Cold steel

David Anderson said:
What I find is great about CS is that they make stuff nobody else makes...

An inexpensive Scottish dirk? Several different skeandhu? Spears and swords? All the great plastic stuff? The Bushmen blades? Folders and straight knives you can get all over the place, and there are some I prefer to the CS product. But all the other stuff is just _neat_. It's obvious Lynn Thompson likes knives and all sorts of edged weapons, and makes a point of making even oddball stuff...for oddballs like me, I suppose.
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I dont think I could have said it better. CS designs interesting knives that are of high quality and thats what I love about them. Seems that most other production companies are predictable. I've seen the same old tired patterns and shapes. The ones that aren't so common are usually out of my price range. Cold Steel surprises me with their unique designs, quality materials and prices.

The large zytel Ti-Lite is a good example. What a cool knife. I dreamed about someone coming out with something like that that was of good quality and workmanship, along with their other knives like the Kobun/Oyabun, the OSS, ODA and the Scimitar, the Khukris.... And the swords....I wouldnt even know where to look to get an affordable and battle ready Katana before CS introduced their sword line.... Most of the shit out there is either junk....or as expensive as my damn car!

Speaking of cars....

Ok...what if a car company made a really awesome looking car....rivaling the best sports car designers....This car is fast, stylish, with great features and good quality....and the price tag is like 10 grand... brand new off the showroom...

Thats the way I feel about Cold Steel.
 
hahaha i cant wait to get all the anti cs bashing after my post

I have purchased all of these knives by Cold Steel (list is in chronological order)
zytel Ti-lite (4 inch model)
Kobun fixed blade
Recon-1 tanto non serrated (the new g-10,aus 8 version)
Scimitar, non serrated satin finish
Triple Action dagger style blade
AK-47
OSS sub hilt fixed blade
Peacmaker Fixed blade (the larger model)

ive been amazed by all these knives ive had some of these knives for a year and i have not had any complaints, nor have they needed anything other than an ocasional oiling. im particularly happy with the kobun which is my favorite fixed blade edc, even on a small guy like me its very comfortable to carry (particularly if its clipped to the inside of your jeans, wont even notice its there). also the ak-47 stands out, its probably the sturdiest folder i have ever owned, sharp as hell, all mettal construction, a nice pommel, and it has handled jobs id be hesitant to put my fixed blades through.(plus i picked it up for about 55 bucks, and it out-performs some of the 150 dollar knives i have) all the other cold steel knives have performed very well, its just i havnt gotten as much use out of them. i think if i had one cold steel knife i didnt like it would be the triple action, its a cool knife to play around with, but it just dosnt serve much of a perpose, it takes a while to get it out, and even though its meant to be a legal alternative to the balisong its still illigal. its not a complaint about the quality of the knife, its just not very practical:D
 
There seems to me to be 2 reasons we collect. There is the people who put quality as a first when buying and the looks of the knife second, and then those who put looks first and quality second.
I do the latter, I have bought very few knives on what the steel of the blade is, so I only have 2 VG10 Spyderco's. My opinion is that that covers my interest in the make. I won't buy another unless a new design interests me.
I have 12ish CS knives all different (apart from the 2 master tanto's), the design sells them to me and I know the quality is good.
(The quality still has to be there, I don't care what designs S&W or new Gerbers are, I'm not buying rubbish).
Is AUS8 or 420 as good as VG10? No probably not, but unless the 'better' makes make something which interests me, I'm not bothered what they make it of, I won't be buying it!!!
 
I used to buy their stuff ... 15 years ago! That was until I discovered that my money would be better spent elsewhere (Spyderco, Benchmade, Kershaw, etc.) Cold Steel's prices are way too high for a production knife made from average materials.

Plus, I also think their products are marketed towards people with either a low IQ or just "weapon happy" children. A knife's primarily a tool for 99% of us, not a weapon. Marketing them as weapons will just end up encouraging violence. Imagine a Spyderco video with Sal going bananas with a Sarong (that giant diaper/ poncho looking "weapon")!! Man, they would lose all credibility overnight. A person would have the sh*t kicked outta them just for walking down the street in that thing. Thank god, no one else is as crazy as Cold Steel!! :)
 
As I'm in England and miss most of the CS marketing, I hope I'm not one of the low IQ people buying their knives.:D Again it is the designs then the quality that sells them to me, though it worrys me it means my taste is close to LT's. :eek:
 
I really like their tomahawks, I own the Riflemans hawk, and IMHO i think its the best for 30 bucks, works well as a back up in the pack (i cut the handle down to 13"), and the handles are easy to purchase.
 
I'm a budding knife enthusiast, and I hope this doesn't scare anybody, but Cold Steel's crazy marketing with their "solid proof" DVD is what really got me excited about knives in the first place. I had never seen anything like it. I thought it was so cool that the first quality knife I ever bought was a CS Scimitar. That thing came out of the box sharper than anything I've ever touched. I almost felt I could perform surgery on someone with that knife (probably good thing I didn't) :o . I made a bit of a mistake trying to recreate some of their "solid proof" in my back yard, which unfortunatley led to a bit of play in the blade. The edge did seem to wear down pretty quick but honed itself back to a razors edge with just a few seconds on the lansky. All in all, I still think CS is a respectable knife company I plan to get more of their knives in the future.
 
