Could the Tuff Lite have a better finish?

T

tess_lawrie_fan

Joined
Apr 18, 2021
Messages
292
My Tuff Lite has arrived today and we loved it. 🥳 Great little EDC!

As you can see in the picture, the folder is "Sold Steel" while the box is "Old Steel"... Odd, but no problem with that.

The folder is sharp and well made, but I noticed that the hole used to open the folder is well finished on one side, but not on the opposite side. The hole border in the opposite side is not smooth (rounded). I'm not left handed, but if I was, I wouldn't like that...

Does the "Old Steel" model have the same problem? 🤨


TUFF-LITE-20211016.jpg


EDIT:

I'm using a file to smooth the border.
 
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I imagine the box being from the Lynn Thompson era is because they are likely using up existing stock. I mean, they probably figure that throwing out the older packaging inventory, is literally throwing out perfectly good money, and you know that EVERYONE hates to do that! 😆

As for your knife, I imagine the finishing for the blade's opening hole cutout is likely supposed to be the same on both sides, as such things are meant to be ambidextrous. But, I'm sure that sometimes small details like that are missed during production.

There is no doubt that the Lynn Thompson era products also occasionally had small, (and not so small), issues with them as well. It's the nature of the beast when it comes to mass produced products and the human error factor coming into play. Also, with so many contracted manufacturers under Cold Steel, the issues may be more common with this or that maker, over some of the others they contract.
I really do believe, (except for the change to the newer CS logo markings on the products and packaging), that GSM almost certainly didn't have any specs or money exchanges changed in the contracts that were likely done and signed by Lynn Thompson and the manufacturers that were going to supply Cold Steel's product line for the new 2021 year. I imagine GSM inherited the whole kit and caboodle as it was laid out in those contracts. If changes are made by GSM as to where and who will make their products, and... as to how the products are to be made (specifications), what will or will not be cut out altogether, and what they will or will not pay the manufacturers, will all likely be decided on and applied to any contracts signed going forward with whatever manufacturers they choose to go with going forward, (2022 and beyond).

It has been said before, Lynn Thompson sold Cold Steel late during the 2020 year. That being so, the 2021 product line and the contracts signed to have them manufactured, were almost certainly already in place when GSM made the deal to buyout the Cold Steel firm. That gave GSM a good year to figure out what the full game plan will be for Cold Steel going forward, again, 2022 and beyond.

For now, I believe that the 2021 Cold Steel product lineup is still legitimately the last of the Lynn Thompson show. There may already be all sorts of changes to this or that in how they now will operate, but those changes are highly unlikely to include any changes to the contracts that were already agreed upon and signed by Lynn and the existing manufacturers of the Cold Steel 2021 product line.

As for 2022 and beyond?... Those products will be made under the new GSM Cold Steel and whatever manufacturers they choose to fulfill the new contracts signed between them.

Btw, did you buy that in South America? If so, and if you don't mind my asking, what kind of coin did it set you back, (in US Dollars)?
Thanks in advance 😊
 
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At least for the collector that may be growing inside me, only the knives with the older logos are truly LTE. But from a more practical point of view, I must agree 100% with your views regarding the 2021 line. Great post BTW. And I even prefer the new (replaceable) products for actual EDC, the Tuff Lite being one of them.

The finish on the opposite side of the Tuff Lite was very unpleasant before the use of the file. I'll receive a second unit in two weeks, so this topic will be updated...

My shopping at the big store is a cat and rat game. At some occasions there are great deals, but they're not that common. I ordered this (these) Tuff Lite when the price was the lowest: $60. Then they rise to $96 (what a joke), and today the price is $75.

So I can imagine that either I paid the big store's smaller price with full taxes included, or paid the MSRP plus a 20% bonus. It's far from being a great deal, but it's acceptable.
 
tess_lawrie_fan said:
At least for the collector that may be growing inside me, only the knives with the older logos are truly LTE. But from a more practical point of view, I must agree 100% with your views regarding the 2021 line. Great post BTW. And I even prefer the new (replaceable) products for actual EDC, the Tuff Lite being one of them.

