How Cold Steel can blow all of our minds and empty our wallets.

Stabman, I have handled my fair share of CS blades. A quick read through the previous posts states exactly what I said. Better steels, better handle materials, and they would be awesome...

I had a pretty good laugh at that. Cold Steel is renound for making dirt cheap knives, this is their niche. They cater to people on the lower end of the buying spectrum. A big reason why they can do this is by using cheaper materials and assembling the knives in countries where labor is even cheaper.

If I want a budget knife I will buy a kershaw, or a Boker. I have yet to see a model I will carry myself, and as such would not recommend them to anyone.
 
k1ssthecook said:
Cold Steel is renound for making dirt cheap knives, this is their niche. They cater to people on the lower end of the buying spectrum.
Click to expand...

The Master Tanto ain't cheap.
The Large Espada (the one with the smooth G-10 and solid, meticulously machined aluminum frame) is rather expensive as well, and The Taiwan workforce is able to produce high quality goods, as the Taiwan made---and highly acclaimed---Spyderco models consistently prove.

Somehow, I don't consider myself on the "lower end" of the buying spectrum, as I've dropped $500 or more on knives more than once.

Really, Cold Steel caters to people across most of the buying spectrum.

(I will say that their "Blackthorn walking stick" rather sucks though; I DON'T recommend it)
 
I agree. I've owned all kinds of folders from just about every manufacturer from the US and around the World. If I ever get stuck in a survival, tactical, or any kind of self-defense situation and have to rely on the knife in my pocket to get through that situation, I hope it's a "Big CS Tri-Ad Lock Folder" that is in my pocket...

Stiletto :)
 
They need to offer satin finish blades! The coatings are very weak and make them look mall-ninja. Also, variation in blade lengths would be a welcome addition.
 
stiletto15 said:
I agree. I've owned all kinds of folders from just about every manufacturer from the US and around the World. If I ever get stuck in a survival, tactical, or any kind of self-defense situation and have to rely on the knife in my pocket to get through that situation, I hope it's a "Big CS Tri-Ad Lock Folder" that is in my pocket...

Stiletto :)
Click to expand...

No joke. Every CS folder I've handled has oozed quality and ruggedness. I beat on my tuff lite every opportunity I get, and it's still centered and has perfect lockup. I absolutely abused my Counter Point II for months - throwing it, prying, etc - same thing. I didn't keep my Voyager long enough to beat on it, but the handle was so aggressive that my pants were showing damage after less than a week.

I hope Ontario starts giving them competition with the Utilitac II's quality and ruggedness. Maybe they'll consider upgrading to something else that's cheap, tough, and widely available - like 154CM.
 
I would be all for that!! Given they didn't coat the blade.

Seeing lots of negativity about cheap offshore made knives comments. I recently bought a mini tuff lite, not only was it screaming sharp out of the "box" not a blister pack, it was made in Taiwan, where they happen to make some of the highest quality spyderco knives.
 
I had no idea I'm on the low end of the buying spectrum, I feel so inferior...
 
d1ce said:
They need to offer satin finish blades! The coatings are very weak and make them look mall-ninja. Also, variation in blade lengths would be a welcome addition.
Click to expand...

What length are you looking for? The Voyagers have 3, 4, and 5.5 inch models, the Code 4 has a 3.5 inch non-coated blade, the Tuff Lite has a 2.5 inch blade(also non-coated), and of course you have the giant Rajah 2(now in a stonewash finish) and XL Espada...
 
crom said:
The irony will be, and I do believe it's a matter of time until they release an even more hard core folder with 3V, is that people will bitch "it's still just a cold steel knife" or "$120 for a Taiwan folder, no thanks".
Click to expand...

yea, I won't be one of them. Bang for the buck Cold Steel has put out some impressive knives over the years.
 
Sorry, it is quite the stretch to compare Cold Steel with spyderco. It is hard to take a company seriously when they make a home defence baseball bat...

Handled them and was unimpressed. 'Nuff said.
 
d1ce said:
They need to offer satin finish blades! The coatings are very weak and make them look mall-ninja. Also, variation in blade lengths would be a welcome addition.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately they stopped doing nice satin finishes years ago. My old plastic handled voyagers were some of the nicest finishes ive seen on budget knives.

