• Preorders are LIVE for the 2024 BladeForums Traditional Knife

    Traditional Knife Information Thread - make sure you go in there and read up.

    Requirements: Be a Gold or higher member or have been a member of the forums since 6/2023 with at least 100 posts in the Traditional Forum. Preorder is for people who live in the continental US only, international orders will be separate.

    Delivery expected in Q4 2024, hopefully before the holidays.

    User Name
    Serial number request

Thinking about Cold Steel improvements...

R

Redstripe_808

Joined
Mar 25, 2002
Messages
254
I've collected a couple of cold steel knives but i don't own any of their folders.

The one defining thing to me, between looking and buying...is their handle materials.

If they made folders with say, titanium, or aluminum or stainless steel etc (not zytel) they would be SOOOooo much more appealing.

Don't you think so? If they dropped their prices a bit and added better handle materials i think they would excel quite a bit.


I know it's highly plausible. I know the costs would rise...but hey... hey...margins must be pretty high as it is.

Any one else agree?
 
Aesthetics aside, Zytel is a great engineering material IMHO. It is light, terrifically tough, withstands heat and cold well... and it keeps the cost down. Structurally, I am not sure whether aluminum is as strong. Another problem with metal grips is that they get slippery and are not at all useful in the cold (it is around 0 F. in Whitehorse, Yukon, right now; and we haven't had the usual -40 temperatures... yet). I think Buck was one of the first to use this material (as well as Kraton), and I still have one of the first Buck lockbacks with Zytel grips. Sure, brass and stag and nickel silver and 52100 steel is great, if you want to pay the price. But I probably would still pack my Voyagers more often. :D
 
I second that. In the winter here, metal handles don't give one a good grip on the knife. (Before anyone says anything about snow in Arizona, it DOES snow up here where I live---we're at 7,000 feet.)
 
The Zytel handles would be ok if they were 2 or 3 pc. for disassebling. Look at the fixed pin that holds the blade to the handles of the Voyagers...it's cheapy.

Atleast Benchmade uses hex screw on their low end folders. :grumpy:
 
I would disagree about the strength of Zytel. I've had one set of zytel grips deform on me, not due to heat but just from use. It was a spyderco Delica, and the indentation for the clip deformed so much that it no longer holds it in the right position. This can happen with pivot pins too. Zytel isn't too good for structural integrity, and it just feels cheap in my hands. I flatly refuse to buy any knife that has Zytel anything, it just doesn't hold up.
 
Although I have had many Cold Steel Knives..(I shouldn't say many, about 6-7).., I certainly don't think they put the bulk of their R&D $$$ into folders (which is obviously just an opinion).

I have never owned or handled one that I would carry as an EDC.., so I admit I don't keep up religiously on everything they make that folds.


"Hunters seek what they [WANT].., Seekers hunt what they [NEED]"
 
Wouldn't it be nice to have a bada$$ voyager or other (e.g. Gunsite,Recon, or whatever) with G-10 handles... something that doesn't feel/look sooo cheap.
 
Originally posted by Redstripe_808
Wouldn't it be nice to have a bada$$ voyager or other (e.g. Gunsite,Recon, or whatever) with G-10 handles... something that doesn't feel/look sooo cheap.
Click to expand...

Sure, why not, but then it wouldn't be so cheap!
 
In canada, we're supposed to shell out $191.92 for a recon with zytel handles??

http://www.knifezone.ca/coldsteel/RECON1.htm

...i should expect more for this price point.

even voyagers are about $95-$120 plus tax... doesn't sound cheap to me.

I'll i'm saying is, I'd buy their folding knives if they offered more for the buck then other manufactures seem to offer.

they just seem too expensive for the materials that comprise their knives....
 
You don't need better Cold Steel knives -- you need better knife dealers! Those prices are definitely not the cutting edge ...

