Future Cold Steel Value

Call me odd man out. But with the exception of a few rare collector/made in USA/discontinued Lynn Thompson signed pieces. I highly doubt that 85% of Cold Steel knives will go up in value. Other than USA made, Carbon V, or limited edition/Lynn Thompson signed pieces. And GSM will tarnish Cold Steel collectability. There are entirely too many pre GSM Cold Steel knives in existence.
And let's be honest. Just because someone is trying to sell a Voyager or Recon 1 for $300 deeming it as collectable. That does not mean it is worth that. Nor does that mean there is a big market demand. Or even the possibility you can flip it for a profit. Even most diehard Cold Steel fans will not pay grossly overpriced prices for 80% of the Cold Steel knives.
And the future generations are already into other brands that offer more prestige and better blade steels. Cold Steel will never demand the collector status and prices that Sprint run spydercos, Busse, Randalls, Customs, Shirogorovs, Etc. command. I will collect other established brands if I ever start to take collecting seriously. I much prefer buying Silver coins/bullion over knives for investment purposes..
 
I’ve been on a buying frenzy for anything Old Steel. GSM is shitting the bed already with what I’ve seen come out. Not expecting a tremendous value increase but I do think certain models in certain steels will be highly sought after as the years go by. I wonder about there sword lines and how these will fair over time.
 
JAF1973 said:
Call me odd man out. But with the exception of a few rare collector/made in USA/discontinued Lynn Thompson signed pieces. I highly doubt that 85% of Cold Steel knives will go up in value. Other than USA made, Carbon V, or limited edition/Lynn Thompson signed pieces. And GSM will tarnish Cold Steel collectability. There are entirely too many pre GSM Cold Steel knives in existence.
And let's be honest. Just because someone is trying to sell a Voyager or Recon 1 for $300 deeming it as collectable. That does not mean it is worth that. Nor does that mean there is a big market demand. Or even the possibility you can flip it for a profit. Even most diehard Cold Steel fans will not pay grossly overpriced prices for 80% of the Cold Steel knives.
And the future generations are already into other brands that offer more prestige and better blade steels. Cold Steel will never demand the collector status and prices that Sprint run spydercos, Busse, Randalls, Customs, Shirogorovs, Etc. command. I will collect other established brands if I ever start to take collecting seriously. I much prefer buying Silver coins/bullion over knives for investment purposes..
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I don’t entirely disagree with you, however I would like to point out a similar situation regarding volume and value/collectibility. No one on earth though an original Gen 1 Glock 17 would ever be collectible. They were mass produced in the tens of millions worldwide and because they were built to be used hard and work in almost any circumstance, 99%+ of all owners used the hell out of them. Today, a Gen 1 Glock in “new old stock condition with original box will consistently sell on a real no reserve auction for $2,000-$3,000. No one ever thought these would ever come close to this value but people underestimated the market. Just a thought. And I completely agree with you regarding Silver/Bullion investments over knives.
 
John Phillips said:
I don’t entirely disagree with you, however I would like to point out a similar situation regarding volume and value/collectibility. No one on earth though an original Gen 1 Glock 17 would ever be collectible. They were mass produced in the tens of millions worldwide and because they were built to be used hard and work in almost any circumstance, 99%+ of all owners used the hell out of them. Today, a Gen 1 Glock in “new old stock condition with original box will consistently sell on a real no reserve auction for $2,000-$3,000. No one ever thought these would ever come close to this value but people underestimated the market. Just a thought. And I completely agree with you regarding Silver/Bullion investments over knives.
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There is always room for error. My own opinions included.
 
sharp_edge said:
Cold Steel knives are tough, reliable, and utilitarian, which I like. LT is a bold man. An innovative company? I'm not sure. What did they exactly innovate? San Mai? Last time I checked, it is not a CS innovation. American tanto? That might be only half true at the best. I do applaud they went for those XL folders, if that's what is meant by being "innovative."

If you have some old CS knives, keep them and I don't see their value decrease in the future though I don't expect it increase dramatically either. Inexpensive knives (which most old CS folding knives fall into) rarely increase the value significantly. There might be a few exceptions.
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Wouldn’t you consider the Triad-Lock innovative?
 
