New ColdSteel owner!

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William Rust

Joined
Jul 24, 2020
Messages
33
I have sort of a strange story of finally getting a ColdSteel knife. I looked at many and couldn't quite pull the trigger. I even put one in my shopping cart (more than once) just to delete it and wait for another day. I did become fairly obsessed with the Demko 20.5, especially when it became available in some better steels (I got the 3V with grivory scales and promptly replaced them with very black micarta). Recently, I got an Engage in S35VN. While I like it as an EDC, it is surprisingly small - and even though I like the lock, it's not what I imagined a classic CS experience would be...

Yesterday, I got something beefy, and with good quality and heft. It has very satisfying sounds when deploying and closing the blade. It is sharp as heck it's really starting to grow on me - an AD10.

rzqQrUy.jpeg
 
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I have an AD 10, And i like it, I'm trying to find a decent belt pouch that it will fit, the only thing I've found that it will go into is one of the nylon double stack magazine pouches.
 
Fred1950 said:
I have an AD 10, And i like it, I'm trying to find a decent belt pouch that it will fit, the only thing I've found that it will go into is one of the nylon double stack magazine pouches.
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I’ve had a very nice custom leather sheath made for my AD10. There is a guy on Ebay from Poland that makes all kinds of leather sheaths for many of the Cold Steel folders. Search around on Ebay.

The AD10 is a very refined yet beefy folder. I’d put it right up there with any Spyderco I have in terms of build quality but it can handle more abuse than most any pocket knife. Good choice for your first Cold Steel.

If you want to step down in size, consider the AD15 or the Ultimate Hunter. If you want to step up in size, go for the 4Max. Or get them all, the classic Cold Steel folders are all good
 
rlewpolar said:
I’ve had a very nice custom leather sheath made for my AD10. There is a guy on Ebay from Poland that makes all kinds of leather sheaths for many of the Cold Steel folders. Search around on Ebay.

The AD10 is a very refined yet beefy folder. I’d put it right up there with any Spyderco I have in terms of build quality but it can handle more abuse than most any pocket knife. Good choice for your first Cold Steel
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Actually my second, the Engage was my first. BTW, how do I post an image? Also, is the Polish guy Nikolov Leather? He does AMAZING stuff!
 
William Rust said:
Actually my second, the Engage was my first. BTW, how do I post an image?
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I use Imgur. Take a photo of the knife and save it on your phone . Open Imgur and add the photo using the “+” icon. After the photo appears in the Imgur library, select the photo and hit the Upload button. Once it uploads (could take up to minute), it will indicate that a post has been created. Hit the share button which will allow you to copy a link. Go into Bladeforums and paste the link. A picture will then appear when you save your post in Bladeforums
 
rlewpolar said:
I use Imgur. Take a photo of the knife and save it on your phone . Open Imgur and add the photo using the “+” icon. After the photo appears in the Imgur library, select the photo and hit the Upload button. Once it uploads (could take up to minute), it will indicate that a post has been created. Hit the share button which will allow you to copy a link. Go into Bladeforums and paste the link. A picture will then appear when you save your post in Bladeforums
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OK - I had to open to image to large size, and copy the link address before the forum would accept the link.
 
My CS Engage 3 and my Demko 20.5 in 3V steel w/ black on black micarta scales (just one knife - I used a bit of trickery to see both sides :-) ) :

SwhWIul.jpg


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jlauffer said:
Which lock do you like better in terms of operation, ergos, etc?
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The Demko 20.5 has a great combo of ergos, looks, and lock strength. Once you get used to it, it is quite addictive. The jury is still out on the Triad Lock. I do really like the knife, just something amazing about how solid the lockup is. For me, it's not really an EDC knife, but it doesn't pretend to be either. The ergos are pretty good on the AD10, and the action is pretty dang good. :cool:
 
William Rust said:
The Demko 20.5 has a great combo of ergos, looks, and lock strength. Once you get used to it, it is quite addictive. The jury is still out on the Triad Lock. I do really like the knife, just something amazing about how solid the lockup is. For me, it's not really an EDC knife, but it doesn't pretend to be either.
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Was referring to the Demko (shark) vs the Engage (atlas). They are similar locks, but not identical, so was curious about your thoughts. I have a couple Demkos, and plenty of TriAds, but no experience with the Atlas lock yet.
 
jlauffer said:
Was referring to the Demko (shark) vs the Engage (atlas). They are similar locks, but not identical, so was curious about your thoughts. I have a couple Demkos, and plenty of TriAds, but no experience with the Atlas lock yet.
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OK. The Engage is very light, and somewhat small (I have the 3.0 in S35VN). The action is very good once you learn the ins and outs of the Atlas lock. I don't think it is better than the Shark lock, but the SL has that thing where the spring activator can get out of its track - no biggie, you can get used to how it works and avoid it. And if it does jump the track (so to speak) it is very easy to put right. It's a bit like WE Knives' Super Lock in that regard. I must say that I absolutely LOVE the 20.5, but it is also over twice the cost in it's current configuration, so there you have it.
 
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William Rust said:
The Demko 20.5 has a great combo of ergos, looks, and lock strength. Once you get used to it, it is quite addictive. The jury is still out on the Triad Lock. I do really like the knife, just something amazing about how solid the lockup is. For me, it's not really an EDC knife, but it doesn't pretend to be either. The ergos are pretty good on the AD10, and the action is pretty dang good. :cool:
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The jury should not be out on the Triad lock. It is probably the strongest lock on the market and what put Cold Steel folders on the map. Andrew Demko is a genius for coming up with it. Some people complain about lock stick and some complain about it being difficult to disengage on some models but every single Triad lock I’ve had has been perfect. If I needed a folder to act like a fixed blade in a pinch, I’d trust my fingers to a Triad lock
 
The jury is only out for me. I just got it yesterday and it isn't even broken in yet. I did put some KPL on and I've been using it quite a bit. I even got the Spydie flick working on it. :cool:
 
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