New for 2015

Boy, some people are never happy... :rolleyes:

Cold Steel has listened to their customers and given us an upgraded product. What's not to like? So they will be more expensive. The choice is yours not to buy them. There are plenty of cheaper knives out there, knock yourself out! I think CS has made totally the right move by upgrading their steels and switching to US-made steels in many cases. This will do wonders for their brand IMO. People clearly want better materials and in most cases are quite happy to pay for them.

Larry Turko said:
So Cold Steel regurgitated their whole line-up of old model folders, in more expensive steel, and actually managed to add a small handful of new folders to boot [also in more expensive steel of course] In any case I only like the Tiger and the Black Talon out of the very limited new offerings and in past years I would have bought both. With the significant increase in prices ,with absolutely no increase in utility as far as I'm concerned, this year it may have to be a case of either,or.
To be honest, a large part of CS's appeal for me was always their non-knife products. I like the Viking hand-axe and Chinese trident in the new line-up. As Cold Steel has chosen to throw away their advantage as the knife company with quality knives at affordable prices, it's probably this part of their catalog that will be of most interest to me in the future.
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Both an upgraded lawman and an upgraded holdout?

Which to get? I can't choose.

I already own both of these in Aus 8 so maybe I should try something else like the code 4?

My wallet can't handle this...
 
Buffalohump said:
Boy, some people are never happy... :rolleyes:

Cold Steel has listened to their customers and given us an upgraded product. What's not to like? So they will be more expensive. The choice is yours not to buy them. There are plenty of cheaper knives out there, knock yourself out! I think CS has made totally the right move by upgrading their steels and switching to US-made steels in many cases. This will do wonders for their brand IMO. People clearly want better materials and in most cases are quite happy to pay for them.
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My thoughts exactly. That poster has registered his discontent with this decision at least a couple of different times over the past week. Here's how I see Cold Steel's decision. Cold Steel, to me, has always been a company that truly excelled at design and execution. They weren't always on the cutting edge in materials (esp. steel) like Spyderco and Benchmade have tried to be, but their fit and finish and design were far outstripping most of the other knife companies on the market, especially with the Triad lock in their corner. In the past few years, Spyderco and Benchmade have really moved into a higher market than they were in previously, and the result has priced their models out of the budget of many people including people who were once fans of their brands, IMO. I think this has left a gap in the market that Cold Steel is a natural fit to fill. By upgrading their materials (as customers have requested as you point out) and raising their prices by, IMO, a small margin, they are able to fill a niche in the market that was in danger of going under served. They really were the prime candidates to fill this segment of the market given the high quality of construction they've been putting out since I bought my first Large Voyager in 1997.
 
Could you tell us more about the Swift? I usually stay away from assisted opening knives because the springs always break on me. Does the Swift use a spring that could potentially break or is it tough enough that I don't need to worry about that? Also is that a saber grind or a hollow grind?

Also is there any chance of a clip point version of the Swift in the future?
 
kakefat said:
Could you tell us more about the Swift? I usually stay away from assisted opening knives because the springs always break on me. Does the Swift use a spring that could potentially break or is it tough enough that I don't need to worry about that? Also is that a saber grind or a hollow grind?

Also is there any chance of a clip point version of the Swift in the future?
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Coming from Cold Steel, I would expect a spring that is going to outlast the rest of the knife.

But I agree with you on disliking assisted openers for that reason. I used to carry Kershaw knives from time to time, but when I contacted them over a broken torsion bar one time, the customer service rep basically explained to me that torsion bars in their assisted knives could be equated to brake pads on a car. They just need to be replaced from time to time. Unfortunately, while I know she was trying to be helpful, this turned me off to Kershaw assisted knives as I prefer to have a company put more long term thought into design.
 
Any spring will eventually wear out or break. I personally don't see any problems with that. The problem is when a company doesn't support their product when the spring breaks. If it is user serviceable and easy to change then no problem. If the company will send you the parts, no problem. But, if the design is not long lasting, and you have to send it to the manufacturer to replace that part, then you start to have a problem. I don't know how long lasting the Kershaw torsion bars are (I have one had one and didn't keep it long enough to find out), but my understanding is that they are easy to change and Kershaw will send you the part just for asking.

Personally I think its a good move on their (Cold Steel) part (as long as the system is robust). If any type of knife can benefit from an assist, its a lock-back, especially the Tri-ad. Most are pretty stiff and I have had difficulty "flicking" them open very quickly. Each model I have owned has been different as to how smooth they were or how much force it took to deploy.

Now, I guess you could argue the need to open it fast in the first place, but if that is not in question, why not assist it? If it were an axis type lock, then yes, I would argue the point. Those are so easy to open that I see no benefit in assisting them. You also loose the ability to close them easily. That is not the case with the Cold Steel offerings, so I see it only as an advantage.

Lastly, it just an option, only one design has it, its not like they changed the whole line to assisted blades. I would be upset if they only offered them that way, but, thankfully, such is not the case. If you don't like that one model just get a different one. Variety is the spice of life.
 
