Cold Steel Models You Regret Not Buying

Blue Sky said:
I have a Black Rhino, it’s a handful. Seemed to be a good fit for the CS line up, I’ve always wondered why they dropped it so quickly.
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I meant to comment on this when you wrote it, but I got caught up in other things and forgot. Back when the Black Rhino disappeared, I wondered why it vanished from the catalog so quickly, too. I never cared for the looks myself, but it seemed like a sturdy workhorse knife that a lot of people would like. Then, a year or so ago, I saw this Parker Cutlery model from the 1980s.

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I'm sure that the design pre-dates Parker's knife. (Jim Parker "borrowed" far more knife designs than he ever created.) But clearly the Black Rhino wasn't much more than a scaled-up Little Bandit. I wonder if Lynn made the Black Rhino thinking that he was being original, discovered that he wasn't, and killed the model.


As for the thread topic, for me the one that got away was the Custom Series Talwar. I bought a Scimitar model and liked it. But when Cold Steel was clearing out the Custom Series, I wasn't as interested in those knives as I would become later (a lot of other companies were making models I wanted back then). I always regretted not taking advantage of that sale. I ended up buying several of them before the prices skyrocketed, but never found the Talwar at a reasonable price.

I also wish I had picked up a couple of the Para Edges when they were available. Many decent alternatives have been offered since, but the Para Edge always struck me as a nice small-knife option, a bit more user-friendly than the Ready Edge for those of us with larger hands. I particularly liked these two.

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-Steve
 
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If I remember correctly, CS listed the Black Rhino as a modern remake of the traditional clasp knife, which pre-dated it by a long time. At least the Case version did. I was interested in Case clasp knives at the time, which is how the BR got on my radar.

Edit to add: if interested, ref the CS 2008 catalog for the first listing of the BR.
 
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What?
No one even mentioned the relics in the old Voyager class of knives? Personally, I miss the polished blades and the lightweight properties of the old Voyager line.


Vaquero Grande (top) and Peace Maker.

I honestly don't believe that every stoopid Cold Steel folding knife has to have a Tri-Ad lock.

Don't get me wrong. I love Tri-Ad locking knives. It's just that they add weight and bulk to their knives. The Vaquero Grande was an exceptional knife. Strong locking system, lightweight, menacing to the max. So why did CS stop production on them?
 
I really regret not buying one or more Broken Skulls in CTS-XHP when I had the chance. I think I would really enjoy the design.

I also should have bought a couple of plain edge Talwar folders in CTS-XHP. And I REALLY should have ordered a couple of Culloden dirks to carry as boot knives.
 
oldmanwilly said:
I really regret not buying one or more Broken Skulls in CTS-XHP when I had the chance. I think I would really enjoy the design.

I also should have bought a couple of plain edge Talwar folders in CTS-XHP. And I REALLY should have ordered a couple of Culloden dirks to carry as boot knives.
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Those XHP Broken Skulls were the deal of the century at $50. I wouldn’t trade one of mine for anything. At 3.1 ounces for just over 4 inches of very well heat treated XHP in a handle that’s not much longer, it is in my favorite 5 knives to carry. If it had been called almost anything else, it would still be in production in s35vn.
 
jux t said:
Those XHP Broken Skulls were the deal of the century at $50. I wouldn’t trade one of mine for anything. At 3.1 ounces for just over 4 inches of very well heat treated XHP in a handle that’s not much longer, it is in my favorite 5 knives to carry. If it had been called almost anything else, it would still be in production in s35vn.
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Thanks for making me kick myself harder.🤣 They technically kept the design on as the Range Boss, but now it's in 4034 and doesn't have the G10 scales anymore. Not quite the same...
 
jux t said:
Those XHP Broken Skulls were the deal of the century at $50. I wouldn’t trade one of mine for anything. At 3.1 ounces for just over 4 inches of very well heat treated XHP in a handle that’s not much longer, it is in my favorite 5 knives to carry. If it had been called almost anything else, it would still be in production in s35vn.
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The name (more importantly the huge billboarding of the stupid name) was the only thing keeping me from getting a few back then. Shoulda woulda.
 
Centermass said:
The name (more importantly the huge billboarding of the stupid name) was the only thing keeping me from getting a few back then. Shoulda woulda.
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At $50, it could have been called Edit: name removed by staff; we don’t as a staff condone talk of extradimensional beings nor their influence on proprietary screws.
 
Stargater said:
What?
No one even mentioned the relics in the old Voyager class of knives? Personally, I miss the polished blades and the lightweight properties of the old Voyager line.
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I think most people bought the Voyagers they wanted.

I bought two when they still had zytel clips, the Large Tanto and XL Tanto.

I still have the XL Tanto.
 
Stargater said:
What?
No one even mentioned the relics in the old Voyager class of knives? Personally, I miss the polished blades and the lightweight properties of the old Voyager line.


Vaquero Grande (top) and Peace Maker.

I honestly don't believe that every stoopid Cold Steel folding knife has to have a Tri-Ad lock.

Don't get me wrong. I love Tri-Ad locking knives. It's just that they add weight and bulk to their knives. The Vaquero Grande was an exceptional knife. Strong locking system, lightweight, menacing to the max. So why did CS stop production on them?
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I have a couple of pre trilocks and your right they Rock and are Rock solid👍
 
I wish I had bought 4 of the really thin handled Hold Out II with the 4" CTS-XHP blade.

I'd still be carrying them, well one of them.
 
I wish I got the Terminator and the Safe Maker II when they were all made in Japan! I also miss the Black Rhino, the Black Sable, and the Hatamoto!
 
Off the top of my head
• Twistmaster
• That three bladed stockman that was I think made by Camillus (should have gotten a few of those)
•The original Voyager series, the metal clip variety, so maybe second gen? loved the lightweight and less futuristic handle designs (had one and I think I sold or traded it cause it was half serrated) those blades were polished so smooth and sharp, loved the finished and thinness.
•Triple Action (not so practical but cool and fidgety)
• Working man (I have and carry one regularly, but should have bought many when they were dirt cheap, what an awesome inexpensive knife)
•Hold out 3 was awesome, I have one and carry it sometimes, needle point, slicey, only the pocket clip is too tight.
 
I saw an Imperia Tai Pan on EB that was in the box, brand new, and had the invoice from buying it right from Cold Steel. The story was that it was purchased for the owner by their business as a gift, and he was given the invoice along with everything else. Would have been a neat backstory to it all.

But at 1600 bucks or so, was too rich for my blood then.

There was an Urban Shiv on EB too maybe 3-4 months back. I've only seen maybe 2 others for sale, and both were beat up, but this one was NIB and had the sheath in as new shape too. Bid 400 bucks or so but as often happens, someone came in with 5 seconds left and bid it up to 500 bucks or so.

I can see to some extent paying 1500 for an Imperia Tai Pan - any blade made to that same standard today would cost at least that much, so it's not overpriced. But for the early CS stuff, you're paying for the history of it, as there's not much special about an Urban Shiv, or the Urban Pal, which I paid 250 for maybe a 25 dollar piece of steel! But it did have the original box, so there's that.
 
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