Cold Steel's new items

Kaizen1 said:
While this would be nice, chances are if they start using these types of steels, they'll jump up to the Strider and custom prices ranges considering what they charge now for not-so-super-steels.
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I agree and in that case we'd have to say be careful what you wish for. At best we would get San Mai steel from Cold Steel. While I will be the first to agree that it'd be nice to see some option for a higher end steel its not absolutely necessary. Something like ATS34 for blade steel since they seem to favor Japanese steels at Cold Steel would still be something I could certainly live with but at the prices of most of their knives what they are using now is sure easy enough to swallow. Keep in mind that these days $100 doesn't buy much more than $50 or $60 used to just a few short years ago. I mean my wife has been buying bird seed for years and it was $8 for a 50 pound bag of wild bird seed when she started buying it. It was $12 a bag not long ago and sometime after that it rose to $15 and sometimes we'd find a sale for $13 if we were lucky. Its $25.99 a bag now and its a 40 pound bag not 50. Such is the way of inflation.

STR
 
kozak6 said:
Speaking of San Mai III, what exactly is laminated together?
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Old San Mai III is AUS8 in the middle with 420 on the outside.

New VG-1 San Mai III is VG-1 in the middle with 420 on the outside.


Corpus said:
That's kinda my point. If the Rajah I was in their VG-1 steel instead of AUS 8, there'd be more incentive for me to buy it.

I personally don't like AUS 8, have had more than a couple knives in that steel, and was never happy with their performance. I'm sure part of my dislike for AUS8 stems from the fact that I've never been able to get a knife sharp no matter what I tried. I can get an ok edge, sure. But not that scary sharp that I've seen some get using a stone and/or grinder in seconds.

btw, are you suggesting that were Cold Steel to use 440C, they wouldn't know how to properly heat treat it ? ;)
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I can get AUS8 extremely sharp with out much effort, hair popping sharp isn't a problem at all.

No, that isn't what I was saying. ;)
 
tf8s said:
thanks for the explanation, STR.

I went to the link, but I didn't want propaganda, I wanted to know, from someone who has actually tested the knife, what CS had done to actually improve the strength of the lock-back design.
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So, just out of curiosity, how did STR explain the greater strength of the Tri-Ad lock - in your own words - in regards to closing?
 
I have no problems with the steel, as long as the price reflects the overall value, I'm fine with a bit less expensive steel. For me, they have a place as beaters, no sweat. But I have to say, I've been more and more underwhelmed with CS's new products lately, and this year takes the cake. I don't know who they're designing for, but it's definitely not me. With a few exceptions, many of the designs seem to have gone over the top.
 
many of the designs seem to have gone over the top.
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No Doubt!

Folding machetes with nickel plates fittings etc...lol...the ultimate Mall Ninja would be styling with his Large Espada @ over 1/2 pound and 1 foot long, only to be outdone by his homie with the XL model @ 1 lb and almost 1.5 ft long.

And I thought the 13 inch Zytel Ti-Lite was a bit much :rolleyes:

I'm not hating on them because someone owns one and loves them dearly but c'mon.
 
Probably my main complaint about Cold Steel is that they seem to charge in some not all cases, more than is warranted for knives. Particularly their high end stuff. I realize that there are other considerations for quality in knives outside of steel, but it's a little ridiculous when most of the knife industry are using arguably superior steels at the price ranges that CS charges for their high end lines.

Now, to be fair, HT seems to be a larger factor in steel for the most part, if they're using a reasonably "good" steel. As far as I can tell, Randall knives uses 440B and they seem to perform quite well. And master smiths in general can do amazing things with older, less flashy steels that productions companies using new super-steels can't.

Here's a nice pic that shows what a master smith can do (Bob Kramer):
richtigtests.jpg


CS has some very good knives, especially with Demko's recent contributions to the company. But so long as they keep the title on their website, "World's Strongest, Sharpest Knives", they'll always be somewhat full of hot air. So while I don't like that outright lie, I won't let that affect my judgment of the products that they make that are actually good.

If anyone thinks this post is "bashing" CS, then they haven't read this post through.
 
