Opinions on Cold Steel

I like them. I only own 2, an Ultimate Hunter and a fixed blade which name escapes me, but they are both nice for what they are. The UH is a really good knife IMO and rivals a lot of the forum favs in fit and finish, lock up, blade steel and usability. I will buy more from the brand
 
dogstar said:
If the epoxy ever comes loose, you can try to friction fit the head. They eye is tapered so the handle is pressed on with every strike. Throw away the set screw and use a rasp to remove the high spots on the handle. Also remove any burrs inside the eye. To be honest I think they make the handle with extra wood so you can custom fit every head.
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Thanx, I tried to fit it first, didn't work out. That said I probably could have done a better job on it. I might buy a replacement handle in the future and try again.

The set screw got tossed from the getgo, that's just really bad design.
 
the American Lawman is one of the best pocket knives ever made IMO. especially the older hollow ground models.

Tuff Lite, one of the best work knives.
Pocket Bushman is just awesome :)
Peace Maker is a tactical Mora.

Spetznas shovel works great as a shovel, axe and weapon.

i love CS "units", had all kinds of expensive folders and fixed blades but sold most of them and came back to CS...
 
353 said:
Thanx, I tried to fit it first, didn't work out. That said I probably could have done a better job on it. I might buy a replacement handle in the future and try again.

The set screw got tossed from the getgo, that's just really bad design.
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Same experience for me. On my Frontier Hawk, I first used sandpaper, and it still came loose fairly regularly. The rasp made much more progress and a better fit. I get to try it out this weekend!
 
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CS is a great fit for a lot of people especially those that are very hard on their folding knives and want them to last through the abuse. Recently acquired by GSM does, unfortunately, not bode well given what that company has done with their past acquisitions. If what you are looking for is a strong folder they will do fine in that role. Personally, if I had a history of beating on folders I'd just go for a smaller fixed blade and stop obsessing over spreedsheets full of lock strength performances.
 
GAGL said:
the American Lawman is one of the best pocket knives ever made IMO. especially the older hollow ground models.

Tuff Lite, one of the best work knives.
Pocket Bushman is just awesome :)
Peace Maker is a tactical Mora.

Spetznas shovel works great as a shovel, axe and weapon.

i love CS "units", had all kinds of expensive folders and fixed blades but sold most of them and came back to CS...
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Oh wait I have a Tuff Lite too, it’s my open boxes and mail knife and it’s awesome!!!
 
I like CS. I think they make a great knife for the money. The Ultimate Hunter and Recon 1 are two of my top 5 knives that I carry (Endura, Endela, Rat 1 D2 are the others btw). The SRK in SK5 is a great budget fixed blade. The Tuff LIte is a great affordable workhouse. CS does have some great knives in their lineup at a reasonable price.

I don't know what GSM will do as owners. That concerns me a little. But that goes for any company that gets bought out. You never know what direction they will go.

As for Lynn and Demko leaving. I'm more concerned about Demko leaving. Talented knife maker. Lynn in sweatpants stabbing and slashing stuff with rock music blaring is/was worth a good chuckle tho.

I never got into the axes, swords, or other parts of the lineup.

If I have too, I can always stock up on my favorite CS knives and say, "Yep, they were a good company ..."
 
shane45-1911 said:
I have always been wishy-washy regarding Cold Steel.

I have a couple knives I really like. I sold many more I didn't like.
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Same here, I’ve bought some of their knives over the years, but they always end up being passed on to my friends who love beefy blades. The only one I regretted letting go was my XL Vaquero, so I did rebuy it shortly after the sale was announced. Not overly practical for carry, but I guess I want to have one large folder in my modest collection. My oldest daughter loves the damn thing for making salads lol, she refers to it as “the lettuce slayer”. 😂
 
I've tried a half dozen CS products over the years, and there is always some detail about them that keeps me from talking myself into handing over money, or talks me out of keeping them. They hoot and holler about their locking mechanism, then build completely average knives around it. Average steel, average ergonomics, average blade thickness....

