Doesn't make sense to buy anything other than a cold steel?

[Bob Denman]

Buying only ONE brand of knife based on only a few attributes; is like only buying only one brand of car because you like the ash tray...

 

[madcap_magician]

This. I too want to know what scenario all our hard use proponents envision where their folder lock must be able to hold hundreds of pounds resist piles of lateral pressure take repeated spine wacks.or be able to be baton ed through an engine block.

What do you do? Are you some sort of super secret squirrel agent? Airborne commado? Man in black?

It's not what he actually does. It's mainly the fantasy of what might be done. That's why it's never specific, it's just "to save my life" or "for real hard use," or "because of this one test on YouTube" even if the test is almost entirely irrelevant to the design of the knife or exceeds any practical demand or is using a knife for a task that's completely inappropriate for a folding knife. Some people just want a folding knife that they think can use as a rock climbing piton and a Halligan bar. Will they ever use it as a rock climbing piton or a Halligan bar? No. Will they ever be in a situation where they need a piton or a Halligan bar and only have a SAK Tinker? Doubtful.

Now in fairness, everyone wants knives that they think are reliable for use. It's just some people want them to be reliable for unreasonable uses.

 

[J. Doyle]

What would you accept as proof ? If someone is out to lie , photos and even videos are tailor made for deception .

If a person's word is no good as testimony , what proof is possible , unless you witness something yourself ?

Describing a task they were trying to accomplish where a folder failed to get it done would help. Pictures would go even further.

I will concede, I'm skeptical. Because I've used knives my whole life, even know a thing or two about designing and making them. Outside of a blade length issue, folders can get it done. I have absolutely, ridiculously abused a few cheap knives (including several small SAK's) out of pure laziness to go get the proper tool. Those knives are still kicking around the house and shop mostly none the worse for wear.

I don't believe that you can reasonably doubt that some folders are essentially built more strongly than others .

That some locks are more prone to failure than others .

That wasn't really the question or my dispute. If a knife is used for knife things, these mostly become moot points. It's either a "wrong tool for the job" situation or "morons trying to break things" situation(maybe that's redundant??).

Folder failures are not so uncommon as you want to pretend.

They aren't as likely as some of you want to pretend.

But (unless defective ) almost no tool will fail, if carefully and skillfully used, under controlled conditions, within its performance limits .

Exactly my point.

Some folders are built for much expanded limits . For extreme hard use , under harsh / emergency , uncontrollable conditions . Or just hard work .

Does everyone want or need such folders ? Of course not ! But why hate on those that do ?

There's no "hate" here, more like just calling out B.S.

I'm not sure where this 'saved myself and everyone around me with my pocket folder' fantasy comes from but it's a bit ridiculous.

At the end of the day, use a knife like a knife and almost all of them are serviceable. And in the ultra rare instance you're in a life and death emergency, there likely is a MUCH better option/ tool around than saving the day with your pocket knife.

Makers should make whatever they like. And buyers should absolutely buy whatever they like. But don't act like something else is unacceptable or inferior because it won't hold up to sheer stupidity.

Besides, people would be surprised how incredibly difficult it is to break steel, titanium, carbon fiber, g-10 handle pins and parts. The blade being damaged and/or snapping in half is far more likely to be the first thing to go.

 

[A.L.]

Buying only ONE brand of knife based on only a few attributes; is like only buying only one brand of car because you like the ash tray...

Ash tray that locks like a bank vault!

 

[texpat]

I reckon most big makers have their ups and downs, never owned a CS folder, but did have an SRK in Carbon V back in the day, awesome blade, did a lot of hunting back then and it performed flawlessly.

I still have a CS bowie machete I bought some 15 years ago, absolutely the best machete i've ever owned or used, thicker material than my others and takes a very wicked edge. And I have a couple of the recent drop-forged models and they work great and were not expensive and one older model that was gifted me by a good friend.

So overall my experiences have been very positive. They are fine additions to my collection.

 

[Hashishiin]

Speaking of lock failure, only had liner lock knives fail. Love the backlock + Triad, and the compression lock.
Only liner lock I carry is a RAT, only framelock I carry is my Spydie Advocate.

Also, regarding GSM, the factory in Taiwan has not changed if I remember right, those are still all pretty great. Beware of the Chinese and South Africa machetes and big stuff, they did not grind an actual edge on it for some reason.

 

[Grizzly3]

i love the cold steel bush ranger

That threaded hole they make in the spine for something to help open the knife, is a design that I will forever avoid. Years ago I had a Katz with that design. Yes, it was a much thinner blade than the Cold Steel pictured, but they still have installed a fracture line that can break and snap the blade if you were to put enough pressure there. Yes, I know you are not supposed to pry with one, but sometimes that is the only tool available. That's what happened with my Katz. Back when I drove an Astro Van, I left the keys in and locked it. They have flipper windows on the rear and if you can pry one open enough to slip a finger in, you can open it enough to open the side door lock. Well the blade held up just long enough to get a finger in and then snap. Right down the rest of the blade, following those threads they drilled down from the spine. So, take this for what it's worth. Don't pry with a knife, and certainly don't pry with one that has that sort of drilled hole in it.

 

[DocJD]

is unacceptable or inferior

To me and many others , knives that underperform our personal criteria , are exactly as you describe above .

