Cold steel

I have a CS Master Hunter in Carbon V and it is a decent knife. It had a very sharp, mirror polished edge when I purchased it, and it kept a working edge for several deer seasons. The kraton handle is coming unglued at the back bolster hole, though. Overall, not a bad knife. It takes and keeps an edge and guts/skins deer with no problems. I think I paid $80 for it, but that was 10 years or so ago.
 
Carbon V is just 1095 steel with a fancy name.

Cold steel MAKES no knives. NOT a single one. they have them contracted out thru who ever will make them. If you get one that holds an edge, keep it, the steel is good and the guy running the heat treat did a good job, if not, they are worth nothing. Some are made in Japan, some are made in China, Taiwan, Viet Nam, some are even made here. Some knives of the same line are made in different places. I have seen Master hunters with Viet Nam, China and USA marked on them.

to me they are a gamble not worth taking.
 
Out of the CS knives I have, I only have them from Japan and Taiwan. I must confess to not had a bad one out of the 12 I own. I think I would be put off if it turned up with Viet Nam on the blade. The Japanese ones are excellent and as good as any folder I own, including Spyderco or SOG.
 
I highly doubt the Master Hunter was ever made in Vietnam, considering I believe Camillus makes that model for CS and has for a long time. I've owned many CS knives from Japan and Taiwan and they were all top notch in quality.
 
A few years ago, being ignorant of the rules at West Point, I sent my cadet son an SRK from Cold Steel. He informed me that he had to put it in his drawer with his clothes and leave it there. After one winter, and having never been out of that drawer, the knife rusted badly. Some time later he brought the knife home, and after using it a while it broke. I would never be able to understand anyone buying a Cold Steel knife when the Chris Reeves knifes are just about the standard of the knife industry. I have had a Chris Reeves Aviator for many years. In fact the sheath was made in South Africa so you know how old it might be There is not a spot of rust on that knife after all these years. Spare the pain and buy a Reeves knife. Just my not-so-humble opinion.
 
A few years ago, being ignorant of the rules at West Point, I sent my cadet son an SRK from Cold Steel. He informed me that he had to put it in his drawer with his clothes and leave it there. After one winter, and having never been out of that drawer, the knife rusted badly. Some time later he brought the knife home, and after using it a while it broke. I would never be able to understand anyone buying a Cold Steel knife when the Chris Reeves knifes are just about the standard of the knife industry:jerkit: . I have had a Chris Reeves Aviator for many years. In fact the sheath was made in South Africa so you know how old it might be There is not a spot of rust on that knife after all these years. Spare the pain and buy a Reeves knife. Just my not-so-humble opinion.
 
Big price difference between the SRK and a Reeves, which is a big selling point to some people. The SRK rusting is odd, aside from the edge, the blade is generally black epoxy coated unless it was polished off. I've seen an SRK lost in the snow and recovered in the thaw that suffered nothing more than a corroded cutting edge. As for it breaking, what was the task at hand and how did it break?
 
Yep! You get what you pay for. I forget what he did to break the knife, but when he told me I was as surprised as he was; it wasn't that much of a job. The rust eats into the knife from the edge. I sure would have liked to seen the one you're talking about. That's darned near impossible with any knife.

I've come to the conclusion that, with anything, not just knives, it is better to save a little more and get the higher quality. I've tested my Reeves knife against some of the best. I've even done tests with cutting edge against cutting edge, smashing them against one another. The Reeve's knife wins every time. It's worth spending the money. There are other good knives out there, too. I mainly just talk of the Reeves knives as an example of buying quality versus low price. It may not always be true, but you usually do get what you pay for.
 
Generally you do get what you pay for but not always. For example, you can spend a lot on a Randall or a Mad Dog, both makers use 01 steel, this steel will rust just about as badly as Carbon V/1095. Chris Reeve uses CPM3V which will rust like no tomorrow but it doesn't have to. It all depends how one takes care of his tools. I usually oil my blades if they won't be used for months/years.
 
