Cold Steel?

chasden

chasden

Joined
Oct 5, 2004
Messages
513
What's the general consensus on Cold Steel, pricing and marketing tactics aside? My personal experience with their products has been positive, especially with their San Mai III blades. Does anyone have experience owning/using the Natchez bowie?
 
I think the older stuff had some great steel at good prices and the company really seemed to be in sync with the needs of the knife community. New steel is no better than the older steel and since the people behind the company who were making the blades has changed the quality is way down and price wise PLEASE! Their stuff is way, way, way over priced.
 
lotus1972 said:
I think the older stuff had some great steel at good prices and the company really seemed to be in sync with the needs of the knife community. New steel is no better than the older steel and since the people behind the company who were making the blades has changed the quality is way down and price wise PLEASE! Their stuff is way, way, way over priced.
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I agree cold steel took the toilet two years ago.
 
I disagree. Cold steel continues to sell high quality knives for dirt cheap. Not all of their knives are budget priced, but a whole lot of them are.
 
AfterTFD said:
I disagree. Cold steel continues to sell high quality knives for dirt cheap. Not all of their knives are budget priced, but a whole lot of them are.
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You mean the budget line like the Warhead and the G.I. ( I stole this design ) Tanto? If so the steel is cheap and the looks like it came from a Maxim factory. I have held them and they are not sharp out the box and feel like oversized kitchen knives.

I do like there top of the line stuff BUT they are charging ridiculous custom knife prices for production line stuff. Why would anyone pay that outrageous price for a Natchez Bowie when they can get a forged custom piece for the same price?
 
IMO the San Mai blades are horribly overpriced. Why should one pay $250 for a San Mai Recon Scout when one can get the same knife for 3 times less in a steel that performs better
 
I recently got a Bushman and I'm very impressed with the performance of the steel and the knife itself, especially for the price. So impressed infact that I was seriously considering buying a Trailmaster until I saw CHINA on the blade. I wouldn't mind it in a sub $20 knife, but its definitely out of the question in a $90 blade
 
i agree that their higher-end models are extremely over-priced, but their cheaper knives (the $25-$60 range) give you a decent bang for your buck.
 
tabeeb762 said:
I recently got a Bushman and I'm very impressed with the performance of the steel and the knife itself, especially for the price. So impressed infact that I was seriously considering buying a Trailmaster until I saw CHINA on the blade. I wouldn't mind it in a sub $20 knife, but its definitely out of the question in a $90 blade
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The old trailmasters are great and you can find them every now and then.
 
lotus1972 said:
You mean the budget line like the Warhead and the G.I. ( I stole this design ) Tanto?
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Those are among the models I was thinking of, yes.

If so the steel is cheap and the looks like it came from a Maxim factory.
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They are sturdy knives. Noss4 demonstrated when he beat the stuffing out of one. As for the aesthetics Cold Steel can't take a whole lot of credit for the design. :)

I do like there top of the line stuff BUT they are charging ridiculous custom knife prices for production line stuff. Why would anyone pay that outrageous price for a Natchez Bowie when they can get a forged custom piece for the same price?
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I completely agree with you on this one. A lot of their stuff is absurdly expensive.
 
Like every other company, knife and other wise, Cold Steel Has some stuff that is a great value and some over priced junk. They have no corner on that market.
 
You can find the Natchez for under $350 if you look hard enough. At that price it begins looking like a lot of bowie knife for the money. Of course paying the MSRP of $699 is nuts. Yea their stuff is pricey, but you do get a nice knife for the money on the higher end stuff.

In terms of a good budget priced items from them, the Laredo in carbon steel (SK-5) can be had for less than $120.
 
I bought a used Pendleton Hunter for about $30 and it has been very good after I resharpened the knife.

The steel is AUS-8 and it takes and keeps a good edge.

As far as buying new, I can't see the point of paying more than $100 for a Cold Steel, when for the same price you can get a Bark River or a RAT Cutlery.
 
lotus1972 said:
The old trailmasters are great and you can find them every now and then.
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They're around $170, which is stepping into Dog Father territory.

I might still get the SK-5 Trailmaster, use it a bit, and make it my next project. Strip the blade and work a satin finish, add a KA-BAR style leather handle and it would surley be a keeper
 
I guess I will find out soon when I recieve my Recon 1, and a few Kitchen Classics. Thanks for the heads up.
 
Cold Steel has a huge variety of products, first of all.
I give them credit for selling stuff that other companies won't bother with.

Second, their knives sell at prices hugely discounted from list price.
And IMO they are generally great value.

Knives like the Scimitar, Voyager, and Vaquero are really nicely made in Seki City Japan.
Great fit & finish and always razor sharp right out of the box.

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However, Cold Steel has had a real issue over the past couple of years with the demise of
Camillus and the "Carbon V" steel which Cold Steel sourced from Camillus.

So, many of Cold Steel's great knives like the SRK which were made in the USA of Carbon V are now made overseas
of lesser quality steel than Carbon V.
 
rifon. That is probably the most fair and honest evaluation of CS that I have heard. I might only add that this is happening all across the world of production knives. CS is far from the only company taking advantage of cheap foreign labor and materials. Do I like it? Absolutely not but as long as people buy the stuff, it's not going to change. American companies really need to step up to the plate and demand higher standard from china if they want to continue selling here.
 
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