Sell me on Cold Steel knives

Point well taken. Before this forum, all I had to work with was my own personal experience. Like how I had two Kabar knives both break in the handles due to their stupid rat tail tangs. Also, that Strider knife gave me a horrid flashback. I got handed one, for free, when I was overseas and I lost it. CANNOT find it and it breaks my heart. Thoroughly enjoyed that knife. I'll definitely give CS another shot. Thanks for the info, and perspective, I appreciate it.
 
Nice compilation of broken blades! Of course I'm sure you could find a Cold Steel to include.
With a vise and a pipe extending the handle , you can break ANY knife . But considering the price , CS is about as tough as you'll find .
 
My advice is to forget about Cold Steel and spend a lot of money on unbreakable knives from legitimate, high-end companies--companies that real knife guys respect, such as:

Buck

aYV4Wrh.jpg



Benchmade

lPuK9Ys.jpg



Spyderco

V3x0Y6K.jpg



Ontario

QvNhdvw.jpg



Kabar/Becker

J1aI4BF.jpg



ESEE

VSpdY9v.jpg



Katz

GIcpygn.jpg



Kershaw

m61Zsss.jpg



Fallkniven

dD6j9bp.jpg



Busse

a5UB8PU.jpg



Chris Reeve

fHaywiD.jpg



Strider

LEt4fes.jpg




-Steve

and here's a pile of cold steels that suffered some of the same fate.......this is less about a brand failure and more about use failures....although there are always heat treat mistakes and such in manufacturing...and that is every brand.

I'm a cold steel fan and they make good knives for a good price and warranty failures that is what is the only selling points that really matter.

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In the under 100 dollar category CS has most other brands beat.
For me the Recon 1 the ultimate work and play knife.

I would suggest something in the Voyager line for people new to CS though.
Still can’t understand why they discontinued the medium Voyagers, they are Delica killers imo and I love the Delica.
 
and here's a pile of cold steels that suffered some of the same fate.......this is less about a brand failure and more about use failures....although there are always heat treat mistakes and such in manufacturing...and that is every brand.

I'm a cold steel fan and they make good knives for a good price and warranty failures that is what is the only selling points that really matter.

View attachment 931580 View attachment 931582 View attachment 931584 View attachment 931585 View attachment 931586 View attachment 931588 View attachment 931591 View attachment 931590 View attachment 931589
Read the Cold Steel box under "Warranty" : " No knife or sword should be used as an axe , hatchet , screwdriver or pry bar . "
 
Read the Cold Steel box under "Warranty" : " No knife or sword should be used as an axe , hatchet , screwdriver or pry bar . "
yeah of course. normal knife and tool use failures...not abuse failures.
 
My advice is to forget about Cold Steel and spend a lot of money on unbreakable knives from legitimate, high-end companies--companies that real knife guys respect, such as:

Buck

aYV4Wrh.jpg



Benchmade

lPuK9Ys.jpg



Spyderco

V3x0Y6K.jpg



Ontario

QvNhdvw.jpg



Kabar/Becker

J1aI4BF.jpg



ESEE

VSpdY9v.jpg



Katz

GIcpygn.jpg



Kershaw

m61Zsss.jpg



Fallkniven

dD6j9bp.jpg



Busse

a5UB8PU.jpg



Chris Reeve

fHaywiD.jpg



Strider

LEt4fes.jpg




-Steve

This post is so full of cringe it made certain parts of my anatomy hurt!
 
Do not try and tell me your boys didn't hurt when you saw all those broken knives.
I like to see testing that explores the limits of a knife , but within reason . Just to destroy one for fun is a sickening waste .

Like the crazy Russian who took his nice Natchez Bowie and hammered it into a log like it was a big nail spike . Then bragged that he broke the tang . No , the cable tang was still intact , he had just smashed up the wooden handle . Ruined a great knife for no good reason . :mad::thumbsdown::thumbsdown:
 
Thread revival alert! (but better than starting another?)
I've always been intrigued by Cold Steel, but never pulled the trigger as they're expensive in the UK, and often out of stock.
Anyway, as it was my birthday a few days back I done the deed and finally purchased one.
I chose the Code 4 (Tanto) - I'm very partial to the aesthetics of these blades.

The first thing that surprised me (a lot) was how narrow it was and felt very odd at first. However, I soon got used to it.
Turns out it's not a bad slicer for a Tanto either.
After giving it some reasonable use (the usual fire stick tests etc), I love it.
F&F is flawless, and (IMO) it's a real looker - can't stop fiddling with it.
It's immediately become my favourite knife and no way will it be a drawer queen - it'll be a user as often as possible.

I'm absolutely sold on them and can see the hype.
 
There are some pretty cheapo CS products and there are some bad CS products, but there's also a large core catalog of tough, affordable and really very practical knives that are, first and foremost, designed to cut.

I know not everyone is gonna be happy with me saying this, but CS is Spyderco's evil twin. Totally different on the outside, but their design philosophy is more similar than you would think. Heavy emphasis on ergonomics and cutting geometry and both companies put real emphasis on providing lots of bang for your buck. (Note: Not saying they're directly equivalent by any means, just that they have more in common than most think.)
I M

I think you’re right about both companies having a history of providing high value. Before MAP pricing, Spyderco was probably the value leader in production knives. After Spyderco instituted MAP, and then upped it again, Cold Steel has become the value leader in production knives. Good fit and finish, good ergonomics, quality materials and designs that have superior strength. At a price that is really appreciated by people with experience with several different brands of knives used for work.

Compare the Recon1 to the Military, the American Lawman to the PM2. Hard to believe the Cold Steel models sell for 30-40% less. Just two examples.
 
Best knives for the money you can buy. Take a recon 1 for example - Stronger than the competition, better strength to weight ratios, better ergos than most and great cutting performance. And now with the same steel as these higher priced knives from other makers. Nobody needs to sell them to anyone, these knives sell themselves.
This sums it up nicely.
 
Their marketing kept me away. Then I literally found a push knife in a parking lot and discovered, while I didn’t like the knife, I liked the steel (Aus-8). Sold it and bought a Finn Wolf.

CS folders are some of the fugliest things My eyes have ever seen, but they are maddeningly ergonomic in the hand. I just bought a SRK in SK5 for $35 and only Mora offers more value for the money in my mind at this point.

It pretty clear that you need to consider country of manufacture, steel, and a bunch of other considerations, but even though the whole pig chopping thing makes me cringe, I’m looking at a few more models than I ever thought I would.
 
Well, I got Recon Tanto in SK-5, I use it for anything and everything as working knife, it has never let me down and it is definitley affordable.
 
Growing up you either carried stainless or carbon steel. Modern knives were usually liner locks and traditionals were slipjoints or a back lock. I got into Bladeforums and discovered a world of new knives but it seems now that we've caught up with innovation. We've got fidgety locks, bearings, several steels and handle materials and I found I was getting bored with all the gimmicks. I really just wanted a well made tool with good steel that could cut well. I found that in a Recon 1 which happens to be the size knife I prefer when I'm not in the office. Now I'm more interested in CS than ever before.
 
It pretty clear that you need to consider country of manufacture, steel, and a bunch of other considerations, but even though the whole pig chopping thing makes me cringe, I’m looking at a few more models than I ever thought I would.

In terms of quality you don't really have to worry about those things with CS. I was put off at first with the Taiwanese models but quickly became a convert after seeing the quality close up.
 
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