What Is The General Consensus on Cold Steel Folders

CS folders are about as tough as they come. The down side of many of them is thier weight.
 
I own many Cold Steel products and have yet to be disappointed with one of them. Off the top of my head I have:

Bushman
Pocket Bushman
SRK
Mini Pal
X2 Voyager
K5 Neck Knife
FGX Push Blade
Barong Machete
1908 Indian Cavalry Saber
Sjamboks (one old style, one new)
Ball-headed War Club
City Stick
Pocket Shark

All very satisfactory products in their own rights.
 
I've been happy with most of the Cold Steel knives I buy. For what its worth I tend to keep the CS knives purchased and actually use them compared to safe queens from other companies but I do let some go now and then. I've had fewer lock issues with Cold Steel for sure over other company knives. Cold Steel has batted a pretty good average for consistency over the years for me so I really can't complain. Some claim they are overpriced and maybe so but I can think of several other companies that you could say that about also so big deal! You gotta pay to play with anything anymore and for the most part the knives are everything they are said to be. I really find their locks are what make them worth the purchase for me. I tend to trust their locks because over the years as I said, so many have been done right and I've seen so many on the insides to examine them that I know how they stack up to the competition. They just work and you can say a lot bad about Lynn if you want but one thing he does do is make sure his locks work. They do and it shows for me. There are no saints in this industry or any other for that matter. We certainly don't have any saints in elected positions so anymore you just have to get over it and get what works for you learning to live and let live. Thats worked for me. I don't agree with some and I probably wouldn't vote the same as they would but hey, thats life. Get over it right? :thumbup:

STR
 
Moved to General. Not a W&SS related topic.
 
I like most of them. :D

Like any other person I don't like everything..
 
I've had no problems with CS's AUS-8A, and have used it, hard, in situations that have chipped the edges on "better" steels.

So, after reading the comments on this thread,

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=701517

I bought a Spartan. Very, very solid knife: excellent lock-up with no blade play in any plane; takes a wicked edge when stropped; fits my XXL hand nicely.

For what I paid (<$60), I couldn't be happier.
 
You can chip the edge on anything really. I hit a spike in a landscape timber with my Rajah I and nicked the edge in two places so its not like its immune to damages its just the lock mechanism and overall built that makes them quite stout. The blade steel choice is rather tough though. I'm fairly certain some of the larger carbide steels would have suffered a lot more from that whack that chipped the AUS8 blade edge. The nicks are nothing to worry about in this one and I'll wait until many more show up before taking them out so its not bad. If anything it shows how tough the thing is. You should see the nick out of the rebar. :eek:

STR
 
like any major company cold steel has some great products & some marginal performers. my carbon 5 stock & muskrat folders were really decent knives. as well was the bush ranger, recon scout , & trailmaster.really all the mainstream products were good, maybe not exceptional but at one time for the money they were hard to beat. my tastes have moved more to spyderco & great eastern but these products are generally more expensive. i do consider some of the prices cold steel has on the more exotic knives to be excessive.
 
cold steel products are generally pretty reliable and high quality. some of the higher end stuff seems overpriced, but they have a lot of high quality products at really affordable prices.
 
Despite all his hot air,L.T.sells some pretty good knives.I have quite a few and have not had any bad experiences,except for one.That was with the Safekeeper,which is only ground on one side.My bad,I did'nt do enough research on it.I really like my old Carbon V Trailmaster and Recon Scout.The Master Tanto I have was made with laminated 400 series stainless and brass hardwear(the first San Mai lll).Have one of the first Magnum Tantos,with 8 3/4" blades.Got some of the old Voyagers too,Plus a few others.True,most of my stuff is pretty old(so am I),but I plan on getting a few of the new Voyagers,when they come out.San Mai lll blades,Triad Locks,and heat treated aluminum liners in the handles.Oh yeahh,count me in!
 
My Spartan carries comfortably IWB while wearing jeans. The handle feels great in my medium sized hands.
Grivory scales with steel liners so it's no lightweight and of course the massive blade.
Yes strong spring so unless you use the "wave" feature it's not fast to deploy and takes some effort to depress the lock bar.
Locks up with a lock thwack and there's no blade play.
The blade shape with a lot of belly is quite useful. Slight recurve so you may find it hard to sharpen on some benchstones.
For me the Spartan has the over-the-top look of the Rajah but in a size I'll actually carry. I got the Rajah I and thought it was too big so I sold it.
You'll see a lot of short reviews if you look on knifecenter.com
 
Before they started using VG-1 I wasn't too much of a fan. I've always liked the Voyager line, but now that it's in VG-1 I love it.
 
I haven't used my CS folders hard enough to comment on edge retention but I will say that when sharpening the AUS8 it seemed soft and I got a very crusty burr with the Spartan that was difficult to remove.
 
I have been fortunate enough to collect a fair number of knives from different manufacturers, so I have some perspective where decent knives are concerned. I have had duds from high end manufacturers (>$200) and many of the big names. The one company that I have never had a dud from is Cold Steel. Their knives are well thought out, well implemented and their material choice is excellent. In evidence of these facts, I offer the American Lawman and the Ultimate Hunter, two knives that amaze me with their strength and quality.

In these days of 'boutique steels', many will look down their noses at VG-1 and AUS-8 as heat treated to Cold Steel's standards. To this I say, try them. You will find that they take an extremely fine edge and hold it for a significant time. What is most important to me, is that these steels are easy to keep hair-popping sharp with conventional Arkansas stones and the occasional cardboard strop.

When I first heard/read Cold Steel's claims, I thought it was a crock. After using their products, I have come to realize that it was no brag, just fact.
 
I've got quite a few CS folders. I like the Voyager series, the AUS 8 gets very sharp, and is pretty tough to boot. The Trailguide series, IMO, is one of the better folders out there. Not in terms of quality, but in terms of steel and edge quality. Full flat grind in Carbon V, good ergo's, what's not to like? The CS stockman is my favorite stockman pattern, very comfortable and usable, and yes, in Carbon V.

I just picked up a Lawman (thanks STR!), and it's as good as everyone says. The lock is extremely solid, and the rest of the knife is very comfortable.
 
"...What Is The General Consensus on Cold Steel Folders...' - theedge13

most functional, but not the best looking bunch of production folders, ever.
the top of the line models are a different league but honestly, they're just way too far expensive to even consider as a distinct possibility for purchase.
 
I have bought their knives since the 80's starting with a Shinobu. I have always had their folders and found them reliable and to perform as expected. I have used the heck out of them. I have lost, broke and abused quite a few, but never had one malfunction due to manufacturing or materials. I use their customer support once and was satisfied with their response.

Some may argue, and I see the point if you are a collector, that they may be overpriced given the materials used in the manufacturing. CS knives have always been user knives for me so this has not been a large concern.
 
I own a lot of CS knives, folders, fixed, machetes, even a battle mace. Some of them I don't use much (battle mace being one :D), but they're all good. CS makes dependable rugged stuff. Often a bit bulky, sometimes heavy. They like oversized knives, as do I. I also bought some kitchen knives and my wife really like those.
So basically I have nothing but good to say about them.
 
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