Cold steel

B

Burnse

Joined
Sep 28, 2005
Messages
12
Anybody had cold steel products? Good? Bad? If anyone has anything to say about the triple action (anyone who has owned it), I would like to know about it. I gotta say, their Brooklyn Smasher is superb, but baseball bats and knives are two very different thing, aside from the fact that they're both weapons if you swing em right. Please say what knife (or sword) you bought and whether it was worth the money or not.
 
I have alot of CS products even though there is alot of controversy surrounding them. I own a Barong, a Kukri, a Kukri Machet, Night Force, Recon1,Recon, Arc Angel, Tru Flight thrower, spike, Ti-Lite(zitel, titanium and 6 inch). There folders in AUS8 are ok, I like the Recon1 even though it copies the bencmade axis. The ti lites are ok. My fav is probably the Arc Angel and the barong I just recieved in a trade. The barong is one massive piece of steel and I like it very much and the Arc Angel just fits my hands better than the BM 42's do. I am not very impressed with thier machete line but I do like there Carbon V blades. very sturdy. There are alot of people here who dont like CS and I dont like there marketing methods or their desire to "borrow:rolleyes:" other peoples designs. Do a search on CS and you'll find out more than you probably want to know about them. Thats just my 2cents.
 
I have a Boar Spear, Samburu Spear, and the Assegai Spear. I also have the Bat-Axe, SRK, Recon Tanto, some of the small folders- can't remember the names, Recon Scout, Gurkha Kukri, and the Kukri Light. I really like the knives. Granted they are not a Randall-which I also have or a Sebenza-which I want to get soon but they are sturdy and tough. The black finish scratches easy but it is a knife not furniture or a guitar. If you are not going to use it as a tool don't get it, they are nice looking but not art.
 
I have the first model triple action in AUS 10A steel. The blade is nice but the soft aluminium and clumsieness of the design make it a back of the drawer knife for me. There's as much probability I'll injure myself with it as get it to function perfectly as designed. Overall, Another one that I shouldn't have bought. Joe
 
Cold steel gets a lot of criticism, you can look that up easily.

But I buy the stuff they make that no one else seems to - For example, I have a Mini-Culloden fully serrated. It's fantastically sharp, well made (Japan) and a real nice backup carry. (Bought it when it was closing out for about 40 bucks; still think it was a great deal.)

Also an Urban Pal - very handy and inexpensive, also Japanese made. Etc., stuff like that.

So IMO Cold Steel has its niche, though it can be easily criticised for what a lot of people see as its completely "over-the-top" marketing; overhype, "borrowing", and other valid stuff.
 
I've owned and used with satisfaction some of their fixed blade models including the Master Hunter, Recon Scout, and LTC Kukri (all in Carbon V steel). I've also owned two of their small sword models that arrived with manufacturing defects and eventually failed me (Scottish Dirk and O'Tanto models). Cold Steel disclaimed any warranty liability and refused to repair either without a substantial payment. That sort of left me sour on Cold Steel.
 
I have an XL clip point Voyager I got back in 96, and it's been a real good friend to me. Good knife that takes a scary edge.

Cold Steel has alot of pros and cons. Theyre good knives, but their marketing is ridiculous, weaponizing every one of their products.

The triple action I played with was a double edged version. The right side of the double edge seemed to bang up against the handle every time I flipped the thing out. An inch of the edge towards the tip was damaged from the action every time.
 
they weaponize them because THEY ARE WEAPONS!!!! and who cares how they market thier product. it's america. I'm getting tired of all the knife snobs on here putting cold steel down. sure they have over the top advertizing but obviously that works or they wouldn't do it. they say it gives people that carry a bad image but it really doesn't matter. I mean a horror movie gives it a bad image. unless you live in the country,in a rural area, liberal sheeple will be intimidated by people who carry knives. or anything for that matter. they allways have been before cold steel's advertizing. plus I accully think their advertizing is amusing. and intresting. plus I like the way it makes them squirm. Anyway that being said I still use a 5'' voyager tanto I bought in 96 and I carry it every day to work.(construstion/framer)and I use the hell out of it. I cut all kinds of stuff and also do light prying. 10 YEARS!!!!I've had that knife.and it will take and hold a RAZORS edge. I've broken spydercos and benchmades in the time between.and for the price. My Goodness!! a simple tough as nails knife. I have a few others but thats not my point.
 