I guess what I wanted out of them was some kind of folding splitting maul: 5160 blades at 0.25" spine thickness with convex bevels. The kind of knife that is meant to do the dumb stuff the Triad Lock (marketing) implies you should be able to do.

The few times they do put out something that seems like it lives up to Andrew's lock, the price is hilariously high.

I bought a 4Max Scout from the auction site, because the price was finally right. I enjoy it because I enjoy dumb knives, I like the fact that it crowds the limits of practical everyday carry. It still has an odd kind of nostalgia for me, though. When I look at it, I can't help but imagine the knife that it could be.
 
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Cold Steel was the first knife I bought that cracked $100. It was a Trailmaster in Carbon V. I have always found their products to be well built and capable. I do think that the puffery and "everything needs killin'!" angle cheapens the brand. They are well worth the money, but I think I could buy one of their folders and happily use it on the jobsite for a decade of hard cutting without needing to be proven that it can cut deep "deadly" gashes through pig flesh. Entertaining, sure, but at some point I think we need to be intellectually honest with how and why they are selling it that way. However, obviously it works, so kudos to them for decades and decades of success. I just feel that you are hit over the head with it SO much that it overshadows the stuff that they do really, really well that doesn't NEED to be a weapon if they would just allow the product to sometimes be mundane instead of something that kills the hell out of cardboard terrorists.

Of all their products, what I own the most of is the cool inexpensive Specialty stuff. I probably have 10 hawks and axes, a sword, a dagger, a few others weapons. Great project pieces and nice for "retail therapy" when you want to treat yo'self without breaking the bank. I still want a Greatsword really, really badly.

So while I am obviously critical of CS and don't hold them up on the pedestal that some do, I think they make a fine hard use workin' knife. I think they have offered a niche and affordable line of melee weapons. I think they great gateway drug into better knives, but I still don't think those that stick with them at that pricepoint are short changing themselves. They are solid.

I'm not holding my breath that we will be talking about them much 5 years from now, though. LT is the heart and soul of that crazytrain. Stick Man seems like he took a job but didn't read the fine print before signing his contract. "Hello fellow knife enthusiasts. It is I, Stick Man. You know that I too love knives and all things knives because I carry... a stick (shifts eyes nervously). I too like (looks at sweaty note card) to thrash the things that may be plywood and/or pig carcasses with my anger (makes a wincing half ass mean face) using my many Cold Steel products that I have personally owned for many years... Hey! would you like to see a pretty girl cut things? (vigorously raises his eyebrows and looks off screen so that they will cut away)."
 
dogstar said:
If the epoxy ever comes loose, you can try to friction fit the head. They eye is tapered so the handle is pressed on with every strike. Throw away the set screw and use a rasp to remove the high spots on the handle. Also remove any burrs inside the eye. To be honest I think they make the handle with extra wood so you can custom fit every head.
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This. I don't epoxy them, because I throw my axes. I tend to break handles or split them occasionally with another axe or knife when throwing.

When I throw them, I don't have the set screw removed!! I do shape the inside the head with a file to remove the hard edges and any burrs. Then I fitt the handle to the eye and smack it on with a hammer...hitting the top of the handle.

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I have videos throwing them, but Imgur does not work for linking video, and Photobucket won't link properly any more.
 
I've slowly been won over to the "impressed " side by the quality of the items I've bought from Cold Steel in the last few years.... the Bush Ranger folder, Ultimate Hunter, clip point and spear point Code 4, an older, large clip point AUS8 Voyager, and most recently an AUS10 Pendleton Hunter and a large Voyager, plain edge tanto. EVERY knife has been great value for the money spent, with VERY impressive function. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend any of these to a good friend or family member. However, it's "wait and see" what happens next to the Cold Steel line now that it has been sold off.
 
