Is it time to rehabilitate Cold Steel? CONTROVERSIAL

[cbxer55]

While I've owned and carried many knives from many makers, the best shock and awe inducer has been my Spartan, that I actually edc'd for quite some time. Most folks didn't want to touch or hold it and that was just fine by me. With that bad boy in the right pocket, and a Military all snug in the left, I pretty much figured to have all the bases covered. And then some. Then again, I'm a sucker for evil blades, always was, probably always will be.

Sound a lot like my normal carry knives. Yesterday had a Large Espada in the right front, and a left hand Military in my left. Yeah, the Millie gets used and the Espada, not so much. But I was not carrying a gun, so chose the LARGE knife in it's stead.

 

[FearAgent]

My problem with CS is the same I've had with Böker. Im definitely a steel snob and I cant stand the lack of quality steel. I've liked a lot of CS designs but I've never picked one up. Same with Böker, I've like countless designs but I never picked up up till the Epicenter because I like VG-10 steel. They came out with a knife I liked, in a quality steel, and I bought it immediately.

If CS put some knives out in O1 or 3V (especially 3V) I'll be first in line to buy it! I look forward to owning one

 

[cbxer55]

To be truthful, I am also a steel snob preferring the CPM steels over anything else. But the few Cold Steel knives I've had, even being AUS-8, have been really nice knives. I've not really had any bad experiences with it. Maybe it's their liquid nitrogen treatment, makes it better than most AUS-8? Don't know. The other day at work, someone had tossed a huge box into a small trash can. I took my Black Rhino and shredded that box, cut it into strips. Knife did not need resharpening afterwards. I ran it up and down a EZE LAP ultra fine diamond hone anyways, same as I do with even CPM S30V. I keep a Fine/Ultrafine diafold in my left hip pocket, and tend to lightly hone any knife I have used, no matter how severe.

No one is going to talk you into trying anything. But if there is a design you like, you should try one. It's not as bad as you think. Certainly not near as bad as CRKT knives.

 

[brandonnash]

My problem with CS is the same I've had with Böker. Im definitely a steel snob and I cant stand the lack of quality steel. I've liked a lot of CS designs but I've never picked one up. Same with Böker, I've like countless designs but I never picked up up till the Epicenter because I like VG-10 steel. They came out with a knife I liked, in a quality steel, and I bought it immediately.

If CS put some knives out in O1 or 3V (especially 3V) I'll be first in line to buy it! I look forward to owning one

Pony up some cash


Cold steel is going to offer O-1 on some of their stuff. The trail master has it listed in their catalog as O-1 but I don't think its out yet. I believe I read that anything sk-5 was going to be upgraded.

 

[Cold Steel Knives]

We stand by our products 100% and our customer services team are happy to do all that they can to help, regardless of the age of the knife.
Just give them a call and talk to them.
Our warranty changed some time ago, the box may be out of date

 

[bull4242]

I own a ton of the older Carbon V stuff but have purchased very little of late in the face of most of the steel changes. Used many of the fixed blades quite hard without ill effect, and have (now that I think about it) one of their products just about everywhere--shovel in my jeep, recon scout in my BOB, small voyager on my running camelback....you get the idea. The DVDs are harmless fun and their products, while not as solid as 10 yrs ago or so (IMO), still cover a lot of ground, sell well, and hold up pretty well under normal use.....I am a true knife enthusiast and can't quite comprehend all the bashing, although I am not as informed as I could be about design/patent rip-offs and the like. Good thread though....no clowns so far

 

[SaintlyBrees]

...I'm new to this forum, but I can see already there is an impressive collection of CS haters here. That's a shame....

Not a fair statement at all and not particularly customer savvy. THAT is a shame. You are the face of CS here. What you say has impact.

 

[G. Scott H.]

If the warranty info in the faq is obsolete, it should be updated to reflect the changes.

You're right. The faq still contains the outdated info, though the warranty and return section states the correct updated warranty info. They do need to update the info in the faq section. :thumbup:

CJZ, thanks! :thumbup:

 

[FearAgent]

Pony up some cash


Cold steel is going to offer O-1 on some of their stuff. The trail master has it listed in their catalog as O-1 but I don't think its out yet. I believe I read that anything sk-5 was going to be upgraded.

Yeah that's why I mention it. Alot of other carbon steels I'd prefer over O1 but I'll be happy with O1 in a CS knife and ill definitely pick it up when it's available. Idlove to see some 3V in some folders down the line. Fingers crossed

 

[P_Meticulous]

Not a fair statement at all and not particularly customer savvy. THAT is a shame. You are the face of CS here. What you say has impact.

Great PR from a great company

When I think of CS, all that comes to mind is the Expendables

No wonder they appeal to younger enthusiasts...........

 

[Ford1911]

Cold steel could corner the market on "hard use folders" if they would use better steel. I am not saying Aus8 is horrible. But pairing it with the Tri-Ad lock is like putting a 4 cylinder in an F250.

 

[jazub]

So when exactly is the O1 Trail Master going to be available? My cc is ready. :thumbup:

 

[B.F.U]

I entirely agree with your post. I'm tired of hearing all of this "OUR KNIVES ARE TACTICAL GRADE SENTRY REMOVAL TOOLS, HIGH SPEED LOW DRAG BRO, ARE YOU HARDCORE ENOUGH FOR THEM? DESIGNED FOR SECRET BLACK OPS" garbage, especially from liars like Mickey Ray Burger.

Besides, I like Cold Steel's marketing videos. What some people don't realize is that the videos aren't entirely serious. They have fun making them and some of what you see (like posing with the knife after a test) is an inside joke.

I agree with your agreement with Oakengroves.

