Why do I hate Cold Steel?

Hate. Let me tell you how much I've come to hate you since I began to live. There are 387.44 million miles of printed circuits in wafer thin layers that fill my complex. If the word 'hate' was engraved on each nanoangstrom of those hundreds of millions of miles it would not equal one one-billionth of the hate I feel for humans at this micro-instant. For you. Hate. Hate.

-AM, I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. And also me regarding cold steel's business practices.
 
He’s a very experienced climber and mountaineer, where the RAT-1 will be used. Admittedly, he won’t be jumping out on people while dressed as a ninja, shouting WOOOSHAAA!; nor will he be slicing into meat filled boots; nor will he be neutralising sentries, using it as a pry bar, or proving his awesome badassery by pounding on the back of the spine with a hammer. Or whatever.

You may not be familiar with the RAT-1, but I’d love you to go over to the ESEE home forum and tell Jeff about these $4 Ozark Trail knives. I’ll buy the popcorn.

I have one CS knife, Recon-1, purchased because I admire the lock design and wanted to own one example. However, barring its superb lock, the Recon-1 is not particularly special. It’s a good knife, I like the clip point and dislike the oft mentioned pocket clip issues.

The RAT-1, on the other hand, is a superb piece of design. There is a reason it looks fugly, BTW: it’s called ergonomics. Also, it is relatively lightweight, compared to, say, a Recon-1. YMMV

Tell Jeff I said ‘Hi’. :)

I own a Rat-1 and I like it. I also like Ontario as a company. I'm not sure what the ninja imitations are relevant to. It seems like you are just trying to make CS look bad because their advertising is childish. Unfortunately this has no effect on the functionality of their knives.

Next, you're insinuating that I think a $4 ozark trail knife compares to ESEE, and that I'd possibly be willing to assert this claim on the forum of a world renowned knife company. I guess I must have annoyed you at some point, since you're going off topic to manipulate/distort my statements in an effort to make me look silly, inexperienced, or ignorant. If you'll kindly re-read my post, you'll see that by bringing up the $4 knife, I was highlighting an underlying concept provided by an example. The phrase "bang for the buck" is completely relative to the tasks one plans on performing with the blade. Since the $4 knife will open letters effectively (just as effectively as virtually any other knife), it has a high "bang for the buck" regarding this extremely light task. From a practical standpoint, no one needs a knife that has capabilities beyond what the knife will be used for. But, some people buy knives with extra capabilities for the "what if" situations in life, because stuff happens. So in your friend's case, the RAT-1 may very well be the best bang for the buck. It all depends on what the knife will be used for, as well as his outlook on what attributes exhibited by the knive are actually "necessary". I'm glad he enjoys the knife. I like mine.

I love the recon 1's ergonomics, strong lockup, and premium blade steel. To each his own. The pocket clip has never bothered me. I am also not bothered by its weight. I would carry a 4-max absolutely any day and never be bothered.

Hopefully I cleared up a few things for you. It seems as if you have labeled me as a CS fanboy in your head and automatically assumed that I am the "mall ninja" type that loves everything CS does and knows next to nothing about knives. That's your prerogative, more power to you. It's just humorous that people get labeled as fanboys from appreciating the obvious value of a knife. I think I only like about 10% of CS's products anyway.
 
I own a Rat-1 and I like it. I also like Ontario as a company. I'm not sure what the ninja imitations are relevant to. It seems like you are just trying to make CS look bad because their advertising is childish. Unfortunately this has no effect on the functionality of their knives.

Next, you're insinuating that I think a $4 ozark trail knife compares to ESEE, and that I'd possibly be willing to assert this claim on the forum of a world renowned knife company. I guess I must have annoyed you at some point, since you're going off topic to manipulate/distort my statements in an effort to make me look silly, inexperienced, or ignorant. If you'll kindly re-read my post, you'll see that by bringing up the $4 knife, I was highlighting an underlying concept provided by an example. The phrase "bang for the buck" is completely relative to the tasks one plans on performing with the blade. Since the $4 knife will open letters effectively (just as effectively as virtually any other knife), it has a high "bang for the buck" regarding this extremely light task. From a practical standpoint, no one needs a knife that has capabilities beyond what the knife will be used for. But, some people buy knives with extra capabilities for the "what if" situations in life, because stuff happens. So in your friend's case, the RAT-1 may very well be the best bang for the buck. It all depends on what the knife will be used for, as well as his outlook on what attributes exhibited by the knive are actually "necessary". I'm glad he enjoys the knife. I like mine.

I love the recon 1's ergonomics, strong lockup, and premium blade steel. To each his own. The pocket clip has never bothered me. I am also not bothered by its weight. I would carry a 4-max absolutely any day and never be bothered.

