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the Will of Cold Steel

They've always catered to the mall ninja crowd, but it's hard to sneer at the Tuff Lite, Code 4, American Lawman, and AK47 (coating quality aside) - all of those are immensely useful and extremely reliable knives.

And, hey, AUS8 is what got me started on learning how to sharpen. I certainly got a lot of practice with my Voyager.

You're absolutely right... however, with all the hate cold steel has gotten over the years... NOBODY can deny they came out swinging.

Some of their custom models were honestly VERY under-rated. In addition, as it were told to me they wouldn't hand pick any of the knives they abused, they picked one off the line, grabbed it and thrashed on it. Complain, rant, rave all anybody wants but the knives pound for pound were of outstanding quality across the board at one point...

The Voyagers, the ak47, the recons, ti-lites... they had a solid thing going at one point.
 
You're absolutely right... however, with all the hate cold steel has gotten over the years... NOBODY can deny they came out swinging.

Some of their custom models were honestly VERY under-rated. In addition, as it were told to me they wouldn't hand pick any of the knives they abused, they picked one off the line, grabbed it and thrashed on it. Complain, rant, rave all anybody wants but the knives pound for pound were of outstanding quality across the board at one point...

The Voyagers, the ak47, the recons, ti-lites... they had a solid thing going at one point.

Don't forget the Lawman, the Code 4... oh yeah, and their traditional style lockbacks. And their "soldier style" (for lack of a better term) blades. And their hunting blades. And... wait, they kind of have a pretty damn diverse lineup if you actually pull your head out and look past the fact that everything is black. :D
 
The Voyagers, the ak47, the recons, ti-lites... they had a solid thing going at one point.

They still do. None of that stuff is discontinued. Yes, swords and warhammers(for example) aren't practical or useful, but they've made and continue to make plenty of useful folders, fixed blades, and machetes.
 
The Tanto Lite, Pendleton Lite Hunter, Finn Bear, Roach Belly, Canandian Belt Knife, G.I. Tanto, all offer a good knife for little money.
If you can get over the advertising style they put reliable blades in hand cheaply.
 
Everyone knows that Napoleon's weapon of choice was a Glock. I'm afraid the OP's artwork is a fake.

i-PmM7Z6B-X2.jpg
 
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the real issue here guys, and I think I speak for everyone, is when will cold steel begin production on the san mai smatchet?
 
Nothing wrong with the smatchet or the CS tanto for that matter. The glaring problem here is that the painting/art work is from a different time as compared to the knives...or could it be that the photoshop wizard is attempting to make a statement here? The French army could have gained some benefit from VG10 or San Mai steel since they were forever trying to keep their swords clean and rust free. There was no WD40 on the battle field.

As to CS: I actually agree that the original tanto was one of the best designs to spring from the mind of Lynn T. When they first came out, the company was doing torture testing etc way before such an oddity was in vogue. The knives were being driven through mild steel, banged into concrete blocks and a few 'adventurists' tried their luck at smashing the brass end through glass windshields sans a protected hand. These were good, solid blades which could take a beating. Also, at the time, there was just about no worthy competition.

Another landmark product was the Trailmaster. When that sleek knife burst into the gun magazines of the day people from all walks of life were racing to buy one or two. The bold ads proclaimed the superiority of this new bowie. I also fell into the trap, bought one and found the claims to be just and straight as an arrow. I still have that bowie knife (now with a delicate patina from years of work in the field) with the black leather sheath that fits it with a perfection that I can only deem as custom-made.

Contrary to some opinions, I have two long time hunter buddies that practically worship San Mai in just about any configuration you can imagine. Again, their pick of the litter is the Trailmaster. Their glowing reports have given me pause to consider purchasing one myself although the current price makes me feel a tad uneasy. I'd bet that the edge on my old Trailmaster would be easier to maintain than the newer blades in San Mai!
 
Napoleon and knives?
How about some historical people who are more associated with blades? Caesar or maybe Conan?
 
Was roughly 3000 B.R.
B.R. Stands for Before Rambo ( in case they didn't teach that too)
CS with Rambo would make for a good poster too. But while Rambo is famous for knives his adventures are too recent to have his posters considered to be classical art and since he might still be alive after Burma we could be in trouble if he doesn't like the artists work. :eek:
So yes Ceasar with a knife in his back or Conan swinging a blade makes more sense. But Napoleon? Seriously? Who thinks of steel when hearing that name?
 
Well, I guess the 'connection' you've been looking for could be that I like to collect knife artworks(as I have explained at the beginning of this thread), and that I happen to have found and collected all the artworks I've displayed at this forum....
Hope my explanation is enough to satisfy your keen impulses of sleuthing?

OK. I don't get it.

So, you got a painting of Napoleon, fleeing Moscow after one of the most catastrophically bone headed epic fails in military history. What did he lose, 300,000 men?

And a Cold Steel tanto slapped on the picture.

Is the implication that the knife is as big a failure as Napoleon's Russian campaign? Was the artist trying to say the will of Cold Steel is like the will of Napoleon in the art (when he was running away from Moscow, utterly defeated)?

I think Asheden missed History class, because if he didn't, he wouldn't have tried passing his photoshop off as a dealer poster. No one would associate their product with Napoleon's failure in Russia.
 
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OP is the best troll I have seen in some time, putting the knifes on the portraits gave me a kick lol.

This is cooler though

Ronald-Wilson-Reagan-620x374.jpg


george_washington_the_original_master_chief_by_sharpwriter-d5ebrn6.jpg
 
Napoleon used short, Samurai looking tanto knives? The sawed-off little runt got around.

Most of my favorite knives, the Trail Master, Recon and GI Tanto are made by Cold Steel but I can't stand Samurai sword looking curved blades...not after WWII.
 
What do Napoleon and Tantos have in common?

Napoleon was beat by the Russian and so where the Japanese (some of which might have had Tantos)
 
I think one of the reasons Cold Steel gets so much hate is because of how diverse their lineup is. Unlike a lot of companies they try to cater to everyone. Looking through their catalog I've realized that they're trying to appeal to literally everyone. Yes they make some crazy claims, but have you ever read an emerson catalog?! His claims are INSANE and he too says that his knives (particularly the cqc7) are the best available. Some may argue that emerson has more experience but LT has also used a LOT of blades. Happily enough, Andrew Demko seems very involved in the production process at CS. He is definitely one who knows his knives.
 
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