Opinions on Cold Steel

Boattale said:
I own exactly one Cold Steel knife (their copy of Canadian Belt Knife). To me it's a disposable knife. It's in its sheath that's zip tied to the front of my trout boat as a just in case blade that won't be missed if it goes kersplash.

I am much the same with CRKT and recent Gerber and Kershaw stuff too so factor that in.
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I personally love the USA made Kershaw knives,I think they are hard to beat for the price..I got my M390 Link for $70,my 20CV Link for $60,my copper/CPM-154 Leek for $75,my 20CV Bareknuckle for $110,my M4 Blur for $80,my S30V Skyline for $70,my Lucha for $100,my N690/CPM-D2 composite blade Dividend for $65 and my Carbon fiber+M390 Knockout for $130.Ive only been collecting knives for around 8 years now and USA made Kershaw knives were my ticket into the world of “super steels”.I wanted to try out steels like 20CV and M390 but some years back the majority of knives in some of these steels were $200 or more.when I found some of these USA made Kershaw knives in higher end steels,I thought $50-$60 was a high dollar knife.these knives allowed me to try out steels that in most cases were unobtainable for what I was comfortable spending.because of this I have a special place in my heart for Kershaw.I have long since added much nicer higher end knives to my collection but I still love my Kershaw knives.the only thing I would change about them is the fact most are assisted opening.if they made the Launch knives ambidextrous I would Probably pick up a few of those as well..with all that being said,I don’t buy any of the Chinese made Kershaw knives and I never buy any Gerber or CRKT knives
 
John Phillips said:
Wow, love that story!!! Please tell me you got him to sign the knife or the sheath…. or your forehead lol.
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Unfortunately not, this was later in the afternoon and LT had just come back to the table from another demonstration. This was when he was still walking around with his cane, and he was soaked in sweat, so I just got to speak with him for a moment because there was a huge line. Full disclosure: I have poked fun at him maaaaaany times over the years here, but will tell you that in person, you could tell he was a big kid at heart, and I'll admit that after meeting him that time, I kinda stopped making fun of him so much. I mean, how many of us wish we could just get paid to play with cool toys all day, and whenever we come up with some new idea, draw it up, and send it the factory like "MAKE THAT ISH, PRONTO! WE NEED ANOTHER POLE-AXE!" It kind of all starts to make sense.
 
Garrett Ferrell said:
I personally love the USA made Kershaw knives,I think they are hard to beat for the price..I got my M390 Link for $70,my 20CV Link for $60,my copper/CPM-154 Leek for $75,my 20CV Bareknuckle for $110,my M4 Blur for $80,my S30V Skyline for $70,my Lucha for $100,my N690/CPM-D2 composite blade Dividend for $65 and my Carbon fiber+M390 Knockout for $130.Ive only been collecting knives for around 8 years now and USA made Kershaw knives were my ticket into the world of “super steels”.I wanted to try out steels like 20CV and M390 but some years back the majority of knives in some of these steels were $200 or more.when I found some of these USA made Kershaw knives in higher end steels,I thought $50-$60 was a high dollar knife.these knives allowed me to try out steels that in most cases were unobtainable for what I was comfortable spending.because of this I have a special place in my heart for Kershaw.I have long since added much nicer higher end knives to my collection but I still love my Kershaw knives.the only thing I would change about them is the fact most are assisted opening.if they made the Launch knives ambidextrous I would Probably pick up a few of those as well..with all that being said,I don’t buy any of the Chinese made Kershaw knives and I never buy any Gerber or CRKT knives
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I’ve had Kershaw knives with spring assist fail over time and don’t spend money on them anymore. I wish they would make more without the spring assist!!! I’d be all over them!!!!
 
John Phillips said:
Wow, love that story!!! Please tell me you got him to sign the knife or the sheath…. or your forehead lol.
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Like that story, too...and you are so right that an Italian made Master Hunter fixed blade in CPM-3V for $96 is an extraordinary deal. Certainly, one of the finest and most useful fixed blades Cold Steel has ever offered. There are others though as well.
 
