Cold Steel's Direction

Thomas Linton said:
A puukko has a straight spine or, rarely, the slightest amount of upward curve or slightest clip at the point end.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puukko

It's not important except that names speed communication only so long as the name is used to describe the same knife.
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I guess I should've said "Scandinavian-style knife," instead of "puuko," for better clarity.

Here is an example of what I had in mind:

Enzoskandi008.jpg
 
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stabman said:
Well, most "Average Joes" don't work on farms, and most "Average Joes" I've seen when working in factories or machine shops used box-cutters and other utility knives.
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Stabman,

Here in this part of Virginia, not only does Average Joe work on a farm, so does his father and his mother and his kids. And by farm I mean cattle, crops, hay, etc. But the vast majority of the people around here work outside and virtually everyone carries a knife of some type on their person and usually have another (or two) in their vehicle. So we all share one thing in common, we all look for excuses to get another blade. Its for work...........

***Nice surprise! I just got a nice big box full of knives from Cold Steel this evening! Lucky I have a knife on me so I can open the box!!!
 
You know what, I'm ok with aus8 as a working steel. I think its a good choice in their voyager line, because to me, cold steel does simple rugged functionality better than anyone else. Where else can you get a legitimate survival knife as good as the bushman for $20? The only thing I'd like to see them move to is a lifetime warranty like, oh, I don't know, EVERYONE ELSE. I'm sure there are legitimate reasons, and it won't stop me from buying cold steel, and its probably not an issue for most users, but it's not reassuring to me as a consumer. Just my $0.02
 
Of all the brands I use and collect, probably 80% of the time I will use a CS knife to do the 'heavy lifting'. I use a 6" Voyager around the kitchen and a 4" Voyager in the garden. When heading out, a 4" Gunsite is often my choice and for dress, a 4" Titanium Ti-Lite sets the mood. Fruit falls victim to my Kudu and camp cooking will find my Folding Bushman in use.

Plain and simply, CS makes well designed and constructed knives at a fair price, IMO.
 
19C27 would be a good choice to replace VG-1.

VG-1 and AUS-8 don't have a lot in common as far as composition goes.
 
CS has made some great steps with the triad of course and losing that zytel for G-10. I do like VG-1 & Spydie VG-10 a lot for that price range of knife like the Voyagers, AL, Recon-1, Endura...etc.

BUT, I have to admit that CS's AUS8 has always been well done. I don't know who does it for them but it sharpens nicely and dang those blades come out of the box screaming sharp. I'd venture to say my last few CS folders arrived every bit as sharp or sharper than my last few Spydercos.

Cold Steel is a "player" in the knife world - say looking at a pie graph, they probably have a decent slice. I enjoy Lynn Thompson's unabashed, unashamed, no apologies, marketing & lifetyle. I think the dude means everything he says in his training videos and that he trains a lot harder with weapons than his detractors would ever believe.

He ain't pretty to watch like a youthful Wushu weapons expert, but get in Trailmaster vs Trailmaster blade fight with the guy and you've got problems on your hands (or lack thereof). :thumbup: :D
 
Planterz said:
What's wrong with having both?

I'm assuming the "downgrade" was for cost reasons. The thing is, Cold Steel doesn't market towards steel snobs. And if Cold Steel can improve their profit margin by a couple of bucks per knife by using a cheaper steel, don't act surprised when they do. After all, what do you expect from a company that markets their knives this way, then gives you only a one-year warranty?
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While it is very easy to say that CS did this just to make a bigger profit, please note that the price of the Voyagers for 2011 are nearly 1/2 what they were going to cost with the VG-1, so the "profit margin" is appropriate for the new models. It isn't as though they used less expensive raw materials and kept the higher prices for more expensive ones.

As has been stated by other forum members, the decision was not a financial one, but one of logistics and production. There are a lot of details that are, quite frankly, company business only, but these decisions were not made lightly and were made in the best interest of both the company and its customers.

