Cold Steel Large polished aluminum ESPADA. Why do my 2 look so different?

cbxer55 said:
If that's so, they cheapened it. The fit-and-finish of the newer one sucks when compared to the older one. I would not buy one of these "new" ones. Not now, not ever. Look at the pics in post #15. YUCK!! Looks like they found someone to make a substandard Espada, and kept the price the same. The old Stealth Price Increase strikes again.
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The fit-and-finish concern that you mention could possibly be an isolated incident.
 
The top one is an old original Vaquero Grande. Before the TRI AD lock, but still a good strong lock. I added the clip.Also the serrations are just about gone from sharpening it over the years, which is okay by me.

The bottom one, the Black Rhino is my current edc. Love this knife. Knife perfection. They should not have cancelled it. Yes they are rare as they are no longer produced. I have no qualms with the AUS-8A steel at all. I've rarely had to sharpen it, and when needed an ultra fine diamond hone does the trick. I've got it so harp right now, my arm hairs jump off in fear if I put the knife up near my arm. :eek:;):D
 
The Espada blade profile changed several years ago, it was a rolling change
Fit and finish is a different discussion. If you receive a blade with poor assembly please do let us know.
Our warranty covers defects in materials and craftsmanship
Call our team at (800) 255-4716 they will be able to advise you

Thanks
 
Thank you so much for throwing your official voice into the conversation. The F&F on both of them is fine for me, I love the knife, I just wanted to know if I had a forgery or not. Keep up the good work. I'll be buying one of those scottish sword dirk things y'all made next.
Cold Steel Knives said:
The Espada blade profile changed several years ago, it was a rolling change
Fit and finish is a different discussion. If you receive a blade with poor assembly please do let us know.
Our warranty covers defects in materials and craftsmanship
Call our team at (800) 255-4716 they will be able to advise you

Thanks
Click to expand...
 
I have two large espadas that I bought in different years.
One is when they were first released and the other was from a later date.
They were both purchased through Authentic Cold Steel distributors.
They have the exact same differences as yours do.
I would have to agree that there was a design change along the way. :)
 
I had the version with a shorter clip and it was a beauty. Perfect function too.
 
Sillyship said:
I have two Espadas and I'm wondering why they look so different from each other? I looked online some but I couldn't find anything. Both of them say they were made in Taiwan. If you look at the bad photos you'll notice that the length of steel between the swoop of the top (non sharpened) side of the blade and the thumb ramp is much longer on one than on the other. I'm wondering why they look so different.
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And yes, I know they need a good wiping.[/QUOTE]

Sillyship, just for clarification, in your photo above, the top knife with the longer swedge is a first generation model. The bottom knife is the later rendering. The differences are also addressed in this thread, which deals with the tuxedo swap you're contemplating:

[url]http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1324917-Espada-blade-swap?p=15252016#post15252016[/url]

If I'm not mistaken, subtle design changes appeared on the Medium Espada, as well. For what it's worth, I think that the fit and finish on the Espadas have only improved over the years. Their construction rivals some of the best manufacturing that I've witnessed from any knife company. And from a lifelong knife guy, that's saying a lot!

-Steve
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Thanks for that info and that thread link. I really appreciate it.
The Whip said:
Sillyship, just for clarification, in your photo above, the top knife with the longer swedge is a first generation model. The bottom knife is the later rendering. The differences are also addressed in this thread, which deals with the tuxedo swap you're contemplating:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1324917-Espada-blade-swap?p=15252016#post15252016

If I'm not mistaken, subtle design changes appeared on the Medium Espada, as well. For what it's worth, I think that the fit and finish on the Espadas have only improved over the years. Their construction rivals some of the best manufacturing that I've witnessed from any knife company. And from a lifelong knife guy, that's saying a lot!

-Steve
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I think the later model, shorter clip Espada is an attempt to address the wave-deployment issue of the earlier model, which tended to snag and get caught on the pocket lip, due to the prominent secondary point and drastic slope forming a deep "valley" with the wave-plate. The straighter spine on the newer model likely prevent this from happening. Imagine having a semi open giant folder getting stucked and hanging on one's pocket in an emergency. I have the old model and noticed the issue as soon as I tried to wave it. Hoping to see the XHP version soon. Would love to add another large and possibly an XL Espada to my little CS fleet.
 
Sillyship said:
Thanks for that info and that thread link. I really appreciate it.
Click to expand...

You're quite welcome. If you do the blade swap, we need more pictures!

kerberosWXIV said:
I think the later model, shorter clip Espada is an attempt to address the wave-deployment issue of the earlier model, which tended to snag and get caught on the pocket lip, due to the prominent secondary point and drastic slope forming a deep "valley" with the wave-plate. The straighter spine on the newer model likely prevent this from happening. Imagine having a semi open giant folder getting stucked and hanging on one's pocket in an emergency. I have the old model and noticed the issue as soon as I tried to wave it. Hoping to see the XHP version soon. Would love to add another large and possibly an XL Espada to my little CS fleet.
Click to expand...

Hmm, interesting. I'll bet you're right. I generally don't use the Wave feature on my knives (even my Emersons, which I find the easiest models to deploy that way), so it's a usage modification that I wouldn't have detected if you hadn't pointed it out.

I definitely think the shrinking of the ricasso was a worthwhile change. I don't like large ricassos. Why purposely limit the length of sharpened edge?

-Steve
 
kerberosWXIV said:
I think the later model, shorter clip Espada is an attempt to address the wave-deployment issue of the earlier model, which tended to snag and get caught on the pocket lip
Click to expand...

I'm not aware of any such problem. I own and carry the 1st gen model and have never had any issues.
I believe the design change was to create a slightly thicker, stronger blade shape while trying to keep that classic "Bowie meets Navaja" silhouette
 
I practice with both, sometimes out of each back pocket at the same time and have never experienced a problem. Also, just want to say again, this is one of my all time favorite knives and the only pocket knife I would carry if my main concern was self defense. I will be getting a black blade at some point and perform the necessary surgery to own a "Tuxedo Espada", or two. Keep up the good work Cold steel. However, just sayin', I wish more of your pocket knives had this kind of delicate attention to details and style. I love the quality, by far the best bang for the buck, of your folders, but it would not hurt to make more of them look classy as well. And when you do, keep them in production, like the Espada, so I can actually afford one. The Rhino, black sable and Rajah 1 are all on my "to own next" list. the
Cold Steel Knives said:
I'm not aware of any such problem. I own and carry the 1st gen model and have never had any issues.
I believe the design change was to create a slightly thicker, stronger blade shape while trying to keep that classic "Bowie meets Navaja" silhouette
Click to expand...
 
Good luck on the Black Rhino. Been out of production for several years. Might luck into one if you're brave enough to buy off Creep's List or Flea Bay.
 
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