History of Cold Steel Tantos - Unauthorized and Probably Incomplete

I will add then what the seller writes (translated).
For sale: tanto knife (recon) 80s blade 13cm 440c steel handle 13cm kraton handle recon tanto real leather sheath bought at oldsman in amsterdam (end of 80s)

It still looks pretty nice if you ask me. It seems like they copied it while trying not to infringe.
 
The Whip said:
Well, now Viper1357's story has me questioning my sheath chronology. I thought the fold-over style was first, but now I need to research that. I have an early ad that calls out the availability of the Kydex sheath. I'll have to find it to see what year it ran and which version of sheath is depicted. Unfortunately, I can't access my magazines at the moment, so the answer will have to wait. I'll post back here when I figure it out.
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Well, it took me a while, but I finally tracked down my magazines and looked up the first ad for the Ki Quick Draw Sheath. Here it is in its inaugural appearance in the February 1986 issue of Soldier of Fortune.

IMG-0056.jpg


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As you can see from the close-up, the rivet pattern matches the fold-over version.

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So, while the first version made available commercially as the Ki Quick Draw Sheath was the fold-over style, it was not Cold Steel’s first model. That ad had to be supplied to SoF’s advertising department in September of 1985 to make the February ‘86 issue, which means the Ki sheath was available mid-to-late 1985. But V Viper1357 purchased his promotional dealer’s sample model with the sewn-on Kydex belt clip in September 1984, thus making that version the first by roughly a year.

I think it’s amazing that Lynn was experimenting with Kydex at least as early as 1984. Not only was Cold Steel the first production manufacturer to offer Kydex sheaths for its knives, but it was doing so when the technology was still in its infancy, even among custom knife makers.

Merry Christmas, everyone!


-Steve
 
That's awesome! I never realized that Kydex was even a thing in the beginning stages that early on. I remember the Tantos all being offered with the well known leather sheaths (like the vast majority of fixed blades regardless of manufacturer) at the time, and even into the 90's.

Amazing when you delve into the history of knives in the 80's. Clearly Mr. Thompson was ahead of his time even then.

Thanks for looking that up and letting us know about this.
 
That knife is an Oyabun and not part of the Tanto/Master/Magnum Tanto series.

It is part of the same series as the Kobun and the Kobun/Oyabun has its own history thread as well as a recent thread advocating bringing it back into production.
 
Benjamin Liu said:
That knife is an Oyabun and not part of the Tanto/Master/Magnum Tanto series.

It is part of the same series as the Kobun and the Kobun/Oyabun has its own history thread as well as a recent thread advocating bringing it back into production.
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After I made this post I dug deeper and found the Kobun/Oyabun thread. Loving all the knowledge in these threads!
 
Hi Everyone - Im a long time member and reader of this and many other of the CS threads. I have a question that I hope someone here may be able to help me answer... In reference to the CS Magnum Tanto #13M, I see that the 400 SS version has a raised spine. My question is, does the San Mai III version also have a raised spine...? It's hard to tell from the pic in this thread, but it looks like it does not and I cant recall ever seeing one. Im having trouble attaching the pic for reference, but its the last pic of the blades before the leather sheaths...

Thanks in advance for all the years of amazing information...
 
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EODtech said:
Hi Everyone - Im a long time member and reader of this and many other of the CS threads. I have a question that I hope someone here may be able to help me answer... In reference to the CS Master Tanto #13M, I see that the 400 SS version has a raised spine. My question is, does the San Mai III version also have a raised spine...? It's hard to tell from the pic in this thread, but it looks like it does not and I cant recall ever seeing one. Im having trouble attaching the pic for reference, but its the last pic of the blades before the leather sheaths...

Thanks in advance for all the years of amazing information...
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Check out post #13...it also has the raised spine.
 
I've been spending more time lately perusing old magazines for my knife entertainment. I recently ran across two very interesting discoveries that I thought you guys might like to see.

The January/February 1984 issue of The Blade Magazine (as it was titled back then) contained an article by Sid Latham on the emerging tanto trend. Those were the days before the magazine's editorial staff had developed their hatred of Lynn Thompson, so Cold Steel's Tanto actually featured prominently in the article. The text didn't really offer any new information about the Tanto, but the accompanying photo was quite remarkable.

IMG-0650.jpg


Note that this appears to be one of the unmarked original Joe Cordova prototypes, with its smaller ricasso and oddly shaped pommel. It looks almost identical to the Tanto depicted on the lower half of the ad shown in post #45, and may be the same knife. Pretty cool to see another image of one of those early knives!


Elsewhere in the same issue, writer Butch Winter penned an article identifying the steel sources of several American cutlery manufacturers. This informative passage was offered about Buck.

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So, those of you who were interested in the steels and steel suppliers used in the production of the Cold Steel Tanto over the years, you can fill in the blank next to the Buck-manufactured 13A. The blade was Buck's modified 425 steel supplied by Allegheny Ludlum of Pittsburgh.

And another piece of the Cold Steel history puzzle is filled in.


-Steve
 
Hey there, I have a Cold Steel Tanto that I think is a Magnum but it doesn't exactly match the lengths or markings of others listed here or that I've seen sold online. I'm curious whether it might be a fake or whether it is a variety of Magnum Tanto that wasn't mentioned here yet.