My son owns the triple action tanto and it’s just not my cup of tea. Form should follow function and the triple action is useless in my book; is it cool? Hell yes, with a little practice you can flip the blade out in the blink of an eye; yet, once its out you are more likely to cut yourself as anything else, because it’s polished aluminum frame is buttery slick. Yes it’s pretty and cool but very unpractical. However, I will say that cold steel makes excellent knives for the money. I own the serrated scimitar, voyager tanto and the TAC II. All excellent knives with non-slip handles, wickedly sharp, very solid construction and quality Japanese steel. Cold Steel's advertisments are pretty silly though.:rolleyes:
 
I just bought the CS Black Sable off of the internet for $249. It lists for $449. I love this knife. It is razor sharp and well built from top notch materials. My EDC is a Benchmade 710 with a 4" ATS-34 blade that I like very much. The 710 opens easier than the CS-BS but is not near as impressive. They both have 4" blades but the CS is thicker, wider, and feels way better in the hand when opened up. It also takes a better edge than the 710. I think that CS makes some of the most impressive looking knives on the market for the price.
 
My first CS was an Urban Skinner. I've had it about 20 years. Since then, I have purchased the Master Tanto, and two Voyager lockbacks. I also sent some CS knives to Iraq as a part of the Knife for a Soldier program. I like CS knives and have always thought they were a great value.
 
I buy knives for the quality of the blade steel and function. I couldn't care less about looks. I would MUCH rather have the kraton handles on a CS than the most expensive hand polished cocobolo. I like Cold Steel's Carbon V knives.

Having said that, I certainly don't consider CS to be equal in quality to a tool steel Queen, Benchmade, Dozier, Bark River, etc. But I consider them several orders of magnitude better than Buck, Cace, Ka-Bar, Camillus, Schrade, Gerber etc. Just my opinion, for however much (or little) it's worth.:D

Ben
 
I really appreciate a high quality fixed blade with premium steel, and currently own a couple of customs in CPM10V (Doug Mondt), and CPMS90V (Phil Wilson). But, I just made a trade acquiring a CS Master Hunter in carbon V, and I'm so impressed with it, I just ordered two more to give as Christmas gifts this year to relatives that will certainly put them through their paces hunting, fishing, and camping. In my opinion, this is one of the best buys out there for a quality fixed blade at a very fair price. A CS MH in carbon V should serve it's owner admirably for many years to come. I'm not easily impressed,..but this is one heck of a knife for the money! Every avid outdoorsman should own one!
 
It seems that I keep hearing that they are a good knife for the money. I have a lot of them,and I agree. I am giving a new SRK to a young lady going to Iraq in 2 months. But the sheaths,are they tuff enough for combat? I dont know,so I picked up a Spec- Ops sheath. That thing is nice! They come in 6 in and 8 in.(blade). I just got a Steel Tiger,that thing is soo ugly,its good looking. Sharp as hell,and carries real nice.
 
hi everyone, i've just joined this wonderful forum and this is my first post.

i own a Cold Steel Gurkha Kukri and i am planning to fit a hilt on it. i wonder if anyone had come across a pic (or x-ray) of the full tang (without the handle) of this Kukri blade. i'd appreciate any help here as i am trying to visualise the tang before designing the hilt.

apologies if this post is not as relevant to the subject of testing, i reckon a thread on CS would be a good place to start. thanks in advance :)
 
i have a bushman, 5-mini bushmans, a serrated tanto triple action, 6-inch zytel ti-lite, one of the like 2 inch tanto folders. and have used one of the little boot knives (cant remember the name)

i am really impressed by the quality of these knives, they are definitly in the upper ranks as far as knife makers. cs gives you really nice knifes that work for less then benchmade, not knocking on benchmade i have a few of their knives and they are nice but expensive. the bushman knives are one of the best "use it like you stole it" knifes ever, you can abuse those things all day and then just use a bench grinder and put a nice edge back on it.
i lied i dont actually have the ti-lite yet but i hope it is sitting on my porch tonight when i get home.
and i like those dvd's they have, some knifes like the ti-lite and triple action are made for one reason, and that is cutting someone. so why wouldnt you show how well they cut through flesh.
 
i am new to this forum, but not new to knives.

my 2 favorite knife makers are cold steel and spyderco.

to me spyderco has the most bang for the buck.

but i have always wanted a large folder, so i just bought the xl voyager from cold steel. i have not received it yet, so i can't give a review on it.

i find the cs marketing humerous, so i don't mind it. heck, when i was deciding which cs knife i wanted, i kept going back to the dvd to see what it could do.
 
Lynn Thompson has consistently been one of the most innovative knife/edged stuff inventors and promoters around, IMHO. The North American tanto series, Master Hunter, Voyager, SRK, Twistmaster, California drop-point, are some of my favorite blades.
 
I have the SRK and I think it is a very good buy. The blade is very thick and sturdy, yet the the knife is light for it's size as well as very well balanced. Furthermore it comes with a kydex like sheath that is well suited for this type of knife. The knife is also USA made. Again the price is insanely low.

The one thing about the SRK is that it looks very plain but once you handle it you can't deny that this is one very functional piece of low maintenance hardware. Cold Steel does it again function over form this thing is a very practical tool that can compete with and/or outperform a lot of other more expensive knives.
 
greater said:
I have the SRK and I think it is a very good buy. The blade is very thick and sturdy, yet the the knife is light for it's size as well as very well balanced. Furthermore it comes with a kydex like sheath that is well suited for this type of knife. The knife is also USA made. Again the price is insanely low.
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And if the SRK carried the name of the company that actually made it, for ColdSteel, namely Camillus; you'd realize that you overpaid for it.
 
Oh phooey.

Camillus made good quality knives, look at some of the CUDA knives and OVB knives - good stuff.

They made products to a price, like any other company.
 
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