- Joined
- Sep 19, 2007
- Messages
- 4,293
Yet another reason to hate cold steel.
-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
Cold Steel's Kabar Clone
- Thread starter Jake Bauer
- Start date
- Joined
- Nov 24, 2008
- Messages
- 4,748
hmm, i say it will cut a kabar in half...
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2011
- Messages
- 833
Really like nobody else ever used that knife style? It's like the most common "combat knife" design ever.
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2000
- Messages
- 45,835
I was thinking along this line as well. Not to take anything away from CS and its questionable "designs," but Camillus also made a lot of fighting knives and people didn't raise a stink about duplication.
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2011
- Messages
- 833
Also I don't think Ka-Bar was the only company who made the USMC knife iirc their were 3-4 other's
shandrydan1
Gold Member
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2011
- Messages
- 1,243
Looks pretty good to me all except for the handle logo placement. Also according to their description it is an extra wide full length tang. Never used a Cold Steel fixed blade before so not sure how their tangs are compared to their descripions but just thought I would throw that out there.
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2006
- Messages
- 2,642
I think the Cold Steel will be an improvement overall same reasons as retzius. It would be nice to see Kabar update the design in a better steel and get after it.
I'm not a knife historian but I wonder how long has it been since anyone has seen a 100% original knife pattern? Show me one from the past 30 years that can't be tracked back to a prior style that "inspired" the new design. I bought an Emerso cqc-13 with a Bowie style blade!! OMG, what a ripoff. Look at the current favor of 'bushcraft' knives. Ya think there was ever a fixed blade, 4 - 5", drop point knife made before we ever knew who Mors Kochanski was? How many Kephart style blades are sold in the knifemakers forums every week?
Beautiful women have inspired artists for centurys, why can't a beautiful knife inspire as well?
If they were making one that looked identical ... right down to the markings on the blade, ok, rip-off, but they're not. I can see numerous differences in them, most notable to me (besides the handle) is there is no fuller and the clip is cut differently.
If ya don't like it, don't buy it. Spend your money with a company or a product that you enjoy and get out there and use 'em
My 2 cents worth, and ya usually get what you pay for.
Jester
Beautiful women have inspired artists for centurys, why can't a beautiful knife inspire as well?
If they were making one that looked identical ... right down to the markings on the blade, ok, rip-off, but they're not. I can see numerous differences in them, most notable to me (besides the handle) is there is no fuller and the clip is cut differently.
If ya don't like it, don't buy it. Spend your money with a company or a product that you enjoy and get out there and use 'em
My 2 cents worth, and ya usually get what you pay for.
Jester
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2003
- Messages
- 19,845
there's a far cry from inspiration to "put it in a mold and crank them out"
cold steel has some fine knives of their own design. i'm sure they might get miffed if someone copies it.
and like some companies, they come super close to down right cloning other patterns
well, good thing you can't copyright/etc a pattern
right? oh. weight. some people think they can protect where you put a hole on a knife but they have a knife that's so close to another, that it's a direct copy - no innovation or inspiration required. no names, because i know one of the people invovled is a true gentleman.
others? well, it's okay apaprently. even if you're called on it.
mmm, okay, sure. unique knife design, last 30 years, ..., mmm. grohmann #1? WSK? Nessmuk? CRKT MUK?
arguments like "oh, it's got a HANDLE" will be ignored, or "it's just like foo except for the ..."
frankly, there are so many variables possible, that even if something does happen to be close to something else, chances are their pedigrees could be light years apart.
sure, there might be say, a dozen, or even half a dozen basic over all possiblities. point up, point inline, point offline, point down, curve, recurve, flat, fixed, folder, and some others... but it the combinations, and variations... infinite possibilities. what with all those chances... coming up with something 99% the same? yah, that's just plagiarism, and what did we learn in 2nd grade class? plagiarists will get Fs :> thank you class.
cold steel has some fine knives of their own design. i'm sure they might get miffed if someone copies it.
and like some companies, they come super close to down right cloning other patterns
well, good thing you can't copyright/etc a pattern
right? oh. weight. some people think they can protect where you put a hole on a knife but they have a knife that's so close to another, that it's a direct copy - no innovation or inspiration required. no names, because i know one of the people invovled is a true gentleman.others? well, it's okay apaprently. even if you're called on it.
mmm, okay, sure. unique knife design, last 30 years, ..., mmm. grohmann #1? WSK? Nessmuk? CRKT MUK?
arguments like "oh, it's got a HANDLE" will be ignored, or "it's just like foo except for the ..."
frankly, there are so many variables possible, that even if something does happen to be close to something else, chances are their pedigrees could be light years apart.
sure, there might be say, a dozen, or even half a dozen basic over all possiblities. point up, point inline, point offline, point down, curve, recurve, flat, fixed, folder, and some others... but it the combinations, and variations... infinite possibilities. what with all those chances... coming up with something 99% the same? yah, that's just plagiarism, and what did we learn in 2nd grade class? plagiarists will get Fs :> thank you class.