Hopefully I cleared up a few things for you. It seems as if you have labeled me as a CS fanboy in your head and automatically assumed that I am the "mall ninja" type that loves everything CS does and knows next to nothing about knives. That's your prerogative, more power to you. It's just humorous that people get labeled as fanboys from appreciating the obvious value of a knife. I think I only like about 10% of CS's products anyway.
You brought Ozark Trail into a discussion about whether CS was ‘best bang for the buck’, following me countering with the OKC RAT-1. How was that relevant?

That was after talking about opening packages, when I had mentioned a slightly more challenging environment. Again, how was that relevant?

And to all the ‘hard use’ advocates, what does that mean to you IRL? And I genuinely would like to hear of the tasks that require you to use a Triad lock. For winter climbing, for example, a liner lock seems to be fine, in my experience. Plenty of people in that community just take a SAK. Mind you, they mostly aren’t stupid and are generally good with their hands.

Truthfully, I don’t care what knives you like: I don’t know you. But for somebody who clearly understands the word ‘insinuate’, perhaps you should pause and reflect.
 
Which bit of mountaineering involves processing wood? Sorry, it slipped my mind. And, please, explain to me the hard use that a RAT-1 would struggle with, barring the scenarios I mentioned above.

My CS knife is also in XHP and it is better than AUS8. So what? Really, man, I’m someone who actually does do the odd bit of extreme stuff, and in a planned trip, you won’t need to bust out a folding knife for ‘hard use’ because you will be properly equipped. I guess there are idiotic mountaineers, but they don’t tend to reach my age.

I actually had a so-called SHTF scenario on Friday, and it didn’t require a sodding Triad lock, just a lot of physical exertion, stamina and will power. No knives were in fact required.

But sure, if I had to be put in the wilderness with only a folding knife, I’d appreciate the Triad lock, slightly. But given that I am not a moron and there is about 1 in 7 trillion chance of that happening, the RAT-1 is fine.

Again, the clue is that it was Jeff’s design. And as for XHP partially justifying the price hike? Whatever. I use a DC4 that weighs next to nothing. And it works on crampons and ice axes too. Who knew?

BTW On that trip I wasn’t carrying CS or OKC. A Fällkniven folder and a SAK Handyman.
Knock yourself out with your RAT then.I will be using a Recon and my rat will be at home.

Slipped your mind? Ok..... I cut kindling with a folder all of the time. If you don’t, that’s cool. I’m almost 50, and not an “idiot mountaineer” by any stretch. I spend as much time as I can in the woods.

I could live in the woods for a week with a SAK, but why would I? I also don’t want to carry my ESEE 6 due to weight.

If you think AUS8 is better than XHP in any way, good for you.
 
You brought Ozark Trail into a discussion about whether CS was ‘best bang for the buck’, following me countering with the OKC RAT-1. How was that relevant?

That was after talking about opening packages, when I had mentioned a slightly more challenging environment. Again, how was that relevant?

And to all the ‘hard use’ advocates, what does that mean to you IRL? And I genuinely would like to hear of the tasks that require you to use a Triad lock. For winter climbing, for example, a liner lock seems to be fine, in my experience. Plenty of people in that community just take a SAK. Mind you, they mostly aren’t stupid and are generally good with their hands.

Truthfully, I don’t care what knives you like: I don’t know you. But for somebody who clearly understands the word ‘insinuate’, perhaps you should pause and reflect.

It was an example to highlight the concept of the phrase "bang for the buck" being relative to what tasks the user will be performing with said knife, as well as their outlook on what is "necessary" for said tasks. I explained this in detail already. It is undeniably directly relevant to the conversation.

Having a strong lockup gives the user confidence, especially if they have had a lock fail before. If you buy a top-notch security system for your house, someone with a run-of-the-mill security system could easily say "why do you need that, really?". The answer is, you never know. And if no one ever tries to break into your house, some may see it as a complete waste. Again, you never know. But in the event that I have to use a blade for a task outside of what it was designed for, I will be glad that the lock is strong, and that there is a lower chance of encountering blade play after said task.

I am not sure what it is I need to reflect on. Hopefully I have provided some clarity.
 
Knock yourself out with your RAT then.I will be using a Recon and my rat will be at home.

Slipped your mind? Ok..... I cut kindling with a folder all of the time. If you don’t, that’s cool. I’m almost 50, and not an “idiot mountaineer” by any stretch. I spend as much time as I can in the woods.

I could live in the woods for a week with a SAK, but why would I? I also don’t want to carry my ESEE 6 due to weight.

