Where is Cold Steel?

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peshkabz

Joined
May 6, 2003
Messages
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Hi folks, I am new to this forum. I have many knives from three or four manufacturers. One of the first companies I bought from for many years were the Cold Steel products. (Lately, I have been buying Kershaw and CRKT knives.)
Why is Cold Steel not refered to much within these pages? Are there issues I am not aware of? Kershaw and CRKT seem far more popular here.
 
Cold Steal is mentioned quite a bit here, perhaps not in the last day or so. Personally I am not too fond of there folders, but think they have a few decent fixed blades.
 
Check the factories in China. Last I saw, half of their production was coming from there.:D
 
A lot of Cold Steel's appeal is to newer knife buyers. They are playing more to this low end these days with the cheaper steels they use, even in some of their venerable patterns.

But they have made a lot of solid products over the years, and I still like them myself, and frequently check out the Special Projects catalogs I get or the SpecPro website.

They have an unusually extensive line of different weapons -- how many other production companies offer axes, swords, and walking sticks?

They are, however, less internet oriented, and don't correspond online with customers or maintain a discussion board like many other companies.

You can always get a good discussion going here, though. :) (Welcome to Bladeforums!)
 
They are from Taiwan, R.O.C. = Republic Of China

*puts on nomex suit*

Peshkabz...

If anything, Cold Steel still makes fun equipment. It fills the niche nicely between HSN and more expensive productions. Not everybody can afford premium production knives and Cold Steel is good for neophyte knife enthusiasts. We all started with them at one time or another. Admittedly, I know I did. I think they pushed the envelope so that companies like BK & T, Benchmade, Boker, Buck, Camillus, CRKT, gerber, SOG, etc... upped the ante. Now you have Beretta, Colt, S & W jumping on the bandwagon and getting in on the act for some of the market share.

I still like some of Cold Steel's products although their hype is even more fun in their controversy. Only Cold Steel uniquely makes Cold Steel products their way. A lot of martial artists used to look into purchasing their products and they tended to make imitations of other well known knife models with cheaper but more modern materials i.e. Twistmaster was an example of an Opinel.

Welcome and hope you enjoy the forums. Hopefully, all your queries will be answered to your satisfaction.

Originally posted by Wunderbar
Check the factories in China. Last I saw, half of their production was coming from there.:D
Click to expand...
 
They were, and to some extent still are, a very good and solid line of products.

I have not gotten a new one in about 5 years. Cold Steel is winding down I think. Their products show less inspiration and pizzazz these days but are still very good on occasion. Cold Steel products are today greater in variety than any other knife company. They are willing to experiment where others are not.

Some Cold Steel products are built on hype. That said, if you know what you are doing, Cold Stell products are some of the best knife for the money you will ever find. But nowadays you have to use your head. They are NOT quite as good as they were 10 years ago and some of their products are turkeys.
 
If you mean Cold Steel, Inc., I believe that they are located in California.:D.
 
Primarily, I am a Microtech and Strider collector.

Having said that, I just bought a Cold Steel Culloden, the skean dhu replica.

I bought it because I wanted to try a neck knife for bicycling. It had to be stainless for sweat, accessible with both hands, and useful if I was attacked in the awkward position of pedaling. (There have been several muggings of bicyclists in the Madison area.)

My real desire was to get a Strider version, but that would cost 200 bucks and I didn't know if it would work. The Cold Steel knife is to be considered a 'shake down' run. Is it useful?

The bevel is way too steep, it's 11 degrees on the Edge Pro. The edge developes 'flat spots' on the first series of cuts. The blade stock under the handle appears to have a slight bend, and I cannot tell if this is an intentional ergonomic feature, or a defect.

In short, the knife is hyped, but for +30 bucks, who cares if it breaks or if I lose it.
 
I think Cold Steel still make some very good fixed blade knives. I have not used one of their folders in years, so I can not comment on those.
 
Are their gurkhas any good? I looked at the HI ones and I didn't like their styling at all. I'm sure they are much higher quality but they just aren't the shape that I want them.
 
Originally posted by Wunderbar
Does anyone know how their swords are, as far as quality goes?
Click to expand...

They are low-to-mid quality in my estimation, and certainly not swords that would be "Collected" by those following the work of Master Sword Smiths...
 
Their Khukuries are decent as fighters. Even the thick model is a tad light for real chopping, and it sticks (via blade geometry) in anything but dry, brittle wood. You'll spend 1/3 of time chopping and 2/3 prying it out. The thin models are decent at brush clearing, though you give up a lot of reach compared to a decent machete.

Also, handle design is somewhat poor. It keeps it in your hand, but you'll end up with two or three hot spots with no skin on them if you do any serious work. Mine went on one camping trip and has stayed in the closet ever since.

I'm not going to do the whole "you HAVE to get a HI, dude" thing (even though you're right, they ARE better :D ) but I will ask how long you looked at their website? The have about a dozen different designs, whereas CS has two.
 
In the garbage with the rest of the trash:eek: Sorry, I couldn't resist that. I don't care for any of their products now. They seemed much better about 10 years ago. Maybe my tastes just changed.
 
I looked at all of their khukuries and didn't like the way they looked. I like the black styling of the cold steel ones...but they just don't seem to be as high quality as the others.
 
I dunno...Not too long ago I received a "new-style" Cold Steel Tanto in a trade, and I can't find a flaw or fault in it at all. It is a very solid knife that has a nice "feel".
 
We all started with them at one time or another
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Not me. I have never owned a Cold Steel blade, and never will.

The last time I handled a Cold Steel blade, its Kraton handle felt cheesy, and the blade was thinner than some clock spring steel I have used. I convinced the owner (a friend) to look at my Benchmade, and when he saw the huge difference in quality, he immediately went down and paid B&M prices for a 710, and relegated the CS to his tackle box. Good choice.

Their folders are cheap junk, IMHO, and there fixed blades only rate slightly better than the Gil Hibben junk from United.




DISCLAIMER: The above statement represents the opinion of the author, and in no way reflects the opinion of Bladeforums.com, its owner, administrator, or moderators.
 
According to CS their products are manufactured in Japan, Taiwan, and the US. I think the're a mixed bag of products. I bought a Grande Vaquero(made in Japan)this year for $30.00 new, and I am satisfied with it. I wouldn't have payed anything near the $100.00+ MSRP for it though.
 
I have a tanto too, and you're right, it is a very solid knife, but it's a very different ballgame than the khukuri. For that matter, the Khukuries are solid, I'm just not sure what job they're really good at. One of my favorite using knives is a Carbon V Master Hunter. I think they make very decent knives that can't hope to live up to the hype they give them.

As far as the blacked out blades go, well, I can't argue with that. I used to be big into tactical finishes too. The cold steel khuks are not low quality, by any means--if it appeals to you, buy it!! The nice thing about them going to blacked out blades is the much lower price tag. Mine is an older one, and I considered myself lucky at the time to pay for it what one of the new ones retails for now.
 
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