cold steel swift II

N

nick060200

Joined
Jan 18, 2017
Messages
20
1st post, so hi to all.
was looking for another EDC folder. I sold my griptilian and was looking to replace it. I actually loved my griptilian, should have kept it, but anyway. did a lot of looking and researching and it came down to another griptilian, spyderco PM2 and a CS swift 2.
after comparing all 3 and searching a bunch of videos I went and ordered the CS swift 2. i waited a week to get it and the anticipation built up. finally got it and open it up and it looked great. go to open it and its just horrible. had to be something wrong. in all the videos i looked at the thing seemed to fly open. mine just made a gritty grinding sound and was difficult to open. i loosened the screw that holds the blade, and it made it a bit better but still horrible and loosening it also caused some significant play in the blade. huge disappointment. i thought of contacting CS but ended up just contacting the seller and he sent a return label and i shipped it back for a refund.

that same day i shipped it back i ended up buying a PM2 and a griptilian. kind of an impulse buy i guess. now i have this sour taste in my mouth about CS (the swift 2 was my 1st CS), but wondering if i should give it another shot. would like to hear if anyone has had these kind of issues with CS or the swift 2 specifically.
thanks
 
Sorry to hear that you got bad experience with Swift II man, i personally had 3 of them and they all works great for me. However i wouldn't really recommend Swift if it's your first CS knife as IMO there is a design flaw with the assisted mechanism that cause the lockbar spring to break with repeated use. However Cold Steel customer service has been great to me, as i would call them and they would send me a return label and got a replacement knife within 2 weeks. I still wouldn't buy it because I have had 2 broken springs for this model.

I would recommend giving CS another try, and take a serious look at the American Lawman. IMO it's as good as the PM2 if not better for the price. You can get one now for $76 with CTS XHP steel, which i think it's an incredible deal. If you are looking for smooth free-dropping opening & closing like the PM2 then it's not for you, otherwise IMO it's one of the best knife you can buy for your money.

Here is a quick comparison between the Lawman, PM2 and Manix 2:

13259461_1104497792943803_1832596679_n.jpg


Another shot of my well used Lawman:

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hkyew said:
Sorry to hear that you got bad experience with Swift II man, i personally had 3 of them and they all works great for me. However i wouldn't really recommend Swift if it's your first CS knife as IMO there is a design flaw with the assisted mechanism that cause the lockbar spring to break with repeated use. However Cold Steel customer service has been great to me, as i would call them and they would send me a return label and got a replacement knife within 2 weeks. I still wouldn't buy it because I have had 2 broken springs for this model.

I would recommend giving CS another try, and take a serious look at the American Lawman. IMO it's as good as the PM2 if not better for the price. You can get one now for $76 with CTS XHP steel, which i think it's an incredible deal. If you are looking for smooth free-dropping opening & closing like the PM2 then it's not for you, otherwise IMO it's one of the best knife you can buy for your money.

Here is a quick comparison between the Lawman, PM2 and Manix 2:

13259461_1104497792943803_1832596679_n.jpg


Another shot of my well used Lawman:

13651786_195119297569652_870578569_n.jpg
Click to expand...

thanks, actually the lawman was my #4. i opted on the swift only because the blade and handle seemed to have a bit of a narrower profile which pleased my eye more. but i might give the lawman a shot now.
 
nick060200 said:
thanks, actually the lawman was my #4. i opted on the swift only because the blade and handle seemed to have a bit of a narrower profile which pleased my eye more. but i might give the lawman a shot now.
Click to expand...

Yeah the Swift does have a more elegant profile, but the Lawman's blade probably has the same width but shorter. The Lawman has almost the exact same size as the PM2, with finger choil etc. It's hollow ground but i like the security of having a much more robust tip. If you like the PM2 you will prob like the Lawman too.
Beware though, that the Triad lock can be a beast to close if you are not used to it before. You may have sore thumb for a while until your thumb harden up.
 
