click to expand...
I don't get it, either. I love Spyderco, Buck, CRKT, ESEE and others, too...but why use the brands to cut others down? Why can't we just call a spade a spade, see them for what they are and give credit where credit is due? And yeah, Cold Steel is my favorite knife brand, but you don't see me hopping into the CRK forum and talking about how I think X CS knife is better than Y CRK knife because blah blah blah. It's just unsavory.
 
Oh, where to start...

I may be just echoing what has been said up to now, but I have to call BS on the OP. I have worked many of the shows and sales for CS (admittedly not the show in question), and know all the guys that worked this event. I absolutely do not believe that the answers to the simple questions asked were so cryptic and, frankly, wrong.

I also do not believe that making a statement like the sheath "looked flimsy like it would not hold up long with a lot of use" would not be met with a swift contradiction and affirmation of its quality.

Also, the "cheap Taiwanese crap" line is very indicative of either:
1- he really didn't handle any of the product
2- he drinks so much of the Spyderco Kool-Aid that CS could do no right and is worthy of his hyperbole.
Perhaps some of both.

And, is it just me, or did his little "gray hair" tirade come off as the ramblings of a grumpy old guy? I do not think that I am alone when I say that I have known some extremely bright, knowledgeable people who just happened to be under 30, and a whole lot of dumb-asses whose idea of a good evening is dinner at 4pm, checking the obits to see which neighbor from their senior living center they have outlived, and an episode of "Matlock". Age is never an automatic indicator of knowledge. I prefer to give everyone a little respect until they open their mouth and either reenforce or dash that respect with their words.

Maybe a little harsh, but this obvious attempt to troll should not go unnoticed.

There... rant done.
 
Am I biased towards one brand? Do I think my favorite brand is the best? Yup, you betcha :D
Our "marketing" has always been kinda controversial, but it all just boils down to backing up our brag or having fun testing things and filming what happens. Other people have since embraced that idea and for me, the knife world got a lot more interesting
Brand loyalty is awesome. All of us here in the knife business strive for that. But it's been my experience so far that our fans keep it pretty classy. I'm very proud of our fans. They spend a lot more time talking about what they love than the things they hate. I like that! The way I see it we are all here to share a hobby and a passion. We all love the sharp stuff.
I figure pretty much all of us would get on very well talking about our favorite knives over a few drinks or some good BBQ. For some reason the internet makes it all seem so much more aggressive. I put this down to a lack of "tone of voice" in all this text based interaction.
Thank goodness for emoticons :p

I have a lot of fun talking to folks here on BF. I'm happy to be here. Thanks again
 
DngrRuss1 said:
Oh, where to start...

I may be just echoing what has been said up to now, but I have to call BS on the OP. I have worked many of the shows and sales for CS (admittedly not the show in question), and know all the guys that worked this event. I absolutely do not believe that the answers to the simple questions asked were so cryptic and, frankly, wrong.

I also do not believe that making a statement like the sheath "looked flimsy like it would not hold up long with a lot of use" would not be met with a swift contradiction and affirmation of its quality.

Also, the "cheap Taiwanese crap" line is very indicative of either: BTW, some of Spyderco's best knives come from Taiwan.
1- he really didn't handle any of the product
2- he drinks so much of the Spyderco USER Kool-Aid that CS could do no right and is worthy of his hyperbole.
Perhaps some of both.

And, is it just me, or did his little "gray hair" tirade come off as the ramblings of a grumpy old guy? I do not think that I am alone when I say that I have known some extremely bright, knowledgeable people who just happened to be under 30, and a whole lot of dumb-asses whose idea of a good evening is dinner at 4pm, checking the obits to see which neighbor from their senior living center they have outlived, and an episode of "Matlock". Age is never an automatic indicator of knowledge. I prefer to give everyone a little respect until they open their mouth and either reenforce or dash that respect with their words.

Maybe a little harsh, but this obvious attempt to troll should not go unnoticed.

There... rant done.
Click to expand...

Fixed it for you......:D
 
I like Spyderco too. Check out the Sage series, (Taiwan) and try to tell me you are not impressed. I also like Cold Steel, take the plunge and spend the $40 something dollars on a Voyager and then you will probably "get it" about what CS offers, and why they are enjoyed by those who also own many other brands in their collections.
 
akapennypincher,
This forum is for free expression, exchanging ideas and knowledge. It is not for bashing products that you have not even used or owned. Your form of posting can easily be misconstrued as trolling, looking like you deliberately came here for an argument, not for expressing ideas and first hand knowledge of a product.
 
