Outdoorsman is a butter knife and customer service is abysmal

alou1 said:
That’s really disappointing. I have a bad feeling that even after I ship it back the second time, I’m still going to get a dull replacement. Don’t even trust that the San Mai is even done correctly. Might just sell it.
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GSM fired everyone at Cold Steel when they took over. The new “customer service” knows absolutely nothing about knives. They replaced the knife because they have no way in house to sharpen it. If you like design, you may as well try to fix it yourself.

N2s
 
I'm sure one of the things GSM cut first was the US based QC checks. Not that it helps, but I also have not received dull blades from Sold Steel, but that might just be luck of the draw. Sorry you got burned twice.
 
dumb question, but possibly the secure ex sheath rubbed the edge and killed whatever edge it had?

this has been a huge problem forever now with the secure ex sheaths.
 
jbmonkey said:
dumb question, but possibly the secure ex sheath rubbed the edge and killed whatever edge it had?

this has been a huge problem forever now with the secure ex sheaths.
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I don’t think that’s the culprit unless someone sheathed and unsheathed it hundreds of times before I got it. Which after this experience, isn’t beyond the realm of possibility.
 
alou1 said:
I don’t think that’s the culprit unless someone sheathed and unsheathed it hundreds of times before I got it. Which after this experience, isn’t beyond the realm of possibility.
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wouldn't take a lot of sheath unsheaths. literally one removal on a poorly almost dull factory edge and edge is hitting the sheath will kill an edge. this wouldn't be a user's fault either. some of the blade width and sheath tolerances are off, for the sheath provided and no matter how ya remove it, will hit the edge. it's not every sheath and every knife, but it happens. going by memory and not counting.....I own 2 out of many with secure ex sheaths, that suffer from this issue. lots of videos out there on this.

even Demko made his fixed blade sheath out of a no glass nylon where the blade sits, cause he saw the issue at cold steel when he was there.
 
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Don't think I've bought any of their fixed blades since the buyout, but have bought a few folders. Don't know if the fixed and folders are handled differently, but the folders have been just as good as pre-GSM, and the Full Metal Atlas I got a few months ago was one of the sharpest knives I've ever received, by any brand.
 
Not discounting the OP's issues at all, but I can't think of a time I received a dull Cold Steel knife, in my experience they are amazingly consistent with their sharp edges.

It's worth noting that just simply 1 or 2 draws from the Secure ex sheath is more than enough to wipe the edge right off a razor-sharp knife. Those sheaths are THAT BAD. Ones like the outdoorsman's sheath are some of the worst offenders because of the lack of space inside.
 
alou1 said:
I don’t think that’s the culprit unless someone sheathed and unsheathed it hundreds of times before I got it. Which after this experience, isn’t beyond the realm of possibility.
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I agree with you. What have you decided to do??
 
DayofReckoning said:
Not discounting the OP's issues at all, but I can't think of a time I received a dull Cold Steel knife, in my experience they are amazingly consistent with their sharp edges.

It's worth noting that just simply 1 or 2 draws from the Secure ex sheath is more than enough to wipe the edge right off a razor-sharp knife. Those sheaths are THAT BAD. Ones like the outdoorsman's sheath are some of the worst offenders because of the lack of space inside.
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Good lord what are those sheaths made out of? Sand? lol. While I can see a few draws making the blade not razor sharp, can one or two draws make a razor sharp knife incapable of cutting paper or even my hand? I would think it takes more abuse for that to happen. When sheathed, the Outdoorsman rattles, unlike my 20 years old ReconTanto, which despite the thickness of the blade, arrived hair popping sharp. I do recall multiple draws from the sheath causing the Recon Tanto to have trouble cutting my hairs, but it was still plenty sharp.
 
What's the country of origin on that model? Maybe CS/GSM switched makers?
 
alou1 said:
It's been 20 years since I bought a Cold Steel product and so I decided to pick up the Outdoorsman which caught my eye. It's advertised as being razor sharp which in my experience, is believable, especially given the price. When I received it, the blade was so dull it couldn't cut paper. It was as sharp as the bone breaker. I did however like the feature of the sheath where there is a ribbed thumb rest that you can push to help extract the knife from the sheath. I figured the dullness must have been a fluke so I called for a return label. After being promised the label will be shipped "by the end of the day" 3 days in a row, it finally arrived in my inbox. I returned it and a week after they received it, nothing. No package, no communication. I called and they said they're doing me a favor and shipping a new one rather than sharpening the one I got, which was not only never mentioned, but it takes weeks if not months to get back if going the resharpening route. I got my replacement and ta-da! Not only was it dull, it was DULLER than the first one! And to top it off, the knife was stuck in the sheath and had to be ripped out. Then Cold Steel sent me an email asking me to review the knife. I gave it a 1 star and explained everything in detail. But shockingly, the review was not posted. Hmmmm....... WTF? Did Cold Steel become a joke over the past 20 years?
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Yes. Which you would have known had you been paying attention. Now go ahead and ask about Gerber.
 
alou1 said:
Good lord what are those sheaths made out of? Sand? lol. While I can see a few draws making the blade not razor sharp, can one or two draws make a razor sharp knife incapable of cutting paper or even my hand? I would think it takes more abuse for that to happen. When sheathed, the Outdoorsman rattles, unlike my 20 years old ReconTanto, which despite the thickness of the blade, arrived hair popping sharp. I do recall multiple draws from the sheath causing the Recon Tanto to have trouble cutting my hairs, but it was still plenty sharp.
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glass fibers in plastic.

so yeah sand isn't far off. cutting down in a line 1 sheet of fiberglass ductboard will dull an edge to what you're seeing. only the geometry of the blade and force will allow the ductboard to still be cut after the edge is gone.

might have nothing to do with the securex sheath. was just a thought.......
 
Boattale said:
Yes. Which you would have known had you been paying attention. Now go ahead and ask about Gerber.
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A thousand pardons. What about Gerber? I only have a 30 year old multi tool and a 20 year old LMF 2. Like the multi tool. Love the LMF 2. Whittled and batoned plenty of wood and butchered a deer. No sharpening and it still has a very useable edge.
 
Yet to try to cut anything with this ...
https://imgur.com/a/ppyYJvw
... but if its not sharp enough to cut anything ... I'll either hack what I am trying to cut or throw it at whatever I want to disable to knock it out. :rolleyes:
 
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