Oh my goodness...
You sir have asked kind of a difficult question to answer honestly and fair.
I'll try to do the best I know how...
From the beginning;
I learned of Cold Steel as a young boy. Somewhere between 9 & 10 years old. My dad is the one who introduced me. Great guy with good taste in knives.
Cold Steel and Spyderco were his favorite makers. He's still got that old USA made Carbon V SRK.
He helped me order the "Proof" videos from the customer service number. I remember being all excited about getting the dvds I'd been waiting for in the mail from CS. I was 10 or 11 then, and watching Lynn kill dead pigs was soooo cool! Lol.
I was a legit mall ninja as a teen. We lived close enough to the local mall that if I didn't have enough gas money to be cool I could bike or even walk. Since so many of my friends hung out there anyway... I was the mall-rat teenager with a Rajah II for edc before the acronym was even cool.lol

That worked out really well for the most part. There was one time though, oh goodness, I hope I don't regret sharing this story with yall... When I was having a bday party at the local park we had a bunch of friends and family there, and a big pinata... I waved my Rajah open to slice the end off of the Popsicle in my hand and I was slicing towards the end of the popsicle. Then mid slice the popsicle slide in my hand and then...
Well, my finger grew back. I still have a nice scar, courtesy of CS.lol
But that's my own fault, not CSs.

So in short, I've loved Cold Steel since I was kid. As so many of our forum brothers have mentioned, just waiting to see what happens to them now that Lynn and Demko are gone. I have high hopes, just because it's CS*(sorta), but I won't be buying any stock in the near future. We'll just wait and see how it turns out and hope for the best.

*Losing Lynn Thompson and Andrew Demko and calling it Cold Steel feels about as right as right as calling a pink princess powerwheels a muscle car.
 
You can’t go wrong with the less expensive line of CS models — Voyager ( my personal favorite, Tanto of courose), Code 4, Lawman and the smaller knives from the Pro series.
‘Triad locks are concrete strong, never had any issues and I used my CS extensively.
Lately my personal favorite - Goldeneye. Great job on the HT of the steel, great ergos, flat and easy to carry, solid knife.
 
My best description of Cold Steel knives is "crude but effective."

I previously owned 10 of them. I only own 5 now and plan to sell 4 of them soon.

The only one I will keep is a CTS-XHP Code 4 which is one of the more "refined" knives that CS has ever made and IMO is the only "keeper."
 
I've owned a CS for over 30 years, Master Hunter 2nd (remember CS's 2nds Program?). It's been an excellent knife.

I used to own several CS old style Voyagers, by far my most favorite pocket knives. Steel would cut like no other. Lost them all; the ones I own today are from private sales or egay.

Now I own about a dozen CS blades: SRK in Carbon V, Drop Forged Survivalist, DF Master Hunter, DF 6.75" Bowie and soon the DF Boot knife (hasn't arrived yet). I also just got a Recon Tanto in VG-10 San Mai. I only got it today and it's now my favorite knife.

As said before, CS has always delivered well constructed and well designed knives that have stood the test of time. Far better knives IMO, than "traditional" knife makers like Gerber for example.
 
I own a few CS knives. I have a Code 4, Goldeneye, AD-10, and Outdoorsman fixed blade in San Mai. They're all high quality, but I don't like the lack of texturing on the handles of the Code 4 (aluminum) and Goldeneye (carbon fiber). The AD-10 is too large/heavy/overbuilt for me to carry daily to the office. The Outdoorsman fixed blade seems really nice but hasn't seen much use yet.
 
Every one of the Cold Steel knives I have acquired over the years has performed well beyond expectations, and I have no complaints whatsoever. Each one does exactly what it's designed to do: cut. Lynn Thompson is one of the most innovative knife designers of the last several decades IMHO; the list is too long to itemize here, but I'll just mention the superb Master Hunter and the brilliant Tri-Ad lock. He is also a gentleman; when I wrote him a couple of decades ago questioning his advertising tactics, and prices, he politely wrote back and offered me an original tanto for $75 -- a second, with a tiny blemish that I doubt I would have noticed. Still have it. We'll see what GSM does, but nothing will diminish my respect for Lynn Thompson.
 
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