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

[Insipid Moniker]

If they want to put 3V in a folder I'd be in for one. Sounds like a great idea to me.

 

[DistortionSlayer]

All hail the Tri-ad lock.... Regular recon 1 clip point with CPM 3v liners and a 5mm thick CPM 3v blade. My dream.

 

[CJZ]

Recon 1 with D2 or M4 and a better coating, that would be perfection.

 

[The Whip]

Also, variation in blade lengths would be a welcome addition.

This made me chuckle! Have you ever looked at a Cold Steel catalog, or perhaps the company's Web site? DShiflet already addressed a few models. Almost every single one of their folders comes in at least two sizes, and most in three. The Recons come in four sizes. And how many other companies even offer folders with 5.5-, 6-, and 7.5-inch blades? You'd be hard-pressed to name a company that offers more blade length variations than Cold Steel.

They'll need to come up with a different lock before they get my attention or money. I know the Tri-Ad is a strong design but it's too big a step backwards in ergos for my liking.

This one made me laugh out loud! A different lock, really? So which locks do you like? With the possible exception of the frame lock, I'm guessing there isn't one lock you can name that hasn't been used on a Cold Steel folder:

Twist lock? Twistmaster series
T latch? Arch-Angel series
Axis design? Recon series with Ultra Lock
Frame-mounted stop pin? Triple Action series
Rocker lock? Shinobu, where the company's folding-knife journey began
Mid lock? Original Voyager series, among many others
Ring lock? Kudu
Ram Safe? Pocket Bushman
Sliding lock? Emergency Rescue series
Twin handles with integral springs? Black Rock Hunter and Paradox series
Liner lock? How about way back to the Ultralock series, as well as many models since

By my count, the Tri-Ad Lock is Cold Steel's twelfth locking system, and I have no doubt that others were tested along the way and never made it into production. (It's also important to note the operative word "tested" in this context, too, because Cold Steel seems to be one of the few companies actually testing its products.) The only other company I can think of that bothers to experiment with new lock designs is Spyderco, and they are a very distant second to Cold Steel.

Meh. If it shot out rainbows it wouldn't blow my mind or dent my pocket. Not a CS fan. And besides, CS's model isn't emptying the wallets of the small market represented by BF knife obsessives, it's emptying the wallets of a wider, more general public. It's a good model. Makes them a load of money.

Other than trolling, what is the point of a statement like this? The OP asked an innocent enough question about who might like a Cold Steel folder in 3V. So many people on this forum lately seem anxious to rain on other people's parades, unbidden. And the attempt by this poster and others to paint Cold Steel buyers as plebeian is downright laughable. Please do a little introspection and ask yourself why you feel the need to comment negatively about brands you don't like in the middle of threads specific to those brands. Whether the answer is insecurity, arrogance, or plain cussedness, none is particularly admirable.

-Steve

 

[stabman]

The only other company I can think of that bothers to experiment with new lock designs is Spyderco, and they are a very distant second to Cold Steel.

This statement is very, very incorrect.

 

[eafisher]

with all the hypothetical talk and nobody has brought up the ultra lock?!? man, I have to say my recon 1 with the ultra lock is one tough knife. Im not a huge fan of cs but the one cs I own suits me nicley. It takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'

The heat treat they use on their aus8 is as good as aus8 can get

 

[SpyKers]

This statement is very, very incorrect.

Agreed. ZT/ KAI created the "sub frame lock" and use it wonderfully. They utilized a "hawk lock" in the RAM and MUDD. Not to mention the ET and stud lock. On top of all that they've pioneered composite blade technology, various flipper designs, assisted knife tech (speedsafe), etc... I'm sure they test none of it either. ::rolls eyes::

 

[crom]

To be fair, CS shouldn't be dismissed regarding the types of locks or varieties of knives they have brought to the masses. With the Triad they have a chassis to base a very successful line of off, not unlike the AXIS. I would love to see a high end steel option and do believe it's a matter of time.

 

[Mannlicher]

Never met a CS folder that tripped my trigger. A knife that does not call to me, even in S3V, is still silent.

 

[jdk1]

I had no idea I'm on the low end of the buying spectrum, I feel so inferior...

As you should Crom! Go spank yourself, say some Hail Mary's, and then smile when you realize you've got more money tied up in your 401k then your knife safe

I love my CS blades. My 20 year old CS Voyager tanto in Aus8 is still going strong and my CS Gurkha Kukri (made in China) is one of the best large blades available IMHO, and with perfect QC. Also, my Taiwan made $26 Rat 1 is ideal for almost anything for which I need a folder. Out of the box it could slice a near rotten tomato so thin I could see through the slices. Open your mind more and wallet less I say!

BTW, my CS SF shovel, blowgun, and really old and abused rattan walking stick rock as well!

 

[Ulf Krogstad]

Where can you get an endura in S30V?

Think he means vg10. I'm gonna get an endura at some point.Just from the way it looks I don't think it will have as good of lockup as recon 1 but trade off is better steel. Wish CS would use more of a variety of steels for folders besides Aus 8 which is all they use if I'm not mistaken. 3V would be great as said here or any thing else to give people more steel options.They have such variety in shapes and sizes can't believe they don't offer different steels options.

