"Cold Steel", Warm Heart!

I'm actually quite a fan of Cold Steel. I do agree that the current serration pattern they use sucks. They used to use serrations that were closer to Spyderco which I love but changed them for some reason (patent problemls?). Anyway, I'm stuck with a bunch of their knives with serrations that I'd like to modify but probably won't. They use to make a series of liner locks before they came out with the Voyager series but I don't remember the name. I've got a couple of Outdoorsmen and 2 mini Outdoorsman and they are great knives. I made the mistake of ordering a serrated Kobun. I like everything about but the serrations especially the price. I want ot get a plain edge version edge. They have also brought back the Twist locks. These are great inexpensive blades for camping or toolbox. I bought a bunch of the old Carbon V ones when they stopped making them before and have given several as gifts to camping friends and have gotten nothing but rave reviews. I also have two factory second Trailmasters in Carbon V and I don't want to sound too much like LT but a challenge anybody to find a better value in a tough wellmade Bowie. I also have no problem with someone being proud of their product if they can back it up. Ever read Bagwell in SOF in the 80's?
Whew! this was a longer then I intended but i just got on a roll.

phantom4

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who dares, wins

 
Prigger,
Yes, I did see that Tai Pan, you're right, that is a sweet blade.

I too am not a big fan of their serration pattern. To be quite honest I do not particularly care for them at all. The only blade I have with serrations is the Military and that is because I love that knife.

I don't know about y'all but I can not afford a Mad Dog and so will be acquiring either a Trailmaster or a 6" tanto. Both of which I have handled.

I always say "stick with what you know and what you know works." for me that means Cold Steel.

Dannyc,
Hope I got your name right, thanks for the compliment. I have never had a problem speaking out, my problem is that sometimes I am a bit too vociferous. I just hate to see a good company and product get bashed without good reason. If you dislike the person or the method of advertising then that is fine but don't needlessly degrade an otherwise good product.
Just my $0.02(well by now it's more like $0.64)
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*Norse Knife Nut*

"Military" Fans Unite!!

"The only limitation is lack of imagination."



[This message has been edited by William Johnson (edited 05 March 1999).]
 
Note to the Trailmaster fans: if you're buying a heavy utility knife, it's a damned good piece. If you're shopping for a fighter in that price range, go see Ernie Mayer at Black Cloud...for the money, none finer in the "light tip long balanced fighting Bowie" class.

Jim March
 
Hello William!

Yep, you got my name right.
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and yes, you're right. All that bashing was what got my curiosity going, which eventually led me to this site.

I, too, am going to get a Trailmaster Bowie real soon. I'm still thinking of whether to get their Carbon-V or San Mai III version of the bowie. As I already have two sanmais here, maybe I should go for the Carbon-V.

Oh, and I'm sure you'll have fun with the 6" tanto once you get it. I sure did.
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Looks great, feels great, and cuts like the dickens, too! The only thing I don't like about it is the leather sheath it came with. It's pretty hard to remove the knife if you're in a hurry. I think a Kydex sheath would be perfect for it, though.

Augh... my poor wallet... hehehe...

Regards,

Dan
 
A cold steel mini tanto was one of my first knives, and it has never failed me. I have my eye on the black bear classic or a trailmaster. Where could I find cold steel seconds.
 
fq55-You'll find cs 2nds by visiting their website and requesting a catalog. As someone pointed out in an earlier post, their catalogs are colorful, fun to look at (and fantasize over), and fairly informative. They also list lower prices than the website and they have the factory 2nds, which I don't believe I've seen anywhere else.


I'm curious, though why so many people say they hate the cs serrations? Is it a question of sharpening, or performance. I recently bought a serrated El Hombre, and the thing cuts like a demon. I grant you that I don't look forward to the day I need to sharpen it, but I don't imagine that it'll be coming too soon. Right now, I'm elated with the El Hombre, and gleefully await the arrival of a mini tanto I just secured, as well as a Kobun and a Desperado which will be following shortly. Need I say more? Actually, I should mention their mini pal, single edged push knife with a 1 inch blade. This thing is so damn handy. It hangs from the zipper of my fleece, easily accessible and quite legal (I live in MASS). Most people don't even have a clue what it is. I love it! Only cost me $10, too.
Sorry, I'll shut up now.
-Thierry
 
