Where does Cold Steel Trail Master made???

T

thomasFATCAT

Joined
Mar 13, 2008
Messages
12
Is it now made in China ???:jerkit:
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i just found these pic. from
http://cgi.ebay.com/COLD-STEEL-TRAI...ryZ88906QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
 
From the Cold Steel FAQs on their home page

Q: Where are Cold Steel products made?
Our products are manufactured world wide. Most items are made in Japan, Taiwan, or China.

So yes, some of the Cold Steel knives are being produced in China. I would point out the Trail Master is available in San Mai III® Stainless which is made in Japan if you don't mind the price.
 
What's the difference where it is made, IF they got the heat treatment correct?

World wide economy. At least half your car is made in what our parents called the Orient with recycled steel mined here a century ago and plastics from oils mined in the mid East or elsewhere. In that scenario we worry about where the worker tempering your next blade sleeps? I'd rather worry that he does the job properly than waste time worrying about who he is.
 
superc said:
What's the difference where it is made, IF they got the heat treatment correct?

World wide economy. At least half your car is made in what our parents called the Orient with recycled steel mined here a century ago and plastics from oils mined in the mid East or elsewhere. In that scenario we worry about where the worker tempering your next blade sleeps? I'd rather worry that he does the job properly than waste time worrying about who he is.
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The operative word is IF they got the heat treatment correct, IF they used a steel adequate to accept heat treat, IF they got the edge geometry correct, IF the handle is attached properly, IF the finish on the blade was properly anodized. Lots of IF's there. Just looking at the pic, they didn't take time to get what looks like the 60 grit grind marks out of the ricasso, the black finish they put on the blade (lead based paint?) had some pretty big particles in it. And hell, why bother even stamping the company name in the blade when you can just paint it on?

World wide economy--make the cheapest product possible using the cheapest labor possible, and screw the customer as long as someone makes a buck, er, yen.
 
Absintheur said:
From the Cold Steel FAQs on their home page

Q: Where are Cold Steel products made?
Our products are manufactured world wide. Most items are made in Japan, Taiwan, or China.

So yes, some of the Cold Steel knives are being produced in China. I would point out the Trail Master is available in San Mai III® Stainless which is made in Japan if you don't mind the price.
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It makes a difference to me on so many different levels economically, politically as well as quality of product.

Sorry but companies like Cold Steel And Sog to name a couple have really turned to Sh*t over the last few years in my opinion and the products coming out of China are the worst.

Sorry, I actually meant to put this as a comment to the guy who said what difference does it make where it is made, it's a world economy.
 
I wish everything was made in the USA. However I am starting to see some pretty good knives coming from china. The Trail Master in SK-5 is a very good knife. It's tough and good quality. I have a Buck folder from china that is good quality as well.
 
NStricker said:
The operative word is IF they got the heat treatment correct, IF they used a steel adequate to accept heat treat, IF they got the edge geometry correct, IF the handle is attached properly, IF the finish on the blade was properly anodized. Lots of IF's there. Just looking at the pic, they didn't take time to get what looks like the 60 grit grind marks out of the ricasso,..
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Yup, and the Ontario (made in the USA) Quartermaster I bought 2 months ago still had tool chatter marks on both sides of the blade which took hours of 600 grit to remove and a thin butt cap held on only by glue/epoxy. Somewhere around here is a Made in USA Buck folder with at least a 1/16th" gap between the wood and the bolster on one side. I have had many Made in USA Camillius and Case blades snap with just a little prying. Look around and find the picture I put up here of a Case Pawnee with a half dollar sized hole in the edge resulting from contact with a deer's pelvis. The painted markings you object to will probably last at least as long as the ever so faint laser marks found on one of my Busse blades. Ten seconds with some steel wool to remove dried blood or tissue and both sets of marks will probably vanish. Quality control is a world wide problem. So too is a manufacturer cutting costs where they can. Being a lowest bid jobber no doubt contributes to the last. You want to blame someone, blame the vendor pushing them to lower costs, then blame the consumers who accept the end result thereby encouraging continuation of the practices. Don't blame the worker doing the best he can for a 30 cents an hour wage. Trust me, somewhere in China is someone who knows how to make a knife. Likewise every now and then some good blades slide out of there. Looked at the kitchen knives in Walmart lately? One of the problems here is an apparent total lack of communication with a Chinese knife user still in China. What local brand do they covet?
 
I have bought a handful of Rough Rider Knives in the past couple of weeks. The fit and finish is great, the pearl is better than I have seen on US production knives costing ten times as much, blades are very sharp and free of tool marks. Fact is the Chinese are hungry for our money and are willing to produce good quality goods to get it. The Chinese want to have the same standards of living we enjoy in the US and in other countries in the world, who can blame them? As long as the quality is good I am willing to spend money on Chinese made goods. I realize that this means some money is leaving the country but a good bit is also staying here both in moneys paid to distributors and retailers but also to our government in the form of import duties.
 