I have a swift I have no issues with it. it flies out like a rocket,there is the slightest of up and down blade play when open hard to notice unless you grab the blade and handle and wiggle it. I have no complaints, and got it for under 100 on the exchange,cant beat that .you must have gotten a lemon for sure.
 
goldie said:
I have a swift I have no issues with it. it flies out like a rocket,there is the slightest of up and down blade play when open hard to notice unless you grab the blade and handle and wiggle it. I have no complaints, and got it for under 100 on the exchange,cant beat that .you must have gotten a lemon for sure.
Click to expand...

I think you may have got the blade play because you grab the handle hard that it slightly depressed the lockbar. Or you can send it back to CS, from my experience they will always send a new one for you. I dont even call nowadays, just put a note in the box with return address and details of the issue and i'll get the replacement in 2 weeks. I've done that 1/2 a dozen times, they always just send a new one for you.
 
I recently purchased a Broken Skull that had to be returned to the dealer because blade centering and action were horrible. Tried adjusting the pivot, and that only made it worse. I do not have small weak hands by no means, and I simply couldn't one hand open that knife. Ended up settling for a credit. I'm not completely turned off by Cold Steel, but I would prefer to have the next one in hand before I buy it, and the Broken Skull was bought online so that wasn't an option.
 
hkyew said:
I think you may have got the blade play because you grab the handle hard that it slightly depressed the lockbar. Or you can send it back to CS, from my experience they will always send a new one for you. I dont even call nowadays, just put a note in the box with return address and details of the issue and i'll get the replacement in 2 weeks. I've done that 1/2 a dozen times, they always just send a new one for you.
Click to expand...

well its nice to know the customer service is good. thanks
 
I didn't grab it by the lock I made sure of it. I found this problem by accident. its very slight.im too lazy right now to send it back to them, unless they send a newer one with the safety on the handle.
 
I'm not typically a fan of CS knives but the only one I still have and love is the Code 4. Heavy duty knife without the bulk of other CS knives, and very smooth action.
 
goldie said:
I didn't grab it by the lock I made sure of it. I found this problem by accident. its very slight.im too lazy right now to send it back to them, unless they send a newer one with the safety on the handle.
Click to expand...

Oh you can request one, you just have to call them. My swift had the lockbar spring broken twice due to poor spring temper according to CS customer rep. On the 2nd time, i called them and asked for the new model with the additional safety lock, and they had no problem sending it to me. Although they messed up by sending me the wrong stuff but they straightened it up by sending me the correct one without even waiting for me to return the wrong stuff first.

I have heard that CS had poor customer services via Email/Web form, it's probably true, but you just have to call them. It usually takes me much less effort to just call them or ship the defective stuff directly to them with a note. I've done it for half a dozen times(i bought a lot of CS) since 2015 and they have always resolve my issue very quickly.
 
Seneca18 said:
I'm not typically a fan of CS knives but the only one I still have and love is the Code 4. Heavy duty knife without the bulk of other CS knives, and very smooth action.
Click to expand...

Try it with the grip tape mod like i did mine, you will love it even more.

13150872_1764398703790010_1965123715_n.jpg
 
I like the way the Swift looks, was considering one as well. I wonder if its possible to de-assist it though.
 
CookieRawwr said:
I like the way the Swift looks, was considering one as well. I wonder if its possible to de-assist it though.
Click to expand...

Yes i de-assisted mine. But you can only do it on the old version. The mechanism works by having the assisted spring push against a stop pin on the blade to launch it. On the older version, the stop pin is captured loose, so if you disassemble the knife fully(have to remove the spring first) you should be able to just remove the stop pin on the blade to de-assist it.

The newer version with secondary lock has a press-fitted stop pin on the blade. It's not impossible to remove, but will be harder. Also it will show obvious sign of removal hence voiding the warranty. The old one you can just drop the pin back and it becomes assisted again with no sign of being tempered.
 
hkyew said:
Yeah the Swift does have a more elegant profile, but the Lawman's blade probably has the same width but shorter. The Lawman has almost the exact same size as the PM2, with finger choil etc. It's hollow ground but i like the security of having a much more robust tip. If you like the PM2 you will prob like the Lawman too.
Beware though, that the Triad lock can be a beast to close if you are not used to it before. You may have sore thumb for a while until your thumb harden up.
Click to expand...
HUGE thank you for breakage info! Could you tell about deassisting- would it stop the damaging process for the lock? Thnx!
 
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