Cold Steel Locks vs Spyderco Locks

M

mafeya

Joined
May 18, 2006
Messages
120
Hey guys, I was wondering if any of you knew how strong the cold steel folders locks really were. Seen some clips of cold steel knives (lockbacks) where this guy hangs from the knives, weights hung from them, as well as getting spine wacked really hard. They seem so darn strong.

Are they real? Or just a marketing ploy?

How do they compare to spycerco's lockback knives?
 
I would take the Cold Steel video with a grain of salt. That said I think it's hard to go wrong with an FRN folder made in Japan. The steel will be better on the Spyderco but if you're okay with AUS8 the Voyager series is very good. My EDC is a Spyderco but I don't plan on getting rid of my big Voyager any time soon.

Frank
 
Never owned CS but I've owned many Spyderco knives. I think CS makes some good locks (what I've heard) but I don't think they are any better than Spyderco's.
 
Per Sal Glesser: "I should comment that I introduced Cold Steel to their lock-back maker and they use our geometries in making their lock-backs." Sounds like they should be similar to Spyderco in quality, but I have never used a Cold Steel lock back so I speak from ignorance.
 
Mafeya, may I ask how did you find the links for the videos? I am not able to find any more.
 
They are on Cold Steel's website under certain knives. Not all of the knives have videos up on the internet.
 
Well if you look at the anchor point where the weight is suspended from, it is about 4 in away from the pivot. That is about 400 in*pounds lock strength and 100 pounds/per inch. According to Spyderco's house intern rating this would fall inbetween medium to heavy duty. Really not bad at all, but if you consider that the (shorter, shorter means the locks strength does not have to be as high because the torque will be lower) Manix/Chinook hold 900 in*pounds total with about 240 pounds/per inch, it will put things into perspective. The hanging from the knives is of course a hoax, the guy grabs way on the outside and has part of his hands on the blade, so the lock isn't really supporting all that much weight. Again, a Chinook/Manix (which are admittedly the strongest locks in Spyderco's lineup) should support the same stunt were the guy would grab the very END of the handle!
 
HoB said:
Really not bad at all, but if you consider that the (shorter, shorter means the locks strength does not have to be as high because the torque will be lower) Manix/Chinook hold 900 in*pounds total with about 240 pounds/per inch, it will put things into perspective.
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However the spyderco knives you listed are a little more than double the cost of the voyager knives.

Don't get me wrong though, i love my ChinookII and i have plans to purchase hopefully one of many militaries in the future.:thumbup:
 
Well if you look at the anchor point where the weight is suspended from, it is about 4 in away from the pivot. That is about 400 in*pounds lock strength and 100 pounds/per inch. According to Spyderco's house intern rating this would fall inbetween medium to heavy duty. Really not bad at all, but if you consider that the (shorter, shorter means the locks strength does not have to be as high because the torque will be lower) Manix/Chinook hold 900 in*pounds total with about 240 pounds/per inch, it will put things into perspective...
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Spyderco states it ratings as pounds per inch of blade. As I understand it since the X2 Voyager as 6 inches of blade, then it would only be rated at 400/6= 66 pounds per inch.
 
True, RedEdge, but Spyderco's E3/D3/Salts are also rated about 90-100 pounds/per inch bladelength and therefore pretty much equivalent to the Voyager and the new E4/D4 are quite a bit stronger. I simply tried to put what is shown into perspective. To me the stunts shown put the Voyager solidly onto middle ground. A very respectable performance, but nothing to be awed about.
 
HoB said:
True, RedEdge, but Spyderco's E3/D3/Salts are also rated about 90-100 pounds/per inch bladelength and therefore pretty much equivalent to the Voyager and the new E4/D4 are quite a bit stronger. I simply tried to put what is shown into perspective. To me the stunts shown put the Voyager solidly onto middle ground. A very respectable performance, but nothing to be awed about.
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I completely agree, it is a good knife for the money, but nothing spectacular.:)
 
kel_aa said:
Spyderco states it ratings as pounds per inch of blade. As I understand it since the X2 Voyager as 6 inches of blade, then it would only be rated at 400/6= 66 pounds per inch.
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Yes, that is precisely the catch. A longer blade needs a stronger lock. But the total lockstrength is about equivalent to an FRN Spyderco it seems.

I simply tried to point out the little details with which these stunts were created.

Edit: Thinking about it for a bit, I really have to edit my post: You are absolutely right, what I wrote earlier is easily misunderstood. I intentionally avoided writing "pounds/per inch bladelength" but I think my post is still misleading. I wanted to compare the total lockstrength to a Spyderco since Spyderco doesn't make a knife of the size of the Voyager. The lock compares to that of a medium-to-heavy-duty Spyderco, but you are absolutely right, the knife itself would be rated only in the lower end of the medium-duty range by Spyderco's standart.
 
I simply tried to point out the little details with which these stunts were created.
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I agree these are marketing stunts that aren't that that impressive in their own right. Amusing, certainly not lacking, but not beyond-the-ordinary impressive.

Plus, there is so much more to a knife than just the lock. What are you going to do with "66 pounds per inch"? Does "66 pounds per inch" make it cut efficently? Does "66 pounds per inch" give you a good grip? ...

I noticed in the Ti-Lite video the guy stabing the car hood is wearing steel gantlets. That's a show of confidence!
 
I just noticed another clever little sales trick. I am pretty sure this is two strands of 1 in hemp rope, NOT two inch hemp rope.

Still a pretty impressive feat, though I am more impressed by the presenter than by the knife.
 
It depends on the exact knife in question. I have seen Spydercos with pretty bad locks, and the same for Cold Steel, though most of both brands seem to be pretty good.
 
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