My vintage Cold Steel pictures, discussions, and general shenanigans

[The Whip]

I bought an Outdoorsman last week, for a couple of reasons. I have a very early model from the 80's, and this is the newer, San Mai III steel.

It also came with what looks and feels to be a purpose made kydex sheath for it, which I'd not seen before. I suppose it could have been made after the fact and not sold by Cold Steel, but it looks like some of their other kydex sheaths.

And it came with some Certificate of Authenticity that this one came from Lynn Thompson's personal collection! Which all sounded more impressive than when I looked at the piece of paper and saw it appatently had been trimmed by a 6 year old with a pair of scissors. Not exactly a straight line at the top.

I've seen these papers before, and they're all blank as to the knife model, which doesn't do much for it's importance.

Anyway, it's a nice knife for what I paid for it. The Cold Steel vintage knives have come down in price from a few years ago, and you can usually get a Tanto or Trailmaster for 200-300 bucks, which seems like a deal even if all you wanted was a good working knife. I'm sure a new production Bowie would cost as much as a vintage Trailmaster.View attachment 2824315

That sheath is the Concealex model that Cold Steel sold separately (item #SK13AN) for years when the leather sheaths were standard. Though offered for the Tanto and Master Tanto, it fits the Outdoorsman also. I keep my own Outdoorsman in one and it carries very well. Yours is missing the original nylon belt strap/snap keeper assembly that attached to the sheath via screws.


I've been meaning to address those certificates of authenticity here in the subforum for a while. Since you're the first to own one and share it, this seems like a good time/place to discuss them.

I'm not convinced that they're real and I don't place much stock in them. First, as you pointed out, the serial number space typically is blank because most Cold Steel knives don't have serial numbers. Lynn Thompson would know that, so why would he bother including that line on a certificate? I've also seen serial numbers filled in for knives that didn't have serial numbers.

Second, the certificates are frequently misshapen like that, as though they were cut by hand from a larger sheet. That kind of shoddiness doesn't inspire much confidence that they are authentic.

And third, I've seen those certificates accompanying knives from several different sellers on eBay. Is Lynn liquidating his collection through multiple vendors via eBay auctions? I suppose it's possible, but I'm skeptical.

Yet, not too long ago, I saw an auction with a certificate accompanying this second-generation stag-handled Trail Master.

The tag attached to the sheath clearly identified it as a sheath sample from a firm called Burgess Leather, which is presumably the A.E. Burgess Leather Company of Grafton, MA.

Assuming the tag is legitimate (and it would be a strange thing to fake, though I've seen even subtler forgeries in the knife community), it looks like a genuine factory prototype that only could have come directly from Cold Steel.

I know Lynn said he had CONEX boxes full of rarities from his collection that he was going to be selling off. But that was years ago, before the GSM sale, and I haven't heard anything mentioned about it since.

So I guess I'm on the fence about the legitimacy of the certificates and I'll offer this: It might be interesting to know that a knife came directly from Lynn Thompson's collection, but I'm not relying on a piece of paper to convince me that it did. And I'd certainly never pay a premium for an off-the-shelf Cold Steel knife just because it belonged to Lynn. At best, those certificates are just novelties that lend some credence to knives that are actually unique, such as that stag Trail Master with its Burgess sheath. As far as I'm concerned, they don't add a dime's worth of value to an asking price.


-Steve

 

[1stID]

I bought a few more vintage Cold Steels the past month.

First up is a 7-1/2” Oyabun. You see a number of 9” and 5-1/2” ones, but not too many of the 7-1/2” inch ones. I now have all three sizes, and a 5-1/2” serrated one, but it’s Taiwan made, so I’m still on the hunt for a vintage Japan version.

Another pickup was a vintage Terminator, AKA Defender I as they were called in the 95 catalog. It was listed for 150 bucks Buy Now on eBay, which is a smoking deal for these older ones. I don’t think the seller really knew what it was as it wasn’t listed as a Terminator or even Defender, and the price was low.

While I already have a Terminator that I bought myself out of my whopping E-3 salary in 1990, that one has a leather sheath, and this one has the kydex version. I’m not sure how it got matched up with that sheath – maybe some were sold with that as an option, or maybe the sheath was purchased later.

The first picture I’ve seen in the catalogs for similar kydex sheath is the 98 one, and that’s matched up with the Safe Keeper series – a later version without the blood groove, and with a slightly longer standoff between the back of the blade and the handle.

While I was looking over the catalogs to ID the sheath, the 98 catalog may be the pinnacle of Cold Steel products. The early 80’s versions are great for the history of them, but the 98 catalog was CS in their prime. Every page has a classic, high quality knife, including the awesome Imperia Tai Pan, which I still need to obtain. And this was before CS started adding way too many knives to their offerings, including a number of them that would look like they’d been designed for Flea Market sales.

Ahh to be able to go back in time and over every single listing from that 98 catalog. Well that and invest 10 grand in the S&P 500 and leave it there.

 

[The Whip]

I bought a few more vintage Cold Steels the past month.