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jstrange said:
Any spring will eventually wear out or break. I personally don't see any problems with that. The problem is when a company doesn't support their product when the spring breaks. If it is user serviceable and easy to change then no problem. If the company will send you the parts, no problem. But, if the design is not long lasting, and you have to send it to the manufacturer to replace that part, then you start to have a problem. I don't know how long lasting the Kershaw torsion bars are (I have one had one and didn't keep it long enough to find out), but my understanding is that they are easy to change and Kershaw will send you the part just for asking.

Personally I think its a good move on their (Cold Steel) part (as long as the system is robust). If any type of knife can benefit from an assist, its a lock-back, especially the Tri-ad. Most are pretty stiff and I have had difficulty "flicking" them open very quickly. Each model I have owned has been different as to how smooth they were or how much force it took to deploy.

Now, I guess you could argue the need to open it fast in the first place, but if that is not in question, why not assist it? If it were an axis type lock, then yes, I would argue the point. Those are so easy to open that I see no benefit in assisting them. You also loose the ability to close them easily. That is not the case with the Cold Steel offerings, so I see it only as an advantage.

Lastly, it just an option, only one design has it, its not like they changed the whole line to assisted blades. I would be upset if they only offered them that way, but, thankfully, such is not the case. If you don't like that one model just get a different one. Variety is the spice of life.
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I actually find that their knives are easy to flick open. The extra tension from the lock really makes them fly open. For me I just really like the smooth g10 handles on the swift. I'm not a huge fan of the blade but maybe its better in person. And who knows, maybe the assist is nice to have.
 
It may have more to do with my finger length or practice with them than anything else, but most of the Cold Steel knives I have had have been smooth, just harder to open by design than say a button lock or axis style lock. I just gave up on trying to flick them open, because I didn't like fighting the spring and if I didn't get it, it comes back at you pretty quick.

Simply thumbing it open leads to no complaints on my part, and hey, that is what they are designed to do. Just not quite as fun to play with as some other designs, at least for me. That's why I look forward to the assisted model. Should be easier to open fast. For those that don't have problems doing so, it is probably less exciting.


Enough of me derailing this thread. 2015 looks like a good year to be a knife fan.
 
Larry Turko said:
With the significant increase in prices
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MSRP on Ti Lite 4'' currently:$130
MSRP on the new XHP Ti Lite 4'':$140.

Rajah 2 current MSRP:$170
Rajah 2 upgraded MSRP:$185

current Counter Point XL MSRP:$125
XHP Counter Point XL MSRP:$140

Spartan current MSRP:$115
BD-1 Spartan MSRP:$125

Is that really a significant jump?
 
Question for Cold Steel:

When you say the new AK-47, Lawman, and Hold Out are "thinner, lighter", does that mean they will use thinner G-10 on the new versions? I know I'll end up getting them all, but I like the handles on the current ones just fine. Don't see how you could make the Hold Out any thinner.
 
Kyle K said:
Question for Cold Steel:

When you say the new AK-47, Lawman, and Hold Out are "thinner, lighter", does that mean they will use thinner G-10 on the new versions? I know I'll end up getting them all, but I like the handles on the current ones just fine. Don't see how you could make the Hold Out any thinner.
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It's a thinner G10. The Hold Out is like a whole new knife, especially the smallest model
I love it!
 
The Hold Out was already incredibly thin. Now it's even thinner? That's very impressive, especially when considering that the Hold Out 1 was already one of the easiest carrying "mega folders" around.
 
Question for Cold Steel:

Will there be any way to tell the newer models from the older aus-8 models?
 
RAGS said:
Question for Cold Steel:
Will there be any way to tell the newer models from the older aus-8 models?
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I believe each of the knives will be etched with steel type as well as model name and country of manufacture.
A very small advance shipment (limited run) went out without blade markings - just with the steel type printed on the packaging - but all large production runs will have that etch showing steel

Thanks
 
Newly uploaded - some cool stuff for the Martial Arts weaponry guys!

Three interesting new design collaborations with Mr Steven Seagal.

A historical Japanese Helmet Breaker
Helmet_Breaker.jpg

A new Sword Breaker
Sword_Breaker.jpg

...and an awesome walking stick/ bokken hybrid called the Ten Shin
Ten_Shin.jpg
 
For me, the Holdout is the most interesting. I have one in Aus8 and really enjoy using for food prep. I really like the idea of improved steel. I was really hoping it would be upgraded and have been following this thread just for that!

When would we expect to see the new Holdout XL on shelves (Q1,Q2,Q3,Q4?)? Are they just prototypes, or have they started production?

Also really intrigued by the swift.
 
SharpCdn said:
For me, the Holdout is the most interesting. I have one in Aus8 and really enjoy using for food prep. I really like the idea of improved steel. I was really hoping it would be upgraded and have been following this thread just for that!
When would we expect to see the new Holdout XL on shelves (Q1,Q2,Q3,Q4?)? Are they just prototypes, or have they started production?=
Also really intrigued by the swift.
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According to my notes, the Hold Outs are hopefully going to be released around May / June
I'll update here when I know more
 
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