If you think AUS8 is better than XHP in any way, good for you.
If you read the thread carefully you will see that I regard XHP as being better than AUS8. I like the woods too, but they require different tools, yes?

Also, my point, if you read carefully, related to ‘bang for buck’.
 
If you read the thread carefully you will see that I regard XHP as being better than AUS8. I like the woods too, but they require different tools, yes?

Also, my point, if you read carefully, related to ‘bang for buck’.
Ahhhh. I really don’t read YOUR posts that carefully in general. An $80 XHP CS Recon 1 IS a much better value than a $40 AUS8 RAT IMO.

Have fun with your rat.
 
Ahhhh. I really don’t read YOUR posts that carefully in general. An $80 XHP CS Recon 1 IS a much better value than a $40 AUS8 RAT IMO.

Have fun with your rat.
Seems like you don’t read carefully at all. Welcome to the internet. Have a great evening. And if you bother to quote and reply to my posts, you should probably read them. Otherwise, well, people might think...

Pop up to W&C if you’d like a chat. :)
 
Bought one mini Amer Lawman for my 12-yr-old grandson. He could not open the knife due to the extreme backlock spring. I could barely operate it. My very large grown son had lots of trouble with the spring. The kid gave up; threw it in a drawer. The only CS folder I've ever purchased.
 
A lot of good comments on here. Thanks. I just made this thread to see if anyone else had a irrational dislike for a company. A lot of people with way more knowledge and experience then me like Cold Steel just fine. Maybe I’ll buy a couple and repost her saying umm.. never mind CS is great. I got the idea to post this after I watched a reviewer on YT get blasted by a pack of CS fanatics. Maybe that’s the whole reason.The tacticool guys get to me. Come to think of it, that could be the reason for the same dislike I have for SOG. There are sports teams I dislike simply because of the fan base. See, I told you it was irrational.:D Thanks guys.
I am with you 100%.
 
Bought one mini Amer Lawman for my 12-yr-old grandson. He could not open the knife due to the extreme backlock spring. I could barely operate it. My very large grown son had lots of trouble with the spring. The kid gave up; threw it in a drawer. The only CS folder I've ever purchased.
For anyone getting a new CS, you REALLY have to break in the lock yourself, I know I did for all CS's. Is it making excuses for the company? Maybe. But they are reasonably priced with a super steel. Now that doesn't mean if you aren't willing to put in the work. I have not heard of anyone that was ecstatic about their NIB triad lock yet. It's like a relationship that has a little rocky start, but smooth sailing afterwards. That's as far into THAT analogy as I would like to go.
 
Yes, I understand about the required break-in, but I had just flown in for a long wk-end, and I couldn't help out much. OTOH, he has a whole passel of knives, darned good quality ones, to mess with.
 
At the time that I bought my CS Recon1, it was the most reasonably priced knife of it's size in CTS-XHP. That was my primary factor. I try not to let my dislike of the guy in charge of the company interfere in my buying decisions. There are only two companies that I would never buy a knife from. Strider and Quartermaster, simply because not only are the CEO's asshats, they also have done actual reprehensible things.

As far as the debate over the RAT 1, it is a decent knife in an entry level steel. It does not, however, weigh significantly less than a Recon1 (5.0 OZ to 5.3 OZ). Also, it is not a champion of the price game. Not when the similarly designed ESEE Avispa (ESEE - BRK1302CBB) is about 4 bucks more, 4 OZ lighter (4.4 OZ), in a much better steel (D2), and with a better locking mechanism (RIL). I would even recommend a RAT 2 in D2 over a RAT 1, you sacrifice half an inch in cutting edge for a better steel and roughly half of the weight (2.75 OZ).

TL;DR

CS makes some decent products, some with an amazing cost vs level of quality ratio. The CEO is an asshat. YMMV
 
I pretty much ignore the ads and the videos, and concentrate on the knives themselves. My personal favorite so far is the Ultimate Hunter, enough so that I put it in my EDC rotation. I have an American Lawman that is a very good knife, too - carried it sometimes until the UH knocked it out of the rotation.

I don't really know what kind of guy the owner of the company is. If I start making my purchase decisions that way, I'm going to have to spend a LOT of time trying to do research on companies to figure out who the "good guys" are - and then I'm probably going to be wrong a lot of the time. I suspect that a lot of the actual "good guys" don't spend a lot of time agonizing over their public image, and I'm pretty sure that a lot of the bad ones are very, very image conscious, and fool a LOT of people!
 
I really don't mean to sound rude or offensive, but how can a man who claims to be a beast working out and training all sorts of stuff have the built of a Hobbit?
Omg funny
 
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