Terry, I have nothing against serrations per se. I'm a huge fan of Spyderco serrations and I've got and given dozens of them with no complaint. The CS serrations just seem to hang up in whatever I'm cutting unlike the Spydercos which go through ANYTHING like hot butter. In any case sharpening is no problem at all if you use the Spyderco Sharpmaker. In my opinion it is the best sharpening system on the market bar none in both results and ease of use. It works great on plain edges too. Not exactly cheap but worth every penny.

phantom4

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who dares, wins

 
Most conversations I have had with Cold Steel fans go like this:

Them: "I LOVE my Cold Steel *****! It is the best knife I have ever owned!"

Me: "Well, what else have you owned?"

Them: "Before this, I had a a Buck ****, a United Cutlery ***** and a Valor ****"

Me: "Ah, I see, well, nice talking to you..."

The only time that conversation continues is if they are willing to learn what else is out there. Most Cold Steel fans are not interested in learning more or buying better, because they are happy. That is fine. BUT, it is rather tough to say that something is the "BEST" when you have never owned anything in a higher price point.
Cold Steel makes good knives for the price. But, they are on the high end of the "junk" range in most knife collector's minds, and on the low end of the "barely bearable USER" knife for beating the heck out of. If the buyer knew more about where and how they were made and how much of their advertising hype is totally false, then they might be less impressed.


It reminds me of many young Glock owners who I meet that tell me:

Them: "I LOVE my Glock! Glocks are the BEST!".

Me: "Yes, Glocks are good guns. What else do you shoot?"

Them: "Er, well, this is my first large handgun, but I did shoot my friends **** once..."

Me: "Well then, how the HECK do you know that it is even the 'best for you', let alone, the 'BEST, period?'

I have owned Glocks and I will own more down the road I suspect. They are good guns, but you can't say that they are "the BEST" until you have owned or researched thoroughly many other finer guns and have a good base to say that from.
(Note: I am NOT comparing Glock to Cold Steel here, just the buyers that are a little too quick to embrace and endorse an item without thoroughly researching the options or what they could get for a little more money)

Cold Steel are good knives to beat the heck out of, but they are nothing special. That, coupled with their advertising campaign, is why most knife afficionados do not like them.
Their advertising campaign is more than just annoying (and much of it is poor opinion and hype stated as FACT), but it is very counteractive to the knife culture, which is trying to keep the carrying of knives legal. Bragging about how your knives could sever a man's arm with one swipe, etc., is NOT very helpful in the pursuit of trying to keep the carry of knives legal, and to keep them viewed as more than just the weapons of savages. True knife afficionados KNOW what they could do with a knife if they had to; we don't need to see it in bold print. The only people I have seen that are impressed by Cold Steel's advertising tactics are in High School, or they have never mentally grew out of that juvinile stage, and they just ACT like they are still a typical teenage male. (Hey, I admit it, when I was in High School, me and my friends thought Cold Steel knives were "the bomb" also! But, then I grew up and did some research...).

JMHO,
thaddeus

[This message has been edited by thaddeus (edited 10 March 1999).]
 
Yeah, Cold Steel makes a good knife. If there is a good thing to say about Lynn Thompson, it is to say that he knows knives. The Trailmaster is a great field knife for the money, and the Recon Scout is another one.

The serrations on the folders are the same as on the Ginsu Knife so they should never need sharpening. Right? Sure!

My problem with Cold Steel isn't with the quality of their products. You get your money's worth, if you buy direct from them.

As a dealer, I have a problem with that. They sell wholesale (or almost) to anyone. I don't have a problem with competition, but it shouldn't come from manufacturers or distributors. The retail price is inflated to where the wholesale is so high that ordinary dealers are priced out of the market so they (Cold Steel) can undersell everyone else. That shows a serious ethical problem in my book.

It is great for ELUs because you get a good product at a cheap price. I just can't stay in business if I don't make enough profit to pay the bills, and there isn't enough room with Cold Steel to do that.

That is why I no longer carry Cold Steel, and won't. Lynn Thompson is welcome to sell his stuff, I just won't help him.

Oh yeah! I do own a lot of knives, including Randall and Chris Reeve. Cold Steel makes a good knife...for the money.

