Most over-rated production knife brand?

CQC-7 flipper is ridiculous. Flipper takes space on handle for more precise grip. I've normal, waveless CQC-7. And yes, ~$200 for simple production liner lock is too much. They're worth max $100.
 
Overrated? How about waiting at your computer screen, refreshing the page so you can pay $750+ for a folding knife with a foolish carbon fiber insert in the blade? As a whole I like ZT, but they are straying closer to the edge of being overatted with these silly attempts at "knife fashion" like the 0999. ZT needs to get back to being hard use tactical and leave the multicolored titanium art to Reate.
 
Spey said:
It is my opinion that Dollar-for-Dollar Cold Steel is not what I would term as "Most over-rated production knife brand".
I believe they have continued through the decades offering a wealth of options (my Triple Action Tanto comes readily to mind) for good value, and potentially created as much controversy as any manufacturer while being kept on the outside by all the major knife publications.
Click to expand...

Cold Steel and Lynn Thompson create their own controversy to sell knives. It's the CS marketing "hook". There is no "vast conspiracy" against CS "keeping them out" of the mainstream Knife world.
 
I love ZT, don't get me wrong. Alot of their knives are built way thicker and heavier than necessary simply because of the fad in "overbuilt" knives dictates it must be so. Honestly however they could make a much more pocket friendly and half the weight knife that would not lose any strength. The ZT 0452 is a prime example of what their knives could be, no should be. I loves my 0560 and 0620 and 801 though. For a fat knife they sure build it sweet.
 
EDCanAdamas said:
Overrated? How about waiting at your computer screen, refreshing the page so you can pay $750+ for a folding knife with a foolish carbon fiber insert in the blade? As a whole I like ZT, but they are straying closer to the edge of being overatted with these silly attempts at "knife fashion" like the 0999. ZT needs to get back to being hard use tactical and leave the multicolored titanium art to Reate.
Click to expand...

I have to agree with this guy ^^ what the hell is with knife art/knife fashion these days? i just don't get the market for it, you can still have a good looking knife without it looking like a pretty little girls toy. All these rainbow anodized colors with flashy ball bearings and carbon fiber this and that. Who the heck actually uses these knives? almost nobody, they sit in a drawer collecting dust. Engineer a smooth, long lasting tough good looking knife with big polished washers for stability and longevity. ZT need to go back to their roots, 0200's, 0550's, leave the fashion blades alone. Pretty much the reason i carry cold steel and benchmade these days, just lost interest in all this art knife garbage.
 
Last edited:
EDCanAdamas said:
Cold Steel and Lynn Thompson create their own controversy to sell knives. It's the CS marketing "hook". There is no "vast conspiracy" against CS "keeping them out" of the mainstream Knife world.
Click to expand...

I can see that we agree on Cold Steel and controversy, I would go a step further to include a thought that any/all advertising can be considered as being good advertising (Example: President Elect).

Regarding your 2nd comment I believe we have differing opinion.
I would like you to consider some things I did many years ago, and as it relates to today (references below), and answer one question:

Name me one or more American knife company (in business for any consecutive 10 year span in the past 40-years) to not have been featured in Blade Magazine in some way?

My research indicates one company:
  • Cold Steel is now ~37 year old American held knife company (American held for the entire time to my knowledge).
  • In business during the early days of the knife market expansion beyond the traditional market, and during the prime days of Blade Mag.
  • Range of products has been extensive for decades.
  • Especially, a company that for numerous decades has featured over 10 production models of both folders and fixed blades.
  • Many models that have run multiple consecutive product years because of popularity and demand.
  • I am talking about going all the way back to the Blackie Collins era of Blade Magazine and asking how could this be.
  • A number of years ago I did this research for myself. Issue after issue, checking manufacturing indexes and all pages of issues for any little sign of Cold Steel. Not just paid advertisement, but looking for anything (article by an independant, etc.).

We could ask the same question for some of the other publications from the 80's 90's and beyond and I believe we would arrive at the same common denominator.

Please don't take my comments here as blindly defensive of Cold Steel brand, my comment stands as initially made that I simply dis-believe Cold Steel to be "Most over-rated production knife brand?" (the subject of the OP and this thread), and that in many models they offer better value for the dollar spent than knives made by other manufactures.
 
EDCanAdamas said:
ZT needs to get back to being hard use tactical and leave the multicolored titanium art to Reate.
Click to expand...

Most of their product line is.
So who cares if they make an art knife every so often that costs a bunch?
It's really very simple; don't buy it.

