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Cold Steel Marketing

It took me a while to look past their marketing and give their knives a shot. Turns out they sell some very good ones and they are the only brand that has a good distributor in my country. With a store where you can go in and handle almost every single item in their catalogue.

In recent years their folders have improved a lot. Yes, the biggest Espada is probably not the best EDC choice but the medium Voyagers, Recon 1, American Lawman, etc. are all quite good.

They also have a ton of good self defence knives, this application might not be of interest to some, but it can be done well. SD knives aren't automatically ninja toys.

They also make some fun sharp toys and novelty pieces.
 
Yea my brother loves the videos, ok he is older but he is fascinated with the strength testing and I guess for good reason in some instances.
 
The products are pretty good. If the marketing bothers you than maybe your take the marketing and yourself a little too serious
 
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I take knives too serious !!! What an offense ! I can't stomach that !
 
:) I love Cold Steel and have since they started . I bought a ton of CS products in the 80's just from catalogs and magazine articles , long before we had any internet out here in the boonies . The proof videos are a bit over the top but I think they do demonstrate what the products are capable of accomplishing . In a culture full of marketing hype and violent entertainment , CS fits right in . :p

CS offers some of the best values available for what they sell . If their marketing or products offend you , that's great = MORE FOR ME ! :cool::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
I can't help but feel that Cold Steel's marketing tactics make knife owners look bad to the average citizen.
Personally, I find the videos in poor taste but informative. The names of CS knives pushes me even farther away from buying their products.

I can see it now:

Attorney: So, you told the police that you carry a knife as a tool and not as a weapon. Is that correct?

Me: Yes, that's correct. I don't consider pocket knives as weapons, only tools. I would never use a knife as an offensive
weapon and only for defense if I had no other choice.

Attorney: Please tell the court what model and brand of knife you carry.

Me: Broken Skull by Cold Steel.

Attorney: What was that? Please say that again...


It would only go downhill from there. Cold Steel would do everyone a favor if they split into two companies for marketing like KAI did with Kershaw/ZT.
 
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I love CS and own over 60 of their various products. Showing off that your tools can handle extreme abuse at IMHO are a great value in price. If I had what's often considered the strongest lock on the market I'd show it off too. I think L. Thompson means well. The thing that I dislike about him is the frivolous law suit threats. The CRKT "virtually a fixed blade" and the San Mai that has been around for hundreds of years. I understand he paid for the rights to the term (I believe and may be wrong) but to threaten small time makers is a douche move. Yet he has the Eland/Kudu line a modern Okapi, and the Twist Lock a modern Opinel, I'm sure there is more. Overall I love their products. I seldomly hear a complaint about their knives as a tool but most all complaints are about LT marketing.
I watched an interesting video right after the CRK Sebenza failed after 45 pounds and the CS beat it out. It was the about the "Justin Bieber effect". Not that I could even pick Justin Bieber out of a police lineup. The video was essentially if you love Justin Bieber you are talking about him. If you hate Justin Bieber your talking about him. Either way people in the knife community are talking about CS. Love them or hate them.... Any publicity is good publicity! Burn me at the stake if you want CS puts out a good knife at a good price and they know it.
 
Sell the sizzle, not the steak. Cold Steel's marketing department does a fine job of selling the sizzle to the whoever they think the largest consumer base is.

gdog363 said:
I feel that they have conned god knows how many teenagers into buying a knife based on those videos they put on YouTube
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They didn't con a single person. They do silly stuff with their knives to elicit an emotional response from the person watching, they don't mislead, they don't lie, and they don't coerce. Any kid that's bought a cold steel karambit because "OMG did you see the way it went through those pig ribs!?!?" was not conned by anyone into buying that knife. If anything, they conned themselves when they decided they 'needed' that knife for some reason.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
You won't be laughing when you're attacked by a pack of vicious meat-boots!
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The deadly and vicious meat boots!

Where is my Cold Steel Drop Forged Survivalist, when I need it!

azvnPR0.png
 
LukeTheSpook said:
The products are pretty good. If the marketing bothers you than maybe your take the marketing and yourself a little too serious
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its public perception. Not mine. Marketing along those line fuels the knife haters. Then guess what...... Knife laws come around. Then your packing a butter knife around. Its better to state the facts and let the product sell itself. (Ill never buy one that is built overseas, Thats just me.)
 
Makael said:
its public perception. Not mine. Marketing along those line fuels the knife haters. Then guess what...... Knife laws come around. Then your packing a butter knife around. Its better to state the facts and let the product sell itself. (Ill never buy one that is built overseas, Thats just me.)
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The marketing is meant to be campy with a touch of corny. Any knife advertising will seem corny to non knife people. Cold steel just does it with almost a touch of making fun of themselves.

If you think that 99% of videos or adverts are any different to the general public you are wrong. Look at Busse, corny pigs and rats. So terrible but we love it. Kabar? Cmon, no one carries those old school marine knives. But they're cool. Show a blade sports comp to a normal person and they'll roll their eyes and /or laugh hesterically.

Embrace your comfy knife nerd self. Unless you live in the bush it's all just a fun hobby.
 
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The public hasn't ever heard of Cold Steel. Go ahead, ask around.
If their marketing is really so damaging to public perception that laws are being created as a result then would they do it?
 
AF said:
The public hasn't ever heard of Cold Steel. Go ahead, ask around.
If their marketing is really so damaging to public perception that laws are being created as a result then would they do it?
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Not everyone is good at long term thinking, or considering unintended consequences of their actions, so yes, it’s entirely possible they’ve never considered this possibility.
 
AF said:
The public hasn't ever heard of Cold Steel.
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Really? :confused:
It's one of the only companies I've found that people have heard about.

Not as many people as have heard of Buck knives, but way more than most other companies.
 
stabman said:
Really? :confused:
It's one of the only companies I've found that people have heard about.

Not as many people as have heard of Buck knives, but way more than most other companies.
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I'm thinking of the random person off the street. I don't think most have heard of Cold Steel. Buck, "Swiss Army" are household names.
 
AF said:
I'm thinking of the random person off the street. I don't think most have heard of Cold Steel. Buck, "Swiss Army" are household names.
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Buck and Swiss Army Knife for sure.
But Gerber and Cold Steel are also names that average off the street folks seem to have heard about.

And come on, there has to be some payoff from all the advertising. They throw their name out there more than just about any other company, and have been for decades now. It would be more odd if they weren't somewhat known by now.
 
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