Thanks to enablers twisting my arm, I now have a Tai Pan in San Mai on order. (Update: Got it!)...

PocketKnifeJimmy

PocketKnifeJimmy

Joined
Aug 4, 2013
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So, it wasn't too long ago, (maybe a couple weeks past), a person here on this forum had posted his needing advice on whether or not he should purchase a Cold Steel Tai Pan dagger.
Me, being a fellow enabler, chimed in by giving my opinion that he should. That he obviously desired it, and he would likely kick himself if it became a discontinued item, and if he had chosen to not go through with buying one before such a thing happened.
I also stated that I would not personally want to spend the money they were going for because, I had never purchased a knife with a kraton type handle that I paid over $100 for.
Well, that part of my statement aged poorly, because I then purchased a Cold Steel Trail Master in VG-1 San Mai III (made in Japan).
Yup, I paid way over $100 for a krayton type handled knife! But, I felt no regrets, because I was very happy with the blade's craftsmanship that the Trail Master in San Mai exhibited.
So, fast forward to this afternoon when I ran across a Tai Pan in San Mai, (I believe with the VG-10 core), dagger that is now made in Taiwan. The vendor is one that I have purchased from before to acquire some of my knives, but they still had the Tai Pan priced pretty fairly, (compared to many other sites that have raised their prices).
But, still, there was a little bit of hesitation on my deciding to splurge on it.
Then... I thought back to my own enabling that I partook in with the other poster that was on the fence about pulling the trigger on one.
Others had chimed in on that thread, and also gave the poster reasons to go forward and buy the darned thing! Well, it all kind'a worked on my decision to buy one too! 😆

Nope, it just had to be done... The order was placed! 😁

I did choose the free shipping option, and this means, (based on their own wording on their website), that it could take 7 to 10 days to receive it. I figured the price was already a little bit better than using one of my other vendor sources, so I may as well build on that cost savings by choosing the slower, but free, shipping service.

Anyhow, my Cold Steel acquisitions have continued to come into play. I am now waiting on a backordered Chaos Bowie. I am also hoping that tomorrow or Tuesday I receive a "new old stock" Laredo in O1 steel that I ordered. And, I will now be waiting for this new Tai Pan to come my way 😊

 
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KenHash said:
OK thanks. So leather sheaths from CS have gone extinct.
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It's too bad that CS never seemed to have made any changes to their polymer composition of the Secure-Ex sheaths. I mean, Kydex is a polymer that people usually find very functional, it being impervious to moisture, and doing a good job of protecting both knife and knife owner, while not hurting the blade's edge sharpness.
If Cold Steel would have kept their basic Secure-Ex design, but switched away from the glass fiber filled material they've been using, there wouldn't have been so much negativity about them. But, it seems they stuck with this material, and so the reputation for Secure-Ex being a knife duller, continues.

Btw, guys... What was the reason that Cold Steel titled this knife model the Tai Pan?
 
PocketKnifeJimmy said:
Btw, guys... What was the reason that Cold Steel titled this knife model the Tai Pan?
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Tai Pan is a very poisonous snake found in Australia. The 1995 CS catalog that introduces the Tai Pan makes specific mention of this,
so the knife name suggests "Deadly".

The term Tai Pan also refers to heads of British Trading Houses that operated in the Far East (predominantly Hong Kong) in the late 1800s to early 1900s, and was a movie in 1986. This movie was an adaption of James Clavell's novel, and as he had great success with the slightly earlier "Shogun" movie, the name "Tai Pan" was not unheard of.
 
IMO , it's one of the best mass produced true fighting daggers , ever ...period ! :cool::thumbsup::thumbsup:

The 3V would be tougher than the San Mai , of course , but not really needed unless used as a combat utility /field knife or survival knife .

 
I've had my Tai Pan for over a month now. It's a fantastic knife in every way. The handle is even better than the Magnum Tanto's.

My only advice is DON'T USE THE SECURE EX SHEATH!! Mine dulled in a matter of hours from pulling it in and out of the sheath. Secure ex from Cold Steel is known for this, but with the double edge, it's even worse and easier to dull the edges.

You will not be disappointed in the Tai Pan.
 
