Trying to Understand Cold Steel Recon 1 Generations—Need Help!

[vsndesigns]

https://imgur.com/a/B616x1c

Hi everyone,
I’ve recently gotten into Cold Steel knives, and I keep hearing about the different generations of the Recon 1. I’ve seen models labeled "Made in Japan" and "Made in Taiwan," with Zytel and G10 handles, and I’m super confused.

I’ve also heard conflicting info about when the Recon 1 was first released—some say 2000, others say 2001. Can someone explain the timeline of these knives and what changes happened between generations? I’m especially curious about the early models with AUS 8 steel.

Thanks in advance for any help! I’d love to get to the bottom of this.

 

[jbmonkey]

folks here know most of this history, if not all of it. not sure anyone built it all in a thread or not? I didn't go look. guess this thread can become that thread.

 

[jlauffer]

https://imgur.com/a/B616x1c

Hi everyone,
I’ve recently gotten into Cold Steel knives, and I keep hearing about the different generations of the Recon 1. I’ve seen models labeled "Made in Japan" and "Made in Taiwan," with Zytel and G10 handles, and I’m super confused.

I’ve also heard conflicting info about when the Recon 1 was first released—some say 2000, others say 2001. Can someone explain the timeline of these knives and what changes happened between generations? I’m especially curious about the early models with AUS 8 steel.

Thanks in advance for any help! I’d love to get to the bottom of this.

First appears in the 2000 catalog. Would suggest going to the CS website and looking through the catalog archive (under About Us) to research the history.

 

[vsndesigns]

https://imgur.com/a/B616x1c

Hi everyone,
I’ve recently gotten into Cold Steel knives, and I keep hearing about the different generations of the Recon 1. I’ve seen models labeled "Made in Japan" and "Made in Taiwan," with Zytel and G10 handles, and I’m super confused.

I’ve also heard conflicting info about when the Recon 1 was first released—some say 2000, others say 2001. Can someone explain the timeline of these knives and what changes happened between generations? I’m especially curious about the early models with AUS 8 steel.

Thanks in advance for any help! I’d love to get to the bottom of this.

 

[vsndesigns]

https://imgur.com/a/hl9PZQR

Thanks for sharing the link to the Cold Steel catalogs! I think I’ve mostly figured this out, though there’s been a minor hiccup. Based on the catalogs available, it seems there’s a bit of confusion due to a misplaced catalog on the Cold Steel catalog page. Initially, I thought my Recon 1 knife, made in Japan, was the first generation of this model. However, I stand corrected. It turns out there were three generations of Recon 1 knives made in Japan before mine.

The first generation, which was produced in 2000, isn’t shown here. That version had a wire-style pocket clip, Zytel scales, a slightly different Cold Steel trademark, and was stamped AUS-8 or AUS-8A. Looking at the catalogs from 2001, 2002, and 2003, we can see at least two of the Japanese-made generations. This means the Recon 1 knife in my middle picture is either a Gen 2 or Gen 3 model. Definitely not what I expected after diving into the history of the Recon 1!

Living here in Ventura County, I really miss the days when I could just swing by the warehouse showroom and ask the team directly—sometimes it felt like trying to solve the “chicken or the egg” debate! Thanks, everyone, for the quick assist. I think we’ve nailed this one down… or maybe opened a Pandora’s box!