Pretty obvious that CS "Proof Videos" are now history...

PocketKnifeJimmy

PocketKnifeJimmy

Joined
Aug 4, 2013
Messages
3,989
Love them, hate them, or indifferent to them, they are likely now history with Cold Steel under new ownership.
I ran across a very recent CS promotional ad video, and it revolved around a couple guys involved in outdoors/bushcrafting.
It seemed very benign, not able to ruffle feathers with even the easiest to offend.
Oh well, it is what it is, but just wanted to note that likely GSM change.
 
I agree totally.
The new mini fixed blades would definitely benefit from some positive advertising.
I see nothing these can do a larger blade can not do better.
The Kris blades, to me, are nothing but collectors with no real usage value.
Make a video and change my mind.
Now the new drop forged bowie is available. How do you not promote that ??
Maybe they are waiting on the new A2, 4034, CPM 3v models??
NO way
Who wouldn't love to see a special Forged in Fire addition with current manufactured models????
 
Those "proof videos" that Cold Steel used to offer in DVD form, are likely now to be pretty collectible.
Somewhere in one of my closets I have one or two CS catalogs with those DVD's. I guess I should make sure I hold onto them for posterity :)
In any case, there were many folks that were offended by those vids, I was never one of them.
I personally thought it was great marketing, and Lynn Thompson obviously "proved" that his marketing worked!
Will the new owners follow that that helped make Cold Steel a world renowned name?... I highly doubt it.
I have a feeling that many of the items that have a very strong weapon aspect to them, will be phased out of the 2022 year line-up. The double edged dagger in the Chaos series, (along with the chaos series as a whole), the push daggers, war hammers, throwing stars, and a bunch more, will likely be put on the chopping block by 2022.
All this is just my guess, but one that may very likely become a reality. Lynn Thompson was known to push the envelope by making some things that many companies would never consider touching... Not with a ten foot pole.
And, I got a feeling that this may partly become the case with GSM.
Of course time will only tell, and who knows, maybe Cold Steel continues being a source for the unexpectedly unique items they are well known for.
Heck, I have no actual idea on how they will steer Cold Steel, but already miss that Lynn Thompson won't be the man calling the shots.
In the meantime, my little Cold Steel buying spree continues... Getting just a few more items that I have on my wishlist :)
 
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PocketKnifeJimmy said:
Those "proof videos" that Cold Steel used to offer in DVD form, are likely now to be pretty collectible.
Somewhere in one of my closets I have one or two CS catalogs with those DVD's. I guess I should make sure I hold onto them for posterity :)
In any case, there were many folks that were offended by those vids, I was never one of them.
Click to expand...

Why in the hell did they get offended? Those videos are awesome and hilarious!

As for more weapon-y designs being phased out.... I dunno about that, man. The Black Bear Classic with it's double edge, a new chaos dagger, and I recall a couple of new swords, all are coming out soon. Seems like they might be keeping the same general product line, but I do think designs won't be as fun or badass without Lynn at the helm.

Not for lack of trying on GSM's part, either, just.... Lynn Thompson is one of a kind. You can't replicate the kind of mad genius he's got.
 
Yeah, new cool Lynn Thompson stuff coming out for 2021, but those were put into motion prior to Cold Steel being acquired by GSM, so they likely felt they had to roll out with that stuff and only make changes from 2022 on... We shall see, my friend :)
 
PocketKnifeJimmy said:
Those "proof videos" that Cold Steel used to offer in DVD form, are likely now to be pretty collectible.
Somewhere in one of my closets I have one or two CS catalogs with those DVD's. I guess I should make sure I hold onto them for posterity :)
In any case, there were many folks that were offended by those vids, I was never one of them.
I personally thought it was great marketing, and Lynn Thompson obviously "proved" that his marketing worked!
Will the new owners follow that that helped make Cold Steel a world renowned name?... I highly doubt it.
I have a feeling that many of the items that have a very strong weapon aspect to them, will be phased out of the 2022 year line-up. The double edged dagger in the Chaos series, (along with the chaos series as a whole), the push daggers, war hammers, throwing stars, and a bunch more, will likely be put on the chopping block by 2022.
All this is just my guess, but one that may very likely become a reality. Lynn Thompson was known to push the envelope by making some things that many companies would never consider touching... Not with a ten foot pole.
And, I got a feeling that this may partly become the case with GSM.
Of course time will only tell, and who knows, maybe Cold Steel continues being a source for the unexpectedly unique items they are well known for.
Heck, I have no actual idea on how they will steer Cold Steel, but already miss that Lynn Thompson won't be the man calling the shots.
In the meantime, my little Cold Steel buying spree continues... Getting just a few more items that I have on my wishlist :)
Click to expand...
It would be interesting to see a copy of the agreement he made with them. Might not be able to make his own, it would make a nice niche for him though. I am older so I laugh at what offends people nowadays.
 
I believe that the future collectability of present and past Cold Steel items will highly depend on what direction the new company takes. That also includes on whether or not they even remain in business. I mean, many of their items have already reached that highly sought after status, but many more could be added to that list.
If they decide to shy away from continuing to offer a lot of the CS items that many consider "politically incorrect", those items could become very collectible almost overnight. Some of these "things" have been pretty plentiful in the past, but some were not.
Of course the poor sellers were usually pulled off the market pretty soon after being offered, because a smart business does not carry dead weight.
But, if Cold Steel drastically changes their policies on carrying such items, pretty much all the previously made specimens would likely become more sought after.

The following three items from Cold Steel's Chaos series were had brand new by me on the cheap.
It seems the double edged Chaos Dagger was a good seller for CS from the start, but these three, (Chaos Kukri, Stiletto, and Tanto), were not. Cold Steel did not keep offering them for very long after their releases, and so the last inventories were sold off at clearance/closeout prices.
I jumped at acquiring all three as a bundle deal from a reputable online vendor for only $99 shipped!.
As a collector of all sorts of do-dads, it was a deal I couldn't pass up :)
So, for just over $33 a piece, I was able to set up this conversational display, which I think is very representative of the "politically incorrect" products that Cold Steel has offered. It may also become representative of what Cold Steel was, if it drastically changes it's direction, or winds up going defunct.



The Kukri and Tanto have blades made out of SK-5 steel, while the blade of the Stiletto is made out of forged 4440 chrome moly steel.
All three have cast 6061 aluminum handles with steel pommel striker nut. All were made in Taiwan.

I was actually thinking hard on acquiring the 2021 release of the new Cold Steel Chaos Push Dagger, but I was a bit turned off by the handle being a injection molded polymer, not the cast 6061 aluminum that the other ones are made of. Not a biggy, but just does not grab me to buy it.
That decision could change, but for now it's not on my "must have" list :)
The problem is, hesitation on any item in Cold Steel's current 2021 line-up, could result in later not being able to actually get them. So... any change of mind should be done soon ;)
 
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