Ankerson said:
I can get AUS8 extremely sharp with out much effort, hair popping sharp isn't a problem at all.
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Me too. I don't really get what folks have against AUS8/AUS8a. I can easily get a screaming sharp edge that lasts just as long as most other steels. I have knives in everything from 1095 to ZDP-189, and I love AUS8. :confused:
 
orthogonal1 said:
So, just out of curiosity, how did STR explain the greater strength of the Tri-Ad lock - in your own words - in regards to closing?
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The Triad lock is stronger mainly because of the shared load of the components taking a lot of the shock the lock would have to absorb nearly 100% of in another design. The stop pin design tends to distribute the stress throughout the system of the folder redirecting those forces coming head on into the lock direction. This aids to relieve the lockbar from having to absorb what it would have to absorb in a conventional lock back design. As a result the lock stays put and does not tend to pop up or release the blade even partially. The fact that the lock bar falls deep into a big notch that has all the proper angles and care to prevent stress risers in either the blade or the rocker arm are not really significant new developments since that is incorporated anymore in most all folders in the back lock, mid lock or front lock designs but it certainly adds to the overall strengths of the folders using this lock when you take into consideration the other improvements.


Joe, I agree their designs are a bit over the top but I feel they've been kind of over the top for a number of years personally. The only folder I found worthy of my attention using the Triad lock was the American Lawman and the Mini Lawman which was somewhat of a disappointment for size. The strengths of the other models was quite impressive to see but the designs do not appeal to me in the least. I wish I liked the Espada but I have no use for it even if I do envy the lock strengths. I do find I tend to stick to the more traditional less radical styles and not particularly being a fan of recurves I found little else appealed to me. I owned a Vaquero once and that didn't last long. I found that to be about the limits of my drifting from traditional body and blade shapes.

STR
 
Oh well I will pay 60 bucks any day for a folder that you can hang 500 pounds on the handle and not have it fold up.
 
Joe Talmadge said:
I have no problems with the steel, as long as the price reflects the overall value, I'm fine with a bit less expensive steel. For me, they have a place as beaters, no sweat. But I have to say, I've been more and more underwhelmed with CS's new products lately, and this year takes the cake. I don't know who they're designing for, but it's definitely not me. With a few exceptions, many of the designs seem to have gone over the top.
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Sorry not everyones a fan , but what type of design would you like to see in the future?
 
jill jackson said:
Oh well I will pay 60 bucks any day for a folder that you can hang 500 pounds on the handle and not have it fold up.
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so you can actually hold a constant 500lbs on the blade and the lock will hold up? or is it a shock force of 500lbs? I wonder how much force can be exerted by an average, fit, human pushing on the spine.
 
STR said:
Joe, I agree their designs are a bit over the top but I feel they've been kind of over the top for a number of years personally. The only folder I found worthy of my attention using the Triad lock was the American Lawman and the Mini Lawman which was somewhat of a disappointment for size. R
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The larger one is exactly the one new folder that caught my eye
 
DemkoKnives said:
Sorry not everyones a fan , but what type of design would you like to see in the future?
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Thanks for asking ... first, I do like the new lock, at least in concept, and aside from the fact that it's interesting on its own, I like it that CS has moved away from a minor variation of Benchmade's lock to their own thing. Even sweeter that they've made an old favorite lock format better with a simple change. In theory, at least.

I can't tell you exactly what type of design I'd like to see in the future. One of the the things I like is when a company comes out with their lineup and they've come up with better things than I could have thought of. So I don't want you to follow my advice. But I can tell you what I don't like about the new knives... here are some from the dealers website that I'm not impressed with:

http://dealerscorner.coldsteel.com/Products/29TGXTH/
http://dealerscorner.coldsteel.com/Products/58TLAK/
http://dealerscorner.coldsteel.com/Products/62NM/

Among the general themes seems to be: folders whose handles make them insanely uncomfortable to carry ... to me, they're making some solid older models much worse, and new models more and more extreme. Again, I admit up front, CS might not be designing for me -- I'm willing to carry even a very big folder if it's carryable to me -- and perhaps the folders I've used as examples above will be CS's best selling models, who knows.

In the past, I've thought of CS as always have very solid working designs, usually at a good price for the construction. I'm not a steel snob, so as long as the price matches the piece, I have no complaints there. For me, they're moving to uncarryable folders with over-the-top appearance.
 
I have the Spartan now and it's a solid well made knife. It won't fit into any belt sheath I own. (I'd rather carry in a belt sheath hiking) All the other extra large folders I have will. It's just too wide and thick blade spine to back spring. A more stream lined model along the same line with a 4.5"-5", blade or so and the Tri-ad lock would be great IMO.
 
jill jackson said:
Oh well I will pay 60 bucks any day for a folder that you can hang 500 pounds on the handle and not have it fold up.
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That is a good point. :thumbup:

Most of Cold Steels models prices are well in line with other knives on the market when you don't look at the Cold Steel website for prices.

The prices are much lower on other sites, IE: a $400 knife selling for $240 on other sites.
 
Im really digging the San Mai SRK, but it aint exactly cheap...gotta wait till it comes out and see what the different online dealers will price it at.
 
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