Coldsteel Sold???

I’ll take one for the team and try my first GSM product. I’m usually a Tink’s man but I’ll try a “buck bomb.” It’s still rifle season in Upstate NY. Will report back!

 

Everyone has their idea of how someone else should handle their business, it is much easier to make calls from the side lines. I wish nothing but the best for Cold Steels future. They had quickly became one of my favorite brands in the past few years, especially all their improvements.

Only time will really tell what is gonna happen, and until we have more concrete evidence for things, I think speculation and judgment calls should be kept to a minimum.

 

Any knife company can produce a Triad Lock now.
They just have to give it a different name.

 

I’ve too many Cold Steels already, but just ordered a backup Tuff Lite and a Broken Skull. May need to get a Warcraft and a second AD10 as well since mine is hollow ground and I’d like a flat ground one.

 

Better than recently?...sure
Better than ever?...not a friggin chance

 

I'm not going to derail this thread but you're in way over your head when saying that about Marlin. That's a subject I have a few decades of experience with and it will never be as good as it was in North Haven. I do hope Ruger makes it better than Remington/FGI did.

I also hope that GSM upholds the current quality, I just think people have a justified right to be concerned.

 

Hopeful that the brand keeps on.
Just ordered a Large Espada incase they don’t.

 

Smart. I think all of us (fans) want the best for the brand. But I will be calling my dealer today and placing an order, just in case...

Not very encouraged by the hostage video of Lynn either.

But I am a huge LT fan, and wish him the best. Is this why the special Kris blade ti lite came to be this year?

Also hoping for the best for the former employees as well as our jobless BF brothers and sisters.

 

I'd like to see the brand live on with past quality levels in place regardless of who owns it.
It's obvious that some will not be satisfied with anything that is said or written from this point forward.
There are some that opined in the same way long before this all happened.
Everyone is obviously entitled to their own opinion but some will complain no matter what is going on. Nature of the beast I guess.

 

LTs video is exactly what you expect, standard everything is gonna be great propaganda. What else can he say? Note, the video does not call him the President, it calls him the founder. He isn't running anything. He is an employee, and perhaps Demko as well.

I expect significant changes. Look for steels and handle materials to be significantly degraded-- with prices perhaps reduced a tiny bit. Think 4034 and Zytel Espadas listing for 120 online, perhaps even quietly dropping the Triad lock so they can stop paying royalties. Hell, we might see them switch the entire lineup to 3mm 4034 or worse, all made in China of course.

But they will be in stock. I have no doubt about that. Cheap junk with no warranty, but in stock, blister packed for easy shelf display.

I am wondering what, if anything, should be my next and perhaps final Cold Steel purchase. Something iconic, like a real Espada or 3V tanto? Or something useful like the XL voyagers I like to carry? I had considered clearing out every decent cold steel I could find for later resale, but the wife said absolutely not. So what should it be?

 

If anyone is a collector with deep pockets, Knifecenter has got Trailmasters in VG-1 San Mai III for $251 or half list price. These were made in Japan and have a Cordura sheath, not Secure-ex, which is a good thing. Can't get much more classic than that, except if it had a Japanese leather sheath.
These had to have been made years ago, since all Japan production moved to Taiwan a while back. This shows how poorly the high end stuff sold. But rare variants are the best collector items.
But $250+. My wife will raise hell. Hmmm...

 

Suggestion: We all would like to know what is going to happen, change, new products, direction,
really anything.
I have emailed GSM OUTDOORS [email protected] a couple of times a day since this was known. NO RESPONSE
What if EVERYONE sent them emails and posts on facebook and showed them the number of people who were interested then maybe they would respond. They have deleted some postings about cold steel on facebook.
Flood them with inquiries so they will respond is my thinking.

This is all IF, unknown and speculative at this point. When the company posted about 4034 does it now appear they warning people the direction of the company? With three 3v Models being tested and CONSIDERED
Was this a warning without letting the cat out of the bag?????????
IF IF IF the line is cheapened, the counterfeits are pennies on the dollar and may be higher quality then what they produce???
Should we hope for more counterfeits?????????????

 

I don't think anyone emailing GSM or Coldsteel will get a personal response any time soon. They probably just file all those and do a mass reply with a form PR statement.

 

First off let me say that this is indeed a sad day. Sad for all the employees out of a job at Christmastime in the middle of a pandemic. Sad for all of the loyal Cold Steel fans. Myself, I have a ton of CS products, as I started collecting them in the 80's. But look how things have gone slowly downhill for CS over the years; products no longer made in the USA, sheaths made of inferior materials that dull your blades, no more "proof" videos sent out for free, no more catalogs, promises of production not kept (I have been on a waiting list for a Natchez Bowie for over a year), stories about junk steel being better than known quality steel, and now, no more lifetime warranties. Then frosting on the cake, a pathetic statement from Lynn under duress. Sad day indeed.

 

I have the 4 and 6. Definitely some of my preferred pieces. I am as disappointed as anyone here, but I just feel closure. I am knife and axe saturated. I do not feel like I missed the C.S. product boat, so I am lucky that way. I give Mr. Thompson the benefit of the doubt (apology in video) as an imperfect human being,.... like all of us. Some think that I'm a decent guy, others think I'm a hole. Such is the dichotomy or duality of being human. I have little to no right to judgement, as I wasn't the one spending 40 years of blood, sweat and tears to build that company. When I see many of my C.S. products, and take them outdoors, or on a dark city night walk, I feel secure and satisfied in the strength and integrity of the product. That is my focus, and it's a positive feeling of appreciation. I truly hope that the Thompson/Demko spirit finds its way into future quality products. The cards will lay as they will.

 

As if all of this drama weren't already enough,
GSM Outdoors Acquired By Gridiron Capital Posted by SGB Media | Nov 18, 2020 |


https://sgbonline.com/gsm-outdoors-acquired-by-gridiron-capita/

 

There's always a bigger fish.

 

That's your opinion only.

 

I wonder if their 2021 catalog is already set in stone for the most part. Maybe the big changes will come in 2022.

 

That's what I was thinking...probably already had production contracts in place for 2021