I don't buy things every single day of my life...it's so easy to do. :thumbup:
 
(This was a question for Spey in reference to his last post #426. I didn't quote it b/c it was lengthy and I just had this one thing to say. Anyone obviously can answer if they know btw)

Has anyone from Blade ever offered any kind of reason as to why Cold Steel was never featured? I will say that I am not a regular reader so I'm not too familiar with their criteria for featuring a maker/company in their magazine. Was there some kind of falling out between CS and Blade's editing staff or something?
 
Half of everything that Cold Steel does.
Half of Cold Steel's range is pretty decent, some very good indeed. The other half are really rubbish. Their better knives, the ones that work, are starting to be getting expensive for what they are; the competition is hotting up.
Some of their "toy" range may well not have a high ticket price but in truth aren't very good at what they are even meant to do. For all the hype they just don't work and a waste of anyones money.


The big brands be it Spyderco or Benchmade, to name just two, have some excellent knives within their stable. Some, however, aren't quite so clever, either in design or the steel and choice of heat treatment. Basically the ones that feel all wrong or snap too quick.

Anything factory over $450. I can't think what could get a factory offering above that price. The exotic steel, the heat treatment, the machining and the hand finishing, the taxes and mark up just doesn't justify any price above this limit. In truth $250 is about as high a limit until exotic materials could add to the cost. For, the number of operations to get a knife finished are all about the same depending on what short cuts are used.
For custom work the cost is based on a different equation all together. That has to be done on merit.

Lastly, you don't buy a CRK, Busse, Strider, plus a few others, just for the knife. Part of the cost is "The Club", just like the brand cost of a high end watch or car. What price that?? Brand value is getting steep.
 
Cold Steel was shut out from Blade because they spent too much time over-rating themselves and trashing other knife companies for spurious reasons. Lynn had a hissy fit when people in the industry didn't believe the hype.

Lynn was the archetypal fan boy who now has to sleep in the bed he's made. Sure he's still in business but I bet he could have been twice as successful if he'd been a class act.

It's nice to be important but it's more important to be nice.
 
i gotta say microtech

i bought a scarab and the amount of force required to open and close the knife is just crazy and to top it off it didnt make it any more reliable. I figured with the extra strong springs the blade wouldnt missfire very often if it all. but even when the knife was clean i would get a missfire every 20 or so openings. my lighting cheap otf was more reliable and was the switch was way lighter. I then bought a troodon because i heard the switch was lighter, which it was significantly. but i still wasnt in love like i thought i would be.
i eventually bought a G&G Hawk deadlock OTF that so far has never had a missfire and has absolutely zero blade play. Now i finnally found an OTF i love. i promptly sold both my microtechs and i dont miss them one bit. Another thing i love is Gavin actually encourages users to take the knife apart compared to voiding your warranty with microtech. even sharpening your microtech can void your warranty

Ive also never been impressed with CRK very much. i was able to borrow one for a couple weeks before i decided if i would buy one. while the knife was fine i just dont see what the fuss is about. my ZT knives have a smoother action and lock up just as solid. the thing that really turned me off was the edge retention, it was very poor for a high end knife. it held its edge very similar to a $50 kershaw in 14c28n. my $70 kershaw camber in s30v holds a better edge. they really need to run their steel to a higher HRC

note: Im a huge fan of Zero tolerance so i am a little biased towards other brands. i just dont think microtech or CRk provide the same value that you get with ZT. so take my opinions with my bias in mind
 
Mick_1KRR said:
I have to agree with this guy ^^ what the hell is with knife art/knife fashion these days? i just don't get the market for it, you can still have a good looking knife without it looking like a pretty little girls toy. All these rainbow anodized colors with flashy ball bearings and carbon fiber this and that. Who the heck actually uses these knives? almost nobody, they sit in a drawer collecting dust. Engineer a smooth, long lasting tough good looking knife with big polished washers for stability and longevity. ZT need to go back to their roots, 0200's, 0550's, leave the fashion blades alone. Pretty much the reason i carry cold steel and benchmade these days, just lost interest in all this art knife garbage.
Click to expand...

my ZT0606cf is the best folder ive ever held and is in my pocket almost every day (some times i feel bad for neglecting my other knives and will carry one of them for a couple days)
i will say its a little too flashy but the build quality and function more then make up for that. I might refinish the handle some day. But i couldnt be happier with that knife. almost every knife i own there is some small design flaw that i would like to change and if its possible i do modify it but the 606cf is perfect in regards to function, there is nothing i can think of that would improve the knife.

