What is with Cold Steel?

[hardheart]

The japanese never perfected the american tanto point since they never used anything like it until it was popularized here. If you look at a real tanto froma traditional japanese smith it looks nothing like the tip to wich you are reffering. Thats all I'm gona say because...

Bob Lum will be thrilled to know that LT "redesigned" the tanto point, instead of ripping off his original knife design

So Bob Lum designed all those swords over the centuries.

The Japanese most certainly did use the tip profile, thousands of times over, just not on tantos.

 

[aj1985]

Firstly don't compare cold steel to Spyderco of all companies

Secondly I have no cold steel products as well, but I do have an opinion regarding them


Cold steel in mind is only good for different tools/Impact weapons that they carry, because no one carries so many different products for such a low price. Eskrima stikcs, sjamboks, shovels, Canes, Sharkies & such.

I would never buy a knife from them, because either they have lost the skill to make good quality knives or never really had it in the first place.

For a knife i can think of many many other makers I would like to buy from before before Cold Steel.

take care

aj

 

[Cougar Allen]

Nice straw man, but the poster was not nearly that specific with his claim.

Now, I have a feeling that what averageguy really meant to say was that Cold Steel would be more likely than Spyderco to sell rocks, especially considering their fondness for grivory, polypropylene, sarongs, hair brushes, war clubs, and marking pens.

3G

No, I predict CS will soon market a plastic imitation rock, advertising it as harder, tougher, heavier, more modern, and more deadly than old-fashioned stone rocks, far superior both for throwing at your enemies and for cave-man re-enactments. Made from a special proprietary polymer material that no one else has. Original design. Beware of imitations.

 

[Confederate]

there's the copycat knives, and not just similar styles. (gi tanto, sharkie marker, etc)

C'mon, Sharky Markers aren't even knives! And the G.I. Tanto? That's merely a tanto with hilts stamped out of steel and sharpened. Did CS steal the tanto blade? No, actually CS helped make the tanto a mainstay in the knife industry. And hilts have been around for years. Did they steal the combination? Doubtful. A court would rule that there simply was no originality to protect.

...when nearly all his knives are from china.

Hmmm...most of mine say "Japan" or "Tiawan."

I find cold steel knives to be poorly made, with poor materials, for the most part. many are a good dollar value, but I don't mind spending money for what i want and a product i believe in.

Really? Which knives do you find poorly made? I have quite a few CS knives, and not one of them is poorly made. How about some examples? I do agree that they're a good dollar value.

From what i have read here on the forums, even those who use cold steel knives will say that much of their product line is crap.

Strange, I must have missed those. My recollection is that most CS owners like their knives a great deal. They mostly complain about a specific model like the Tri-Fold, which is an exception (and all companies have their exceptions.)

I find that most of the CS critics make highly generalized statements that they never get around to explaining. I've yet to hear anyone say that the CS Voyagers are crap, or the Trailmasters are crap, and if there are any, they usually have a legitimate gripe about a individual knife.

 

[Whoever Wherever]

So Bob Lum designed all those swords over the centuries.

The Japanese most certainly did use the tip profile, thousands of times over, just not on tantos.

The japanese used a flat sided blade that had a single angle that went straight from the flat to a straight forward edge? On what, chisels? Im all my years around daisho I never saw them. Was it on a tool of some sort? I think I may have seen some bonsai tool that might have a tanto like tip but no cutting edge but never on bladed weaponry. Just curious.

 

[Halfneck]

So Bob Lum designed all those swords over the centuries.

The Japanese most certainly did use the tip profile, thousands of times over, just not on tantos.

Not here to bash on Cold Steel, just want to watch someone try & argue about knives & the knife industry with A.G. Russell.

 

[MORIMOTOM]

Well i can't justify disagreeing with you on this one because yes you are right, the ad is totally uncalled for! In fact when i first read it i thought it to be low down and ridiculous to bash that harshly especially since the knife was made of good tough carbon steel at a give away price... It would have sold better without all that!

that was my point. ive never said lynn thompson is a pos, or that cold steel is a poorly run company.

i simply dont agree with his advertising tactics, and the cold steel knives i have owned and handled have been less than satisfactory. some mid level, mostly the cheaper end stuff. and knowing that, i cannot justify spending several hundred dollars on a cold steel upper tier knife.

im sure there are products that are good, many here on the forums like cold steel and buy, use, and collect them. just wont be me.

 

[MORIMOTOM]

C'mon, Sharky Markers aren't even knives! And the G.I. Tanto? That's merely a tanto with hilts stamped out of steel and sharpened. Did CS steal the tanto blade? No, actually CS helped make the tanto a mainstay in the knife industry. And hilts have been around for years. Did they steal the combination? Doubtful. A court would rule that there simply was no originality to protect.

does it matter that the sharkie isnt a knife? its clearly a rip off.

Hmmm...most of mine say "Japan" or "Tiawan."

most? what do the others say?

Really? Which knives do you find poorly made? I have quite a few CS knives, and not one of them is poorly made. How about some examples? I do agree that they're a good dollar value.

i had an obayun (i think it was called). the grind was uneven and poor. the finish was uneven and inconsistent (bead blast of some sort). the sheath was molded kydex, but wasnt trimmed and looked like crap. the fit was fair, and rubbed the finish off sections of the knife on the first insertion. not just a little, but right through the bead blast.

the rubber handle was also molded poorly and hadnt been trimmed at all. i expect more for a 100.00 or so knife.

i dont know the name of the folders, but a guy i work with had a serrated job. lots of blade play, loose scales. dont know what he did with it, but i dont think he ran it over or anything.

