Why are Cold Steel knives so inconsistant?

BenLong1018

BenLong1018

Joined
Apr 12, 2012
Messages
1,668
I wanna start by saying that I love Cold Steel knives because their designs are unlike any other company out there.

My problem is that I'm afraid to buy any more Tri-ad locks because some of them are just too damn stiff. I have a 4 inch Talwar and I love the knife, but I can't deal with how painful it is to unlock the knife. On the flip side I have a Voyager XL and it's perfectly easy to unlock without being too stiff.

I've heard a lot of people on this forum and on YouTube say that their locks are too stiff on various models. I wanna buy more Cold Steel knives, but I don't feel like taking the gamble when buying online. I'm not trying to whine I'm genuinely bothered by this.

Do any of you guys feel this way?
 
Have you tried the trick of leaving the knife open to 90 degrees for a week or so? I have not yet run into this issue, despite having multiple Tri-Ad equipped knives, but many who have say this works well to speed wear in of the lock.
 
Leaving the knife open works great, I left it open at various positions over a few days and WOW big difference. Also if your so inclined take the knife apart and remove the coating where the lock bar and spring touch. I did both methods and now my wife one hand closes all my cold steels. They come stiff new but break in nicely.
G. Scott H. said:
Have you tried the trick of leaving the knife open to 90 degrees for a week or so? I have not yet run into this issue, despite having multiple Tri-Ad equipped knives, but many who have say this works well to speed wear in of the lock.
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Toughen up your thumb, it gets easier with use. I don't think your talwar is defective, just takes opening and closing as well as the methods above. If you don't want to make your finger stronger there are other locks. Its ok your not the only one with a weak thumb lol
BenLong1018 said:
Ive left my Talwar open for weeks and its still as stiff as it ever was.
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It seems to be somewhat based on model. My Voyager and Tuff Lite required a longer push than a standard back lock, but not really any more force. My Talwar was obnoxiously stiff as well and I've beard the Spartan usually suffers from that issue. When the first limited edition XHP Recon 1s hit someone mentioned that they were working on tuning the Triad lock more consistently so you wouldn't get so many that were a pain to disengage. I hope they're carrying that idea through to their 2015 lineup.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
It seems to be somewhat based on model. My Voyager and Tuff Lite required a longer push than a standard back lock, but not really any more force. My Talwar was obnoxiously stiff as well and I've beard the Spartan usually suffers from that issue. When the first limited edition XHP Recon 1s hit someone mentioned that they were working on tuning the Triad lock more consistently so you wouldn't get so many that were a pain to disengage. I hope they're carrying that idea through to their 2015 lineup.
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Well I've already heard somebody on the forum say that the lock on their Ultimate Hunter was stiff.
 
As others have said I have found that the triad lock is generally extremely stiff when new but the spring loosens up with use. I just got a new Code 4 last week and it is so tight that I have to close it with two hands. I have an older AK-47 that was the same way, and it is much better after a lot of use. I'm going to try the half-open trick and see if that speeds up the process. I think that a stiff closure is more than an acceptable trade-off for the strength of the triad lock.
 
swarthys said:
As others have said I have found that the triad lock is generally extremely stiff when new but the spring loosens up with use. I just got a new Code 4 last week and it is so tight that I have to close it with two hands. I have an older AK-47 that was the same way, and it is much better after a lot of use. I'm going to try the half-open trick and see if that speeds up the process. I think that a stiff closure is more than an acceptable trade-off for the strength of the triad lock.
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I don't entirely disagree, but the ease-of-use factor is the only thing that stops the Triad from being my favorite. I'm hoping the new configuration on the Tiger Claw makes it easier to operate and spreads to their other models. That's one of the biggest things they could do to improve their lineup as far as I'm concerned.
 
My Lone Star Hunter is easy enough to unlock, but you have to "want to" unlock it. Pushing the lock a little or just thinking you pushed it enough won't cut it, it HAS to be pushed all the way, and held there until you know for sure its disengaged. On mine this feels good, and pretty much perfect, but the tolerances are so tight that it has to be 100 percent clean or it will either stick a little or be grainy. It almost feels like there is a bur on the edge of the lock. Almost every time I unlock it this is almost unoticeable though. I say this because compared to a brand new Buck 110 it is very hard to unlock, so I can see how someone wouldn't like the stiffness of the tri-ad lock; but for me its ok. I like it! Part of me wants to loosen mine a little but I'd rather not. My only real beef with that knife is that the clip is tiny and very stiff, its either too loose or too tight, not much flexibility.
 
G. Scott H. said:
Have you tried the trick of leaving the knife open to 90 degrees for a week or so? I have not yet run into this issue, despite having multiple Tri-Ad equipped knives, but many who have say this works well to speed wear in of the lock.
Click to expand...
I have one Cold Steel knife that came with a very firm lock. Leaving the blade half open a few nights has softened the lock nicely. I really like how strong the knife seems to be and how light it is.
 
The middle part of the Triad Lock must be pushed deeply to disengage. You will find it is easier pushing the back part of the lock bar to the middle, than pushing from the front part to the middle.
 
Change your closing technique. Middle finger is a lot stronger. Use it to to squeeze the lock bar, with the opposite handle cutout for the blade against your palm, then rotate to get your hand out of the way and finish.
 
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