Why do I hate Cold Steel?

Mohave Aviator said:
Ok friend, I give up. I don't want to argue with you guys anymore ( atleast not tonight). For the record, i said the USA does not manufacture a lot of high quality knife *steel*. Which is true, we don't. So you see friend, I really wasn't saying what you thought I was. Obviously I believe the USA makes very good knifes. In closing ( and I hope you read this) I meant nothing personal, I'm just defending my veiw, albeit passionately. I apologize if I offended you or anyone else. We disagree, but we all enjoy knives and there is no reason we can't argue it out and be friends afterwards. You guys enjoy your night.
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so you did say that, about the steel.

but virtually all particle metallurgy (pm) steel is from american companies (ie - virtually all the high quality knife steel)

crucible - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucible_Industries
based out of new york state, and yes its had a rough history, but it's still local right?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpenter_Technology_Corporation
last I checked, they were an american company, traded on the NYSE
yes, they started/announced a mfg plant in china in 2012... but they didn't shut down production locally

the only other pm maker is austrian steel company böhler-uddeholm https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bohler-Uddeholm&redirect=yes
the 3 popular ones they make are elmax, v4e and vanax

yes, they are strong offerings - but my rough guess is it's not used in a large % of knife brands...
anyone really know??

so, educate me please, maybe my math is off:
if 2 out of 3 pm steel companies are in the usa, and the 3rd austrian company is not dominating, how is your statement actually true??


...
so if all that is the case, I think @Boru13 has a valid point calling your statement asinine

(this is an attack on the content of your posts, not on you)

Mohave Aviator said:
Really? Is that how it is? Is Andrea Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders running the show over here? Did i micro aggress someone? ...
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but you introduced the concept of political left/right nonsense into this thread, which is completely nonsense, it just doesn't help with the discussion at all
just please don't even mention left/right politicians, it detracts from otherwise reasonable discussion
 
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Mohave Aviator said:
Are you joking? America does not make the quantity of quality knife steel that we used to. This is fact brother and it's why almost all blade companies have shifted production over seas. We simply don't produce the **quantity** that we used to. That's fact brother, do the research.
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USA
https://www.crucible.com/history.aspx
https://www.carpentertechnology.com/about

If you go to any knife store and look at the expensive knives with premium steels most of them will be from these foundries. They make more than enough quantity and quality for the knives we buy.
 
MolokaiRider said:
US is number three or four for total volume in steel production.

China is way ahead in volume.

However, proven quality with the highest regulatory and safety metrics are from the US.

Consistency is an important consideration when selecting knife steels.
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Now you're beginning to get it. Although general purpose steel-making has shifted to other countries to lower costs, knife steels are a different market. The cost of steel is not a major factor in knife manufacturing; in fact the cheapest junk-grade knives are made of rather expensive steel (420J2 and similar, "surgical steel") because it's easy to work.
 
Mohave Aviator said:
Ok, but just to clarify. Russel is a knife maker. I was talking about knife steel.
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1st. It is A.G.Russell
2nd. He made knives in His younger days
3rd. His company SELLS knives same as ColdSteel.
4th. Please Tell Bob Dozier the knife steel BS you are trying to spew.
5. You act like you are L.T.'s lover or you're 12
 
Though I don't have any cold steel knives anymore I did enjoy my American lawman, and still plan on buying a recon one day.

Just remembered I still have a micro recon on my keys.
 
chalby said:
Judging a business owner for making a business decision seems super ignorant and entitled to me.

That's just my opinion anyway, feel free to disagree.
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If this happened with Spyderco being as Sal is active in the community and L.T wasn't peoples heads would blow and you'd see all the village idiots and sprint run collectors grabbing their pitchforks and boycotting 10X worse then the drama benchmade did with 2A and the drama from their fans.

You would see a gazillion cry babies saying sellout.

That said I still understand a free capitalist market.
 
Customer service has been HORIFFIC, unavailable and problematic FOR YEARS
Problem sheaths were never recalled nor reissued
models were advertised and never produced
Hard questions were ignored and not addressed
while I know of very few quality control issues the ones I had were ignored
Past SALES were NOT SALE models were not reduced as much as you could buy from retailers
wall hanger models were hugely over priced
MY OPINION instead of addressing issues head on, which EVERY company has,
issues were ignored and swept under the rug
Not a good positive thing for a company
 
needler420 said:
If this happened with Spyderco being as Sal is active in the community and L.T wasn't peoples heads would blow and you'd see all the village idiots and sprint run collectors grabbing their pitchforks and boycotting 10X worse then the drama benchmade did with 2A and the drama from their fans.

You would see a gazillion cry babies saying sellout.

That said I still understand a free capitalist market.
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Fair points for sure. A hobby is filled with passionate enthusiasts.

I think the main thing to point out is while we can all be disappointed or even saddened over a business changing hands, it doesn't change the facts that what LT did or Sal in your hypothetical as being ethical to the people buying his products. What happened to the employees is an entirely different issue and up for further debate, obviously. Your points are well made though. If Sal didn't have Eric or if we fast forward a couple decades, and this turns out to be the case, sure. I just dont want to conflate touchy feely theatrics with actual ethics the way some are doing.

It rubs me the wrong way when people go on and on about how wronged they are when a company closes up shop or doesn't pass it on to some kids who don't want it and will run it into the ground or doesn't offer a Willy Wonka Golden Ticket to us for being such loyal good boys and girls.

The goodwill/great customer service is what inspires us to continue buying from a maker. That is what has been offered to augment the quality product we have come to expect. However, those intangibles aren't due to us when the owner decides to take down his/her shingle. Its no more of a slap in the face than when my doctor retired. I was bummed, wished him well, and found a new physician. Life moves on.

When I walk away from my career it will be hard. My brother and I will most likely be the last in line for the family business, and it will most likely die with our retirement. If the fates will it, that will put our family legacy at close to 100 years, maybe more if my brother sticks it out after I hang it up. He's 20 years my junior. However, while we will leave behind generations of customers and 1000s of completely construction projects that will last for decades and decades to come, when I'm done...im done. No more phone calls at 5:30am. No more 10pm nights. No more emergency repairs because someone is having a 4th of July party and something can't wait until the 5th to fix so I have to leave my beer to get warm in my own backyard while I save their holiday. I hope my customers, my dad's customers, my grandfather's customers are happy with our service and attention to detail...but, frankly, I won't owe them a damn thing when I decide to call it quits and enjoy what few summers I have left actually taking in the nice weather instead of busting my tail. Every business owner that succeeds deserves to enjoy the fruits of his labor when his working days are done.
 
You haven't unlocked your inner-ninja.........;)
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Smatchet machete, Shanghai Warrior
 
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