I know guys that rely upon just a smart phone and a credit card . To them carrying anything like a knife is ridiculous fantasy BS .

 

[Houlahound]

CS is great value for money and a safe bet for anyone new to the hobby looking for a gateway drug.

For those that just want a safe, reliable, functional, robust working knife and are not fanatics CS is still a safe bet.

It's good to branch out to other brands tho as your interest and curiosity dictate. Scratch that last sentence, it's not good to branch out; buying lots of knIves from lots of makers IS the sickness.

 

[Houlahound]

To me and many others , knives that underperform our personal criteria , are exactly as you describe above .

I know guys that rely upon just a smart phone and a credit card . To them carrying anything like a knife is ridiculous fantasy BS .

Yeah I would love to see them slice a tomato with their iPhone.

 

[JParanee]

The man

 

[coolbreezy37]

I do like Cold Steel folders, and others. But if I need a knife where durability and strength are required it’s a fixed blade like the RMD, Polaris or DEK2 everytime. If I had to chose a folder with the same requirements it’s the 4MAX or RHK Project X. I still think CS makes a nice, durable and reliable knife that’s a very good value pre and post GSM.

 

[Monofletch]

I still drive my good old Saturn!

 

[AntDog]

“Doesn't make sense to buy anything other than a cold steel?”​

Uh ohhhhh. Better not tell all my Busse blades there’s a new sheriff in town, and his name is Cold Steel! And his motto is “Anytime. Anywhere.”….. dunt dunt dunnnnn.

 

[alan0354]

Bladehq did a comparison test video of a bunch of Spyderco models and measured the amount of weight they could take. I'd say based on that you can use these knives pretty hard.

Or just relegate your cutting to the sharpened side of the blade

It did not survive the torture test that well here. Cold Steel definitely are more rugged.

 

[alan0354]

The Cold Steel knives that were made in Japan and Taiwan were very good , things have moved downward since then.
Cold Steel used to unashamedly target a certain sector of the market , will the new owners continue with this tradition , or will they merely become a mediocre "Me Too" politically correct player in the knife field ?.
Just asking .

Actually the cheaper ones like SR1 light survive torture test very well, one of the best. I just bought one yesterday waiting for it to arrive tomorrow.

 

[jux t]

“Doesn't make sense to buy anything other than a cold steel?”​

Uh ohhhhh. Better not tell all my Busse blades there’s a new sheriff in town, and his name is Cold Steel! And his motto is “Anytime. Anywhere.”….. dunt dunt dunnnnn.

AntDog please forgive me, I couldn’t help it!

 

[alan0354]

The endura can cut more than light materials, I assure you.

Not sure what "save your life" scenario you have in mind, but the chances are likely quite low that you would ever be faced with such a scenario.

Do yourself a favor, assuming you can afford it as it seems like you have multiple knives so it's likely, and go see what it can handle. I never recommend prying with a folder outside of small things like cardboard glue and staples, but try some other stuff and see what it can handle. If you're stuck in the thought that it can only handle light duty stuff, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

As an FYI, cold steel has the same "flaw" as other folders, a bolt and pivot. I've hard used folders pleanty and the bolts coming out is most often the point of failure, not the lock. This is especially the case of the large CS folders that are good at chopping (espada, rajah, etc). Or the edge gives out. Either way, they're more durable than we usually give them credit for, outside lf prying.

I've been rough with slipjoints, just to see for myself, and they can also be used pretty rough but if the blade gets stuck, like from batoning, getting it back out is quite unpleasant and not safe. I recommend getting cut resistant gloves if you're going to be an idiot with a slipjoint like I was. But, now I have a better understanding of what I can and shouldn't do with a slipjoint, especially if you carry a SAK as part of your emergency kit.

There are a lot of torture tests on Cold Steel folder by Joe X, they survive very well. I know the pivot can be a weak point, but Cold Steel seems to survive very well for prying.

I personally like Steel Will also, the pivot is 0.25" diameter which is bigger than a lot of knives and very robust for it's weight. I wish people would do torture test on Steel Will to proof me right.

 

[jux t]

There are a lot of torture tests on Cold Steel folder by Joe X, they survive very well. I know the pivot can be a weak point, but Cold Steel seems to survive very well for prying.

I personally like Steel Will also, the pivot is 0.25" diameter which is bigger than a lot of knives and very robust for its weight. I wish people would do torture test on Steel Will to proof me right.

Have you seen any videos or other informative sources where prying or otherwise sudden dynamic pressure has stripped a folder’s pivot threads instead of snapping the blade?

 

[AntDog]

AntDog please forgive me, I couldn’t help it!
View attachment 2447038View attachment 2447040
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Dude’s pretty rad! He’s the new sheriff roun cheer? Must have both a Busse AND a Cold Steel

There are a lot of torture tests on Cold Steel folder by Joe X, they survive very well. I know the pivot can be a weak point, but Cold Steel seems to survive very well for prying.

I personally like Steel Will also, the pivot is 0.25" diameter which is bigger than a lot of knives and very robust for it's weight. I wish people would do torture test on Steel Will to proof me right.

I wouldn’t put a squirt of piss worth of value into anything that idiot does or says. I for damn sure wouldn’t base any knife purchases off of his drivel. It’s like watching a monkey take a pipe wrench and bash it repeatedly into shit around its cage until it breaks.