Tatanka vs XL Voyager lock test by Cold Steel

I think the dislike of CS from a lot of us is simply the videos. When I was 12-15 years old I probably thought they were cool. Now that I've grown up, I still like knives, but I want to shed the image of mall ninja knife collecting. Lynn epitomizes the mall ninja. He shows us what we fear others think we look like.
 
I don't take those Cold Steel videos too seriously. I kind of think of them like the old Batman TV show, campy and funny. Somehow, I don't think those guys at Cold Steel take themselves too seriously, either.
 
I don't own either knife so I couldn't care less who wins...of course if CS had lost would they have still released this test/video? I'm certain that Sal of Spyderco would never have released a video of one of his knives outperforming (in any way) another brand. The only issue I have with CS is WAY too much footage of them using their knives as weapons and in my opinion this does not help the knife user community and could certainly be used against us. As far as lock strength goes, was no one else first taught to use a slipjoint before moving on to a folder with a locking blade? I've never had a linerlock, lockback or framelock fail on me but then I use my knives for cutting in which the pressure is applied to the sharpened edge of the blade.
 
Last edited:
I am a fan of both companies. I did not need see the tests to know that the Triad lock would be stronger-The spine whacks proved it more to me. Both knives saw the blade fail before the locks-has more to do with steel, as to why the Voyager's blade could handle more wight than the Tatanka in the hanging test-AUS8a is significantly tougher than VG10, and the VG10 is heat treated harder Rockwell (which also means more brittle).

As for the tests-in business, it is a dog eat dog world-Hell, Edison used to electrocute elephants to show how dangerous Tesla's AC currents are (and if he was not such a freaking tight wad, and given Tesla the $100k bonus he promised him, when Tesla was a young engineer working from him, he would not have been saddled to a loser in DC). But anyway, marketing is paramount to a company's success-so I don't fault, nor hold this against Cold Steel. Especially when both companies claim to have the strongest lock mechanism.

besides, "It aint braggin if you can back it up"
 
You know, something just occurred to me...
Till now, Cold Steel was the only kid on the block selling production "mega folders".
All of a sudden, a new kid shows up on the block; so, like in kindergarten, they have to knock the new kid down a peg.

It's an attempt to protect their turf.

What about ZT?
 
KAI/ZT doesn't just "sell/market" knives, they actually manufacture them.

Having the "strongest lock" certainly isn't a bad thing to have on your side but I've never had a lock fail on me as I try to always use the right tool for the job. If I need a tougher "knife" rather than grab one of my many folders I'll simply bring my Busse TGLB along...or a folder and a prybar.

As laws around the country become tougher and tougher on those of us that EDC a folder I worry that Cold Steel and their videos of stabbing/slashing a meat filled shirt (any of their meat stabbing/slashing demos) are not serving the knife carrying community well at all. In my opinion, CS spends far too much time showing off the knives they sell as weapons rather than simply a cutting tool. How comfortable would you be in court having to defend yourself for carrying a knife as a cutting tool only to have the prosecuting attorney pop in one of Cold Steel's DVD's with them stabbing the meat-filled shirt or cutting the head off of the human shaped cardboard target?

I'm not sure why they can't simply hang a car from their folder to show lock strength (if that's a requirement for some) and then demonstrate as they have in the past how much rope or cardboard the blade is able to cut before needing to be resharpened.
 
KAI/ZT doesn't just "sell/market" knives, they actually manufacture them.

Having the "strongest lock" certainly isn't a bad thing to have on your side but I've never had a lock fail on me as I try to always use the right tool for the job. If I need a tougher "knife" rather than grab one of my many folders I'll simply bring my Busse TGLB along...or a folder and a prybar.

As laws around the country become tougher and tougher on those of us that EDC a folder I worry that Cold Steel and their videos of stabbing/slashing a meat filled shirt (any of their meat stabbing/slashing demos) are not serving the knife carrying community well at all. In my opinion, CS spends far too much time showing off the knives they sell as weapons rather than simply a cutting tool. How comfortable would you be in court having to defend yourself for carrying a knife as a cutting tool only to have the prosecuting attorney pop in one of Cold Steel's DVD's with them stabbing the meat-filled shirt or cutting the head off of the human shaped cardboard target?

I'm not sure why they can't simply hang a car from their folder to show lock strength (if that's a requirement for some) and then demonstrate as they have in the past how much rope or cardboard the blade is able to cut before needing to be resharpened.
Ok, I dont know why the fact that Cold Steel is a company which just designs knives, is a bad thing. ESEE, Becker and Fallkniven are all companies that solely design knives. Their products are not looked down upon, because they are not made by the company whose name is on them.
 
Back
Top