What has happened to Cold Steel?

Smiling said:
Well I myself used to be Cold Steel fan as I'm using SK-5 Recon Tanto for years and it's been used for tasks that would damage other knives and yet I never had single issue with it.

But this time around, they are using 4034 stainless to make their flagships. More and more of their 3V knives are discontinued, and more and more of their knives are switched to very low end stainless steels like 4034 with excuse that this steel is very good quality and they don't have better option (despite 52100 and SK-5 they already use or O1 they used in the past).

Cold Steel can make a great product, but they chose not to this time around. And more and more of their videos are edited.
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First off, holy necrothread Batman!

Yeah, most folks who throw crap at CS probably never owned one themselves. Simply put, their folders are supposed to be dependable working knives, and the knives have proven themselves to my use. They’re not display knives.

That being said, I echo I insta9ves ’s disappointment in the more prevalent use of these cheapo steels in these recent times. If CS ditches S35VN, G10, and the Tri-Ad lock in favor of the rocker lock, that’s just too bad.
 
DangerZone98 said:
First off, holy necrothread Batman!
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17 years old thread but I had to :D
DangerZone98 said:
Yeah, most folks who throw crap at CS probably never owned one themselves.
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Yeah, so now everyone knows what time it is when Cold Steel users and fans started to throw crap at CS.

Cold Steel has proven us they can make some really high performance knives which we all appreciate, and now they are about to prove us that they can make some flea market level knives too. They want to cash in on their name and reputation.
 
They did something interesting; they are cloning the Mtech 151 now and calling it a Trailmaster.Maybe Kevin John is gonna crank out these sardine cans with edges.
 
goldie said:
They did something interesting; they are cloning the Mtech 151 now and calling it a Trailmaster.Maybe Kevin John is gonna crank out these sardine cans with edges.
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Mtech made a Trail Master knockoff, so Cold Steel decided to fight back by making Mtech 151 knockoff out of even cheaper material :D
 
This was posted on the Cold Steel forums by the moderater. A letter from Lynn Thompson.

Dear BladeForums,

We regret to inform you that the knives made from A-2 steel will not be delivered. We have made two attempts to obtain high quality A-2 steel but in both instances the steel was found to be inferior and knives made from it could not pass our high standard. We will be switching the knives in question to 4034 Stainless which we can obtain in very high quality and which has proven to be extremely tough and strong in our tests.

Sincerely,

Lynn C. Thompson
President - Cold Steel, Inc.
_____________________________

Open discussion below, I've got my flame suit on. They are right, its tough and strong, like the bumper of my mothers '74 buick
 
Or they just picked a cheaper manufacturer that happens to have a lot of 4034 steel.
The attempt to convince people(on bladeforums no less) that 4034 is a good replacement for A2 is pathetic.
This is equivalent to announcing that they are doing to replace S35VN Recon 1 with 1095 steel.
 
I saw their new Ranch Boss is now Chinese made. I think Canal Street made the original. Too back they could not have it made in Taiwan at the very least, if they could not find a USA manufacturer.
 
GermanyChris said:
I'm pretty knife snobby but I still own CS knives and will likely by more

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I have the Code 4 in XHP in both clip and spear. Great knives! So these knives will be history with s35vn?
 
insta9ves said:
Or they just picked a cheaper manufacturer that happens to have a lot of 4034 steel.
The attempt to convince people(on bladeforums no less) that 4034 is a good replacement for A2 is pathetic.
This is equivalent to announcing that they are doing to replace S35VN Recon 1 with 1095 steel.
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I just don’t trust 4034, man. I would’ve been very happy with well treated 5160 or 52100.
 
DangerZone98 said:
I just don’t trust 4034, man. I would’ve been very happy with well treated 5160 or 52100.
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We'd all even settle for SK-5 but unfortunatley we aren't that lucky.

Soon we'll be missing the steels people used to complain about, same goes for 4116 and AUS...
Lucky for us, there are other brands.
 
MelancholyMutt said:
Democracy and capitalism in cutlery... if you will...
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Only correct opposite to Capitalism is Communism, not Democracy :^D

Anyway I'm fan of CS (sort of) since long time.
I got a lot of them, but all made in 1980-90's !!
All except ONE - Recon 1 S35VN
I think I'm good till the end, my end ...
 
I haven’t made an in-depth study of the CS product line, but I do have an AD-15 in S35VN that gives every evidence of being a serious, well-made knife. Contrasting that with what I hear others saying, it makes me wonder if they are following the Kershaw model and having a few high end models made from better materials, a much larger budget oriented line featuring exciting designs but modest steels and handle materials.
 
Smiling said:
I also bet they'll be here for another 17 years. But question is - as which "kind" of brand?

From what I see they used to be considered as high end 17 years ago.
They were considered as best buy in recent years and when I started to get interested into knives.
With current switch to 4034 stainless they're now heading to flea market.

Which is not a bad thing for their company, just see M-tech, Tac-Force, Frost, Gerber... they are selling tons and have huge profit margins. that's however bad for consumers who buy their knives with intentions to use them.
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Wait what??? What are they switching to 4034?? The Recon series? Lawman? AK-47??
 
^ Yes on the Trailmaster,Recon Scout, Natchez and Laredo, + the 2 kukris.No other knives, as we know of. Whats wrong didnt you ever see a car bumper steel with a kraton handle before? Well its coming soon.
 
FRNFanboy said:
I haven’t made an in-depth study of the CS product line, but I do have an AD-15 in S35VN that gives every evidence of being a serious, well-made knife. Contrasting that with what I hear others saying, it makes me wonder if they are following the Kershaw model and having a few high end models made from better materials, a much larger budget oriented line featuring exciting designs but modest steels and handle materials.
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There are some serious winners in the CS product line, and the AD-15 as you mentioned is one of them. There’s also the AD-10, 4-Max, SR1, Recon 1, etc. Those are all excellent folders that will give you many years of service.

Right now, what some CS fans are worried about is that some fixed blade models are transitioning to 4034 steel, a low-end stainless alloy. Imagine the ESEE Junglas or the Becker BK9 being offered in 440A. It’s that bad.
 
BJ987 said:
Wait what??? What are they switching to 4034?? The Recon series? Lawman? AK-47??
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No news yet about those specific models. What we know is that fixed blades that were supposed to be offered in A2, e.g. Trailmaster, Recon Scout, are now planned to be offered in 4034.
 
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