I suggest you frequent your local CS dealer, or better yet purchase directly from CS online, actually CARRY and USE the knife of your choice for about 6mos to a year...cut produce if you want to....and THEN post an opinion for all the world to read...you don't know who LT is??...lack of preperation before your posting.

There aren't many CS knives one could name I don't own. I've been a CS customer since 1986, and I was defending CS products on Bladeforums before they arrived.

Taiwaneese junk?? OK fine...buy a model made of VG1 San Mai...you'll never regret not "pinching pennies" over that decision.

Cheap?? OK...buy a CS Heavy Machete, sharpen it to your specs, and USE the HELL out of it, chop up some small trees, build a shelter...you know, stuff thats normally done w/ a field axe or a good quality folding saw. Compare. After you get through swallowing that "Spyderco little red sportscar" pride, you will realize you are wrong.

Did you know that major knife company owners collaberate quite often, guys like Sal and Lynn put their heads together on more than one occasion?

Get back to us when youve TESTED g10 handles, SK-5 HC steel, AUS 8 and VG1 San Mai.

Looking forward to hearing from you later;)

BTW: You couldve just ASKED the same QUESTIONS here that you asked at the booth, one of us wouldve helped you out...owning a Spyderco knife doesn't mean you're special, just means that you know what a high quality, usually more expensive POCKETKNIFE is.

Whip out your Spydie and repeat some CS PROOF testing for that knife size. If your $170 Spydie can beat a $60 CS Voyager, Id LOVE to see it!!
 
Last edited:
Guys, it NOT about putting down the Spydie here. Let's "keep it classy San Diego", and focus on the CS attack. By us putting down another company, we are just giving in to the B.S. I bought a Jeremy Robertson El Patron yesterday, ohhhh, awwww, big deal I know. Know what I bought Thursday?? A TM in O1. Why? Because they are BOTH awesome at what they do. I KNOW that the CS TM in O1 is a BAD ARSE knife. I have others, but I appreciate what CS does and the price point at which they do it.

To the OP. maybe CS isn't for you. Maybe it is. To come to their "house" acting like that isn't going to get you any help with your questions. Just saying.
 
I'm not sweeping up the Spyderco webs out of the corners of my closet... just the "snobby arse" attitudes that some owners claim to find tucked away in the factory issued box.
Its common w/ other companies too...just more obnoxious in this case, claiming "innovation" as the keystone of their ranting.

I love my Spydercos too...just got my pacific Salt w/ the Spyder edge and H1 steel.

It won't rust.

But its still a pocket knife.

Nice feature when you sweat like a Russian race horse....but still a pocketknife.

Maybe Spyderco doesn't field a larger knife anymore because they feel that "niche" has been occupied. Well..."whooptie-freakin' do", some of us would find a larger Spyderco quite appealing.

I guess we'll just have to keep loading LTs' pocket until somebody gets the point.
 
tikkidaddy said:
I'm not sweeping up the Spyderco webs out of the corners of my closet... just the "snobby arse" attitudes that some owners claim to find tucked away in the factory issued box.
Its common w/ other companies too...just more obnoxious in this case, claiming "innovation" as the keystone of their ranting.

I love my Spydercos too...just got my pacific Salt w/ the Spyder edge and H1 steel.

It won't rust.

But its still a pocket knife.

Nice feature when you sweat like a Russian race horse....but still a pocketknife.

Maybe Spyderco doesn't field a larger knife anymore because they feel that "niche" has been occupied. Well..."whooptie-freakin' do", some of us would find a larger Spyderco quite appealing.

I guess we'll just have to keep loading LTs' pocket until somebody gets the point.
Click to expand...

You may be interested to know spyderco has a 5.5 inch bladed knife called the tatanka in their new catalogue. It has a new lock that seems similar, but not a copy of, the triad lock. It's called the power lock. Looks pretty cool.
 
You are the worst kind of Troll, contradict yourself on the FIRST page of this thread, Way to go man!
"I was at the booth looking Sunday sometime between 2P-3P, and Saturday I walked by not stopping because there were so many people trying to look at your wears, I did not bother to stop."

You didn't stop, yet the employees knew nothing about their wares....pray tell, how did you come by this knowledge if you didn't even stop? And, being a big Spyderco fan, how do you feel about the bulk of their models being produced in Taiwan? You will not last long here, have fun while you can troll.

edit: I see you were two days in a row, doesn't matter you are still full of it.
 
Last edited:
I am proud owner of different Cold Steel knives. Whatever other people may say or write I was never disappointed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top