Why is there sometimes snobbery against Cold Steel knives? They are great!

Maddogg774 said:
None of those have a better edge retention than the Aus-8 sub-zero.
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Your saying that aus8 has better edge retention than zdp-189? I own a recon 1 and an endura 4 zdp-189($85) I have to sharpen the recon probably 5 times per 1 endura sharpening. I think there should be a sebenza sprint run in aus8...... Haha. Aus8 is not a great steel, it is a high value steel at the price point.
 
Viper2 said:
Like it or not, Cold Steel knives (especially their folders) are some of the best value knives out there! Their folders, in particular, have the best locking system on the planet (Tri-Ad Lock) and some of the best designs as well. Also, no other company has as much variety of truly large folders available as Cold Steel.

Even many of their fixed blades knives are a very good value. And their knives, whether folders or fixed blades, have demonstration videos to prove just how tough and sharp they are. The old "but AUS 8A isn't the best blade steel out there" argument is so pointless. AUS 8A steel is very strong and holds a very good edge for any task that is expected of a knife. And even if AUS 8A does dull a little faster than the most high-end blade steels on the planet, it can still be sharpened rather easily, no big deal. And of course, the other steels (SK-5, San Mai III, etc.) that Cold Steel offers with particular knives are all high quality steels that are great as well.

There is really no reason to hate on Cold Steel. I think most of the Cold Steel hate out there stems from one or more of the following:

  • People who want to feel elite and don't want to buy a brand of knife that is well known by non-collectors of knives and sold at shopping malls.
  • People who are bitter of the fact that they overpaid for their knife and therefore want to insult the much better value (and possibly stronger - especially folders with Tri-Ad Lock) Cold Steel option.
  • People who are against any knives made in non-1st world countries (even though these knives may be better than the knives they currently have).


Opinions?
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It seems that this is a bit of a hot topic for you. Most of your posts have been about things relating to this.

Just know that everyone has many of their own different reasons for liking and or disliking different products, and much of the knife world is subjective. Like you say they have the "some of the best" designs. Personally, I don't find anything in their lineup interesting, other than the Outdoorsman. I was recently on a flight and saw a Cold Steel catalog sitting in the seatback in front of me. I'd never really looked at most of their lineup, so with nothing to do for the next two hours, I looked through the whole thing a few times. You say they're among the best designs, but I say they're way too "tactical" or "Mall ninja" looking for my tastes.

Whos right? Neither of us are, since its all opinion.

And the opinion that blade steel makes no difference... seems a bit contested. I'm no expert with blade steels, but I do KNOW that there is a huge difference between my old gerber paraframe, and my Kershaw Blackout in edge holding ability. Sharpening the gerber was fun, I would feel like I got a good edge on it, then would cut some paper, and the edge would change :(. The Kershaw hasn't had that same problem, and its only 13C26N or whatever it is. So while I don't have tons of experience with super steels, I do believe that there is some method to this madness, and that at least some differences are perceptible. If that wasn't true, there wouldn't be as much demand for it :D. AUS8 isn't bad at all

My two cents:

I feel like the only thing that CS actually has in technical terms "over" any other company, is the triad lock. Its a good lock from what I hear about it (I'm a fixed blade guy, folders haven't really interested me so far), but any lock could still fail, because the knife was designed to fold. It seems to me that prudent usage of a locking knife should always include the fact that the blade could potentially fold (of course it is way way less likely, but look around, there are stories of people loosing fingers because they pushed a folder too far). And if you're doing something that is that "hard" on your knife regularly, you should probably be looking into a fixed blade anyway.

  • People who want to feel elite and don't want to buy a brand of knife that is well known by non-collectors of knives and sold at shopping malls. ( used to think Gerber was pretty awesome, and that my Kershaw was almost "unknown". Most people don't know what Cold Steel is any more than they know what CRK is. Heck, most people will still say that Gerber is a baby food before they will think of the knife company, so I don't know if this is a strong argument)
  • People who are bitter of the fact that they overpaid for their knife and therefore want to insult the much better value (and possibly stronger - especially folders with Tri-Ad Lock) Cold Steel option. (I'll agree this could be an issue for some. However, these same people are still likely thinking that their money is well spent on their knives with "fancy" steels, otherwise they would have probably sold off the ones they don't like. And stronger keeps coming up... for some reason I have a hard time figuring out why people want "beastly" folding knives, but that is a separate topic).
  • People who are against any knives made in non-1st world countries (even though these knives may be better than the knives they currently have).(This is fairly valid, but I want to say that most of the people in this category don't buy in the US because they are wanting the best "value". Its because they want the money to stay in the USA where they likely are, and help support the economy and things like that)

