New Cold Steel traditional line

[screened porch]

Too bad for us, but I can't blame a guy for wanting to retire.

 

[hornetguy]

You might want to read up on how things are ACTUALLY going after the sale to GSM...Cold Steel is circling the drain.

After seeing the pic of the trapper at DLT, I've lost interest entirely. I've had several CS knives over the years, and have generally liked them a lot.
Sad to see another company going this way.... apparently the article I read was all fluff.....

 

[JohnDF]

I've owned exactly ONE Cold Steel knife.
First week, I dropped it on the floor and the lock stopped working.
Holy Moly, I thought they were known for having the "strongest lock ever"... Never bought another one.

 

[jeffsenpai]

I picked up the blue bone trapper from an online retailer and it arrived today. One thing to note is that these seem to be destined for big box retail, as the knife came packaged in a hanging card/clamshell. Overall, my first impressions are positive.
The blade and bolsters are highly polished, mirror-like. the transitions between the bone and bolsters are fairly smooth, no major gapping. One of the transitions is slightly proud, probably unnoticeable to the average person, you can just notice it by running a fingernail over the covers.
The backspring is flush in the open and closed position. There is no half stop, just a long smooth pull. The pull is easy. Not a nail breaker here, about in line with my Kissing Crane, and Weed & Co. trappers.
The only markings on the knife are on the clip point blade. The spey blade is completely sterile.
The insides of the handle are clean.
Both blades are sharp, as expected.
For a sub $30 knife, not a bad entry at all.
I, for one, would like to see a Cold Steel shield, I think that could be nicely done.

 

[Ernie1980]

For $30 that knife seems decent, hopefully that is a good sign for the quality of this new line. My taste goes in. Different direction but more players in our game is a good thing.

 

[knarfeng]

Isn't 8CR13MoV the 420HC "equivalent"? (or perhaps the 440B "equivalent"?)
Supposedly 7CR17MoV is the 440A "equivalent" and 9CR18MoV the 440C "equivalent".
Better than the 5CR15MoV they replaced the German 1.4116 KRUPP with on the Kudu and Kudu Light (and possibly other affordable line knives?) just before the sale, at any rate.

From my understanding 8cr13mov is close to aus8, maybe not quite as much chromium so probably a little less corrosion resistant. It is not a bad steel, but a good heat treat is key

8Cr13MoV is a fair match to AUS 8. Close enough that they could likely use the same heat treat protocol and for field use you would never know the difference. Cold steel always did a very nice job with AUS 8. (Much better than what Ontario does with its AUS 8 knives.) I have CS knives in a number of alloys, including one in 8Cr14MoV. All of them have performed well.

Years ago Cold Steel had quite a lineup of traditional pocket knives in Carbon V manufactured by Camillus. Those were decently done, also. I have one of the stockman knives. So they do have some history with traditional pocket knives. Those were good solid users, but not fancy collector pieces. I would expect these to be the same level.

 

[JohnDF]

Looks pretty nice to me.

 

[MplsAtty]

Thanks for posting this question. I was just looking through the current KnifeCenter Cold Steel sale & saw the parallels with the Cold Steel traditional line & Rough Ryders. The hatched nail nicks & the pinched bolsters suddenly stuck out like a sore thumb. I'll write to Cold Steel to inquire, & I'll add an update if I hear back...