Cold Steel's new owners, (GSM), is mind boggling big...

Yes, these are plenty of older, discontinued designs that deserve to be brought back.

Plus , hopefully they will bring on some new knifemakers or designers too.
 
KnifeCenter just sent out a note that their entire Cold Steel Inventory is on sale. Perhaps it’s a good thing, as in they are getting a shipment of the new logo knives and want to get rid of the old logo items; or, they may expect the new company to bite the dust and are trying to move the inventory before we discover that the warranty has permanently expired. We will have a better idea on where we stand after Blade.

n2s
 
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I really wish Lynn Thompson could/would have sold to Demko, Robert, La Fontaine or a combination of the three. I wouldn't have much if any concern about Cold Steel's future if that had been the case.

What do yall think about "Never Unarmed"? Is it really a new Lynn Thompson company or is it a way for GSM to seperate some of the more "controversial" items from the Cold Steel main brand? If it is Lynn's company, I wonder if he will/will be able to bring new knife models?

This whole situation is a damn shame. Cold Steel has no replacement imo. Who else proves their blades in such hardcore ways and offers those hard use proven designs at a reasonable price? The Triad lock is the only reason I would consider a folder for anything other than opening boxes, cutting paper etc.
 
PocketKnifeJimmy said:
Wow!... GSM Sports is huge!
I know it's been said many times before, but today I did a search engine lookup for GSM Sports... Wow!... Just WOW!
I counted 42 brands of product lines. I'm not sure if some are overlapping brands, (where one company brand is branched into more than one line of products), but in any case... Sheesh, there is so much stuff under their umbrella!
Their list of brands do seem mostly tailored to the outdoorsman, (mostly hunting & shooting sports). If GSM Sports would have purchased the 'Esee' knife company, it would have been a much better fit to the existing brands they already had... But, Cold Steel was a company that, from it's very start, used marketing and sold items that were controversial. CS never stopped doing that under Lynn Thompson' ownership.
What I see when I look at GSM's list of acquired brands/companies, is that Cold Steel sticks out as the red headed stepchild, (at least when one looks at Cold Steel's previous tendency to make, market, and offer items that were less than politically correct).
Hmm, I just can't see how GSM will continue in the long run to maintain Cold Steel's public image.
For Cold Steel to better fit into that list of GSM brands, I can only see them neutering Cold Steel's masculinity. I just can't see them allowing that red headed stepchild to draw unwanted attention to them.
It's just more speculation on my part, but after looking more closely at GSM's other brands, Cold Steel's 2021 product offerings look even more likely as the last true representation of what most of us have considered Cold Steel to be.

For now, GSM has likely been making great sales on the 2021 CS product line. There are surely tons of folks out there getting in on what they know may be the last of Cold Steel's legacy type items, they too anticipating drastic changes that may be implemented in 2022 and beyond.
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I have 3 of their 2021 lineup, and while they cut some corners (steel), the fit, finish and overall quality is still there. Still sharp as heck too.
 
Given that Demko can no longer produce Triad lock, no one else in the market except CS can. I hope Cold Steel can continue to capitalize this IP and make new models in triad lock, not the stupid liner lock or back lock with secondary lock crap we’ve been seeing these past 2 years. If GSM can’t, I hope they license this lock to other makers that are willing to try.
 
In following Cold Steel for many years. I’m seeing a trend towards smaller cheaper knives. While I still see reasonable values on pre-existing items, any new or upgraded blades in the higher quality arena have priced themselves way out of the market. Not sure how many times I’ve heard people praising the return or upgrade of a knife just to be slapped in the face with double or even triple the prices they expected. Im afraid that their going to become just another junk dealer as they discontinue there upper end products for lack of sales...
 
AlongTheRazorsEdge said:
I really wish Lynn Thompson could/would have sold to Demko, Robert, La Fontaine or a combination of the three. I wouldn't have much if any concern about Cold Steel's future if that had been the case.

What do yall think about "Never Unarmed"? Is it really a new Lynn Thompson company or is it a way for GSM to seperate some of the more "controversial" items from the Cold Steel main brand? If it is Lynn's company, I wonder if he will/will be able to bring new knife models?