John Phillips said:
I can close all of my cold steel knives easily with one hand. I was unaware of this method and it made me reconsider Cold Steel and other lockbacks. I’m with you, I want something I can operate easily with one hand.
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I'm glad it works for you, but your definition of easily close is different than mine. I'm not a big fan of having to reposition my hand and close the blade with my hand in the path of the blade.

POCEH KOCEB said:
I personally never had issues closing any of my CS triad lock knives with one hand.
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It's not difficult, but it's the same reason that I'm not a big fan of Spyderco back locks.
 
Leo Greer said:
So, I’m relatively new to knives, and I’ve never owned anything from Cold Steel except for some random throwing stars. From what I’ve seen, Cold Steel has some issues, and some even seem to look at it like a black sheep, but then others love it and Cold Steels are regularly bought and sold on the exchange.

What are y’all’s opinions? 🤔
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Do yourself a favor and get an AD-10, use it for a couple of days, and you will have your question(s) magically answered.
 
Pretty much agreed with most of the above.

The Tuff Lite is a great utility knife, and the tri-ad lock is among the best out there.

The drop-forged series (tomahawks included) was also an awesome value.

Hoping the new owners do it justice, but I wouldn’t count on it. Get some new old stock before it’s gone…
 
I simply collect "things", and knives happen to be a big part of that collecting hobby.
Cold Steel definitely became much more than just a fly by night company.
They may have chosen a few already beaten paths along the way, but made quite a few new ones as well. Lynn Thompson, his company, and their products, have been controversial, unique, mundane, over the top, practical, impractical, popular, unpopular, and the list can go on and on.
Does the Cold Steel Company successfully continue going forward without it's complex founder?... That, I obviously don't know. But, I do know that I enjoy having a nice little selection of items representing Cold Steel and it's products 👍😊👍

Here are just a few that make me smile, and that alone is worth a lot to me 👍😊👍

20211002-083424-1.jpg20211002-083409-1.jpg20211019-145927-HDR-1.jpg20211112-153917-1-1.jpg
20211102-152146-1.jpg
 
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Well as luck would have it, my wife just gifted me a Counter Point 1 for my birthday about 10 minutes ago. This is my first CS made since the sale of the company, and my first folder from them in about a year and a half when I bought a Voyager XL.

This knife was actually on my list and in my cart to buy before a business trip a week or so back. I felt that it warranted something new, beacuse who doesnt need but the mildest excuse to buy a new knife? However, the Prime shipping wasn't so prime and it was slated to arrive the day I left, so I just canceled the order. Instead I went out and bought a new Microtech at a LKS. Wanted a $60 knife, buy a $600 knife...go figure.

Anyway, since this one was at the top of my list, she and my daughter figured it must have been something I really wanted, and we tend to keep a fairly low cap on our birthdays since we have Valentines Day, then her birthday on the 18th, and then mine. So they bought me this and some serviceable wireless buds.

Anyway, my 5 minute review upon owning this thing for about 5 minutes:

It's a Cold Steel. The Triad Lock does its job. It thumbs open nicely even if the blade drags a bit on the aluminum liners. This should wear in.

The lock is tight, and the only play is the flex of the polymer frame. It still requires the typical CS wiggle to get it to close. Not a big issue

The edge is thick-ish, mostly even except toward the tip, and will mostly scrape hair. Not the sharpest knife I have ever received, but I can take care of this, and this knife (despite being in their EDC category) is arguably designed to be something your grasp in a death grip and poke holes in things. Between the bayonet blade and swell at the bolster, you aren't going to be carving knickknacks with it anyway.

Thr AUS10 steel feels adequate for the designed purpose, and I will say the pivot is impressively large. It should hold up to a lot of abuse.

So in closing, where does this folder fall in terms of how much I like it and what do I plan to use it for?

Well for starters, it was a gift from my wife and daughter, so of course I love it and the thought they put into it.

I dont really see it being a good edc for me as it is not as sharp or fast as my microtech. That's like comparing a Fiat to Ferrari, though. My edc is an otf costing 6 times as much...the Counter Point had less blade play though ;)

Where I see this shining is that I have a family trip planned over spring break. The town we are staying in has a few muddy knife laws where an OTF is a no-go and even a small fixed blade on my belt covered by an overshirt may be breaking a rule. However, a pocket knife like a folder should be OK. Not sure if they would find the aggressive styling to their taste, but from a technical standpoint it passes.