First up is a 7-1/2” Oyabun. You see a number of 9” and 5-1/2” ones, but not too many of the 7-1/2” inch ones. I now have all three sizes, and a 5-1/2” serrated one, but it’s Taiwan made, so I’m still on the hunt for a vintage Japan version.

Another pickup was a vintage Terminator, AKA Defender I as they were called in the 95 catalog. It was listed for 150 bucks Buy Now on eBay, which is a smoking deal for these older ones. I don’t think the seller really knew what it was as it wasn’t listed as a Terminator or even Defender, and the price was low.

While I already have a Terminator that I bought myself out of my whopping E-3 salary in 1990, that one has a leather sheath, and this one has the kydex version. I’m not sure how it got matched up with that sheath – maybe some were sold with that as an option, or maybe the sheath was purchased later.

The first picture I’ve seen in the catalogs for similar kydex sheath is the 98 one, and that’s matched up with the Safe Keeper series – a later version without the blood groove, and with a slightly longer standoff between the back of the blade and the handle.

While I was looking over the catalogs to ID the sheath, the 98 catalog may be the pinnacle of Cold Steel products. The early 80’s versions are great for the history of them, but the 98 catalog was CS in their prime. Every page has a classic, high quality knife, including the awesome Imperia Tai Pan, which I still need to obtain. And this was before CS started adding way too many knives to their offerings, including a number of them that would look like they’d been designed for Flea Market sales.

Ahh to be able to go back in time and over every single listing from that 98 catalog. Well that and invest 10 grand in the S&P 500 and leave it there.View attachment 2835156View attachment 2835157

1 1stID , if you get a chance, would you please share a photo of the other side of your Terminator/Defender 1 Kydex sheath? I'm curious what the clip is like.

Congratulations on your new purchases! And thanks for sharing the pictures with us. It's always great seeing more images of the classics!


-Steve

 

[1stID]

Here are some pictures of the sheath for the Terminator. Everything is brand new looking about the knife except there are no visible markings on it. You sometimes see the Cold Steel / Made in Japan markings dim, but I've not seen one till this one where there's nothing visible. If I was crooked I'd try to sell it as a super secret squirrel version for high speed Ninja special recon forces, or something.

The sheath is nice. I do wonder the history of it all, as the first Kydex sheath offered in the catalogs for a push dagger was the later Safe Maker, not the Terminator / Defender series. But CS also sold stuff that wasn't in their yearly catalogs, as evident by the Outdoorsman I bought that came with the Kydex sheath for a tanto.

 

[1stID]

Couple of new ones. A few Twistmasters. The drop point is the large, and the clip point is a medium. I always thought these were great knives. A bit slow to open and lock, but very solid once locked open, and a bargin. The large is so solid you could just leave it open and use it as a fixed blade knife. The Twistmasters always had a super sharp edge on them.

 

[1stID]

This SafeMaker is a Taiwan version, so not vintage, but it was on eBay for less than 30 bucks, so I bought it. Nasty looking knife.

 

[1stID]

Finally, a true classic, the Master Tanto in brass. These were the 80's and early 90's versions, and are sort of hard to find. I got a good deal on this one, but the knife is dull. I should have figured that from the scratches on the blade, so unlike 99% of these, it was actually used, though not to run through a car door or a 55 gallon drum, as there's no damage.

I have a good knife sharpening set that goes up to 2000 grit, so I'll put a sharp edge on it. Does anyone know the grind angle that the 80's Tantos came with from the factory? I'd like to avoid using too low an angle and having to reprofile the edge.

 

[jlauffer]

Here are some pictures of the sheath for the Terminator. Everything is brand new looking about the knife except there are no visible markings on it. You sometimes see the Cold Steel / Made in Japan markings dim, but I've not seen one till this one where there's nothing visible. If I was crooked I'd try to sell it as a super secret squirrel version for high speed Ninja special recon forces, or something.

The sheath is nice. I do wonder the history of it all, as the first Kydex sheath offered in the catalogs for a push dagger was the later Safe Maker, not the Terminator / Defender series. But CS also sold stuff that wasn't in their yearly catalogs, as evident by the Outdoorsman I bought that came with the Kydex sheath for a tanto.

View attachment 2860125View attachment 2860126View attachment 2860127

Interesting, all that I have seen have been marked (on the blade) Made in Japan on the side that has the CS logo. Which always seemed odd since the other side of the handle also says Made in Japan, so not sure why it needed it twice. I actually wonder if the sheath is from a Safe Keeper II.

 

[The Whip]

Interesting, all that I have seen have been marked (on the blade) Made in Japan on the side that has the CS logo. Which always seemed odd since the other side of the handle also says Made in Japan, so not sure why it needed it twice.

I have a Terminator/Defender that has an unmarked blade. It's in good shape and there's no evidence of any printing ever having been applied or rubbed off. The handle markings are the same as those on other Terminators. I don't know if one model is older than another, they're from different manufacturers, or what might account for the difference.

I actually wonder if the sheath is from a Safe Keeper II.

I think you're right. The construction looks identical to the SafeKeeper I Kydex sheaths that you included in post #2 in your History of Cold Steel Push-knives thread.

-Steve