Anyway, thats my take on it :D.
 
res1cue said:
Not for everybody, thats for sure. Like I said, I used to put down AUS8 too, but then I got "reprimanded" for that by Sal himself on these boards! :D

With a good HT I have been pleasantly surprised by it. As to cost, the large voyager is going for like 40 bucks on ebay. That is comparable to most companies' budget lines in AUS8 or 8Cr13MoV. SOG and CRKT are actually charging more. Spydercos in that size range is about 40 bucks too.
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At the end of the day, this all boils down to personal preference. On a personal level, I prefer Spyderco, and I like trying out so called "Super Steels." That's my personal preference. AUS8 is comparable to 8Cr13MoV, and I have no problem spending around 30 bucks for a knife with that kind of steel. Cold Steel's seem to start in the 40's for an AUS-8A blade with Grivory handles, and steadily increase from there. The Espada's are well over 100 dollars and offer the same low end steel. At that price point, I'd rather purchase a Mili or PM2 with high end steel and decent workmanship than what Cold Steel has to offer. At pretty much any price point, Spyderco/Benchmade/Kershaw has Cold Steel beat for quality of materials and fit and finish. Hell, even the Tenacious series has G-10. I just don't understand what I'd be paying for in a Cold Steel. How can they justify selling AUS-8A knives for as much as you'd expect to spend for a PM2 Sprint Run in high quality steel? See what I'm getting at?
 
Viper2 said:
Marketing?

In my opinion, that's a totally ridiculous reason to not buy a particular brand of knife.

I actually like Cold Steel's marketing, and their website is very good as well.
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As ridiculous as it seems, everyone has different criteria for buying knives. Take me for example, I have seen and own some knives made overseas, that the F&F on is stellar. Great well made blades. I wouldn't spend a dime on them. Not one.

I have my reasons, and my reasons for buying a product is different from yours.

Some folks don't like the marketing, some folks, don't like the guys that own the companies, some folks, just plain old don't like the designs. Weird, I know, but hey, diversity is what makes the world spin, ma man, and there are alot of guys and gals out there, that have different tastes.

Me personally, I have companies that I won't buy a product, because of the guy that owns it. Its a big list, to be sure, and it limits my options for buying, but hey, I stand by my convictions. But I don't come on here and say "this company sucks, or that company is ran by a jackass", its just not my style.

Most of the knives in my collection, have never been photographed, and my entire collection has only been viewed by a few people in the world, in person. I like what I like, and I buy what I buy. Its not up to me to change someone's mind.

I'll tell anyone that asks if CS makes good knives, and the ones I've owned, were great knives, I tell them, "Hell yeah, they're great knives". If they ask me which is better, I tell them that too.

Anyhoo.

Moose
 
ocnLogan said:
I was recently on a flight and saw a Cold Steel catalog sitting in the seatback in front of me. I'd never really looked at most of their lineup, so with nothing to do for the next two hours, I looked through the whole thing a few times.
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Not your usual skymall reading material :eek:
 
IMO, all that it comes down to is this; just go with what works FOR YOU....company, steel, lock, etc., etc..... Threads like these just stir up too much crap....over and over and over again.

The search function can give you alot of info if you want to know what forumites love/like/dislike or completely hate about whatever knife company floats your boat. :D

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Viper2 said:
Marketing?

I actually like Cold Steel's marketing, and their website is very good as well.
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If you've seen other cold steel threads before, you'll see a majority are put off because of their videos and the infamous GI Tanto

"Please don’t throw away hundreds and hundreds of dollars on similar knives sold by convicted felons and rip off artists posing as elite "military operators". Get the real G.I. Tanto from Cold Steel and get more than your money’s worth."
 
Vanguard41xx said:
"Please don’t throw away hundreds and hundreds of dollars on similar knives sold by convicted felons and rip off artists posing as elite "military operators". Get the real G.I. Tanto from Cold Steel and get more than your money’s worth."
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Must be talking about KA-BAR. :D