I've had CS folders that took real abuse, my Vaquero Grande, for one. Hardly a scratch on the handle, no deformation at all. A big drop point twistlock that I used in the kitchen cleans up beautifully, no crevices for gunk to get into, just a slotted barrel of zytel, the blade and pin holding it, and the twist ring for a lock.

That fixed pivot, which Spyderco likes also, saves a lot of aggravation adjusting. As long as it's done right, on a knife that doesn't go into battle, it's a fine idea.

Remember, CS also sells to a more general public. Like many of the older knife companies (the ones who actually make the knives for CS!) they don't always look to satisfy the refined tastes and unlimited budgets of us knife knuts :eek: A Voyager in the hands of an ordinary workman can give him years of worry-free service.

You know the saying, a man who never makes a mistake, never makes anything. You need to give people and knife companies room to fail occasionally, to experiment, which CS definitely does with their huge variety of styles. They'll try anything with an edge to it. But they try to keep most of it fairly accessible, moneywise.
 
Zytel isn't that bad of a material. It may be just me that I don't put my blades to the use that some of you guys do, but I've yet to have one deform like that. I do notice that flex could occur on ones that doesn't have liners (nested or otherwise), but that had part to do with stupidity in my part.
 
Man this server is slow! Anyways check out Botach tactical for the special deals on the CS line of knives. Way reasonable prices. Anyways before Xmas I purchased a little present for myself in the form of a CS Pro Lite folder. Without a doubt the finest 30 dollar knife I have ever purchased. The lock up on this knife is really robust. The 440A they use is sub zero quenched so it ain't bad at all. It takes and holds a really nice edge. Is it comparable to all the latest high tech steels? Nope but it is very reliable for what it is. Easy to sharpen and seems to stay that way. You can take this knife apart and clean and oil it. It is in a word built like a tank. It also has a very nicely ergonimac handle that suits my large paw as good and better than some of my higher end prod. knives. The finish on the blade is excellant. Far above any 30 dollar I have owned. A true satin finish wihout any defects I can see. The blade is thick with a high hollow grind and thin edge for true cutting and shearing ability. Also the handle slabs are of Zytel but thicker than noraml at least compared to other CS folders I have. It has an adjustable pivot etc etc. So for 30bucks plus shipping you can have an outstanding heavy dute folder that will serve as a fine work tool, hunting tool, or self defense tool. This is not a commercial for CS as there hype sucks. But they do have a winner with this series of folders especially at this price point. Keep'em sharp
 
I second that. In the winter here, metal handles don't give one a good grip on the knife. (Before anyone says anything about snow in Arizona, it DOES snow up here where I live---we're at 7,000 feet.)



I'm not doubting you it just made me laugh when I looked at the 10 Ft. snowbanks outside. BTW how many ski resorts do you have down there? :D
 
I wouldn't want zytel on a very pricey knife but my cheap BM556's handle has proven to be nearly indestructible so far(1 year). I have dropped it off a loading dock when it was ice cold, not even a scratch. I have dropped it on the concrete floor at work..not a scratch. I keep it in my right leg pocket on my workpants and wear it 40+hrs a week and it's been whacked, laid on, leaned on, you name it, there is not one mark on the handle yet. amazing. Granted, It is a tad slippery, and maybe feels a little light(cheap) but I believe it's one of the toughest materials there is for a handle, and maybe the best for scratch resistance(best I've owned anyways).
I certainly wouldn't be able to own a Benchmade Axis equipped knife without it!!(yes I am a cheap ass);)
 
If you're in Canada, you might try Ebay, get some good deals.

Still, my fave proddy knife is the Trailmaster, just a shame they don't produce the San Mai III in stag, or full tang:mad: , or do they?
 
I would LOVE to have my CS Vaquero Grande with black G-10 scales, with dual stainless liners, and VG-10 steel for the blade. I'd also like to have an ambidextrious pocket-clip on it, as well as a large "Spydie-hole" rather than those little thumb-studs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top