Cold Steel Master Tanto San Mai (1980s?)

[spyderHS08]

Good morning all,

Any cold steel buffs here? Vintage 80s model gifted from a friend. Received on his first deployment. Just looking for any good info.

Does the 312 serial number mean it was the 312th piece produced? I learned yesterday that the steel marking is the San Mai 3 fold. I think this is one of the good ones!
Just curious what the story here might be. From what I understand cold steel is not what it used to be.

Thx all,
Harry

 

[jfk1110]

Yes that an early version made in Japan.....vg1 San mai is decent stuff..... Takes a nice edge........
A solid performer..........Nice piece

 

[killgar]

I'm no expert on Cold Steel Tantos, but that could be one of the tanto's that Cold Steel made exclusively for Cutlery Shoppe, and was referred to as the "Special Ops", or "Special Ops Master Tanto", something like that. I believe the combination of the shape of the guard, and the metal it's made of (stainless steel) were exclusive to the Cutlery Shoppe version (later versions of the Cold Steel Master Tantos had stainless guards, but were "sculpted"). The Cutlery Shoppe tantos also had serial numbers.

I see two different kydex sheaths, and two different tang markings attributed to the Cutlery Shoppe Master Tanto, but according to an email from Jeff Loffer of the Cutlery Shoppe, posted on this forum, the knives were produced over multiple years, and he believed that a few thousand were made. So I consider the possibility that at some point during production the sheath and blade marking may have been changed.

I imagine someone more knowledgeable than I about Cold Steel tantos will come along to confirm or correct this. And this thread might get moved to the Cold Steel subforum.

 

[spyderHS08]

Wow thanks guys!! Had no idea cutlery shoppe was around that long ago. Pretty sure this one was issued out in the late 80s. Awesome history here.

Also, missed the sub forum, that would probably be best! Oops

 

[nighthawk86]

Cutlery Shoppe has been around since the mid 80's at least, I used to get their print catalogs back then.

As for Cold Steel Tanto history, you might want to check the History of Cold Steel Tantos Thread near the top of this subforum, may be something in there.

In any case jlauffer , and maybe T The Whip will chime in on this, possibly some others who are knowlegable.

 

[jlauffer]

Yep, it's a Master Ops exclusive from Cutlery Shoppe (the non-SMIII version was called Special Ops). Would have also come with a leather sheath. That kydex sheath is different than what I've seen for these, so not sure if it's original or not. Can check here for more info (scroll down a bit):

Post in thread 'History of Cold Steel Tantos - Unauthorized and Probably Incomplete'

Apr 2, 2018

Master Tanto with Brass fittings - #13B

Period: Not exactly sure when they started using the Master Tanto name, as there were regular Tantos with San Mai III blades. It is in the earliest archived catalog, which is 1988, but may have been around before that. Lasted until 1991 and then the guard and pommel were changed from brass to stainless in 1992.

Blade Steel: San Mai III

Blade Length: 5 3/4" (this would change to 6" when they switched to stainless fittings)

Blade Markings: There are 3 versions that I know of...

• jlauffer

• 

 

[Benjamin Liu]

Wow thanks guys!! Had no idea cutlery shoppe was around that long ago. Pretty sure this one was issued out in the late 80s. Awesome history here.

Also, missed the sub forum, that would probably be best! Oops

They had ads in Soldier of Fortune and other magazines in the late 1980s.

They sold the original Recon Tanto, which was a variation of the standard Tanto but with a bead blasted blade and a more rounded pommel, for 2 for $100.00, which was a very good deal.

 

[killgar]

After a bit of research, and taking a really close look at the OP's sheath, it's an aftermarket/custom sheath made by a brand called C4 Industries. Whether Cutlery Shoppe offered these custom sheaths as an option, or whether people had to purchase them separately from C4 Industries, I don't know.

They mark their sheaths with "C4". The OP's sheath below, red arrow pointing to the "C4" mark. I found a few other C4 Master Tanto sheaths, including one at Arizona Customs (with a Cutlery Shoppe Tanto).

 

[spyderHS08]

After a bit of research, and taking a really close look at the OP's sheath, it's an aftermarket/custom sheath made by a brand called C4 Industries. Whether Cutlery Shoppe offered these custom sheaths as an option, or whether people had to purchase them separately from C4 Industries, I don't know.

They mark their sheaths with "C4". The OP's sheath below, red arrow pointing to the "C4" mark. I found a few other C4 Master Tanto sheaths, including one at Arizona Customs (with a Cutlery Shoppe Tanto).

View attachment 2822866

Nice!!! Thank you sir for taking the time. I didn’t even notice that.

Harrison

 

[killgar]

Nice!!! Thank you sir for taking the time. I didn’t even notice that.

Harrison

You're welcome. I had to satisfy my curiosity .

 

[The Whip]

Nice catch on K killgar 's part identifying the sheath! The Cutlery Shoppe exclusive Special Ops and Master Ops Tantos were long gone for decades before C4 Industries LLC came into existence. That sheath was paired with that knife in recent years, not back when the knife was new. Still, it's a great knife with an interesting history!


-Steve

 

[TheFlash]

Killgar is right and I've been giving Jeff Loffer of Cutlery Shoppe my business since the 1980's!
As a side note, I have a NIB Special Ops Tanto (S/N#489). It has the stainless guard and pommel (not brass).
Looks great because only the handle is black and all the rest - blade and 'furniture' - are all the silver color.
Been one of my favorites in my collection and bought it new from Jeff Loffer when they were first offered through Cutlery Shoppe.
(BTW - the Special Ops Tanto also came with a shoulder harness.)