leatherbird said:
...shoddy Cold Steel items, says something about their Q.C.! And their warranties don't seem to mean much either.
Everything I ever bought from Cold Steel was first rate for what I wanted it for. Cold Steel reps say that everything that goes out is carefully inspected and that the knicks and dings people claim are, in their experience, things that happen to the knife once it leaves the factory. They argue that their overhead is so little (probably because of marketing DVDs) that if they took the time to repair everything that was done by somebody else, they'd be working full time to repair them.
I can't speak for their honesty in that regard, but my own experience is that every Cold Steel knife I've ever seen new has been impressively well done. I've gotten what looks like a polishing burn on a blade every now and again, but it buffs out easily by hand using a little Semichrome and a rag.
Far from being sub-par, I've found Cold Steel's serrations to be among the best I've ever used. They saw through envelopes, bones, joints and packaging and virtually never need sharpening after the toughest of chores. And the serrations aren't bumpy like others I've used. The Zytel handles are amazing. They don't scratch, conduct heat or cold, warp and the lockups are proven tough by Cold Steel's own testing; one wonders why other knife makers or knife magazines never test lockups? How much pressure or pounds is required to cause other knives to fail? As users, it's not financially feasible for us to test them. Shall we wait until we're using them in a rough and hard way and see three of our fingers layng at our feet before we know that our EDC wasn't up to the task?
Cold Steel's Recon-1 is lacking, IMO, because the locking switch can be reached if grappling with an oppenent--not a good thing--but the Voyagers and the Voyager Tantos you can use with as much confidence as any folding knife anywhere, plus the blade is strong enough for prying, cutting through seatbelts or penetrating leather and light steel. I wouldn't try that with my Benchmade Ascent. My massive CRKT tanto, perhaps, but that's about the only contender I'd trust.
In short, I'd have to see a mangled finish on a CS blade from the factory before I'd believe it. And as someone who's bought dozens of Cold Steels over the past year, I can say hey, take your choice. With CRKT dropping from AUS6 to AUS4 and putting out crappy 420 blades, I'm not going to be complaining about AUS8, either. It's worked out fine for me. Spyderco may also have its fans, and they put out good knives, but for the most part you get a very sharp small blade at the end of a big handle and pay a sizable amount for it. I can't see the advanage there, either.
There's little to be gained in despising a company because of its marketing. It means they like knives, that they believe knives should be a known quantity, like guns. You shouldn't have to be in the middle of an emergency to find out if your knife is made to handle extreme stress.
I already know. I saw it on their video.
Cofed