They usedto make a liner lock called the Ultralock. They dropped it around 1994 when the voyagers came out. I think it was too expensive to produce. Even they couldn't ***** it out.

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Thanks for listening!
wrightknife@ixpres.com
 
Thaddeus, I would agree with you when comes to their line of AUS-8 and San Mai knives. They are expensive and not worth the retail value. Luckily, you can usually get good discounts on these knives.

However, when it comes to their line of Carbon V knives, it's a different story. I do have many good knives that cost much more than the most expensive CS's, but this line of knives holds an edge equal to the best out there and is as tough as any knife made. Just ask anyone who has an SRK, Recon Scout, Trailmaster or Recon Tanto. All four of those knives are probably their toughest and would compare well against the best knives out there made by anyone. In fact, they almost always come with a razor edge. In fact the only knives I've seen that were sharper were the hollow ground sebenzas. I'd be willing to bet that you would bust many custom jobs before you broke the 5/16 inch blade of the trail master.
 
I'll third what thaddeus said with a small addendum of my own.
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Their marketing really sucks and it sounds like they don't do any favors for the real dealers. Those not so great tactics must help keep the price point down and keep the sales volumn up.

I buy them because I'm a knife nut on a budget, not because they are the best. The couple of Cold Steel knives I own are decent knives at a great price. They are definitely not "the best" by any stretch of the imagination. If I had an umlimited budget, I might not buy any more cold steel knives (but that's not reality).

This forum is great for learning what "the best" is. Thanks to the long time buyers, serious users and good dealers who post here, I'm learning who makes and sells "the best" knives.

 
Thaddeus- if one were to compare our posts on this thread, they probably wouldn't be too surprised to hear that you struck a nerve in me. You made some very good observations, even tying them back to your personal experience. I haven't owned many different knives, and I've probably spent more on a CS than on any other in my collection. And you have succeeded in cluing me in on bigger and better things in the knife world. I come to this forum to share, but mostly to learn what my personal, self-fueled experience has not yet taught me. This in mind, I wouldn't want you to be less than honest and forthright in your sharing of information- that's why I come here, and why I keep coming back. Just try not to be so arrogant and insulting in sharing your knowledge. You almost come off like Lynn Thompson....
 
Thaddeus, I agree with you that Lynn Thompson's advertising is irritating at times. But Henry Ford was a rat bastard--sometimes that's the way the true innovators are. I'm just going on stories, because I was born in 1978, but from what I've heard, Thompson was the first to market really good quality production fixed blades in the early 80's and he's a big part of the reason other companies are in the business now. Can anybody help me out? True/not true?

As for the "knife culture," I say screw bowing to anti's by trying to hide what your knife can do. I can't carry any of his fixed blades legally, but if I chose one for protection I want to know it's legal for me to defend myself, not to carry the knife as long as nobody gets hurt. If you're only allowed to carry the knife as long as people think it's incapable of doing massive damage to an attacker, what's the point? And won't people figure it out once people start carrying and some mugger loses a hand?

Wow, that didn't come out very respectfully. Well, I mean it to be, so try to take it that way, OK? Maybe I'm the one who sounds like Thompson . . .


"Hey you, let's fight!"
"Mister, them's fightin' words!"
 
Gwinny -- like your Simpsons' quote -- the Lurleen Lumpkin episode I believe.

I like CS knives. I think they are excellent knives for the money. I don't get into the hype, but still, they are more than serviceable cutlery.

Lately, I have been moving on (and up). I have gotten rid of several fixed blades, including Cold Steel (my Master Hunter), as I have 2 Mad Dogs on order.

I think CS are excellent entry-level knives if you are going to seriously get into performance cutlery. IF you aren't planning on progressing into higher levels of cutlery, for whatever reason (lack of interest, cost, etc.) then I think CS knives are a good choice for good quality knives that will alst for years if well taken care of.

I still have my beat up old Bush Ranger. Not sure I will ever get rid of it...

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Clay Fleischer
cdfleischer@yahoo.com

Knives are for usin' -- Pictures are for looking at...