DangerZone98 said:
Bad guy needs to be awfully close though, like nearly arm’s length. I can see the argument of an Espada being more optimal than a snubbie at bad breath ranges, but across the parking lot or grocery, I wouldn’t bet my life on it.
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Neither would I, unless it was my next best option. The first choice usually has either a .4 or a Magnum somewhere in its description.
 
JAF1973 said:
Call me odd man out. But with the exception of a few rare collector/made in USA/discontinued Lynn Thompson signed pieces. I highly doubt that 85% of Cold Steel knives will go up in value. Other than USA made, Carbon V, or limited edition/Lynn Thompson signed pieces. And GSM will tarnish Cold Steel collectability. There are entirely too many pre GSM Cold Steel knives in existence.
And let's be honest. Just because someone is trying to sell a Voyager or Recon 1 for $300 deeming it as collectable. That does not mean it is worth that. Nor does that mean there is a big market demand. Or even the possibility you can flip it for a profit. Even most diehard Cold Steel fans will not pay grossly overpriced prices for 80% of the Cold Steel knives.
And the future generations are already into other brands that offer more prestige and better blade steels. Cold Steel will never demand the collector status and prices that Sprint run spydercos, Busse, Randalls, Customs, Shirogorovs, Etc. command. I will collect other established brands if I ever start to take collecting seriously. I much prefer buying Silver coins/bullion over knives for investment purposes..
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I respect your opinion and eventually only time will tell. Yes, a lot of the models will be forgotten but I feel the bread-and-butter models like the Recon 1 and SRK will still be deemed noteworthy in the future. Of course I would never look at knives as a financial investment, but I do find the CS brand unique. I was merely wondering how things will pan out in the future.
 
sean2021 said:
I respect your opinion and eventually only time will tell. Yes, a lot of the models will be forgotten but I feel the bread-and-butter models like the Recon 1 and SRK will still be deemed noteworthy in the future. Of course I would never look at knives as a financial investment, but I do find the CS brand unique. I was merely wondering how things will pan out in the future.
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I will say that I can be wrong.
 
Most speculators , in any field , are lucky to break even . Most lose money when all factors are considered .

But just from what I already observed from Ebay sold items of classic / vintage Cold Steel , select models will continue to increase in value over inflation and costs .

Still , it's always a gamble to project the future from the past .

My policy is to not risk money I can't afford to lose on any unsure bet . And a bet is always unsure , by definition . ;)
 
Inspector Lestrade said:
I think it is likely to go the other way.

As the brand gets tarnished by poor quality knives, people will want to disassociate from the brand.

It might be ok if they only made new crappy knives, but they will likely take the classic designs and make low quality versions of them, tainting everything.
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That is not going to be a problem. GSM changed the logo, so their stuff has no connection with the real Cold Steel products.

n2s
 
I think CS was always viewed as the “black sheep” in the knife world community. But in a crazy sort of way, LT ended up being a genius IMHO. He put himself out there, that’s for sure…but in the end his marketing strategy added to the allure of the brand. I couldn’t care less about all the drama, but I’ll say one thing: in his “sell-off” video, he apologized to anyone he may have offended over the years. I really thought that was a stand up thing to do. He could have simply given everyone the finger and said so long suckers, but didn’t. I also have a sneaking suspicion that some of his biggest detractors secretly own a couple of CS knives and really enjoy them, LOL!
 
JAF1973 said:
Actually. I would like to mention that Cold Steel are the pioneers of Kraton handles also.
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Yes that's true!
But in all honesty,it would be a stretch
for kraton rubber handles to be destined
as some future desired point for cs collectables lol
On the other hand, it might be rare to see
lynn thompson-era kraton handles
still in good form 50 years on...
 
As long as Kraton doesn’t get sticky and gooey like my 1990’s Uncle Mikes Speigel BHP grips. Yuck!
 
tess_lawrie_fan said:
Individuals are the source of all innovation, and the Tri-ad lock is certainly a Demko innovation.

But it belongs to Cold Steel, which had the merit of having innovative individuals working for the company...
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Exactly, Thank you…and I will add that CS marketed this particular lock style very effectively. Even the biggest critics of CS begrudgingly admit the Triad Lock is very strong.
 
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