Is Cold Steel officially dead on this forum- and the knife world in general?

AlongTheRazorsEdge said:
I hope he comes back strong with the same drive and passion that "Old Steel" had. I also hope that the terms of the sale do not block him from creating new designs.
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...........one cannot imagine a case where this sale would have gone through without a "no competition" clause....for at least a couple of years. Maybe though on the funky products that are not knives.
 
I wonder if Lynn's limited capacity is filming videos with stickman? I've watched a few videos with both of them and they're fun to watch.

Just looked at Lynn's new website and it looks like they have nothing to buy at the moment.
 
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I need to dig up one of the original VHS promotional videos. If someone has a setup to do VHS --> file (yeah I'm sure I could figure it out with an rf modulator and some RCA's) it's yours if I can dig it up. From what I remember, the whole thing was Lynn Thompson in a black gi, going all ronin on some Pontiac hoods. Also some footage from outside of Michigan too 😉
 
ElementalBreakdown said:
you said "So they were purchased. What makes you think that business won't continue as normal." when that was the whole point of the thread- things weren't running at all.

It's a sad case of Floccinaucinihilipification, my friend. Some that was Floccinaucinihilipificated to begin with even more Floccinaucinihilipificatinized now.
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That's Floccinaucinihilipilification to you sir ! : ) Thank you for making me look up a word today !
 
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Theres been a couple of recent videos on youtube w Lynn Thompson and that stickman demonstrating different knives, so he seems to still be involved to some degree. Id just like to knowwhere the 3v fixed blades are ? Even in the 4034 versions, which was supposed to be abundant and easy to crank out, theres not a thing going on w the Trailmaster recon scout laredo natchez unless theyre waiting for 2022 to release them ???
 
THIS.
Exactly what I am taling about. No one HAS ANY idea about whether or not anything is going on. No one is at the helm, no one is taking any responsibility for following up, no one there knows who is supposed to be managing bringing these models to market, worst of all no one seems to even know the difference between any of the older models or any basics about the business they are working for.
Completely disorganized.
 
goldie said:
Theres been a couple of recent videos on youtube w Lynn Thompson and that stickman demonstrating different knives, so he seems to still be involved to some degree. Id just like to knowwhere the 3v fixed blades are ? Even in the 4034 versions, which was supposed to be abundant and easy to crank out, theres not a thing going on w the Trailmaster recon scout laredo natchez unless theyre waiting for 2022 to release them ???
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Amazon was showing that they were readying for the 3v Bowies and Kukri by mid October. The expected date is gone, but they left the prices they'll be selling at up -

Trailmaster - $365
Natchez - $421
Laredo - $382
Kukri Plus - $513
Recon Scout - $316

I expect that other retailers might have them sooner.

--------------------------------

To see the Amazon thing, I put "cold steel" in the search box, then sorted by newest arrivals.
 
Things change. I don't like it but I think CS, as we knew it, is gone. Often happens when a conglomerate buys a company. They pimp the name for as long as they can and then either sell the assets off or just let is die once they picked it clean. Lynn was a character for sure (still is) but he seemed to love what he did/built and it showed. The bean counters will never get that.
 
I am thinking that the unexpected announcement that Lynn Thompson had sold off the Cold Steel name brand, actually gave the new owners a big surge in folks wanting to get a piece of the old Cold Steel inventory/products before anything had a chance to possibly change for the worse.
Now that that buying frenzy is likely wound down quite a bit, their decisions going forward in the near future are going to likely be extremely important in keeping them as a continued entity in the products they have been best known for.
Again, I think the initial selling of Cold Steel actually caused their sales to go up steeply, but moving forward now into the near future, will be the real gauge as to where they will be in the coming years.
Lynn Thompson, love him or hate him, was a major force behind Cold Steel' success... With him no longer at the helm, all bets are off as to where the company will go, and what products may drastically change or go DoDo Bird altogether.
 
PocketKnifeJimmy said:
I am thinking that the unexpected announcement that Lynn Thompson had sold off the Cold Steel name brand, actually gave the new owners a big surge in folks wanting to get a piece of the old Cold Steel inventory/products before anything had a chance to possibly change for the worse.
Now that that buying frenzy is likely wound down quite a bit, their decisions going forward in the near future are going to likely be extremely important in keeping them as a continued entity in the products they have been best known for.
Again, I think the initial selling of Cold Steel actually caused their sales to go up steeply, but moving forward now into the near future, will be the real gauge as to where they will be in the coming years.
Lynn Thompson, love him or hate him, was a major force behind Cold Steel' success... With him no longer at the helm, all bets are off as to where the company will go, and what products may drastically change or go DoDo Bird altogether.
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I can agree with that. Lord knows I have been buying up Cold Steel products at a MUCH higher frequency than I have ever before.

Cold Steel needs to exist. The products they make/made stand out, are unique, and in my opinion offer a great value.

I have my fingers crossed that they manage a trajectory that keeps the company offering quality products that Lynn built his house with.

I could care less about how they decide to market, as I am a customer who already knows how great the products are.

What I do care about, is when they offer the next gen Recon 1, that it is a premium steel built on a rugged frame with innovative improvements.
 
not2sharp said:
he established company. If they had a wit of sense they would have allowed Cold Steel to fail and purchased the trademark for next to nothing. Everything that I need to know about this outfit was expressed within minutes of purchase, when they dumped the warranty coverage.
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not2sharp not2sharp ...I'm sorry, please forgive me. :(

Please name one company that took over another and honored the warranty on whatever the product was, made before they took over.