And, as of this year, the warranty has changed. There is no longer a time limit attached to the warranty. It only notes that it is restricted to manufacturing or material defects.
 
Thanks for all the responses. They represent a wide variety of views and they gave me a lot to think about.

My own experience, however, makes things even more confusing. First, knife steel. A few years ago, Cold Steel found itself with a bunch of 440A stainless. Even some of the CS technicians didn't like it. But you know what? I got a few of their 440A knives and found them to be astounding. The blades were wickedly sharp and they held their edge. When the 440A was gone, the company moved to VG-1 and gave it a lot of whoopla. Subsequent testing showed it to be an outstanding steel and one CS could be proud of. I didn't hate CS's AUS8A at all. The heat treat of all of CS's steels have been great, but once using VG-1, going back to AUS8A was admittedly tough. I thought the lockback design was strong enough and I liked VG-1. But the company seemed to be wed to strength. Unfortunately, after telling us how great VG-1 was, CS switched most of their knives back to AUS8A without comment.

I credit Cold Steel with many great things. Knife sizes and knife strength -- even the knife tests on videos (I have no problem with that). When I first got into knives, I found myself wondering about knife strength and whether blades were elastic or brittle. I learned a lot by watching CS videos. And until a year or so ago I thought Cold Steel was heading in the right direction full speed ahead. Then, when Andrew Demko came on the scene, I thought there was no stopping them. Then it was like hitting a brick wall. Tri-Ad locks were appearing everywhere on knives of nearly all blade sizes. Knives with improved knife steels like VG-1 went back to what many thought was a step backward. I'd never had any problems with AUS8A, but knives that were previously VG-1 and polished to mirror brightness were now appearing with bead blasting and AUS8A and, of course, the Tri-Ad locks. And, as one poster said, the race was on to find last year's Voyagers!

I'm a big fan of Demko, but I don't want all of my knives to have Tri-Ad locks. I'd like my Voyagers to have polished VG-1 blades and less knives with San Mai III, which is a gimmick. (If VG-1 is a great knife steel, why would I want it sandwiched between two cheaper steels?)

Anyway, CS has gone off the deep end and I'm sorry to see it.

.
 
Preferences vary of course, but AUS 8 has always been a favorite of mine both for its sharpness and ease of sharpening. I was won over to AUS 8 when I made a basic error in knife handling. I dropped a just out of the box CS Scimitar on my bare foot. The wound it inflicted was impressive to both me and the doctor and nurses.
 
I'm a big fan of Demko, but I don't want all of my knives to have Tri-Ad locks. I'd like my Voyagers to have polished VG-1 blades and less knives with San Mai III, which is a gimmick. (If VG-1 is a great knife steel, why would I want it sandwiched between two cheaper steels?)
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Yeah this. Voayagers had such a beautiful lustre and decent steel. I didn't need a triad to baton with them. The lock was fine for light to medium duty and featherlight. They went backward on this design imo.
 
Quick Steel said:
Preferences vary of course, but AUS 8 has always been a favorite of mine both for its sharpness and ease of sharpening. I was won over to AUS 8 when I made a basic error in knife handling. I dropped a just out of the box CS Scimitar on my bare foot. The wound it inflicted was impressive to both me and the doctor and nurses.
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I cut myself on a dog food can lid once. 0____0
 
Confederate said:
I think CS is in a unique position of having ballyhooed VG1 steel and then by their own admission downgraded their steel from VG1 to AUS 8A! And they did this with no explanation.
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Their explanation is in the description of the Paradox:

Cold Steel said:
Every detail of the Paradox™ is a testament to Cold Steel’s renowned craftsmanship. The leaf shaped blade is hollow ground from imported Japanese AUS 8A Stainless (instead of the cheap steel used by our competitors) and, due to the latest advances in heat treatment, it offers a thin, ultra keen edge that lasts.
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They simply don't want to be caught using cheap steel!
 
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