Nice rant jrc123, I like that! Weapons? I prefer to refer to them as edged tools :) . I think poeple have been getting on CS for their latest incarnation of the Proof DVD. The old Proof VHS I have doesn't have much 'weapon' stuff in it. They basically cut rope, stab car hoods and doors, smash concrete blocks, and for the most part just abuse the knives to show how tough they are. I heard they do a bunch of 'meat' cutting in the new vid, which seems to have turned some folks off CS.

Anyhoo, I have had a Cold Steel Master Hunter for about 7 years or so, and it has gone with my on every trip since I've owned it. I actually don't use it for hunting, but for camp/bush craft. It handles everything from food prep to splitting kindling. I have tried other similar knives, but I always come back to the CS Master Hunter (Carbon V). I also own an LTC Khukri, a Special Forces shovel, and a couple 'hawks. The shovel is another tool that gets used a lot. Good stuff. I like the Cold Steel products, regardless of how they market them.
 
My Recon 1 Tanto folder was my first good knife. I like it but the blade seems to lose it's edge quickly. In contrast to my Recon 1 Spear which keeps its edge for a long time. I EDC the Recon 1 Spear and it's been great. My only complaint is that they don't offer this blade in a plain edge like they do the other two blade shapes.
 
jrc123 said:
they weaponize them because THEY ARE WEAPONS!!!! (...) they say it gives people that carry a bad image but it really doesn't matter (...)
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Problem with that; It's that type of attitude and advertising that scares sheeple, and produces stuff like Fritz' s article in the WSJ. Which in turn is pushing the liberal PC lobby to call for a ban on carrying knives. And since the knife manufacturers are fairly small in comparison, they may well succeed. And then the only one to carry these WEAPONS will be those who couldn't care less about the law, i.e. those very people you wanted your knife to protect you from (weapon, remember!).
In the mean time, those of us who think our knives are useful cutting tools will be left stranded.

jrc123 said:
and who cares how they market thier product. it's america.
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I'm afraid that although I'm French and living in the UK, I have a higher opinion of America than you :) .
However I accept that just as bad boys get little girls all excited, machos stuff done with a knife will appeal to insecure teenage boys (for reason mentionned above).
That is true in America and everywhere else in the world.

I own a CS Bushman (small) and use it almost daily. Great knife at a great price. But I do not approve of CS marketing, advertising and copying. And since I believe a company ethos is important, and I do not regard CS's as high, I will not buy their products anymore.
 
Saint-Just said:
machos stuff done with a knife will appeal to insecure teenage boys (for reason mentionned above).
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Hey! I guess im one of those "insecure teenage boys" and I dont find their advertising appealing at all :mad:....I dont really care how a company advertises their knives, and Im not going to buy one just because some fat bearded man can stab it through a car door and do pull ups on it. I figure, if you dont like the advertisement, just ignore it and form your own opinion about the product without bias. I hate to hear people who dont even own one of cold steels knives critisize the company, because they do make some pretty cool stuff. I currently have an srk, and I like it a lot. It holds an edge well, sharpens easily, and is designed well for its intended purpose.

One thing I do notice about the proof dvd is that it doesnt depict them doing anything that "macho" with a knife.:rolleyes: The metal on a car door isnt all that thick, and im not even slightley impressed by them ramming a tanto through it. I mean, I laughed when I watched the guy slice up a cardboard dummy with the tai pan like he was doing something special. Idk what real life situation they would be trying to reenact with a torso shaped cardboard dummy anyways...

Advertising aside, I dont much like cold steel folders. Their fixed blades are mostly of good quality from my experiences. The only problem I have with them is their kraton handles.:barf: I dont like the grip they give, and I dont think theyd take that much abuse. I especially hate this on their OSS sub-hilt. The guard is kraton, and as the knife is a fighting design, it is very impractical. I like their carbon V blades better than their AUS8, but if you can afford their san mai id go with that.

I hate to keep going, but I have to say something about the whole weapon thing. The way I see it, a knife isnt a weapon until someone gives me a reason to make it one. I use them as tools every day of my life, and I carry them knowing that with the way the world is, getting attacked is not out of the question. I hate how our government is passing laws left and right keeping things such as knives and guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens. Criminals are going to ignore those laws, and innocent people will be stuck defenseless. I wonder how they dont realize the stupidity of it all.....