I generally agree with you. My Reeves Aviator is very old and has been left in my four wheeler, which has no hard top, for years. No rust. Chris will re-do the knife if it rusts, will Cold Steel? Any knife can rust under the worst conditions, but that can be taken care of, as you say. Breaking under reasonable use cannot be defended. My son was NOT abusing the knife; he was using it for what he thought it's name implied, SRK, "Survival and Rescue" work.

I will say that there are other good knives out there, and some very over-priced ones, such as Strider. How the heck can they justify the price they ask for their knives? :confused: It's ridiculous!:thumbdn:
 
Dzrtram said:
I generally agree with you. My Reeves Aviator is very old and has been left in my four wheeler, which has no hard top, for years. No rust. Chris will re-do the knife if it rusts, will Cold Steel? Any knife can rust under the worst conditions, but that can be taken care of, as you say. Breaking under reasonable use cannot be defended. My son was NOT abusing the knife; he was using it for what he thought it's name implied, SRK, "Survival and Rescue" work.

I will say that there are other good knives out there, and some very over-priced ones, such as Strider. How the heck can they justify the price they ask for their knives? :confused: It's ridiculous!:thumbdn:
Click to expand...

Cold Steel advertises a 5-year warranty on their fixed blade/sheath knives, but good luck getting a replacement in Carbon V at this point in time (with Camillus out of the loop)! You are absolutely right in that they promote this knife model, the SRK, to withstand abuse! In fact their official add copy says, "Survival/Rescue operations demand a versatile knife able to withstand extreme abuse. The SRK was designed with this in mind." http://www.coldsteel.com/38ck.html I say call Cold Steel and get them to rectify the situation, if they can.

Regards,
3G
 
I personally love their stuff. :thumbup:

I find the advertising occasionally hokey, but often it does prove something of value to me (when I've bothered to watch it, I skip around a lot). For example, the fact that the liner lock on my Ti-Lite can hold something like 80 lbs is good info. No, it's not a shock/impact thing, but that still shows some durability.

My 4" Zytel Ti-Lite cost me 40 bucks, and it has been an awesome knife for EDC. The only problem I had is that I opened it with the little wave-like quillon thing while I was sitting on concrete and I actually smacked the sidewalk with the tip as it unfolded. :mad: Slightly bent the tip, but it's still disgustingly sharp (as it was out of the box). I also got my girlfriend a Super Edge for her purse (tool, not weapon), and it's been quite sharp and sturdy, especially for its size.

Anything like these Randells or whatever just seem too expensive and arty for me to bother using. All of my edged stuff is pure functionality (just my personal taste) and so their attitude towards design works well for me. I don't really know anything about stolen designs, but it's not like they're the only company in the world to borrow ideas--in this or other industries.

The triple action wouldn't be my first choice, though; it's a big-ass hunk of metal, and it seemed more showy than functional. It's cool, it's just too big and awkward for my tastes. Same with the AK-47 they make now (plus I hate knives with a gun's name). But anything high-end by them in San Mai is pretty good. I handled a Talwar and it was a sweet piece of workmanship.

I also have one of their smallswords, and it's in great shape, has great balance, and seems (for all I can tell withough disassembling the thing) quite battle-ready.

Are they the best knives in the world? No. Are they at least as good as everything else in their class (meaning production knives)? Probably. My friend's CRKT is nowhere near as sharp or tough as mine, though it's quite reliable and decent in its own right.

I'd recommend not buying a triple action without handling one. They're a little odd.

Jason
 
CS knives I own:
Good ones: Trail Master San Mai III; Ti-Lite; Arch-Angel
Bad one: Triple action folder (The blade is OK but the handle sucks)
 
I think they make some good stuff for the price. I do believe you get what you pay for, and I think you get a quality knife that doesn't have the fit and finish of a higher end production company. They do, however, come very sharp and they perform well. I like the geometry of their blades and I think they are designed very well with both durability and cutting ability in mind.

I'm not sure how those blades rust so easily either. I don't live in a desert, nor do I live in a rainforest, but my Recon Scout and Ka-Bar are fine with zero to minimal care (I started oiling them recently, but had my Ka-Bar for years before then). Admittedly, a Trail Master (uncoated) I bought from someone does have a patina and small scattered spots of rust, but it looks somewhat neglected (edge is pristine with no patina, so I assume the previous owner only oiled the edge and left it in the leather sheath). I generally wipe my knife after use and put it back in the sheath until I need it again. If there's stuff I can't wipe off with a dry cloth (like adhesives) I'll wipe it down with some RemOil.