 

[Hairlesstwinkie]

The problem isnt just paying out money for a Demko.
Im currently on a waiting list to get on THE waiting list. @_@

I know the feeling... I'm in the same boat as you. There's no way a production Demko can compete against the custom Demko. There's a reason why we all would get in line to order custom knives and pay lots of extra money for them. It's like ZT600 vs RJ Martin Q36.

I have actually wondered about OP's post when I last looked at the CS catalog. I didn't know that they had used 3V until then. I wouldn't mind paying the extra to get the blade upgrade for the Lawman. Maybe they can jack the price up an extra $100 for 3V. It'll be great if the thumb plate could be added to the Lawman or the Recon series. They would be my dream CS knives. The possibilities are there, and I'm pretty sure that CS knows the demand is there. The would only have to execute it now. Worst case, they could have a limited run to see the public response.

 

[Freak Show Scott]

When Lynn Thompson sees something he likes he does it. The great unwashed knife forum public pitching ideas to him has proven to be the worst way to influence his choice in what he choses to produce. With this in mind I BEG and PLEADE Mister Thompson to:

Never upgrade the steel in any of your folders. Don't bring back your Custom Series. Always find cheaper ways to produce lesser knives so more ninjas can collect them. Make MORE plastic trainers that don't give any approximation of true knife weight or balance. Lynn, WE need more Sabers! But most importantly keep trash talking the competition's products and business ethics. And of course, DON"T CHANGE A THING in your service department and or order desk.

Thank you for everything you do Mister Lynn
and we, the great unwashed knife forum public, will always love you for your excellent choices.
(with some people you just have to be contra suggestive so
if everyone tells him not to change a thing we just might see some changes.)

 

[mk.ultra]

My ideal Cold Steel would be a Mini Recon 1 with VG-10/154CM/S30V and the Emerson wave. Please take my money.

 

[powernoodle]

I'm fine with the "entry level" steels and the way things are. AUS8A sharpens well and hold a good edge. Now, I'm not cutting shingles and bags of mulch all day like some of you cats, so tasty steel isn't really an issue for me. Plus, the relatively low price of CS folders is half the fun. Crank up the steel and the price, and a lot of the fun goes away.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Unfortunately they will put that crappy Teflon coating on it.

Just cut something with it and the coating will instantly rub off.

I love some of the things Cold Steel does, and hate others. One of those things I hate are the coatings.

Also, to echo Powernoodle, I actually like what CS does with AUS-8. Upgraded steel isn't a big draw to me personally, although I agree it's a good business move on their part.

 

[powernoodle]

Just cut something with it and the coating will instantly rub off.

This is what my Lawman looked like after literally 20 seconds of cutting sod. Soil, rocks and dirt are hard on a blade, and I think it looks pretty cool too, but that coating falls off pretty easy.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

"When they said Teflon was a non-stick surface that's not what I thought they meant!"

 

[AntDog]

It seems like Cold Steel knives have had a "stigma" attached to them for quite some time. People seem to either love them or hate them.

In my younger days everybody loved them. All of us would pass around the catalogs and drool over the awesome knives. We were all little broke redneck boys, and we all thought that Cold Steel knives were the best blades ever made, but they were sooooo damned expensive to us. Rednecks love Cold Steel and think they're expensive. You can bet on it!

Fast forward quite a few years. I am much more experienced and well versed in the "knife game" by this point. Suddenly everybody thinks Cold Steel knives are cheap, crappy, flimsy, inferior, foreign made, poorly designed, and marketed by a madman. It seems like everybody who knows anything about knives will recommend Spyderco, Benchmade, CRK, etc. but they seem to think that CS knives are for the ignorant poor.

Hmmmm. What did I miss? How did my views change? Is it all perspective? Just something for me to think about.

The only thing that is important to me NOW is the knives. I am well past the point of falling for hype or the "mystical elite status symbol type sh!t" some fanboys tend to throw around. All I look at now is the performance of the KNIVES.

Cold Steel is coming up with some good stuff. Once I allowed myself to ignore the stigma attached to them I took notice. I think Cold Steel gets a large amount of verbal diarrhea thrown their way just because of reputation. If you actually use the knife and give it a shot, I'm sure you will see there is nothing wrong with Cold Steel's AUS8. Nothing at all. It takes a wicked sharp edge easily and holds it for a good long time. (an almost shockingly long time, considering how AUS8 is supposed to royally suck) Sure, they could use better blade steel, but the knives would be double or triple the price.

I would pay out the yingyang for a Recon XL with Ti liners, a little thicker A2 tool steel blade (or any other tool steel so long as it's decent), and nice handle scales - maybe a nice 2 tone sculpted micarta... Oh mama!!! I'd buy at least 2 of em.

 

[Styg]

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".

I would say that. I mainly try to buy American made knives because knives are one of the few things left where I have that choice. Electronics? Made in multiple countries and probably not including the USA. Clothing? Often not made in the USA. Basically food, digital media, and knives are the few categories of goods where I consistently get the opportunity to buy American.