Well im done rambling, and im sure I managed to make a fool out of myself in a variety of ways.:D
 
I bought a Cold Steel Master Hunter factory second from a friend of mine eight years ago. I knew it was a factory second, it had a 2 stamped on the butt of the pommel. I used it. I loved it. I lost it.
I bought another Master Hunter a month ago. Why? One, because I love the shape of the blade, it's basic, it's thick, it has a flat grind, it takes an edge and keeps it; Second, I love the handle - yes it's rubber, or Krakon, but it's comfortable and non-slip - yes I would rather have stacked leather or stag but I know this Krakon is something I can hang onto when things get wet and wild.
Of all my fixed blades, and I have a lot, this is the one that I would want, if I could only have one, in the wilderness.
 
I own several, and for a cheap knife they are excellent. Especially their Carbon V Stockman. It beats the daylights out of a Buck Stockman that I used for many years. I agree with Frenchy about the advertising though!

The "Macho" advertising of so-called "assault rifles" was responsible, in large part, for President Clinton being able to get the "ban" passed.

The sheeple VOTE:( :( :( !!! Why frighten them needlessly, or tick them off on purpose?:confused: :confused: :confused:

It doesn't make sense to me, at least


Ben
 
Ooops, think I was supposed to say Kraton handle, not Krakon. As somebody else here said, I also use mine for kitchen and cooking work, wood work, camp work, craft work, opening letters, splitting kindling, scratching myself, etc. It came out of the box ready to shave.
 
Crikey, some of these posts get scary ;) Okay, I'm tired of listening to all this whining about CS advertising. I saw the DVD, I found it very entertaining, although it was a lot monotonous as well. How many times do you want to see a blade plunge through a steel car hood? I am never going to do that to any blade that I own, including my CS Master Hunter...and I own a couple of better blades that could chop a car easily.
But so what? They're selling a product. If they were stabbing cars to sell beer, nobody would think twice about it...it would be part of the NASCAR show.
 
Everybody is hatin' on Cold Steel on BladeForums.com. I completely understand why and I agree with a lot of the reasons. I won't get into them because (almost) everybody already knows. That said:

I own one of almost everything in the Cold Steel catalog. Except for the swords and the really new stuff. What can I say, I am a dork. A goober. A (former and recovering) Mall Ninja! Oh shit guys! You caught one in the open! Free for all! AAATTTAAAACCCKKKK!!!!

Does this make me a bad person? I hope not. I didn't know! I didn't know! Nobody ever told me! Now I know better. Will I still buy Cold Steel products? Probably. I'm ashamed to say. Not with the same enthusiasm, certainly. No way I'll plunk down $300 for any of their high-end models. Why would you do that? That's big money, you can do a hell of a lot better.

So, political side-stepping aside- Cold Steel knives, the products themselves, are not all that bad. For the money, the quality is roughly on par with Spyderco. Better than Gerber, I think better than Kershaw in a lot of cases. Better than a lot of SOG. The SRK is an excellent knife with an excellent sheath. Ditto the Recon Tanto. The Ti-Lite is an excellent knife for the money. The Voyagers are decent enough knives. The Recon series suck it hard. Cold Steel is a lot more interesting than Buck and nowhere near as good as Benchmade. They are what they are, scumbag though LT may or may not be.

Cold Steel also makes some stuff that nobody else really makes or markets well. Their blowgun is a very cool, very functional product. I love mine and play around with it all of the time. The City Stick? Awesome! Sword Cane? Awesome! The Sarong? What the hell is that thing? Are you going to gay me to death with it?

Have I said anything constructive? No I have not! So I shall bid you all good evening.
 
moonwilson said:
I own one of almost everything in the Cold Steel catalog. Except for the swords and the really new stuff. What can I say, I am a dork. A goober. A (former and recovering) Mall Ninja! Oh shit guys! You caught one in the open! Free for all! AAATTTAAAACCCKKKK!!!!
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Thank you! As far as I'm concerned, anyone nerdy enough to post to a knife internet forum at the very least has a mall ninja inside just waiting to come out. Why don't we all face up to the fact and embrace our inner mall ninja?

moonwilson said:
The Sarong? What the hell is that thing? Are you going to gay me to death with it?
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I thought a sarong was some kind of diaper. If you're gonna walk around in that thing, you'd better be some kind of badass.

I'm just thankful Lynn Thompson didn't model that thing on the DVD.
 
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