Moose
 
MJF said:
At the end of the day, this all boils down to personal preference. On a personal level, I prefer Spyderco, and I like trying out so called "Super Steels." That's my personal preference. AUS8 is comparable to 8Cr13MoV, and I have no problem spending around 30 bucks for a knife with that kind of steel. Cold Steel's seem to start in the 40's for an AUS-8A blade with Grivory handles, and steadily increase from there. The Espada's are well over 100 dollars and offer the same low end steel. At that price point, I'd rather purchase a Mili or PM2 with high end steel and decent workmanship than what Cold Steel has to offer. At pretty much any price point, Spyderco/Benchmade/Kershaw has Cold Steel beat for quality of materials and fit and finish. Hell, even the Tenacious series has G-10. I just don't understand what I'd be paying for in a Cold Steel. How can they justify selling AUS-8A knives for as much as you'd expect to spend for a PM2 Sprint Run in high quality steel? See what I'm getting at?
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I do, like you said it is personal preference. The CS folders I own are in the 40-60 dollar range. At that range, I could pick up one of those rare high-quality-steel-low-price-knives like Buck Vantage pro or Centofante III, or I could get an AUS8 blade that fits my hand better. So between those, I'll buy what I like :D

Also I'd like to add, that BM/spyderco and CS are not really competitors. Those who want to buy a 7" blade folding knife... well spyderco/BM aren't offering that. Those who are looking to drop 100+ on a knife aren't going to go to CS.
 
Data-no. Experience,yes. I bought the speed form from kershaw guy and a delica in ZDP from knifecenter because of the supposed super steels. I also have a zt0300 and a CRK sebenza 21 in s30v. All of them I have had to sharpen twice as much as my recon 1. The only folder that has better edge retention is my SOG Vulcan in Vg-10. I use them all equally. I think some of those other steels are too hard and brittle for horizontal forces. Edge geometry, thickness, steel comp. and cutting action all have a lot to do with it. I'm not talking about just cutting hemp rope over and over with the same cutting motion, but real world use, in whatever may come.
 
Shadow213 said:
just go with what works FOR YOU....company, steel, lock, etc., etc..... Threads like these just stir up too much crap....over and over and over again.
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This^^^. I've read this same regurgitated topic more than I care to admit. In fact I feel foolish for reading this one, let alone posting in it. Buy what you want and use the crap out of it. That's all I got.
 
Wooly Bugger said:
This^^^. I've read this same regurgitated topic more than I care to admit. In fact I feel foolish for reading this one, let alone posting in it. Buy what you want and use the crap out of it. That's all I got.
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Agreed. Buy and use whatever works for you. If you like Cold Steel, get Cold Steel. In the long run, there really is no "best" knife, as it's all way too subjective of a subject to quantify.

That having been said, I still think the concept that AUS-8 has better edge retention than ZDP and Elmax is bunk and probably has more to do with edge geometry and what you were using the knife for than anything.
 
It still cracks me up, 50 replies in an hour and it's always the same comments.

How long till this thread devolves into a P*ss*n' contest, any bets on when it falls apart..

Here's my oldest CS, an Urban Pal.

009-2.jpg
 
T. Erdelyi said:
It still cracks me up, 50 replies in an hour and it's always the same comments.

How long till this thread devolves into a P*ss*n' contest, any bets on when it falls apart..

Here's my oldest CS, an Urban Pal.

009-2.jpg
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Meh, it's entertaining at least. And yeah, I'm betting it won't be long.
 
I personally just do not like the looks of them. I have not liked they way they feel in my hand (limited models mind you, but did not like them). Personally there are so many knives Cold Steel just never really enters into the equation for me. For similar money I can get Kershaw's, or a little more get a Spyderco, and for my money those two brands are hard to pass up. I can respect the Tri-ad lock, and like buying knives with unique locks, but that is not enough to buy what is in my opinion an ugly knife. The only one I can find to be a good looking knife is the... nm can't find one. A couple fixed blades are not too bad, but the all black tanto folders with big ugly handles just don't do it.
 
T. Erdelyi said:
It still cracks me up, 50 replies in an hour and it's always the same comments.

How long till this thread devolves into a P*ss*n' contest, any bets on when it falls apart..

Here's my oldest CS, an Urban Pal.

009-2.jpg
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That's very nice! I love how thick the stock is. I have the newer version with the rubber grips and it's alright but Yours is awesome:thumbup:
 
nccole said:
I personally just do not like the looks of them. I have not liked they way they feel in my hand (limited models mind you, but did not like them). Personally there are so many knives Cold Steel just never really enters into the equation for me. For similar money I can get Kershaw's, or a little more get a Spyderco, and for my money those two brands are hard to pass up. I can respect the Tri-ad lock, and like buying knives with unique locks, but that is not enough to buy what is in my opinion an ugly knife. The only one I can find to be a good looking knife is the... nm can't find one. A couple fixed blades are not too bad, but the all black tanto folders with big ugly handles just don't do it.
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Agreed. Their folder designs just don't do anything for me. I like some of their fixed blades, but not enough to buy them.
 
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