The finish on the opposite side of the Tuff Lite was very unpleasant before the use of the file. I'll receive a second unit in two weeks, so this topic will be updated...

My shopping at the big store is a cat and rat game. At some occasions there are great deals, but they're not that common. I ordered this (these) Tuff Lite when the price was the lowest: $60. Then they rise to $96 (what a joke), and today the price is $75.

So I can imagine that either I paid the big store's smaller price with full taxes included, or paid the MSRP plus a 20% bonus. It's far from being a great deal, but it's acceptable.
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Thanks for your response, buddy 👍
Also, thank you for the kudos concerning my post 👍

Yup, I see the 2021 Cold Steel catalog/product line-up, as representing the last of Lynn Thomson's brainchild. He put that all in place just before he sold the company, and I just won't hold my breath on GSM doing all that product line for 2022.
I truly expect a lot of the items to go the way of the DoDo Bird... As an example of what I feel will not survive beyond 2021, are the three remaining products in the Cold Steel Chaos series. That series' Bowie, Double Edged Trench Knife, and Push Knife, are almost surely to be done at the end of this year, and that means an end to the Chaos series. And whatever is left of Lynn's ideas, will likely see all sorts of cost cutting measures that will likely water them down in quality. GSM is obviously passionate about making money, which is fine, but it does not seem at all passionate about it's products. Lynn had a passion for both, and that was key to his success. Make money, but stand proud about what products you put out... That's the win win combination! 👍
Get your 2021 Cold Steel now, because it's likely the last of true Lynn Thomson's brainchild.

Good luck to all of you out there seeking to acquire your last true Cold Steel 👍😊👍
 
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I'm glad I got my small share of Old Steel stuff, even living in a peripheral country. Only a few pieces, but very representative ones. 🗡️ And I only got knives that I really like, which is awesome.

PocketKnifeJimmy said:
Make money, but stand proud about what products you put out... That's the win win combination! 👍
Click to expand...

I'm a fan of Frank Capra's movies and I think this is a powerful idea. Thank you, Jimmy! 👍
 
After a bit of playing with the knife, I came to the conclusion that all the "opposite side", including the choil and the jimping, was "unfinished". :confused:

In contrast, the side where is written "Tuff Lite" has a perfect rounded finish. I'm looking forward to see if the second unit will be identical to this one.

The file solved the problem, but I had to work quite a bit...
 
Hoping it was just a fluke, which we all know happens occasionally with all manufactured goods.
My fingers are crossed for you that your next specimen has no issues whatsoever... Good luck, buddy! 🤞🤞
 
tess_lawrie_fan said:
The pic below shows the bad side. Nothing in this side was rounded and well finished. I can even spot the marks of the file.



tuff-bad-side.jpg
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That is the new logo. May be a cost cutting measure, unfortunately. I do see how unfinished it is. Or maybe the factory is going slack because they know they won’t be checked in on like the old management would do.
 
jux t said:
That is the new logo. May be a cost cutting measure, unfortunately. I do see how unfinished it is. Or maybe the factory is going slack because they know they won’t be checked in on like the old management would do.
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You may have something there with your statement.
The Cold Steel company under Lynn Thompson was likely pretty involved with trying to make sure that what they had their manufacturers make, was going to represent well for them.
Now, with non knife people that are strictly about money generating for the company being in charge, I can easily see the ball being dropped on this.
I continue to have negative feelings about what will happen to Cold Steel. I think the new year, (2022), with the likelihood of their full new game plan being put into place, will likely show Cold Steel's direction in a better light, (I highly doubt that direction will be for the better). The major changes are yet to be seen... The first quarter to half of the 2022 year, will be the best period to measure what they have become.
 
jux t said:
That is the new logo. May be a cost cutting measure, unfortunately. I do see how unfinished it is. Or maybe the factory is going slack because they know they won’t be checked in on like the old management would do.
Click to expand...

I think you totally nailed it.

I'd have just one thing to add, but I'll wait for my second unit to see if it has the same finishing issues.
 
