Cold Steel Large Stockman

kamagong

kamagong

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Jan 13, 2001
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Last week I ordered a CS stockman. It arrived today. While not my first slipjoint, this knife is the first slippie I have with carbon steel blades. This here is a summary of my first impressions.

This knife has good walk and talk. I'm not exactly sure what optimal walk and talk is because my first slippie was a Laguiole. Anyone who's ever owned a Laguiole knows that they come with incredibly strong backsprings. And while the springs on this are not nearly as strong as the one on my Laguiole, the blades on this CS open and close firmly. I guess that's all anyone could ask for.

This knife also came with sharp blades. I can sharpen a knife if I have to, but I don't find the sharpening experience especially enjoyable. I'm just glad that I can go out and use my new stockman now, although one day I'll probably convex the edges of the blades.

Finish is good, but the fit of this knife is nothing special. Two of the liners aren't fully flush with the sides of the handle. Another problem is that when the knife is open, not one of the top of the blades lines up with the springs. Oh well. From what I've read, perfect fit and finish is not something that one can really expect from modern slipjoints. At least these cosmetic issues won't affect the knife's function.

That's all for now. I'm off to give my new knife the Buzzbait treatment.
 
I forgot to mention a couple of things. After opening and closing this knife a few times I realized that I forgot to check for blade play. Luckily there is no blade play on any of the blades. There is also no blade rub. So while this particular specimen is not perfect, it is a very good knife and one that I can recommend.
 
I have owned one for about a year and have had no trouble with it, just remember that it is not a custom it's a user.
 
Thanks for giving us your impressions of the knife. Let us know how it works out after some usage. I've been curious about the CS stockman as a traditional slipjoint isn't what you think of when you think CS.
 
I've got the small stockman model, and am pretty pleased with it. My main complaint with mine is that they did a horrible job hiding the pins in the bolsters. While smoothed off, they stick out from the sides at least 1/16". That being said, it is a great user. Easily took a great patina.

I also had the Camillus Gran'Pa small stockman, which is the exact same knife (Camillus makes them for Cold Steel) in 1095 steel. The fit and finish on it was much better, but the springs were not as strong. I gave it away to my Father-in-Law as a Father's day present from my son (to Gran'Pa).

Now I kinda wished I would have kept it. If it is true that Carbon V is the same steel as Case's CV, it would have made a very interesting comparison of CV vs. 1095 on blades with the exact same geometry. Oh, well, just an excuse for another one....
 
Sharpthangs said:
If it is true that Carbon V is the same steel as Case's CV, it would have made a very interesting comparison of CV vs. 1095 on blades with the exact same geometry.
Click to expand...

That's what I have been led to believe, I've always thought these were deecnt knives from teh ones I have handled, a few years ago they announced a Remington 1306 pattern called the "Ozark Hunter" from Cold Steel, but sadly I don't think they ever made it to market.
 
When I got the knife there was a flat spot on the edge of the main blade. I didn't think anything of it, I thought it just happened inadvertently at the factory. So I went ahead and convexed the very edge of all three blades. I then oiled them and put the knife away. The next time I used the knife though I noticed the flat spot had returned. It seems that someone at the factory had ground down the kick on the clip blade so that the point did not lie above the handle. This solution had the unfortunate result of causing the edge to impact the backspring, hence the source of the flattening.

I called CS to ask about the warranty. I was told that I was out of luck because the Country Classics line has been discontinued and there are no more Stockmen in their inventory. It's really too bad because my stockman is a very good knife otherwise. I just wanted to let everyone know of my situation because if you want to pick up a CS slippie you better get one while you can. Of course that advice does come with a caveat--if your CS slipjoint does have a problem you won't have a remedy through the CS warranty department.
 
You can always slip a little bit of matchstick under the bit that's touching so it doesn't hit. That's common on laguioles, but rare on American slips.
 
kamagong,

This just burns me up.. :grumpy: As yet another quality issue related problem with CS and there inability, or just plain lack of interest, in "making it right" for the customer in the end.:thumbdn:

Thank You for taking the time to post this report and I am sorry to here about your bad expierence with CS, although I fear these threads will continue to become more prevelant as time goes on.
 
It's too bad really. The CS stockman is a strong knife that takes a screaming sharp edge. But I can't in good conscience recommend it because of the mediocre quality and poor customer service.
 
FWIW...
For a different look and to help with any rust concerns, try cleaning the blades and then use some cold blueing on them, did this to mine and the blades are nice and black now :)

Keith
 
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