Since I ordered my Tai Pan specimen using the vendor's free shipping option, I finally just received notification from them on it's mailing label being made and now being ready to ship out.
I would have had it in my hands days ago if I had chosen to pay extra for shipping, but, with it having cost me $151.74 total, I decided to keep it's good price right where it was, rather than artificially jacking it up with extra shipping costs.
Although I chose their "free shipping" method, it's heading to me via USPS Priority Mail, so it shouldn't be much longer now before I finally get this specimen in my hands. I noticed that the pricing on these is quite all over the place online. There's some vendors selling them in the $150 to $175 range, and then there are a bunch now selling them in the $200 to $250 range, (I'm strictly speaking of the Taiwan made San Mai version).
So, depending on the vendor chosen, there can be up to a $100 difference in cost, which is obviously a good amount of possible savings. I think with the market's uncertainty in Cold Steel's new ownership, tied with inflation and supply shortages, the prices on many Cold Steel's products are so varied right now. Some good price comparison shopping should be done before clicking onto the "buy button".
I honesty think that many of the more reasonably priced vendors will start to realize that many of their competitors are raising their prices, and will then themselves raise their own prices to better coincide with where the market seems to currently be at.
Of course I'm strictly speaking of reputable dealers, since it isn't worth taking the chance in trying to save some coin by buying from unknown or shady vendors.



I will most certainly chime back in here, hopefully within a few more days, to share some pics of the Tai Pan knife I receive.
 
DocJD said:
How many times did you do this "in a matter of hours " ?

Would you consider this a normal usage or only something done in practice ?
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I would say maybe 20 times or so. I guess it really depends on how careful you are inserting/retracing the blade from the sheath. With a normal edged knife, it is easy to just make sure you draw the knife while pressing against the spine, so the edge doesn't rub against the inside of the sheath. But with the double edged knives, it's very difficult to do so.
 
PocketKnifeJimmy said:
It's too bad that CS never seemed to have made any changes to their polymer composition of the Secure-Ex sheaths. I mean, Kydex is a polymer that people usually find very functional, it being impervious to moisture, and doing a good job of protecting both knife and knife owner, while not hurting the blade's edge sharpness.
If Cold Steel would have kept their basic Secure-Ex design, but switched away from the glass fiber filled material they've been using, there wouldn't have been so much negativity about them. But, it seems they stuck with this material, and so the reputation for Secure-Ex being a knife duller, continues.

Btw, guys... What was the reason that Cold Steel titled this knife model the Tai Pan?
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Quoting from their old Tai Pan promo video "Like it's serpent namesake, the Tai Pan is aggressively fast and deadly"
 
Wow, their going to have a series of "Deadliest weapons of Cold Steel" episodes, and the Tai Pan is going to start things off. Awesome.

One frustrating thing I would like to mention is the fact that the Nightfall 3V Tai Pan is not available in black finish. I don't understand why it's carrying the Nightfall label, but there's no black finish.
 
DayofReckoning said:
Nightfall 3V Tai Pan is not available in black finish
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The whole Nightfall series with 3V and DLC were , IMO , functionally superior but never sold very well , apparently .

Most buyers seem more concerned for the shiny San Mai appearance or cheaper cost , IDK ?

Maybe that's part of why we now see the 4034ss models .

Pretty sad devolution . :confused::thumbsdown::thumbsdown:
 
I received my Cold Steel Tai Pan today.
I love it's execution! I don't know how it would compare to a Hattori made in Japan Cold Steel Tai Pan knife, but this made in Taiwan specimen is beautifully done!
👍😊👍

The box, sheath, and knife, all have the markings as found during Lynn Thompson's ownership of Cold Steel, so I definitely consider it to be "Old Steel" 👍😉👍

As I had previously mentioned, I paid a total of $151.74 for this knife, which I believe was an exceptionally good deal under our current market situation. I try to be loyal to certain vendors over others that I may occasionally deal with, and will sometimes even pay a little more to send my business to those preferred vendors. But, in this case, the price difference between my usual first pick vendor and the one I wound up choosing to buy this knife from, (one which I've had good luck in my previous dealings with them), was almost $90. It was a no brainer to go ahead and literally save that almost $90.
It could be that the vendor I chose to buy it from was working with an older inventory that they may have paid pre major inflation prices for. And, maybe my usual vendor was working with a recently brought in inventory that the inflation had caused them to pay higher prices to obtain... I dunno.
But, in the end, my paying $151 vs. $239 for the exact same first quality product, is further proof that careful shopping, (especially in these crazy market times), can save you some substantial coin 💰

My incoming Cold Steel Master Tanto was ordered from the same vendor as my above Tai Pan. This incoming Master Tanto cost me $116.32 total, which again, is an exceptionally good price for today's market 👍








The bottom pic shows my last four knife acquisitions. Three are Cold Steel, one is a Randall 😊
 
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