For the money, my Recon Scout and Trail Master are great fixed blades. I don't think you can find much better bowies than these at this price point. Swamp Rat is probably a better alternative (I have no experience with their fixed blades, so I'm not one to say), but also a little more expensive.

The "Carbon V" in both is comparable if not better than the 1095 in my Ka-Bar in terms of edge holding and durability. The angle is lower on the Cold Steels so they cut much better (despite having a blade twice as thick), but in terms of edge durability, they perform very similar. This is my observation after using all three knives to cut up some boxes and inspecting the edge for dulling and rolling. The steel is comparable, but the design is FAR better.

Are there better knives out there? Definitely. Are there worse? Definitely. Do you get what you pay for? Sure, you get a well designed knife with decent materials at an affordable price. I realize that a lot of people think their marketing strategy is a joke (I'm among them), but they sure do get a really bad rap for a company that puts out some nice knives.
Before owning a Cold Steel product, I had no respect for them because of all the bashing they take. After I actually bought one of their knives, however, I found that their products really aren't as bad as a lot of people here make them seem.
 
Good information, Jason and ehhh. I mostly agree with you. However, one of my sons was in the army and one in the Marines. They are both out now, but if they were going to Iraq I'd want them to have the BEST knife, not the best for the money. Same thing if I were in a knife fight, or even in the mountains of Montana or Alaska, I'd want a very strong knife. I used the Reeves knives as an example of a better knife, but I would like to know of some more knives of that quality if anyone would like to share that information with me.
 
You know, I took a look at the Chris Reeves knives website, and a few people mentioned them as examples of "better" knives. Most of them, other than the sebenzas, seemed really fancy to me. And even the sebenzas are insanely expensive (as far as I'm concerned, anyway; ~350 bucks seems too much for a fairly simple folder. It might be awseome workmanship, and probably is, but I don't know how much better it can be for that much more money (though they are very nice looking knives). Sam for Busse, though I don't care for the designs I've seen there at all.

Jason
 
Wow! I'm showing how outta touch I've been. My aviator cost me under $200, or about that with a beautiful leather sheath. That is expensive. The knives are made out of one piece of steel, so there are no seams or welds to break. I'll have to go to the site and look that over. I agree on the Busse knives. Just like the Strider there is no excuse for that kinda price on a simple knife.

BTW, I don't like art knives either. In fact, I detest them. I like strong functional knives expressly made for the purpose I'm going to use it for.
 
CS fixed blades are ok in my books.
Wish they had done away with the kraton handles with something more hardwearing. I don't care much for the likes of kraton, if I wanted comfort I'ld look for a pair of gloves. That's easier to replace than a damaged kraton handle beyond repair.
If you're looking for functional and dependable, CS fixed blades in carbon V would be a good choice. If you're looking for "bells & whistles", they're not going to win any points on looks alone. There; I said it all, my 2 cent worth.
 
Actually, I like the looks of the simple design such as the SRK. In fact, that's what first got my attention when I bought it. It didn't last long enough to test the durability of the kraton handle. Will that handle melt when it gets any petroleum-based product on it. A lot of those handles have to be kept away from gas and grease, and such.

Speaking of handles, many years ago I bought a Kabar--a real surplus Kabar from WWII. After a while moisture warped the leather washers and dirt got in between the washers and the handle warped. Didn't dare get any oil anywhere near it, it would suck it up like a sponge. Most overrated knife in the whole wide world. Handles should be as impervious to the elements as possible, but many aren't.
 
My first was a 6" Voyager, that I love, and my second was a Triple Action that I despise. I trim my bushes with the Voyager and it works like it was made to do it. My Triple Action fell apart while opening it, the same way showed in the video. The lock pin just shot out across the room. I've yet to find it. Even If I do, what I've read about CS customer service is enough to keep me away.
 
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