2-bad-tuffs.jpg


The second Tuff Lite has arrived.

This second unit (below) has exactly the same (bad or non-existent) finishing.

It's possible to see the marks of the file on the first unit (above).

The pic is horrible (sorry), but not worse than the finishing of these folders...
 
That is definitely not a good sign 😱

You know something, I was thinking earlier this year about trading my car in for a new model. I usually buy them brand new, then keep them for many years, getting my money's worth out of them before trading them in, (usually keeping them for 6 to 9 years, my car being a 2012 year model).
But, then there were all of the shortages, (labor, parts, and what have you), and the dealers wound up not wanting, nor needing, to budge any on their prices. Also, as the year went on, not only were they not willing to make a better deal for you, but the sticker prices seemed to have gone up as well. So, with my car only being in the 40,000 original miles range, (even with it being a 2012 model), I decided I will likely just put a little money here and there into it to get it back up to snuff, and just keep it for another year or two.

Now, I tell that story because, with all of the issues that the pandemic has caused in just about all markets, manufacturing is the one that may have the most noticeable long term issues. Why?... Well, for example, with labor shortages, fears of the virus, raw material and parts shortages, and so many other issues, the build quality of goods manufactured during this crazy period, has likely taken a big hit.
I think as time goes on, products made during this time frame will be looked at more skeptically by future buyers of them. Like, lets say, a car made in late 2020 through 2021, may take a big hit on resale values as things hopefully improve in the future. The future will look at this period as a time when quality was likely much more spotty because of what harms the pandemic caused.
Of course we are talking Cold Steel knives here, but I would imagine the same scenario is/will be the case for these goods as well. Then one adds the fact that Cold Steel went under new ownership during the end of last year, and the issues may even be greater for it's products.

In other words, a whole lot more hit or miss 😔
 
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PocketKnifeJimmy said:
That is definitely not a good sign 😱

You know something, I was thinking earlier this year about trading my car in for a new model. I usually buy them brand new, then keep them for many years, getting my money's worth out of them before trading them in, (usually keeping them for 6 to 9 years, my car being a 2012 year model).
But, then there were all of the shortages, (labor, parts, and what have you), and the dealers wound up not wanting, nor needing, to budge any on their prices. Also, as the year went on, not only were they not willing to make a better deal for you, but the sticker prices seemed to have gone up as well. So, with my car only being in the 40,000 original miles range, (even with it being a 2012 model), I decided I will likely just put a little money here and there into it to get it back up to snuff, and just keep it for another year or two.

Now, I tell that story because, with all of the issues that the pandemic has caused in just about all markets, manufacturing is the one that may have the most noticeable long term issues. Why?... Well, for example, with labor shortages, fears of the virus, raw material and parts shortages, and so many other issues, the build quality of goods manufactured during this crazy period, has likely taken a big hit.
I think as time goes on, products made during this time frame will be looked at more skeptically by future buyers of them. Like, lets say, a car made in late 2020 through 2021, may take a big hit on resale values as things hopefully improve in the future. The future will look at this period as a time when quality was likely much more spotty because of what harms the pandemic caused.
Of course we are talking Cold Steel knives here, but I would imagine the same scenario is/will be the case for these goods as well. Then one adds the fact that Cold Steel went under new ownership during the end of last year, and the issues may even be greater for it's products.

In other words, a whole lot more hit or miss 😔
Click to expand...

Your reasoning is impeccable, but (happily!) the Taiwanese Cold Steel production along all the year of 2020 was not affected by the pandemic. Taiwan had one of the best responses to the pandemics in the whole world. Hence, we, admirers of the work of the now deceased company, can be assured of the quality of the "Old Steel" products. 👍

Sadly, Taiwan could not share its experience more broadly because of the CCP control influence on the WHO. I even learned today, researching this subject, that "On 8 April 2020, Tedros Adhanom, the Director-General of WHO, claimed that he was subjected to racist abuse and death threats emanating from Taiwan." 🤢

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_Taiwan

Last but not least, here's a better shot of the unfinished side of the folder.

tuff-lite-unfinished-side.jpg
 
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