We will also be doing some very, very light hiking on wide government trails. A fixed blade will not be needed, and packing less will be more. A heavy duty folder like this knife will be more than enough when paired with a multitool. Slip a .380 or .38 in my pocket, and I feel pretty well prepared for what we will be doing.

So my final thoughts are that I remain largely unchanged on Cold Steel. Tough knives, a good jumping off point to next level quality, solid for the money that fills a niche of being something you can count on even if the sum total of its parts are not grail-level.

Counter Point 1 gets a 7.85/10.
Not bad, probably won't buy another. Still want a Greatsword.
 
I have yet to own a Cold Steel. But I check them out from time to time. Someone mentioned that their knives were “crude but effective”. I’ve heard that before about CS. I wonder which knife company would be the opposite of Cold Steel (?)
 
I'm one of the people who was pretty much unaffected by the personality of Cold Steel. I judged their products based on design and performance. Everything I acquired impressed me in a positive way. The Voyage series has been one of the best values on the market since its inception, especially when the blades were still hollow grinds. I miss the TwistMasters, which were my first exposure to huge CS folders. They were not for one hand use, but the performance was amazing. I've wanted a Trailmaster since I read the first magazine article, but I have yet to make that happen.
 
I own 2 and they seem to be well built, but they were purchased before the buyout. I have heard that quality is going south though. Hopefully Cold Steel won’t end up being the another Gerber.
 
Wolverine666 said:
I have yet to own a Cold Steel. But I check them out from time to time. Someone mentioned that their knives were “crude but effective”. I’ve heard that before about CS. I wonder which knife company would be the opposite of Cold Steel (?)
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Not that many companies tend to be beautiful but useless. Most of them towards the higher end at least have solid steel and decent construction…

Anyone have any idea how well a knife like the Grimsmo Norseman cuts? Due to obvious reasons I’ve never had one, but that was a blade design that always struck me as not so useful…

You could say something like Rockstead, but from what I’ve seen those things really do frickin’ cut.

Olamic’s build-your-own program is great at producing gorgeous flashy knives. Are they as useful as they are beautiful? Whether this counts or not depends on exactly what you call “sophisticated but ineffective”.
 
Wolverine666 said:
Someone mentioned that their knives were “crude but effective”.
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In my experience this depends on the knife. Every CS knife I've owned that had 1/8"-1/4" of unground blade at the heel felt crude in at least that way (though certainly effective). But the fit and finish on, say, the AD-10 and AD-15 was superb, and not even just "superb for the price point." There's nothing crude about those two.
 
Leo Greer said:
Not that many companies tend to be beautiful but useless. Most of them towards the higher end at least have solid steel and decent construction…

Anyone have any idea how well a knife like the Grimsmo Norseman cuts? Due to obvious reasons I’ve never had one, but that was a blade design that always struck me as not so useful…

You could say something like Rockstead, but from what I’ve seen those things really do frickin’ cut.

Olamic’s build-your-own program is great at producing gorgeous flashy knives. Are they as useful as they are beautiful? Whether this counts or not depends on exactly what you call “sophisticated but ineffective”.
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I will say that virtually all of the Olamics I've owned or still own are flawless. They DO sharpen their knives very well. I've had a couple that I needed to strop up when I got them in order to get it to where I felt it needed to be, but you can't go wrong with anything Olamic makes.
 
Quiet said:
Unfortunately not, this was later in the afternoon and LT had just come back to the table from another demonstration. This was when he was still walking around with his cane, and he was soaked in sweat, so I just got to speak with him for a moment because there was a huge line. Full disclosure: I have poked fun at him maaaaaany times over the years here, but will tell you that in person, you could tell he was a big kid at heart, and I'll admit that after meeting him that time, I kinda stopped making fun of him so much. I mean, how many of us wish we could just get paid to play with cool toys all day, and whenever we come up with some new idea, draw it up, and send it the factory like "MAKE THAT ISH, PRONTO! WE NEED ANOTHER POLE-AXE!" It kind of all starts to make sense.
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I’d love to meet Lynn Thompson or Sal Glesser in person. Awesome, thanks for sharing that.
 
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