 

[B.F.U]

Also, I guess I could say that I "hard use" knives and I think Aus8 is a great steel for it. I love my s30v knives, but if I'm using a knife for serious work where damaging/abusive cuts etc. might be necessary I don't want to take forever getting back a usable edge.

 

[christopher]

In my opinion, they don't need rehab. Lynn and the silly videos are good entertainment, but the knives are the real McCoy! I have a Trail Master Since the 80's) and a Gurkha (since the very early 90's). Both have given very good service. Knock them if you went but my money goes were it finds results.

 

[mc5aw]

I've owned various CS knives (fixed blades and folders) from the early days, and I've always found them to be quality products that offered excellent value. I have never understood the anti-CS sentiments floated around, but I think many are simply from joiner-inners and not based upon actual experience with CS knives. I can say that of the numerous knives I've gone through over the years, CS blades have been the absolute sharpest out of the box ... I almost lost the tip of my thumb to a new SafeKeeper exiting its sheath. One of the best things about the CS line is that there are quite a few offerings which are low budget-priced without the low budget lack of quality. For <$50, you can get a pretty decent knife that will outlast anything in the same price range. I still have an SRK Second from when they were offered in the bi-annual catalog, and it's as solid now as it was years back. I'm not a student of steel, but CS makes good knives, end of story. And the videos, cheesy or not, would in no way defter me from buying any other CS products.

 

[dzlvs8]

This is a very long and interesting debate. What I will break down what I have to say with "bullet" points.

- The marketing videos are laughable, once the owner steps on camera.
- Although you won't ever do most of what they are doing in the videos, they sure do make some good knife porn, albeit "a little" over the top.
- Someone has to make the goofy, over the top knives. Cold steel is extreme in every way...good and bad.
- There steel isn't "premium" and also keeps them from being more respected.
- The logos (knife name) on the blade is silly looking most of the time.
- Given their tendency to avoid using premium materials a lot of the time, they are a company that can be seen as being on par only with fly-by-night, cheap knock off knife companies from Hong Kong or wherever.
- "Worlds sharpest knives" is a ridiculous slogan. Anyway who knows anything about knives knows any knife can be sharpened just as sharp as a Cold Steel. That right there is the first warning sign to any potential Cold Steel buyer.

...but
...but

- If there was ever a day that Cold Steel went out of business I guarantee that the price of their knives on the used market would sky rocket. They make some pretty unique knives and a lot with good designs. Their triad lock is undeniably top notch and if anything, they at least show a definite passion for what they do that is far greater than almost any other knife company.They are definitely doing their own thing that no one else does and it would be disappointing to see them go. ...But for now, until they change their marketing, to me they will be looked at as a knife company that seems to be wishing they were selling their knives on the Home Shopping Network.

FYI - Sorry for all the trashing Cold Steel. I still want a Recon Tanto Fixed and if your logos weren't so mildly childish and stylized on your folders, I would probably own as many cold steels as any other brand that I own.

 

[Planterz]

I'll address it - We don't steal designs.
I'm new to this forum, but I can see already there is an impressive collection of CS haters here. That's a shame.
I understand that not everyone is going to love our knives, and that's down to personal preferences. That's fine. BUT, to call us thieves is just plain wrong.
You've been misinformed
I work in the same building as members of our R&D team and believe me, they don't steal designs
That's just not how we roll here at Cold Steel.

The CS Black Sable holds more than a slight resemblance to Brian Tighe's "Tighe Stick". The blade is so similar in shape that even Stevie Wonder could look at and tell you that the Black Sable is a copy of the Tighe Stick.

But the handle is a bit different, and it uses a different lock. So that makes this copy OK, right?

Well, what about the Black Talon? Looks a lot like the Spyderco Civilian/Matriarch.

But the handles are different, and you can't patent a blade curve, right? Except that you can and Spyderco actually has/had Spyderco actually has/had 3 patents (2 design, one utility) on the "Reverse S Curve" blade. But maybe that tiny little extra curve at the base of the Black Talon is enough for your lawyers to argue that it's a "unique" design.

And how could we leave out the GI Tanto and its...shall we say...accidental resemblence to the Strider BT?

But the CS doesn't have the thumb jimping, or those silly tiger stripes, and the butt angles the other way. So it can't be a copy, right? I mean, it's not like the description on CS's website for the knife is making a pointed dig at Strider or anything. It must be some other company ran by "convicted felons and rip off artists posing as elite 'military operators'". But not Strider, because the GI Tanto isn't a blatent rip-off of the Strider BT.

Actually, I'll let the GI Tanto slide. Not because Strider is run by felons/liars, but because the BT uses the "Americanized tanto" blade style that Cold Steel made popular themselves (even if they did "borrow" it from Bob Lum).

 

[P_Meticulous]

And this is where CS stops commenting

 

[Poleaxe]

No offense Planterz but....Lol @ the design stealing argument. I guess we have to call in the knife police in this thread too. And all this time I just thought it was naysayers and haters. I have no opinion on the "stealing" design argument as it just seems to me like something brought up by people with a chip on the shoulder for CS or have an agenda.Definetly possible that all those designs have been an influence to make similar knives, and it wasn't just CS making something similar.

I feel that the more personal people take this knife stuff the more they get wrapped up in superfluous psuedo politics. At the end of the day..if you don't like it, don't buy it. Better yet don't waste your time on Coldsteel at all and stop watching their videos.


The knife market has something for everybody, If you want s30v or D2 ,etc there are plenty of knives that will accomodate you. It's not really that controversial and going into a thread just to nitpick or be negative is Troll Behavior. I'm a big fan of coldsteel because they really do offer items that other brands are not competing with at all.