At the Risk of sounding out of place im gonna put my two bits and say that the Trailmaster as a large knife is still one of my favorites. Dont care where its made as long as it does what it needs to do ;"Cut".
 
superc said:
Yup, and the Ontario (made in the USA) Quartermaster I bought 2 months ago still had tool chatter marks on both sides of the blade which took hours of 600 grit to remove and a thin butt cap held on only by glue/epoxy. Somewhere around here is a Made in USA Buck folder with at least a 1/16th" gap between the wood and the bolster on one side. I have had many Made in USA Camillius and Case blades snap with just a little prying. Look around and find the picture I put up here of a Case Pawnee with a half dollar sized hole in the edge resulting from contact with a deer's pelvis. The painted markings you object to will probably last at least as long as the ever so faint laser marks found on one of my Busse blades. Ten seconds with some steel wool to remove dried blood or tissue and both sets of marks will probably vanish. Quality control is a world wide problem. So too is a manufacturer cutting costs where they can. Being a lowest bid jobber no doubt contributes to the last. You want to blame someone, blame the vendor pushing them to lower costs, then blame the consumers who accept the end result thereby encouraging continuation of the practices. Don't blame the worker doing the best he can for a 30 cents an hour wage. Trust me, somewhere in China is someone who knows how to make a knife. Likewise every now and then some good blades slide out of there. Looked at the kitchen knives in Walmart lately? One of the problems here is an apparent total lack of communication with a Chinese knife user still in China. What local brand do they covet?
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Well said, superc...;)

Ray :)
 
I have no objection to a manufacturer having their goods made in China, Taiwan, Japan or elsewhere. I have objections to manufacturers and retailers not clearly and openly stating the point of origin of their product. I was a big fan of Gerber back in the Portland days and had many of their knives and thought highly of them all. Years ago when my interest in knives was rekindled, I bought a Gerber 4-point something or other online and was absolutely disgusted to find "Taiwan" on the other side of the blade. I had assumed Gerbers were still made in the USA and the ad, specs and description of the knife made no mention of it being imported. I will not buy another Gerber and would not have bought that one If I had known it was made in Taiwan. Thats probably why Gerber and others like Buck and Spyderco don't openly brag about their product being made offshore but make a special effort to let you know which ones were made in the USA. I have had a few Chinese and Japanese knives before but at this point in time, I don't care to have China, Taiwan, Japan or Pakistan on the blades of the knives I carry. If others don't mind where their knife is made that's ok with me. I don't look down on them for it and am just happy they enjoy knives and have something they are happy to carry and use.
 
I should put in a good word for Japan here. They are a highly motivated population, and put out some of the best products in the world, regardless of what they are.
You don't have to look hard to see why Toyota is so popular, and I generally find knives made in Japan to have better fit and finish than any others.

Just my opinion.
 
Toyota is about as good an example for cars as McDonald's is for steak. They do great business, but as far as the product is concerned, they've perfected the art of a bland, efficient, toaster of an automobile...an appliance for people who hate cars.

Speaking of lowest common denominators though, "Where does Cold Steel Trail Master made???" Where does your English made? (Hint: not next to the triple question marks)
 
Wow, some people throw a hissy fit if a couple of Cold Steel products are made in China. But they have a blind eye when it comes to other company's doing it like Buck and others. Meanwhile they buy every other non knife product made in China, and think they are doing something right by not supporting Cold Steel.

I know a couple people who go ballistic when they see Lynn Thompson cut a piece of meat with a knife. And I seriously doubt if Lynn Thompson is the only ego maniac of a knife company. I mean cmon guys, you know someone at your work (boss or maybe someone else) who thinks too highly of themselves and thinks they walk on water, they are all outspoken but they act as if they're not.
 
Yeah, one would imagine the Japanese know a thing or two about steel ;)

Joshua J. said:
I should put in a good word for Japan here. They are a highly motivated population, and put out some of the best products in the world, regardless of what they are.
You don't have to look hard to see why Toyota is so popular, and I generally find knives made in Japan to have better fit and finish than any others.

Just my opinion.
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bobby.t said:
Toyota is about as good an example for cars as McDonald's is for steak. They do great business, but as far as the product is concerned, they've perfected the art of a bland, efficient, toaster of an automobile...an appliance for people who hate cars.
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I would strongly disagree with that. Sure, McDonald's makes boring steaks. They also taste like crap, and are made from the cheapest ingredients man can find, with the cheapest humanly possible labour. That's quite different from Toyota and Japanese car manufacturers in general, who build high quality products that last (much better than many American and European cars), even though they don't make all their cars for people who want loud sounds and big bumpers. ;) The Toyota MR2, for example, isn't what I would call a bland toaster of an automobile, for people who hate cars.
 
bobby.t said:
Speaking of lowest common denominators though, "Where does Cold Steel Trail Master made???" Where does your English made? (Hint: not next to the triple question marks)
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Cheap shot.:thumbdn: Maybe English is not his native language? It also doesn't have anything to do with where the knives are made.
 
Elen said:
I would strongly disagree with that. Sure, McDonald's makes boring steaks. They also taste like crap, and are made from the cheapest ingredients man can find, with the cheapest humanly possible labour. That's quite different from Toyota and Japanese car manufacturers in general, who build high quality products that last (much better than many American and European cars), even though they don't make all their cars for people who want loud sounds and big bumpers. ;) The Toyota MR2, for example, isn't what I would call a bland toaster of an automobile, for people who hate cars.
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Mcdonald's makes steaks now:confused:
 
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