new cold steel 2022 products

Damn it! Cold steel was heading in the right direction putting out demko designs at affordable prices. Those videos of lynn talking up gsm have the look of a man who knows his company is gonna be destroyed but he made out like a bandit.
 
Kiteman72 said:
I have the latest XL Espada in S35VN (Sold Steel logo) and it seems to be top notch to me. Rock solid lockup and whatnot. Razor sharp and all that.

Darn thing's so nice I usually save it for church.
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I was really hoping for this to be the case, I so badly wanted a Navaja-style knife and got the chance for the pretty one at a great deal! Am so paranoid about it's steel, I watch it and clean it as though it'll rust before my eyes, haha. I just need to trust that it will be okay, and if I can carry around a carbon steel Douk-Douk or Opinel and have it be all good, my S35VN isn't going to just crumble like a sandcastle. I think part of it is that this satin finish collects fingerprints and stuff like that like no tomorrow, and then you wipe it with a microfiber cloth like "Oh, all good".

Is the change in quality going to be directly connected to a change in production to China, do you think? I wouldn't imagine that the same folks, same tooling, same factory, same materials would just get...worse. It'd be a steel change and country change.
 
I’ll get a Drifter to try out the new lock. I don’t love the design, but I do love S35vn and I enjoy the shark lock. If this is similar it might be a good knife.
 
I actually like pretty much all of these honestly. The Lynn Thompson signature Spartan in D2? Hell yes, that’s pure sex. The Drifter in s35vn stands out as well. I will at least get the Lynn T. Spartan. The cheaper version of the AD-10 is a smart move as well, as it is a very popular (albeit expensive) knife.

Compared to all the other brands, GSM didn’t do all that bad. Seriously. I can’t find a single one I don’t like.

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It depends on what the company wants. The Chinese and Taiwanese factories will make whatever they want if they are willing to pay for it. If the company wants to cheap out they will cut as many corners as needed.

Their marketing strategy concerns me. They may changing to a different business model. The use of words like "Blood Grooves" in their specs makes me wonder what kind of people are they looking to sell to.
 
Hashishiin said:
I was really hoping for this to be the case, I so badly wanted a Navaja-style knife and got the chance for the pretty one at a great deal! Am so paranoid about it's steel, I watch it and clean it as though it'll rust before my eyes, haha. I just need to trust that it will be okay, and if I can carry around a carbon steel Douk-Douk or Opinel and have it be all good, my S35VN isn't going to just crumble like a sandcastle. I think part of it is that this satin finish collects fingerprints and stuff like that like no tomorrow, and then you wipe it with a microfiber cloth like "Oh, all good".

Is the change in quality going to be directly connected to a change in production to China, do you think? I wouldn't imagine that the same folks, same tooling, same factory, same materials would just get...worse. It'd be a steel change and country change.
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Ultimately, Sold Steel's downfall will come as a result of the loss of Lynn Thompson. Or they may very well limp along as we see them now for a number of years yet.

I like the look of the Drifter...I'll continue to buy the ones I like. The new 3V Recon Scout is tempting, but damn, the price is really up there.
 
Kiteman72 said:
Ultimately, Sold Steel's downfall will come as a result of the loss of Lynn Thompson. Or they may very well limp along as we see them now for a number of years yet.

I like the look of the Drifter...I'll continue to buy the ones I like. The new 3V Recon Scout is tempting, but damn, the price is really up there.
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Steve Jobs has been dead for over 10 years, but Apple is doing just fine.
 
The use of the term "blood grooves" to me, means that they are assuming that their customer base is so stupid, they don't know what a fuller is, and falsely subscribe to the idea that those fullers are to suck blood, or whatever. You see every fuller on BUDK listed as a "blood groove". It shows fundamental disrespect to the customer by insulting their intelligence.
 
I agree, using the term blood groove was either an intentional decision to attract teenage boys/gas station knife buyers or the fool who approved that word was actually clueless and doesn't know what it is called. Both bad.

It tips their hand at who they are catering to and that market does not know their ass from a hole in the ground, so they can skimp on quality. Just my 2 cents.

No to mention the grammatical and numerical errors are ridiculous. Not a good sign.
 
shinyedges said:
I agree, using the term blood groove was either an intentional decision to attract teenage boys/gas station knife buyers or the fool who approved that word was actually clueless and doesn't know what it is called. Both bad.

It tips their hand at who they are catering to and that market does not no their ass from a hole in the ground, so they can skimp on quality. Just my 2 cents.

No to mention the grammatical and numerical errors are ridiculous. Not a good sign.
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No such thing as “bad publicity”. You’re talking about their new knives.. I noticed, looked at them, and now I’ll be buying some of them.
 
Paratrooper06 said:
No such thing as “bad publicity”. You’re talking about their new knives.. I noticed, looked at them, and now I’ll be buying some of them.
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I'd wager more gas station pocket knives are sold than any other knives. It may well be that this is more profitable for them with all the uneducated buyers they will pick up, at the expense of the more educated buyers who make up a much smaller percentage.
 
shinyedges said:
I'd wager more gas station pocket knives are sold than any other knives. It may well be that this is more profitable for them with all the uneducated buyers they will pick up, at the expense of the more educated buyers who make up a much smaller percentage.
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It’s bold to assume everyone (or most people) that buys a cold steel knife is “uneducated”. CS has made promotional videos hacking pig carcasses and skulls to pieces to rock music, and “blood groove” is what makes people squeamish? Sorry, but that’s a little dramatic.
 
Paratrooper06 said:
It’s bold to assume everyone (or most people) that buys a cold steel knife is “uneducated”. CS has made promotional videos hacking pig carcasses and skulls to pieces to rock music, and “blood groove” is what makes people squeamish? Sorry, but that’s a little dramatic.
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For the people who hang on bladeforums, the mall ninja act has never been appealing. Their quality was good for the money on a lot of knives which kept guys here buying. Then teaming with demko pushed them even further into a better light here with guys who prefer quality.

The regressing to inaccurate descriptions of features and a boat load of errors in their new listings does not bode well and signals that the changes coming from the gsm ownership are not good for the more educated buyers here. If they were trying to appeal to the market that exists here, it was a swing and a miss while facing the opposite way the ball is being thrown.

I do not think it is "bold" to wager that most cold steel buyers are largely regular guys who don't frequent bladeforums and are not knowledgeable knife people. At all.
 
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shinyedges said:
For the people who hang on bladeforums, the mall ninja act has never been appealing. Their quality was good for the money on a lot of knives which kept guys here buying. Then teaming with demko pushed them even further into a better light here with guys who prefer quality.

The regressing to inaccurate descriptions of features and a boat load of errors in their new listings does not boad well and signals that the changes coming from the gsm ownership are not good for the more educated buyers here. If they were trying to appeal to the market that exists here, it was a swing and a miss while facing the opposite way the ball is being thrown.

I do not think it is "bold" to wager that most cold steel buyers are largely regular guys who don't frequent bladeforums and are not knowledgeable knife people. At all.
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I’m not going to further derail this thread but you’re waaaaay off the mark with your comments about the CS owner base. There isn’t anything “unknowledgeable” about buying their knives. They are durable, strong, and appealing in a ridiculous novelty way. It’s a little early to be making claims about GSM tanking the brand. It hasn’t been long enough to make the judgement call.
 
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