Strange, I must have missed those. My recollection is that most CS owners like their knives a great deal. They mostly complain about a specific model like the Tri-Fold, which is an exception (and all companies have their exceptions.)

perhaps. i wouldnt post something i didnt know or believe to be true.

I find that most of the CS critics make highly generalized statements that they never get around to explaining. I've yet to hear anyone say that the CS Voyagers are crap, or the Trailmasters are crap, and if there are any, they usually have a legitimate gripe about a individual knife.

[/QUOTE]

specific enough for you? remember the cs that snapped at the hilt after some batoning? wasnt that a trailmaster?

 

[Bastid]

Not here to bash on Cold Steel, just want to watch someone try & argue about knives & the knife industry with A.G. Russell.

Me too. My bet is A.G. actually knows what he is talking about after 40 or so years. .

 

[hardheart]

if I was talking about knives and the knife industry...

http://www.arizonaskiesmeteorites.c...hi/Ujitsugu_Katana/High_Resolution/index.html

there, a secondary grind where the edge turns up, terminating at the point, which is created at the spine, and the spine is curved upward.

Like someone came up with this idea in the last couple dozen decades. Bob Lum makes some very sweet looking blades, but he didn't come up with this first. LT certainly didn't.

tanto - http://www.swordpolish.com/db1/00015/swordpolish.com/_uimages/Kunimichi1x5.JPG

not tanto -
http://www.swordpolish.com/db1/00015/swordpolish.com/_uimages/YamashiroDaijoKunishige2.jpg

 

[Halfneck]

if I was talking about knives and the knife industry...

http://www.arizonaskiesmeteorites.c...hi/Ujitsugu_Katana/High_Resolution/index.html

there, a secondary grind where the edge turns up, terminating at the point, which is created at the spine, and the spine is curved upward.

Like someone came up with this idea in the last couple dozen decades. Bob Lum makes some very sweet looking blades, but he didn't come up with this first. LT certainly didn't.

tanto - http://www.swordpolish.com/db1/00015/swordpolish.com/_uimages/Kunimichi1x5.JPG

not tanto -
http://www.swordpolish.com/db1/00015/swordpolish.com/_uimages/YamashiroDaijoKunishige2.jpg

Does not look like the Americanized Tanto that Bob Lum perfected. Tip is rounded and there is no secondary point. Also, if I remember correctly, Bob Lum uses a Hamagiri (spelling?) grind at the tip.

 

[Khalnath]

does it matter that the sharkie isnt a knife? its clearly a rip off.

Who did it rip off? I hope you're not saying it's a rip off of an ordinary every day Sharpie marker. The construction is substantially different. The fact that they look externally identical is the whole POINT. Camouflage and copycat are very different things.

If someone else makes a stronger Sharpie look-alike pen designed for use as an impact weapon, then I retract my point. (And please tell me where I can get one.)

 

[hardheart]

Also, if I remember correctly, Bob Lum uses a Hamagiri (spelling?) grind at the tip.

hamaguri, clam shaped edge, convexed, this isn't a new thing either.

 

[Sword and Shield]

Hmmm...most of mine say "Japan" or "Tiawan."

Taiwan's where, again?

 

[MORIMOTOM]

Who did it rip off? I hope you're not saying it's a rip off of an ordinary every day Sharpie marker. The construction is substantially different. The fact that they look externally identical is the whole POINT. Camouflage and copycat are very different things.

If someone else makes a stronger Sharpie look-alike pen designed for use as an impact weapon, then I retract my point. (And please tell me where I can get one.)

are you saying that because it has thicker walls it is substantially different?

sharkie, sharpie. pretty damn close.

 

[IH8U]

I have had CS products (SRK, Recon tanto), but have moved on not for any one specific reason, just wanted something better. I for one prefer a lifetime warranty, over CS's whopping 5 year warranty. Bark River for the win.

 

[Khalnath]

are you saying that because it has thicker walls it is substantially different?

sharkie, sharpie. pretty damn close.

Yes. Also the intended purpose is much different. That's like saying those hide away safes are knockoffs of Coca-Cola or Campbell's products.

Sharpie markers are intended solely as writing instruments.

Sharkie markers are intended primarily as striking tools, and incorporate a (greatly reduced in effectiveness) writing component in order to de-weaponize it.

They are not competing for the same market, therefore it is not a knockoff. It is camouflage, not a copy.

 

[M. McCord]

Taiwan's where, again?

Wikipedia:
The main island of Taiwan, also known as Formosa, is located in East Asia off the coast of mainland China, southwest of the main islands of Japan but directly west of the end of Japan's Ryukyu Islands, and north-northwest of the Philippines. It is bound to the east by the Pacific Ocean, to the south by the South China Sea and the Luzon Strait, to the west by the Taiwan Strait and to the north by the East China Sea.

 

[MORIMOTOM]

Yes. Also the intended purpose is much different. That's like saying those hide away safes are knockoffs of Coca-Cola or Campbell's products.

Sharpie markers are intended solely as writing instruments.

Sharkie markers are intended primarily as striking tools, and incorporate a (greatly reduced in effectiveness) writing component in order to de-weaponize it.

They are not competing for the same market, therefore it is not a knockoff. It is camouflage, not a copy.

agree to disagree.

 

[DngrRuss1]

So, is this thread gonna hit a thousand posts too?

Glad to see more folks defending CS against the "usual suspects" of CS Haters.