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

Who has data on how strong the axis is? I read before it was 800 in-lbs, Andrew showed the XL Espada holding the equivalent of three times that.

Cold Steel doesn't make anything, but their Chinese/Japanese/Taiwanese/US manufacturing partners have done pretty well. So have the Chinese/Japanese/Taiwanese/US manufacturing partners for Spyderco, Benchmade, Kershaw, and others. Their AUS8 and VG-1 is ok, so is 8Cr13MoV, 14C28N, 440A, 420HC, and all the other steels used in knives from the other manufacturers at the same price point of the non-san mai Cold Steels. There are better steels, which is why my tri-ad equipped knives are CPM-M4 and 3V. But there are thousands of Kershaw, Spyderco, and Benchmade owners who apparently don't know what a real knife is supposed to be made of, or where its supposed to be made.

These threads generally degenerate into some saying absolutely nothing Cold Steel sells has any build quality whatsoever, and that the same class of steel used in the budget Kershaws, Pikas, Tenacious line, standard Bucks, RAT-1, etc is something absolutely no self-respecting human would ever make physical contact with. And the fans go the other direction, with unfounded claims on the tri-ad, the steel, etc. It really isn't necessary, they are mostly priced to not compete with sprint run Spyders or Gold Class BMs.

Hyperbole is met with hyperbole, and no one learns anything.
 
crom said:
What I have learned in many years here at BF, both lurking in the early days and then actually joining is; the threads that get the most replies are about the perceived superiority of X knife company. People are fans and have their favorites but when it comes down to it; we're talking about tools here people. I have never understood how it makes somebody feel better about themselves to poo-poo on another member's choice. Cold Steel makes good knives along with the other favorites here. They have their strengths and weakness' like any other company. It's cool to voice your opinion, but the notion that their "fit and finish" is poor is absolute garbage repeated by people who most likely have never owned one. I have owned about a half dozen folders over the years, and a FB or two. With the exception of the Kudu (hey, it's a freakin $8 knife what do you expect?) none of them were poorly constructed or made of "inferior" materials. WHy is it that Zytel in acceptable for Spyderco and not CS? How come Al Mar can charge over $100 for a 3" bladed knife in AUS8a but if CS offers a 4" model with same steel for $60 people get their panties in a bunch? What is different about the Recon 1's beautifully matched g10 handles compared to the g10 handles on the Kershaw Spec Bump? What a load of crap.
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You have alot of good points here.

Id also like to mention that this website is very diverse (a good thing) with many differing opinions. Opinions appear to change all over.
here, on bladeforums, people lean all over the place in terms of favorites. Many different approaches for all companies.
Same for a website with knife reveiws, say... YouTube.
There is ALOT of knife reviews on there. Lots of them. Theres alot of CS reviews too. And from the ones ive seen, They are pretty well liked.
Another thing. How can a company say they have the sharpest knives anyways? But i digress.
AUS-8 / AUS-8A is steel. Not just CS uses it.
What im saying is that it isnt fair to complain about a knife because it gets dull. Many companies use AUS-8. Steel is a broad subject. That same arguement that it gets dull can be used all over many different companies. Any knife that uses AUS-8 will have the same "issue"
Knives are sharp. They get dull. RESHARPEN!
Thats just my $0.02....
 
Viper2 said:
Sorry, but you are not going to win this debate. It is well known that the Tri-Ad Lock is the strongest folding knife locking system available in production knives.

And I ain't no kid. I'm 37 years old.
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3720176980_575d790236.jpg
 
EagleScouter said:
Spyderco Delica 4, Dragonfly 2, Endura 4, and Stretch in ZDP-189 can all be had for under $100.

Kershaw Speedform II in ELMAX can be had for well under $100.
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And mad dog replied
Maddogg774 said:
None of those have a better edge retention than the Aus-8 sub-zero.
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This made me spew vanilla coke all over my Umnumzaan you jerk lol I have to clean it now. ur a funny man mad dog

(just so no one says i lack data
bohler-edge-retention.jpg
)

steels301.png

steels311.png

steels33.png


damn /= now i have to clean zaan
 
It is ok to make a valid point. It is not OK to insult.
 
MJF said:
If they outsource all of their manufacturing overseas, what do they actually do all day?
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They do what they always do.

They have never been a knifemaker, they rely on real knifemaking companies to make their products.

