In general, what are your opinions of Cold Steel knives?

fishbulb,

I am not one to tell people how to spend their money, never have been.

But,

Some of their bigger fixed blades look to be a good deal though, especially the seconds.
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At least give the proper info when you are comparing products..;)

When you are looking at cost and buy low end all knife manufactors are about the same.

Compare high end products to highend, not highend to lowend.

Everyone has an opinion and not everyone thinks the same way..that's why we have the choices we have.

But to down a company
That makes some of the highest quality knives on the market and has for the better part of 20 years and not back it up with a good arguement...:rolleyes:

Cold Steel uses high grade steel in their highend knives and the quality control is very very good for production knives...

If you look in the $50 range you get what you get from any company..;)

I am not saying that CS is the best out there, but I will say that you could never go wrong choosing any of their highend products..

I don't think any company is better than another overall....

But then when you start looking at custom knives it opens another door into qualilty...;)
 
Originally posted by Ankerson
fishbulb,

At least give the proper info when you are comparing products..;)
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Maybe I missed something.

What improper information did I give?

When you are looking at cost and buy low end all knife manufactors are about the same.

If you actually believe that I question how much you know about knives. There are great $50 knives and mediocre $50 knives. If I had fifty bucks to spend on a folder I would take a Griptilian over anything Cold Steel offers in that price range. Actually, I would take if over any Cold Steel folder that I have seen, regardless of price.

Compare high end products to highend, not highend to lowend.

If you are using price to determine what is "high end" then I'm not real impressed by their high end stuff either. The Tanto fixed blades, for example: why is an AUS8 blade with a rubber handle $150? From what I've seen you could get a lot more knife for the same amount of money.

Everyone has an opinion and not everyone thinks the same way..that's why we have the choices we have.

Precisely, which is why I find it strange that you would apparently take it as a personal affront when I express my opinion. You are very welcome to hold a differing one. These are the reasons for my opinion:

-I greatly prefer the Axis lock over the lockback, for reasons of useability, reliability, and long term wear. Cold Steel makes lots of lockbacks, so I am less inclined to like their folders.

-I don't like serrations, and many CS products are only available with serrations. And as many others have stated, Cold Steel serrations suck.

-Their fixed blades frequently have molded rubber handles (Kraton). Guess what? Don't like that either, so I really don't like their fixed blades.

Cold Steel uses high grade steel in their highend knives

AUS8 is not high end steel. I like it and find it to be a perfectly fine steel as stainless goes, but it is nowhere near being a high ehd steel.

If you look in the $50 range you get what you get from any company..;)

I staand by my beliefe that there are a number of other 50 dollar folders that blow the Cold Steel models out of the water. To name a few: the Griptilian, EDC, Gerber Air Ranger, or just about any CRKT folder (the M16 especially comes to mind).

To be fair, I do like a lot of what Cold Steel is doing. I like their extensive use of carbon steel, though I think its ridiculous that they continue to act like Carbon V is something really special. I also like their willingness to make outlandish products and unabashed weaponry that other companies wouldn't touch. Nobody else makes spears, shovels, smashin' sticks, swords, AND a battle mace. They definately get points for creativity and product diversity.
 
I carried a Voyager for a long time, and had I not found this place, probably still would be.

Never had any trouble from them. I still use my fs large clip point quite often.
 
fishbulb,



-I don't like serrations, and many CS products are only available with serrations. And as many others have stated, Cold Steel serrations suck.
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I can agree on this one, I don't like serrated blades at all...



The Tanto fixed blades, for example: why is an AUS8 blade with a rubber handle $150? From what I've seen you could get a lot more knife for the same amount of money.
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They make one Tanto with AUS8 steel, the now 6" Tanto (I got mine over 15 years ago and still use it today, mine is the orginal 5 3/4" with brass instead of steel) I can say this: It is without a doubt the toughest knife I have ever seen and had the pleasure to use, you just can't hurt it...:D

The Master Tanto and all the others are San Mai III (Lamated blades).


As far as the other stuff goes that is personal opinion and I have mine too...

But I don't like cheap knives, for me they have never lasted, I use my knives hard and my CS knives have passed my test for durability. I have been using various knives for over 30 years and I can't count how many I have owned and ended up in the trash can or given away to other people.


I never really like folding knives much, Benchmade makes some fine products...I own one CS folder now, a Recon 1 and it has been very sturdy for a folder...the rest are fixed blade.


And we agree about Carbon V too...I think it is pretty much the same as other quality Carbon Steel, but they heat treat it pretty well. It holds an edge well and resharpens pretty easy to a razor edge...
 
I always like the design of their products. They have some innovative creations which were pretty cost effective. I bought two of their products after doing some research. I would agree with some people that Cold Steel products lean on the hard use or martial side. They are not meant to look pretty or be finesse tools. I didn't percieve their products to be as collectible. They always seemed like something that was meant to be tossed into a tool box or gym bag. Regardless, their Military Classic / Randall knock off was a very nice knife which I cherish. Sure, they make their products on the more economical side. Although the company does emphasize that their products were meant to be used before being display items. I would rate Cold Steel as being just below a set of Craftsman or Snap On tools - they get the job done and they do them well. Just my 2 cents.
 
Cold Steel makes a good, serviceable knife. I don't like everything they put out, but that can be said of anu company.

I think one reason people judge Cold Steel so harshly is the advertising strategy that Lynn Thompson uses. Hype, hype, and more hype. It is pretty effective in that it gets a lot of attention, but it doesn't endear either him or his knives to everyone.

I have a Master Hunter in Carbon V that I like a lot. It is a little bigger than I like for field dressing Whitetails, but a good blade nonetheless.
 
If a knifemaker makes a good knife, it usually doesn't need to be hyped. I just found that talking to some knifemakers on a personal level, their personality and passion for knives produces an easy sell.

An example of this was the conversations I had with Jerry Busse before I bought his now end of sale Wakizashi made from A2 steel. For the price, nothing could and maybe nothing since could beat it. Jerry was intense as well as a great guy. He left me with a really good impression of what a great knifemaker should be.

Just my two cents.
 
I think what hurt CS was when they first started out they only made highend knives like the Tanto....and yes all the hype was true. if not justified....then just like most other knife makers started making cheaper models using cheaper steels...

Yeah Lynn Thompson needs to tone it down alittle I think...;)
 
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