I understand your point about their "art" knives but they arent just looks, even though they dont look like it, they are hard use knives and will stand up to any normal use. I would put the 606cf up against any of their previous models. these are very well thought out knives that are very well made. while they look "all show" i assure you they are not

their art knives allow them to try something new. This desire to push the envelope is good for the knife world. most of these innovations arent going to catch on (like a carbon fiber blade insert) but some might. I am always happy to see innovation compared to a company that just keeps doing the same thing over and over for years. I also think its just something they enjoy doing and when people enjoy their job you will see a superior product.

as for the 0392 i think ZT makes a better Hinderer then Hinderer does (im talking about the "midtech" versions that sell for around $500). The 0392 feels like a better knife when compared side by side. better steel, full titanium handles, smoother action. the ZT also has a lockbar insert while the xm-18 does not. Ive had titanoum framelocks that dont have a lockbar insert and they always developed some lock stick. My Southard Tolk got so bad that sometimes i couldnt unstick it with my hand, i had to wedge it open with a tool of some kind. I absolutely refuse to buy a Ti framelock that doesnt have a insert anymore. its just not worth risking it developing lock stick which can just ruin my enjoyment of a knife. I loved my tolk, i thought it was perfect but once it started sticking it just killed my enthusiasm for that knife, which i ended up selling for a $150 loss
 
Undeniable that ZT provides a better value dollar for dollar compared to most knife brands producing comparable blades. However I find alot of my ZT blades, while very cool, somewhat impractical. I love the knives but they are so bulky you cannot compare them to the svelte CRK knives. The CRK knives don't have all the extras in their design when compared to ZTs. There is something I love about the finish on the CRK knives, the one featured on the plain Sebenzas.
 
EDCanAdamas said:
Overrated? How about waiting at your computer screen, refreshing the page so you can pay $750+ for a folding knife with a foolish carbon fiber insert in the blade? As a whole I like ZT, but they are straying closer to the edge of being overatted with these silly attempts at "knife fashion" like the 0999. ZT needs to get back to being hard use tactical and leave the multicolored titanium art to Reate.
Click to expand...

LOL. Only a matter of time before someone who bought this knife sees this post and starts losing their mind over it.
 
SCWillson said:
I have only two Seki-made Spydercos and one Taiwanese-made Spyderco, but I can tell you the fit and finish of the Taiwanese knife is significantly superior to that of either Seki-made knife, that despite the fact that the two Seki-made knives were my favorite folders for over a decade before I bought the Taiwanese knife. The Taiwanese knife sold at a higher price point, but there is no denying the quality is competitive.

Now, this is a small sample to be sure and anecdotal to boot, but even if many or most Seki-made knives are superior, I have seen with my own eyes that Taiwanese knives can be as good or better than Seki-made. Japan is not magical.
Click to expand...

I agree that Japanese knife production is not magical, but at the same time, neither is US-made (or German-made, or wherever). Knives made in Taiwan are on par with the best production knives made anywhere, but that can depend on the individual knife model, the company they are producing for, and maybe even the production facility itself, of which I'm sure not all are equal within the same country. Some of the all-time best fit/finish/quality knives I own are US-made, but I've also had US-made knives that are among the worst and sloppiest. It's less to do with the country and more to do with the facility, and how well the workers are dedicated to making knives. One thing is for sure: The quality-made knives made in Taiwan are NOT made in "sweatshops". The people who tend to always say that are usually the type who have never been outside of their own western country. Such people really need to get out more and see the world, and realize that NOT all knives made outside of the US and western Europe are produced by so-called 'slave labor'.

Personally, I'm not too hung up on a knife's country of origin, but instead prefer to focus on the quality of that individual knife model.

Jim
 
Last edited:
James Y said:
I agree that Japanese knife production is not magical, but at the same time, neither is US-made (or German-made, or wherever). Knives made in Taiwan are on par with the best production knives made anywhere, but that can depend on the individual knife model, the company they are producing for, and maybe even the production facility itself, of which I'm sure not all are equal within the same country. Some of the all-time best fit/finish/quality knives I own are US-made, but I've also had US-made knives that are among the worst and sloppiest.

Personally, I'm not too hung up on a knife's country of origin, but instead prefer to focus on the quality of that individual knife model.

Jim
Click to expand...
+1 👍

I could not agree more. People pontificating about the wonderfulness of Japanese knives compared to Taiwan forget that for decades "Made in Japan" was a euphemism for poorly made junk.

Everybody can make crappy knives, but those making them can also learn to make good ones.
 
stabman said:
Most of their product line is.
So who cares if they make an art knife every so often that costs a bunch?
It's really very simple; don't buy it.

I don't buy things every single day of my life...it's so easy to do. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

No doubt he did not buy it.

But don't forget...the entire premise of this thread is to talk about knives one does not like.

In fact, I suppose, one could argue that the folks defending knives are off topic (and kinda trolling! :D)

That's how it works in the "Name your favorite knives" threads.

Anyway, back to the topic, in no particular order: Brous, KAI/ZT, Shirogorov.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top