Positive firsthand experience with Lynn Thompson

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ScaryLarry

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Knife makers get a lot of grief online. Not sure how much of it is justified, but I can say Lynn Thompson is a good guy. I first met Lynn years ago in Vegas where he was doing a "hype" show. He was pounding full-sized Ti Lites through blackjack tables and stuff like that. He flung a Kukuri into a slot machine and was practically foaming at the mouth while swinging a Brooklyn bat prototype. (I didn't voice my suspicions, but it kind of looked like a fungo bat spray painted black - lol.) The audience seemed a little weirded-out by the whole spectacle, but Lynn was VERY gracious to his fans who showed up. He could've dined at the nicest place in all of Vegas that night, but he joined me and my nitwit buddies at a ramshackle prime rib buffet on D Street. He is professional and surprisingly well-spoken, and you'd almost never guess that Lynn hunts half-ton buffalo with friggin samarai swords and whatnot. Reason for this post is mainly to stick up for Lynn, plus Cold Steel's product line. Don't get me wrong, I like ALL the knife companies. But if I don't like a certain model, I quietly trade it off or sell it (rather than gripe about it online). Lynn, if you're reading this, see you soon! Love the 2017 lineup!! :thumbup:
 
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I met Lynn in the early 80's at a gun show in Pomona. He was a really nice guy.

There are a few things I hate about CS knives....mainly that some are pocket destroyers. But the 2017 lineup looks great and the redo's with Carpenter steels and acctual DLC coatings show he is listening to complaints.

Say what you will about them, but if I could only carry one knife, a CS would not be a bad thing....meaning I would never feel under knifed.
 
People mistake his showmanship for brutality. But his shtick has put a lot of capable, quality tools into people's hands. Cold Steel is the best.
 
Cold steel may be decently priced & offer decent performance, but they are far from the best
 
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, obviously. To me personally it seems like a stretch to say that they offer decent performance. They're great. And none of the CS folders I own are in anything "better" than AUS 8. No one does AUS 8 better than Lynn.
 
dwdickey said:
Cold steel may be decently priced & offer decent performance, but they are far from the best
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Far from the best at what? Your comment could not be more vague and just off the mark. IF you're going to put a company down a few pegs why not say what you mean? Little passive aggressive jab in the ribs maybe? I'll tell you what they are the best at, they have the best price/performance/materials/quality/strength ratios of any knife brand out there. Fact.

Could you please provide us now with the company you think is the "best"
 
I will continue to hate him because his customer service rep refused to replace a poorly ground sk5 bushman. It looks like they sharpened it twice. Every time I see a properly ground one I say "damn you Lynn Thompson, that's what mine should look like!". Knifenuts know my pain. Lol.

I still have it though and every time I have a "Busse Class Task" to perform I try to break it. Its been thrown, battoned, pryed with, stood on and even peed on by a pit bull. Did I mention I still have it? It is a good beater but I stopped buying from them because I'm spoiled by Busse, ESEE, and Survive customer service. I almost caved in for a Broken skull. People here said the HT was gtg but a tuber review had to send one back for a stop pin or something and I said, nah. I'm not going through that again.

I am glad to hear things were positive for you. I don't actually have hard feelings for Lynn. The issue is cosmetic but the response did surprise me. To each his own. Its a new year eh?
 
Mick_1KRR said:
Far from the best at what? Your comment could not be more vague and just off the mark. IF you're going to put a company down a few pegs why not say what you mean? Little passive aggressive jab in the ribs maybe? I'll tell you what they are the best at, they have the best price/performance/materials/quality/strength ratios of any knife brand out there. Fact.

Could you please provide us now with the company you think is the "best"
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IF you are going to put a company up a few pegs why not say what you mean and why
 
BladeScout said:
LT sure takes some flak ...
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Exactly why I posted this. A LOT of people think Lynn is some goofy guy who screams at his audience and obsesses over unlikely self-defense scenarios involving impractical weapons. But Lynn C. Thompson is a professional. It's a huge bummer that people mistake his showmanship for blood lust - and an even bigger bummer that some conclude that his product line is beneath them. Nothing could be further from the reality.
 
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unklfranco said:
I almost caved in for a Broken skull. People here said the HT was gtg but a tuber review had to send one back for a stop pin or something and I said, nah. I'm not going through that again.
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Funny, I've seen about 20 tuber reviews and not ONE of them had any issues with it. Funny how you take that 1 guy's word for it but not the 20 other guys(not to mention all the people here) who say different.
 
James w said:
IF you are going to put a company up a few pegs why not say what you mean and why
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I think he said what he means when he said: "They have the best price/performance/materials/quality/strength ratios of any knife brand out there. Fact."
 
I like their knives but don't like lack of customer service. They have contact form but they don't care about reply to everyone. CS is big company so they should care about spare parts to their knives.
 
James w said:
IF you are going to put a company up a few pegs why not say what you mean and why
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Yeah i'll just highlight it for you since you seem to have trouble reading. My comment that you quoted contained this line of text.

"best price/performance/materials/quality/strength ratios of any knife brand out there. Fact."

Do you need some more info? i'll gladly expand on this if it's hard for you to understand.
 
ScaryLarry said:
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, obviously. To me personally it seems like a stretch to say that they offer decent performance. They're great. And none of the CS folders I own are in anything "better" than AUS 8. No one does AUS 8 better than Lynn.
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And by Lynn you mean the factory that he contracts with considering the CS doesn't actually make ANY knives. Like CRKT and others, they are 100% reliant on other people to make stuff for them.

They are a knife marketing company, not a knife making company IMHO.
 
Never met Lynn. But he seems to run his business like an arrogant bully so I've gotten rid of the two cold steels I've ever owned. The 4Max I had was flawless. The XHP Recon I had was one of the worst knives I've ever bought. Blade play that couldn't be fixed, lock bar was ground wonky and wouldn't lock up, burrs on the lock bar raked against the blade and scales. Just a really bad experience. Returned it post haste.

But I digress. I might own more (at this point I own none) of his products if he wasn't a bully towards other makers and companies. I won't support his bully-sequel behavior. It does nothing but harm the knife industry and community.

As for his marketing and the like, personally I just think it makes him look silly and I don't pay any attention to it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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I'm sure he's a decent enough fella -

I just wish his employees would answer the $^$%^@ e-mail i sent 3 weeks ago!!!
 
Cheap G10 that's poorly finished
Shitty customer service
Cheap steel grades
Made overseas by low bid contractors
They sell purely on hype marketing. There are many manufacturers that offer a better overall value for the money spent.
 
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