Cold Steel?!?

At first, I thought that Cold Steel knives where awesome! I mean, they said that their Trail Master was the best bowie on earth, and you can't do anything better than that. I've seen them claim in separate areas that two different folders that they manufacture were the "best tactical folding knife on earth".

So basically, they make quite a few claims that are basically un true. That is a fact.

Now, I'll illustrate why I dislike the Trailmaster bowie. First, it is a very hard use knife (or should be), so it should definitely have a full tang (but it has a partial tang only, which can cause to the handles becoming loose). Also, the Carbon V steel they use is quite prone to fracture. If you're chopping some briars and accidentally hit a rock, you've got serious problems. The steel often fractures along the edges, and the damage is not limited to the part of the edge/knife that breaks off; the damage goes well beyond the knife edge, severly weakening the knife. Also, the Kraton handles on that knife are very abrasive, and can discolor and deteriorate with time. Plus, they aren't too sturdy due to the tang issue.

So what do you have? This is supposed to be the best bowie on earth at any price ("including 99% of hand forged bowies"). I think better can certainly be had, and in the same price range. Plus, the sheath that it comes with isn't that nice.

Now, I do like some of their knives, but I wish they'd stop with these stupid claims.

I do like their SRK. Carbon V is ok for it, because it's not a chopper. Plus it comes with a concealex sheath or something, and the handle doesn't get that much stress, so Kraton is ok.
 
Good thoughts, Andrew. One other thing that I have been wondering about...

What thickness constitutes a prybar? I really like my SRK, but at 3/16, I would hardly call it a prybar, it seems on par (thickness wise) with what other popular knives are made to. Maybe after using the trailmaster, it just seems skinny.
 
Of the several Cold Steel knives I own, all are in the 'old knives' box except the SRK. I bought the SRK just to stisfy my curiosity about the claims for Carbon V as a blade material.

It took me a couple of hours to re-profile the blade to my liking, using bench stones, followed by progressive stropping with 600-grit to slick up the edge and 10000-grit for final edge polish.

That blade is the sharpest blade in my possession. No amount of effort on my part can produce an equivalent edge on ATS-34 blades by either Benchmade or Spyderco.

I plan to invest similar effort on my Spyderco Military to see if I can duplicate that edge quality on the 440V blade, but Cold Steel Carbon V is my current benchmark for edge quality in knives I own.
 
Somewhere in this long thread, somebody suggested that CS ought to do some custom collaborations. Several mentioned Lynn Thompson's aggressive approach to marketing/advertising.

IMHO, we're kind of dancing around the potential that it is Thompson's ego which presents the problem(s). In their Special Projects catalogues it seems to me that virtually all of the knives are portrayed as being Thompson's designs. I don't think he wants to share billing with anyone else.

Just in the last week or so, Thompson jumped into some thread to declare vehemently that nobody has ever proven that 440V edges can outlast AUS8's. Nothing more, just that remark. Strange, in my opinion, but possibly indicative of what I'm saying. For some reason, I have to believe all the metallurgists, custom makers, and commercial producers when they say that vanadium makes a difference in edge retention. No bombastic challenge is going to persuade meotherwise, nor any video -- I do want to watch that someday.

My only CS is a Bushmaster. Terrific bargain IMO. But that is as far as it goes, too.



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Asi es la vida

Bugs
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by bad4u:
I bought the SRK just to stisfy my curiosity about the claims for Carbon V as a blade material. That blade is the sharpest blade in my possession. No amount of effort on my part can produce an equivalent edge on ATS-34 blades by either Benchmade or Spyderco.

I plan to invest similar effort on my Spyderco Military to see if I can duplicate that edge quality on the 440V blade, but Cold Steel Carbon V is my current benchmark for edge quality in knives I own.</font>
Click to expand...

Well, it's good that you are happy with your SRK, but once again for the cheap seats:

http://www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum64/HTML/001633.html

Specifically, from the above thread, I quote Cougar Allen and than Mike Turber-

"Hmm ... how shall I phrase this? "According to rumor" is a good phrase ... or "usually reliable sources" ... that's always good ...
Cold Steel does not make knives; they resell them. "Carbon V" is not a steel; it's a registered trade name owned by Cold Steel and used to describe whatever steel the manufacturers of the knives Cold Steel is currently reselling happened to use ... a number of different steels have been sold as "Carbon V" as Cold Steel has resold knives made by a number of different manufacturers over the years. No secrets so far ... but now comes the tricky part ...