 
Thaddeus, you broke my heart.
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I love my CS knives... therefore, I'm mentally juvenile.
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Look, "Best" is relative. What may be best for you, may not necessarily be the best for me. I believe that when a knife does what you need it to do, doesn't fail on you, and serves you in good stead, then I think I can safely say that this is the "best" for me. Of course, it would be outright impossible for me to say which is the best, if I don't have any other brands to compare it to. But that's it! I don't tell people "hey, your knife sucks, mine's better" or call theirs "junk".
I respect them for what they believe in, as much as I want them to respect mine.

Of course, given time, we all move on to bigger and better things, if our financial status allows. More expensive things doesn't mean they are better, mind you. One doesn't have to get a custom knife to benefit from what a knife was designed to do in the first place. Heck, I doubt that after paying hundreds of dollars for a custom-made knife, you'd even want to use it regularly. It might just end up on a display rack.

After reading your post, I have to say I admire you for being so open with your thoughts, and sharing it out with us. But please try to be more considerate of others, too. Not everybody can afford a "higher priced" knife just have the right to say it's the "best", but it doesn't have to be a "junk" just because it's not up to par with what you based it on. Using names doesn't help either. Your point won't get across, trust me. We're happy with it, that's what counts. Is there anything else to it? That line of thought is what starts the "bashing" thing. Giving opinion is good, that's what forums are all about, as here is where we learn new things everyday. But it won't justify the good intentions if the method is insulting.

Maybe that's why we're different from animals. We have the power of REASON. And mine says I'm happy with my CS knives, regardless of how hyped up their ads are. They produced, I came, I saw, I like, I bought, I used it, I'm satisfied. Doesn't mean CS fans aren't willing to learn more about what's out there. And doesn't mean that I'll stop here for good.

Oh well... I see only the end product, which is a generalization on your part with regards to CS fans. Not everybody's like that, Thaddeus.

Dan

PS. What if I told you that I got my CS knives long before I even saw their ads? I like the way they looked, and performed afterwards. Heck, it's not broken yet, so I don't find a need to move up to the "higher" end. Different strokes for different folks.
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More expensive doesn't necessarily mean better. Also, just because service may not have been good or because you have not been dealt with fairly doesn't have anything to do with how good the product is. Take your typical 3/16 inch custom $350.00 plus bowie, of which there is many, since most custom makers do not believe in thick big knives, and test it against CS's trailmaster for overall strength and toughness. Good luck.
 
I agree with Danny C. The Cold Steel knives I own aren't necessarily my favorites, but I am impressed with their quality and so far their performance. I don't see them as necessarily "the best." But a person is not necessarily of a juvenile mentality for liking his CS knives any more than owning and appreciating high-end custom knives makes one a sophisticate. As to where the CS knives are made, most are produced in the U.S. and Japan...some in Taiwan, etc. There are a lot of good quality knives made in Japan, and CS is NOT the only quality manufacturer with Japanese-made knives. Their USA-made Carbon V knives are very well-made. That said, I do not want to come off like I'm defending CS or trying to offend anyone else. We buy what is within our budget, and whatever will get the job done reliably. Everybody starts somewhere, and the fact that I happen to like my CS knives means just that. As to the "hype," I enjoy reading the CS catalog...but take the term "the best" with a grain of salt. But their knives are good.
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Jim
 
Indeed, CS is my fav knife company currently. I carry a Voyager tanto XL, and whenever I take it out people say "Holy S***, is that legal?!" and take a sizeable step back. So if I'm ever in a, um, situation, intimidation is first line of defense. I own three of their knives, all supurb quality. I recommend them.

blademiester

-Keep those knives sharp!
 
I don't want to piss anybody off, but I see a basic problem with some logic being used here.
Some seem to think that if knife A outperforms knife B, but costs twice as much, it's the best. That's true to a man who can afford either knife.
But the "BEST" knife should be the one that fulfills your needs the best, not so?
So if you need to spend less than $300, that Mad Dog just dropped out of the running no matter how cool it is. In that case, the less expensive knife fulfills your needs the best, therefore it is the best.

Think about a $1,000,000 Mclaren F1 and a $40,000 Corvette. You need a fast car, you have $50,000 to spend. Which one is the best? The one you can drive instead of wishing you could drive it. Does that fact that you don't have $1,000,000 to spend make you a less discriminating buyer?
 
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