New Cooper Cutlery knives?

I agree with GPO MAN GPO MAN I am very impressed. Very smooth pull and action, nice half stop, good snap. The ebony looks and feels great and the fitment of everything seems very nice to me. No gaps at all and good flushness of the spring. The blade is perfectly centered as well.

Most notable to me based on what I’ve seen of Cooper’s earlier efforts - the grind and edge bevels seem very uniform.

I’d say this is comparable to GEC in almost every way. Pull is about a 5 and it’s roughly the size of a #15 pattern. Price wise, after handling this I feel I got at least my moneys worth if not more. They’re also in stock if you poke around (I am careful not to violate the guidelines here but it’s worth mentioning.)











 
I picked mine up in March, and I really do like the knife, but it did have a slightly wavy grind and bevel on the blade. It isn’t bad enough that it bothers me immensely, but I do agree with a few of the other comments that right now at least, these are a bit over what I would like to pay for them.
I am a weird one though, and D2 is a plus for me over 1095, and I tend to keep my blades clean from patina by preference, and I like how D2 takes an edge for something that still holds decently against corrosion.

The coloring on the bone is very satisfying for me too!
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Compared to my GEC 86 blade, the grind is thicker and less consistent, but it’s still better than a lot of other traditional blades I have seen lately. Both of these are set at 18 degrees each side.
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Charr said:
I picked mine up in March, and I really do like the knife, but it did have a slightly wavy grind and bevel on the blade. It isn’t bad enough that it bothers me immensely, but I do agree with a few of the other comments that right now at least, these are a bit over what I would like to pay for them.
I am a weird one though, and D2 is a plus for me over 1095, and I tend to keep my blades clean from patina by preference, and I like how D2 takes an edge for something that still holds decently against corrosion.

The coloring on the bone is very satisfying for me too!
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View attachment 2572002

Compared to my GEC 86 blade, the grind is thicker and less consistent, but it’s still better than a lot of other traditional blades I have seen lately. Both of these are set at 18 degrees each side.
View attachment 2572004
Click to expand...
I see what you mean about the edge bevel. Perhaps they have tightened up in that department because mine seems much cleaner. I also don’t mind the D2 at all. I’m fairly used to it from the modern tactical folder world and I like the steel.
 
Charr said:
I picked mine up in March, and I really do like the knife, but it did have a slightly wavy grind and bevel on the blade. It isn’t bad enough that it bothers me immensely, but I do agree with a few of the other comments that right now at least, these are a bit over what I would like to pay for them.
I am a weird one though, and D2 is a plus for me over 1095, and I tend to keep my blades clean from patina by preference, and I like how D2 takes an edge for something that still holds decently against corrosion.

The coloring on the bone is very satisfying for me too!
View attachment 2572003

View attachment 2572002

Compared to my GEC 86 blade, the grind is thicker and less consistent, but it’s still better than a lot of other traditional blades I have seen lately. Both of these are set at 18 degrees each side.
View attachment 2572004
Click to expand...
I had a couple from March also. They seemed to have improved on this latest May batch, although they’ve gone up in price. Could be because of the mammoth shields.
 
MarbReds said:
I see what you mean about the edge bevel. Perhaps they have tightened up in that department because mine seems much cleaner. I also don’t mind the D2 at all. I’m fairly used to it from the modern tactical folder world and I like the steel.
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GPO MAN said:
I had a couple from March also. They seemed to have improved on this latest May batch, although they’ve gone up in price. Could be because of the mammoth shields.
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It is good to hear that they might have improved those edge bevels. And I do hope the price increase was to do with the material choices and not a larger trend that will keep going.

I’m happy to support more traditional knives being made in the US, and “made well” costs more than it used to. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck when the things you want to buy go up in price 😂

I have really missed the times when we had GECs on the market and relatively easily attainable, even in 440C (my favorite), and we had Queen and Canal Street knives that were US made and also on the market and easily accessible. If I knew how hard it would be today to get some of those knives, I never would have sold them!

All of that to say that I really like what CC is doing, and want them to do well. If we are seeing quality improvements from one run to another like it seems, then we might have another real option. But it also means yet another brand that gets snatched up in seconds 😅
 
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GPO MAN said:
I had a couple from March also. They seemed to have improved on this latest May batch, although they’ve gone up in price. Could be because of the mammoth shields.
Click to expand...

Charr said:
It is good to hear that they might have improved those edge bevels. And I do hope the price increase was to do with the material choices and not a larger trend that will keep going.

I’m happy to support more traditional knives being made in the US, and “made well” costs more than it used to. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck when the things you want to buy go up in price 😂

I have really missed the times when we had GECs on the market and relatively easily attainable, even in 440C (my favorite), and we had Queen and Canal Street knives that were US made and also on the market and easily accessible. If I knew how hard it would be today to get some of those knives, I never would have sold them!

All of that to say that I really like what CC is doing, and want them to do well. If we are seeing quality improvements from one run to another like it seems, then we might have another real option. But it also means yet another brand that gets snatched up in seconds 😅
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It also seems to me that different dealers are varying their prices by up to $30. Not dissimilar from what we see with GEC releases, but it feels hard to get a gauge on whether it's Cooper or the distributors.
 
I have a few Cooper knives and I'm very impressed considering their beginnings..... AFAIK, none of the ~ 4 workers had prior cutlery experience... That and refurbishing well worn equipment into being suitable for knife making had to be very challenging...... It will be nice to see their growth and presence in the knife community....
 
The latest release from Cooper is very nice.

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From their website. A list of their brands that they will be using or have rights to:​

USA Made Knife Brands​

Our list of brands continues to grow as we grow. With these trademarks you will find limited runs in traditional patterns and traditional materials with certain runs being exotic materials as well.

Battle Axe Brand
Schatt & Morgan
Big Chief
Dollar Knife Company
Weed & Co.
Gowanda Cutlery
Clyde Cutlery
New York Knife Co
Cooper Cutlery
Foster Bros
File & Wire
Beavers Falls Cutlery
 
Well, lightning almost struck twice. Got my RJB today and noticed some inconsistent dye application on the bone, so it’s going back. I’m going to exchange it though because otherwise the knife was perfect. Firmer pull than the ebony as well which hopefully makes others happy.

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