Is cold steel being sold again

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KIRKHILLS86

Joined
May 3, 2025
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125
Hello guys i hope yous are all doing well i heard a little tale in the air that gsm are now selling cold steel off again is it true dose anyone know who to whats in store for the future lynn should of never sold it bring back 0-1 steel they should of never changed the steel to stainless for there kukris i watched some guy called jimmy slash using the 52100 kukri lol and another guy commented on it saying he had already broke the bloody tang on his crazy that mind
 
Yeah i get you mate it seems like its going from bad to worse and one other thing im noticing is that hear in Europe all the blades are shooting up in price I was ordering all my knives from Finland but now they are almost the same price as the uk it’s ridiculous I’ve had to hold back from ordering anything now
 
gsm been sold a lot. private equity own it and cold steel. the private equity gridiron capital sold gsm and cold steel to platinum equity in 2024 already. this is how pe works 3 to 5 year plan to sell to a bigger pe firm. so I'd say gsm/cold steel likely good for another couple years before its sold again
 
All I know is -

I have been buying Cold Steel knives since before the first (U.S. made) Recon Tanto was released. I can remember an interview, with Lynn Thompson in which he explained WHY he made the Master Tanto. In that time, I have had to contact customer service a couple times. The first was long before they were sold to G.S.M. and the experience SUCKED. The other was quite recent and it was exactly the opposite. I couldn't be happier. So.... If this is any indication what being sold to a large corporation is like, I wouldn't be nervous about them being sold to an even larger entity 👍
 
Trailer_Ape said:
All I know is -

I have been buying Cold Steel knives since before the first (U.S. made) Recon Tanto was released. I can remember an interview, with Lynn Thompson in which he explained WHY he made the Master Tanto. In that time, I have had to contact customer service a couple times. The first was long before they were sold to G.S.M. and the experience SUCKED. The other was quite recent and it was exactly the opposite. I couldn't be happier. So.... If this is any indication what being sold to a large corporation is like, I wouldn't be nervous about them being sold to an even larger entity 👍
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long as they stop trying to cheapen up stuff....like the machetes they moved from s. Africa which weren't bad heat treat wise...to china..and aren't that great.

if they pull production from Taiwan and move to china...the good stuff they make..I won't be buying anymore.
 
FM Atlas was a great model that was produced under GSM's watch.

Would 5Max count as GSM or LT? That was a killer model also.

Most other new GSM releases didn't melt my butter, ymmv.

GSM seemed to <mostly> hold the line on the folder models quality level and F&F. Granted this probably had more to do with the actual makers than GSM. 🤷‍♂️

Fixed blade quality seemed to dip.

Customer service sucks bigly.

Promos and advertising ranged from dumb to outright offensive.

Imho, a regime change could only make things worse IF folder quality goes into the shitter with the rest of the operation. Otherwise, it possibly could improve things a bit.
 
jbmonkey said:
long as they stop trying to cheapen up stuff....like the machetes they moved from s. Africa which weren't bad heat treat wise...to china..and aren't that great.

if they pull production from Taiwan and move to china...the good stuff they make..I won't be buying anymore.
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Oh the cheapening is already well underway with all the bullshit in 4034. They bumped lots of stuff in XHP to AUS10, etc. BUT, they’re putting out a lot of stuff in nicer steels as well.

Some of the stuff they’re doing seems to make sense to me, but some of it doesn’t.
 
I just can’t seem to bring myself to buying anything in 4034 I just can’t do it I’ve recently scored a vg1 master hunter guys took me a while over hear to find one it’s got a couple of light scratches but nothing to cry over lol finally found a beretta loveless skinner which has been pretty dulled and scratched but I’m thinking of using some ferric chloride to see if I can darken the blade maybe it’ll make it look cool lol
 
As far as I am concerned Cold Steel has been little more than a corpse since they were sold to GSM.

There may be a few good pieces left, but the decay continues to advance as the brand fades.

N2s
 
not2sharp said:
As far as I am concerned Cold Steel has been little more than a corpse since they were sold to GSM.

There may be a few good pieces left, but the decay continues to advance as the brand fades.

N2s
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And i dont think anyone can argue that fact it hurts to see the company fall so far I dont think they can get back from this one gutted me I really am …
 
KIRKHILLS86 said:
I just can’t seem to bring myself to buying anything in 4034 I just can’t do it I’ve recently scored a vg1 master hunter guys took me a while over hear to find one it’s got a couple of light scratches but nothing to cry over lol finally found a beretta loveless skinner which has been pretty dulled and scratched but I’m thinking of using some ferric chloride to see if I can darken the blade maybe it’ll make it look cool lol
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I bought their "Warcraft" tanto in 4034. Haven't used it for anything. All I've done is sharpen it (it came damn near child proof). Takes a nice edge. Mine is "Stone Washed" and, looks wise, is great. I'll try to mix it into rotation so it gets some cutting in, then report back. I just don't like carrying it because it really lacks a decent guard.

I don't understand how some folks are acting like the purchase (negatively) affected things. I mean.... it was Cold Steel not Randall Knives lol
 
Trailer_Ape said:
I bought their "Warcraft" tanto in 4034. Haven't used it for anything. All I've done is sharpen it (it came damn near child proof). Takes a nice edge. Mine is "Stone Washed" and, looks wise, is great. I'll try to mix it into rotation so it gets some cutting in, then report back. I just don't like carrying it because it really lacks a decent guard.

I don't understand how some folks are acting like the purchase (negatively) affected things. I mean.... it was Cold Steel not Randall Knives lol
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I class myself as a real fan boy no lies lol but ive been disappointed lately I bought the recon Tanto and the magnum Tanto both in San mai both arrived with some awful scratches on them I’ve had to send them both off to a guy over hear who makes customs I mean it’s not the end of the world but still and I wasn’t expecting you to tell me that as cold steel are known all over the world to have the sharpest knives around I wasn’t expecting to hear it ! I’ve been looking at the Tanto you’ve bought it looks the part but I’m just not a fan of that steel I can’t help it lol
 
I just know I vote with my wallet.

So I never bought anything in 4034.
I did get Trail Master and Recon Scout in 4034 though.

I have old logo 3V AK47 field knife and one CTS XHP Recon1, also really old school Double Agent. And I only use that AK47 knife as it was the user from the start...
 
EatingSarma said:
I just know I vote with my wallet.

So I never bought anything in 4034.
I did get Trail Master and Recon Scout in 4034 though.

I have old logo 3V AK47 field knife and one CTS XHP Recon1, also really old school Double Agent. And I only use that AK47 knife as it was the user from the start...
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Never knew they made the Trailmaster and recon scout in 4034 ? Jesus that’s mad what are they like can you put some pictures on mate ?
 
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