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

Maddogg774 said:
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.
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Interesting. I find the opposite to be true in my own usage. I've used AUS8A from CS, S30V from both Spyderco and Kershaw, and ZDP-189 from Spyderco, along with a few other steels. I cut a lot of cardboard at work, and found that ZDP held an edge longer than S30V and AUS8, in my own experience. CATRA tests come to similar conclusions. But hey, if it works for you, by all means use 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.
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My oldest. Trail Master. Made in USA. Sorry for the crappy pics. I still think this is one of Dan Maragni's best designs. I love this handle.

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Moose
 
EagleScouter said:
Interesting. I find the opposite to be true in my own usage. I've used AUS8A from CS, S30V from both Spyderco and Kershaw, and ZDP-189 from Spyderco, along with a few other steels. I cut a lot of cardboard at work, and found that ZDP held an edge longer than S30V and AUS8, in my own experience. CATRA tests come to similar conclusions. But hey, if it works for you, by all means use it.
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Cardboard maybe the hardest consistently on edges. My problems with my uses is chipping and rolling. We probably have very different cutting needs.
 
Kill them all Lynn..... you da MAN.....! no, not really ;p

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i don't actually mind CS knives. i own a spartan, which i enjoy, and i'm actually looking for a rajah. however, i don't put alot of stock in the tri-ad lock. sure, all the promotional videos show how strong the lock is. but what i want to know, is how many of us have actually caused a lock to fail by using our knives in the manner they were meant to be used in. i haven't. i've had slip joints, friction folders, frame locks, liner locks, you name it. i have never once had a blade close in on my hand from using the knife for it's inteded use. so i could care less about stacking CS's tri-ad lock vs any of the others on the market. it's strictly a gimmicky marketing thing for CS. regardless of what forum i'm on, gun/knife/outdoor, one of these threads always pop up for CS fanboys that seem to turn us neutral folks into people who start to not actually care for CS.
 
Maddogg, I think your results are more of a result of edge geometry than steel type. That and I think you're confusing toughness with edge retention (wear resistance). ZDP and Elmax are worlds apart from AUS 8 in terms of wear resistance, but (at least with ZDP, I haven't had the chance to test Elmax) aren't incredibly tough steels when run hard. AUS-8 probably doesn't take as high hardness and is more likely to roll than chip versus a harder steel with more carbides.
 
Knives aside, this guy is an idiot. First of all he better be eating all of those, and second that is not hunting. It looks like he is hunting on someone's farm or zoo. Why would anyone real outdoors man do this? I just cannot wrap my brain around this.
 
Maddogg774 said:
Cardboard maybe the hardest consistently on edges. My problems with my uses is chipping and rolling. We probably have very different cutting needs.
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This could certainly be the case. ZDP would definitely be more prone to chipping than AUS8. I usually take my Para 2 in S30V to work. I keep the edge geometry at 30* inclusive. With it's narrow tip and relatively thin bevels, I could see where AUS8 with a fatter edge and thicker blade would be better suited to cutting tasks involving lateral forces.
 
Well, I never felt particularly snobbish toward Cold Steel. I like several of their designs and AUS8 is fine by me if the price is fair, which oftentimes, I think it is. I can ignore their marketing, too.

But honestly, the one thing I'm tired of having hammered over everyone's heads in every single one of the infamous CS rage threads is all the aggressive fanboyism for the Tri-Ad lock. Yes, we get it, it's a great lock, maybe even the strongest in the world. But you know what? I don't care and apparently neither do many other people. We've lived just fine without it for centuries and I don't remember ever experiencing a constant influx of damaged fingers and broken knives from lock failures before its arrival. Now that it's here, I'm not convinced that we're all a lot safer for it.

Is the Tri-Ad lock nice to have? You bet. Should it be the main reason I bother to purchase any particular knife? You wish. I'll buy another Cold Steel knife again someday, but its inclusion of the Tri-Ad will have absolutely nothing to do with it.
 
Calling Lynn Thompson a real outdoors man would be a stretch by any imagination. I'm guessing he get's winded getting out of bed in the morning.

Well, this thread is falling apart....move along folks, nothing to see here.

Maddogg...it's your terminology then that people here are questioning. Edge Retention is generally used to mean wear resistance. A steel with good edge retention will hold an edge better when used correctly than a steel with poor edge retention. Chipping vs. Rolling is a question of toughness, not edge retention.
 
I like ponies. And ice cream. I bet a pony made of ice cream would be awesome!

If the ice cream pony had a triad lock, it would be the strongest ice cream pony in the world.



I have some great CS knives. Some fun hawks, pole axe, blow guns, throwing knives, about 4 folders and as many fixed blades. I have had one lemon, and it was a design flaw, which was in every one they sold, so that ticked me off!

Other than that I have been pretty pleased for the last 15 years.


People don't like CS for several reasons. Foremost is the marketing. they feel the need to talk bad about other peoples products (frequently deservedly so!).



Me? I just wish LT would stop wearing those hideous shorts! It is an affront to every fat guy out there who still has style.
 
They aren't good values because they use the cheapest steel, cheaper overseas labor, cheap fit and finish, and they cheap out on the warranty service. Despite this, they still cost as much as American or Japanese knives with better steel and quality, and more extensive warranty coverage. They may have stronger locks, but since any other lock that's well made won't fail under normal conditions, this doesn't matter at all. The other things like quality and edge retention, however, are things you will notice in normal use.

That doesn't really matter, though, because the Cold Steel fanboys have managed to put this company on a pedestal despite all this, so it's not like they pay attention to concrete qualitative or quantitative comparisons. Maddog, do a little more research before you post ridiculous statements like that. I assume by "sub zero AUS-8," you're referring to their heat treatment process. Any metallurgist could tell you, though, that quenching steel is not by any means unique to Cold Steel.
 
Why do these issues exist on gear forums? Flashlights, it's Fenix vs. Surefire, knives, Cold Steel vs. the world. Why must these arguments go on forever?
 
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