Blade length: 7.0 inches
Overall length: 12.5 inches
Weight: 11.4 oz
Marking: Cold Steel ; Japan (one side only)

I've seen it mentioned that "Japan" instead of "Made in Japan" can be a red flag. From what I've seen in listings, mine looks almost identical to the "MAGNUM TANTO II (VG-10 SAN MAI)" https://www.coldsteel.com/magnum-tanto-ii-vg-10-san-mai/ ; however to compare mine is around 0.5 inches shorter in the blade (7.0in vs 7.5in) and just over 0.6 inches shorter overall (12.5in vs 13.1+in) with the same exact weight (11.4oz vs 11.4oz). It's very nice and sharp, feels heavy and solid. Multiple friends love to borrow it. If it's a knockoff I ain't too mad lol. Thanks for the very interesting history read earlier in the thread!

MjJaipy.jpeg


UrFxMvz.jpeg

5i2pt53.jpeg
 
noah1 said:
Hey there, I have a Cold Steel Tanto that I think is a Magnum but it doesn't exactly match the lengths or markings of others listed here or that I've seen sold online. I'm curious whether it might be a fake or whether it is a variety of Magnum Tanto that wasn't mentioned here yet.

Blade length: 7.0 inches
Overall length: 12.5 inches
Weight: 11.4 oz
Marking: Cold Steel ; Japan (one side only)

I've seen it mentioned that "Japan" instead of "Made in Japan" can be a red flag. From what I've seen in listings, mine looks almost identical to the "MAGNUM TANTO II (VG-10 SAN MAI)" https://www.coldsteel.com/magnum-tanto-ii-vg-10-san-mai/ ; however to compare mine is around 0.5 inches shorter in the blade (7.0in vs 7.5in) and just over 0.6 inches shorter overall (12.5in vs 13.1+in) with the same exact weight (11.4oz vs 11.4oz). It's very nice and sharp, feels heavy and solid. Multiple friends love to borrow it. If it's a knockoff I ain't too mad lol. Thanks for the very interesting history read earlier in the thread!

MjJaipy.jpeg


UrFxMvz.jpeg

5i2pt53.jpeg
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Yep, definitely a fake. The "Japan" instead of "Made in Japan" marking, the gaps where the blade meets the guard, and the weird triangular notch/choil are all signs. Hard to tell from the pic, but guessing the shape of the pommel isn't quite right either.
 
Hello! I bought the prototype magnum tanto xii from lynn's collection along with his prototype gurkha kukri. The magnum tanto xii prototype is made of aus 8 by hattori's knives. I also got another prototype tanto that I think is the recon tanto based on the pics in here.
https://imgur.com/a/0StvzcP
 
kobunny said:
Hello! I bought the prototype magnum tanto xii from lynn's collection along with his prototype gurkha kukri. The magnum tanto xii prototype is made of aus 8 by hattori's knives. I also got another prototype tanto that I think is the recon tanto based on the pics in here.
https://imgur.com/a/0StvzcP
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Welcome to Blade Forums! I'd be interested in seeing the blades and blade markings of those prototypes. Would you post more pictures of the knives themselves? Also, what's the story behind that unmarked Recon Tanto? Is that also a prototype? If so, it's very interesting to us enthusiasts, as well..


-Steve
 
The Whip said:
Welcome to Blade Forums! I'd be interested in seeing the blades and blade markings of those prototypes. Would you post more pictures of the knives themselves? Also, what's the story behind that unmarked Recon Tanto? Is that also a prototype? If so, it's very interesting to us enthusiasts, as well..


-Steve
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All 3 are unmarked I'll try to take some pictures soon. The recon tanto is a prototype i believe. The seller said it was made in collaboration with cutco and alcas.
 
EXTREMELY RARE Vintage Cold Steel Knives Magnum Tanto XII, Un-marked prototype, Proof-of-Concept knife ( so, it doesn't come with a box ), made by Hattori knives..... Who was the Japanese producer of many Cold Steel knives for decades.

This knife comes from the personal collection of the Cold Steel founder and inventor of the American Tanto Lynn Thompson. It includes a signed COA form him as well.

The prototype knives came with no markings. This proof of concept knife was made from Japanese AUS8 steel, which makes it even MORE rare as none of the production models ever were.

The gorgeous leather sheath is also made in the Hattori Knives factory and is VERY rare because it has a snap button retention strap. The available production models had Velcro instead.

In a nut-shell, only a precious few of these knives (and prototype sheaths as well) would have been made. Lynn Thompson and his board of directors would have inspected and fondled them to decide whether or not they want to bring the model to market.....Which they did in this case. As far as anyone knows this is a one of a kind. The only one of these from Lynn's collection as well.

It is still in new condition, never used with the prototype leather sheath.
 
This knife is an interesting piece, it was sold to me by a former employee of Alcas /Cutco of Olean, NY. Their claim is that it was part of a joint collaboration between Cold Steel and Cutco and was made sometime during the 1980's. As I understand it was a prototype that Cutco produced as a sample run for Cold Steel and it ended up not going anywhere or sent to a full production run. It does not appear to have any markings on it from what I can tell. The finish of the blade, pommel and guard appears to be bead blasted and has had the brass darkened.

Unfortunately I do not have any documentation on the story above but I knew the individual it came from quite well and have no reason to doubt their claim. Take it for what you will.

The pommel appears as though it may have been dropped at one time as it is dented in a bit compared to other photos I've examined of this pattern knife. The edge of the knife is excellent with a couple minor dings but does not appear to have ever been used.
 
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