Thompson Center was bought out, I believe by Smith & Wesson, years ago. Not only does S&W not warranty the older T/C's, they quit making replacement parts for the sidelocks (Hawken, Renegade, etc), they also dropped all the sidelocks when they took over, and only make "inlines" now.
Does whoever owns Remington after the latest bankruptcy, Marlin, Winchester ... honor the warranty on the older products made before they were in charge?

Schrade was, as you are aware, bought at the bankrupcy auction by Taylor Brands, who later sold out to BTI.
AFAIK, the Taylor Schrade and BTI Schrade are made in the same factories. Does BTI warranty the Taylor knives? I don't think so. I know they don't warranty my Taylor Schrade Hammer Brand knife.
(BTI also allegedes they didn't get the Hammer Brand name, just Schrade, Old timer, Uncle Henry, and Imperial, when they bought Taylor Brands. Did Mr. Taylor hold on to Hammer Brand, NYKC, and a couple others when he sold to BTI? Who knows? I know he got all the Schrade brands except Camillus and Western, when he bought the Schrade rights at the auction. (logical since Camillus didn't go under for another 3 years) He confirmed that in an email when I asked, back in 2013 or 2014. Sadly, I cannot find his email address now.)

When Coleman took over Western, the knives made prior to the take over were out of warranty. When Coleman sold Western to Camillus, Camillus didn't warranty the knives made by the "original" Western, nor those made by Coleman.
After Camillus went under in 2007, the new owner (I forget who it is) doesn't warranty the pre-bankrupcy Camillus or Western knives. (they do make (or at least sell) both brands. I don't know if the current Camillus and Western knves are made here, or offshore.
Does the new owner of Schatt & Morgan warranty the pre-bankrupcy knives? No.
Does SMKW, the current owner of Queen and Queen City honor the warranty of the pre-bankrupcy Queen ad Quen city knives? Nope.

It is very rare ("unheard of" would not be a stretch) for a new owner of any company to honor the warranty in effect before owning the company.
If a used car or motorycle dealership changes ownership, any dealer warranty on used vehicles sold by the old owner is null and void.

That the new owner of CS doen't cover the old CS made knives and warranty, isn't surprising/shocking to me. I would be shocked if they did.
 
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afishhunter said:
not2sharp not2sharp ...I'm sorry, please forgive me……

That the new owner of CS doen't cover the old CS made knives and warranty, isn't surprising/shocking to me. I would be shocked if they did.
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Yes, burning the existing customer base is often part of the deal when the brand dies. So we can all stop pretending that the original Cold Steel is still around. But, you entirely missed my point.

By changing the warranty from the traditional lifetime coverage to just 12 months on their current product, they are letting us know that they are a fly by night outfit intent on producing over priced junk that they absolutely have zero faith in. Their products are expected to fall apart within the year, and certainly far faster than that if you ever decide to remove the item from the box and use it as intended.

We have all had cold steel knives for many years. And we were encouraged to use those knives hard by the original company. That they were able to retain their traditional warranty is an indication of the minuscule failure rate and of their targeted market (knowledgeable knife users). The message couldn’t be more black and white if they put it in bold print on the cover of every box; the new owner‘s moto is “To sell junk to unsuspecting idiots with too much money in their pockets.”

The cadaver plainly lays rotting on the floor. It is time to hold a funeral, express our regrets and move on. Reaching out to Cold Steel these days would require a seance or Ouija board.

n2s
 
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not2sharp said:
changing the warranty from the traditional lifetime coverage to just 12 months on their current product
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I was not aware of that change.
1 question, then I'll shut up and get lost:
Are there not other popular big name knife companies that only guarantee their knives for a year or so?
 
MolokaiRider said:
I can agree with that. Lord knows I have been buying up Cold Steel products at a MUCH higher frequency than I have ever before.

Cold Steel needs to exist. The products they make/made stand out, are unique, and in my opinion offer a great value.

I have my fingers crossed that they manage a trajectory that keeps the company offering quality products that Lynn built his house with.

I could care less about how they decide to market, as I am a customer who already knows how great the products are.

What I do care about, is when they offer the next gen Recon 1, that it is a premium steel built on a rugged frame with innovative improvements.
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Agree completely. Are you aware of the limited run Recon 1 from Blades Canada only 400 made, still S35VN but satin finish, more aggressive scales, changed the plunge line and sharpening choil and some other mods. I have both the clip point and the tanto. here’s a tube video on the changes made for this version
 
I'm afraid CS was something more than just another popular big name. Sometimes a grain of madness makes all the difference. Perhaps I swallowed their marketing, and that's all; but the blades seem to say otherwise.

I'm happy I've gathered some leftovers of the party.
 
The old Cold Steel is finished. So far there is no indication that the new owners intend anything other than devouring the corpse.
 
These acquisitions by these large investment firms like gridiron are never to maintain or improve a brand. They are always a purchase at a material discount in which these new owners have forecast positive cash flow for minimal inputs. Cold steel as a well known name and existing presence in retail space was seen as to not need robust management or marketing. Any entity with as many brands across as many product lines as gridiron & gsm is not ever looking at the enthusiast market. Anyone who thought this would remain the same as when the had Thompson and Demko has a fundamental misunderstanding of, well, everything. This is fundamentally different in order to produce fundamentally different financial results for fundamentally different reasons. CS could be discarded without a moment's notice and barely be a bump in the road, whereas it used to be critically important for financial performance of the ownership.
 
Yes it will be dead really soon. Obviously, the company which bought it has no insight regarding the knife world. Who will pay twice (in some cases tripple) because you only changed the blade steel to 3V? How could anyone with right mindset and knows the industry make such decision....
 
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