So any fixed blade knife in the 6 1/2 - 7" length with a clip point and and round pommel is a ripoff of Kabar? Perhaps we should talk to the numerous custom makers who turn out 3 1/2 - 4 1/2 drop point blades, put a slightly different contour on the handle or a different finish on the steel and give them a model designation that suits them and it's a different knife from the other 75 out there?
As for other unique designs, I can see that, esp the MUK and WSK (I'm not familiar with the Grohmann and the Nessmuk, from what I understand is a very old design named after Geo. Sears, was basicly a skinner pattern that I can only imagine the style of which goes back hundreds of years.) I guess it would be a bit crass for me to mention that the Kabar in question wasn't a totally original design either, drawing from the USN Mk 1 as well as several civilian hunting/utility knives such as Westerns L76 and L77.
As far as I know, both Kabar and Cold Steel are US companies and I would imagine if there were some sort of infringement that Kabar would have a course of remedy in the Court system and I could only imagine that, if they owned some sort of license to the pattern of the USMC fighting knife it would be valuable enough to protect.
I still think it boils down to if you don't like it, don't buy it.
As for other unique designs, I can see that, esp the MUK and WSK (I'm not familiar with the Grohmann and the Nessmuk, from what I understand is a very old design named after Geo. Sears, was basicly a skinner pattern that I can only imagine the style of which goes back hundreds of years.) I guess it would be a bit crass for me to mention that the Kabar in question wasn't a totally original design either, drawing from the USN Mk 1 as well as several civilian hunting/utility knives such as Westerns L76 and L77.
As far as I know, both Kabar and Cold Steel are US companies and I would imagine if there were some sort of infringement that Kabar would have a course of remedy in the Court system and I could only imagine that, if they owned some sort of license to the pattern of the USMC fighting knife it would be valuable enough to protect.
I still think it boils down to if you don't like it, don't buy it.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2003
- Messages
- 20,205
Yet another reason to hate cold steel.
It's a clip-point, flat-ground knife that does not appear to have a fuller. Not very much like the classic "Ka-Bar."
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2003
- Messages
- 20,205
The Twistmaster does not look just like an Opinel to any objective observer who has seen both a Twistmaster and an Opinel. They do both have similar locks.
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2010
- Messages
- 15,417
Guys, imitation is the best form of flattery. We're very flattered. 
Since the Marine Corps adopted the Kabar design, its been made by dozens of companies. During WWII, demand was so high, that no single company could keep production number high enough to meet gub'ment needs. Since day one, other folks have been making the design. Funny thing, same thing happened to a little Ol' Ugly pistol, known as the 1911.
Colt, SA, Remington, Singer, Ithaca, Kimber, and on and on.
Kabar, Case, Camillus, Buck and on and on.
No biggie. Where's that Cold Steel made at again?
I like to see USA on my knives, so, in my mind, no real competition here, just good steel, made by two different companies is all.
There does seem to be some "upgrades", but I like the look of the Original American Legend, myself. I do believe I've seen that blade shape before with a few subtle differences, though.
Just my thoughts.
Moose
Since the Marine Corps adopted the Kabar design, its been made by dozens of companies. During WWII, demand was so high, that no single company could keep production number high enough to meet gub'ment needs. Since day one, other folks have been making the design. Funny thing, same thing happened to a little Ol' Ugly pistol, known as the 1911.
Colt, SA, Remington, Singer, Ithaca, Kimber, and on and on.
Kabar, Case, Camillus, Buck and on and on.
No biggie. Where's that Cold Steel made at again?
I like to see USA on my knives, so, in my mind, no real competition here, just good steel, made by two different companies is all.
There does seem to be some "upgrades", but I like the look of the Original American Legend, myself. I do believe I've seen that blade shape before with a few subtle differences, though.
Just my thoughts.
Moose
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2003
- Messages
- 20,205
Camillus made more "Ka-Bar's" that Union Cutlery did.