According to unofficial but usually reliable sources all the current "Carbon V" knives are made by Camillus and the steel is rumored to be 0170-6C."

"Fact: Carbon V is not an officially recognized steel. It is a marketing trade name for Cold Steel and has changed over the years.

Fact: Cold Steel makes NOTHING that I am aware of. All of their knives are made for them. "

Ok, I'm Cold Steel bashing- I'll admit that. No offense to anyone's personal preference in knives intended. If you like 'em, buy 'em. I just have a problem with how CS markets "Carbon V" as some proprietary wonder steel along with Mr. Thompson's, as Bugs3x put it, ego. How much more superior could the CS knives be if someone else is making them? Wouldn't that logically follow then that at least one other company makes knives as ultimately tough as CS?

Wish I would have seen the thread in which Mr. Thompson stated 440V wouldn't hold an edge as long as AUS-8. Ha!

Firebat

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Name's Ash......Housewares.

[This message has been edited by Firebat (edited 04-03-2001).]
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Just in the last week or so, Thompson jumped into some thread ...</font>
Click to expand...

Lynn Thompson is on the net now??? Can you post a link to the thread he posted in? Are you sure it was him?


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-Cougar :{)
Use of Weapons
 
I know that the Voyager folders are made in Japan. I don't know about the other stuff. You know what? COme to think of it, Cold Steel doesn't make anything themselves..........But, as a cheap using knife that you can without worrying abou the finish (because it doesn't have any) they're not that bad. I don't really care for the hype advertisement.
 
I have owned the CS triple action in double edge and the CS scimitar. With the Triple Action, I had taken to opening it bali style and within three weeks, the screws on the butt axis fell out. Had they used steel or perhaps Ti for the handles, that would not have happened. The lockup was good, but overall, it was a cheap knife highly priced.
The Scimitar had more blade play than I wanted, so I gave it away. I strongly dislike zytel, except the BM 350 which has steel liners. Even on Spydies, something tells me it is weak. Now if CS had steel liners on their zytel grip knives... I might buy them.

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The meek shall inherit the earth because they stay up late and change the will.
 
I have pounded the hell out of a Voyager folder, used it to dig holes in mud while int the woods, split wood, yes with a folder, clean it in the dishwasher and sold it for $20 (I paid 30 new) and this was after a year of such use.

Do all of the above with your BM and try selling it for 60% of buy price. Do get the plain edge.
 
I have an original Master Tanto and it has given sterling service. The SRK is a fine first time buyers knife for those going on an adventure. The folders don't do much for me nor do the gadgets. The two weights of Kukri for the price are good service for us all.

But, CS is now one of the big players. I sometimes wonder if when these type of companies get so big they rather loose the plot. Quality and performance seem to become less consistent. The price rarely changes. I don't think I would go for one of the CS higher cost/end knives as I just don't believe that they can compete with the quality of the semi custom Busse/Chris Reeve/ Striders out their. If they sit on their lorrels then even some of the older boys, Gerber, Boker, Becker, new Al Mar will knock them back down to earth. I consider Benchmade to be getting into the same predicament as CS did five years ago.

Cold Steel does produce some good stuff at a good price. However, they need to keep up with the times. They were a force to be reckoned with, up with the best and were pioneers in the early eighties when the industry was half asleep. Hype wears thin after a while; just hope its not despiration or worst still: complacency.

If one of their knives fits your criteria, you should not be ripped of unless you get a duff one; but you might now do better elsewhere with so much competition out there.
 
Cougar -- your quote about Lynn Thompson was from my post. I just searched every possible forum, and find no posts by him in any one of them. It is crazy, but I still have a fairly clear recollection of reading a post by him, vehemently denying that any other steel has proven capable of holding an edge better than AUS8.

Must be a bizarre dream. I apologize. I will e-mail you.


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Asi es la vida

Bugs
 
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