And agreed. Their "Teflon" coating suck.
 
If you want an excellent light thin slicer, Spyderco make very good knives, but "for the price" Cold Steel produce very large robust folding knives, as well as a variety of other cutting tools and a bunch of "wouldn't that be cool?" weapons like their polypropylene baseball bat (which is, it has to be said, pretty silly). Owning both Spyderco and Cold Steel knives I find that the Cold Steel knives just fit my hands better.

Should Cold Steel try another blade steel? I'd like to see them with AUS10 rather than AUS8, but the steels they use work well enough in most situations.
 
k1ssthecook said:
Sorry, it is quite the stretch to compare Cold Steel with spyderco. It is hard to take a company seriously when they make a home defence baseball bat...

Handled them and was unimpressed. 'Nuff said.
Click to expand...

"Nuff said"? Not really. Was there anything specific wrong with them? Issue with lockup or lock strength, low sharpness, gritty opening, poor ergonomics, just unimpressed with their use of AUS8, or something else? For that matter, what do you mean "handled them"? Borrowed a friend's, or just briefly picked up one in a shop once?

And yeah, CS puts out some goofy stuff, and does goofy advertising...but it's pretty foolish to judge quality of their product because you consider some of their products goofy.
 
eschwebach said:
Yes, that would be unbelievably awesome. Not sure Mr. Demko would be to happy with that. Might cut into his custom sales.
Click to expand...
Don't think it would. People going for a Demko aren't simply paying a several-hundred dollar premium for materials.
 
k1ssthecook said:
Sorry, it is quite the stretch to compare Cold Steel with spyderco. It is hard to take a company seriously when they make a home defence baseball bat...

Handled them and was unimpressed. 'Nuff said.
Click to expand...

The Stretch IS a Spyderco knife...wasn't comparing it at all actually. ;)

How seriously you take a company has nothing to do with the quality of the products. The products exist as material objects with intrinsic qualities regardless of your opinion.

"'Nuff said." (geeze, fell off the internet and into Marvel Comics dialogue...)
 
k1ssthecook said:
Sorry, it is quite the stretch to compare Cold Steel with spyderco. It is hard to take a company seriously when they make a home defence baseball bat.
Click to expand...

The home defense baseball bat makes perfect sense. 'Nuff said.
 
It wouldn't even take 3V to get me to buy one. Just get rid of that horrible black coating. I have had good luck with all the Cold Steel I have purchased and I like to think of myself as someone who buys what he likes no matter the cost (from Cold Steel to Strider and even customs). Their stonewashed finish is really nice and I don't mind the Aus8, but would prefer 154CM or something like that. The lock is great, if not the smoothest, and their handle material is adequate (Grivory) to good (G10). Good all around knife at a good price. Yes I would love to see them made in the US or even Japan, but I can accept Taiwan from them and Spyderco.
 
dkb45 said:
I like the grivory handle models, and they have decent value for the price (except the Spartan, that thing was kind of sucky). My problem is with the value I see in the models like the AK, American Lawman, and Recon 1. The mini models are decent, but the large models could use a price reduction.
Click to expand...

Totally agree, just got my girl a pink tufflite. Its pretty useful, but nothing close to mr dragonfly. I also would love an espada xl, the only cold steel I lust after, but I can't pay that price, even in the g10 model, for aus8.
 
As far as the comparison between cold steel and spyderco, there is none, they operate in completely different ways, just look at the steels they use and you'll see they have very different markets. I love spyderco, they are my fave. That being said, cold steel makes knives that are structured like tanks and usually have a very reasonable price. Their advertisement may be a bit hoaky, but at the same time is extremely effective. I think they get a lot of hate, but they definitely have their niche. I think us knife nuts forget how much a normal person is willing to spen on a knife. I was talking to a friend of mine about knives when he found out I collected and the first thing he asked me was if I had any cold steels. He was unimpressed by my spydies, but I honestly think most non knife people like how a knife looks, its size and want to know its reliable. Cold steel offers that. Plus, I must admit that I blush any time Lynn Thompson turns his head to the camera with that slight smile after hacking at something. Cracks me up!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top