This whole situation is a damn shame. Cold Steel has no replacement imo. Who else proves their blades in such hardcore ways and offers those hard use proven designs at a reasonable price? The Triad lock is the only reason I would consider a folder for anything other than opening boxes, cutting paper etc.
Click to expand...
While it appears the new owners are listening to their customers on what they would like to see in the future...the Value thing seems to have gone out the window...
 
GCG199 said:
Yes, these are plenty of older, discontinued designs that deserve to be brought back.

Plus , hopefully they will bring on some new knifemakers or designers too.
Click to expand...
Agreed...just expect to pay double or even triple what you would expect...
 
Zephyr One/Zero said:
As I've stated, I would like CS to remain true to their martial lineage, and re-introduce some old-favorites: Black Rhino, Hatamoto, etc. At the same time, add some newer lines to the catalogue.
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Agreed...I would add at a reasonable price. I’ve been excited by 5-6 different models coming back and/or upgraded just to be slapped in the face with prices double even triple what one would expect...
 
insta9ves said:
Given that Demko can no longer produce Triad lock, no one else in the market except CS can. I hope Cold Steel can continue to capitalize this IP and make new models in triad lock, not the stupid liner lock or back lock with secondary lock crap we’ve been seeing these past 2 years. If GSM can’t, I hope they license this lock to other makers that are willing to try.
Click to expand...

I was looking at some folders from another brand; good steel, nice blade design, Beautifull layered and machined G10 scales but only one problem..liner lock | :

I picked up another Triad locked Cold Steel instead ( ;
 
PocketKnifeJimmy said:
Wow!... GSM Sports is huge!
I know it's been said many times before, but today I did a search engine lookup for GSM Sports... Wow!... Just WOW!
I counted 42 brands of product lines. I'm not sure if some are overlapping brands, (where one company brand is branched into more than one line of products), but in any case... Sheesh, there is so much stuff under their umbrella!
Their list of brands do seem mostly tailored to the outdoorsman, (mostly hunting & shooting sports). If GSM Sports would have purchased the 'Esee' knife company, it would have been a much better fit to the existing brands they already had... But, Cold Steel was a company that, from it's very start, used marketing and sold items that were controversial. CS never stopped doing that under Lynn Thompson' ownership.
What I see when I look at GSM's list of acquired brands/companies, is that Cold Steel sticks out as the red headed stepchild, (at least when one looks at Cold Steel's previous tendency to make, market, and offer items that were less than politically correct).
Hmm, I just can't see how GSM will continue in the long run to maintain Cold Steel's public image.
For Cold Steel to better fit into that list of GSM brands, I can only see them neutering Cold Steel's masculinity. I just can't see them allowing that red headed stepchild to draw unwanted attention to them.
It's just more speculation on my part, but after looking more closely at GSM's other brands, Cold Steel's 2021 product offerings look even more likely as the last true representation of what most of us have considered Cold Steel to be.

For now, GSM has likely been making great sales on the 2021 CS product line. There are surely tons of folks out there getting in on what they know may be the last of Cold Steel's legacy type items, they too anticipating drastic changes that may be implemented in 2022 and beyond.
Click to expand...
Sadly what I’m seeing is a trend towards smaller and cheaper while their upper end products as there added or reintroduced are pricing themselves way out of the market...
 
RMCknives said:
Man I sure hope they keep the xl espada and other xl knives because those are the only ones I could find that are good price, quality, and SIZE!! I wish they would make more xl knives for self defense though and with GSM I can’t see them coming out with any new xl models anymore
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I agree entirely with your statement as it's also my MAJOR concern and I can see this panning out that way, and I have a few additional thoughts on it most likely thought by a great many folks such as you and myself.
I think that with the loss of Lynn's energy and his push and plowing money into the original, extraordinary, and striking designs because I think that from GSM's standpoint they won't for one, want to funnel money into such projects that may or may not give them instant and sustained monetary gains, and they certainly won't be thinking about contracting successful designers to produce any innovative designs because that could be a bad investment also, and I think GSM most definitely won't be thinking as the Cold Steel knives collectors will be so far as these
" Specials " will be great pieces to have in a collection and also that they'll be a good investment for the future, as GSM will definitely not be thinking about the long, long, term of the company, they're only thinking about how to maintain a stable revenue for the next 2 - 3 years, and that's if GSM CAN retain Cold Steel's fans interest, both new and old in the company!
 
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