In that respect each CS Model is only as good as the company that made it.




Big Mike
 
Chipped...lol! My Umunzaan is still clean..haha. The problem with your chart is the Aus 8 variant is not the new subzero quenched. There is a lot to be said about heat treatment. Any steel can become crap if not treated right. And if the heat teat company doesn't do it consistently across all the blades quality will be hit or miss. CATRA is a good equal benchmark, but not very good real world. If cutting strips of paper over and over is all you do in the same mechanical motion then you will know your edge retention, with few confounding variables. Then just buy a Cutco utility knife.
 
Maddogg774 said:
Chipped...lol! My Umunzaan is still clean..haha. The problem with your chart is the Aus 8 variant is not the new subzero quenched. There is a lot to be said about heat treatment. Any steel can become crap if not treated right. And if the heat teat company doesn't do it consistently across all the blades quality will be hit or miss. CATRA is a good equal benchmark, but not very good real world. If cutting strips of paper over and over is all you do in the same mechanical motion then you will know your edge retention, with few confounding variables. Then just buy a Cutco utility knife.
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The flaw with your logic is what if 154cm and S30v and all the other steels were subzero quenched? Lone wolf used to love doing that stuff. Even Subzero quenched, It does not stack up well against the steels you claimed it beat. Subzero is not unique to Cold Steel. For the price of a cold steel you can get a lone wolf with s30v cpm subzero quenching with its own gimmick of a dual action or an axial lock
3oress

http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3oress/

Ive edced AUS 8 and it does not hold a candle to Elmax. Elmax wasnt even subzerod. 22.5(was half asleep while sharpening but i like it) degree angle on each side makes it durable but ITS STILL! good enough to shave and stay sharp
 
How did I know the OP would have a late join date and low post count?


Cold Steel knives are boring. They seem to use the same handle material, same steel, same color, and same lock on each knife.

If you've owned one CS folder you feel like you've owned them all. The only thing that seems to change is the shape.
 
The triad lock showed 430lb. Andrew Demko YouTube vid. Hard heart said 800lbs. For axis lock.... 800>430.
 
hardheart said:
Who has data on how strong the axis is? I read before it was 800 in-lbs, Andrew showed the XL Espada holding the equivalent of three times that.

Cold Steel doesn't make anything, but their Chinese/Japanese/Taiwanese/US manufacturing partners have done pretty well. So have the Chinese/Japanese/Taiwanese/US manufacturing partners for Spyderco, Benchmade, Kershaw, and others. Their AUS8 and VG-1 is ok, so is 8Cr13MoV, 14C28N, 440A, 420HC, and all the other steels used in knives from the other manufacturers at the same price point of the non-san mai Cold Steels. There are better steels, which is why my tri-ad equipped knives are CPM-M4 and 3V. But there are thousands of Kershaw, Spyderco, and Benchmade owners who apparently don't know what a real knife is supposed to be made of, or where its supposed to be made.

These threads generally degenerate into some saying absolutely nothing Cold Steel sells has any build quality whatsoever, and that the same class of steel used in the budget Kershaws, Pikas, Tenacious line, standard Bucks, RAT-1, etc is something absolutely no self-respecting human would ever make physical contact with. And the fans go the other direction, with unfounded claims on the tri-ad, the steel, etc. It really isn't necessary, they are mostly priced to not compete with sprint run Spyders or Gold Class BMs.

Hyperbole is met with hyperbole, and no one learns anything.
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Mine are ELMAX and CPM 154. :D

That's not counting the production folders though.

I think they sell some good knives just like the other companies do and they do what CS says they will from my experiences with their products over the past 25+ years of owning and using their products.

It just comes down to what people want and or like.
 
Maddogg774 said:
The triad lock showed 430lb. Andrew Demko YouTube vid. Hard heart said 800lbs. For axis lock.... 800>430.
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That's 800 LBS 1" from the pivot, so that would be 430 x 4" = 1720 LBS just to put things into perspective.
 
and the XL Espada was 658 lbs four inches from the pivot. But again, I don't know if that 800 in-lbs for the axis was correct, it was second hand info AFAIK. Keep in mind that the minimum for Spyderco's Very Heavy Duty lock rating is 200 lbs per inch of blade length, so a 3.75" blade lockback of that rating holds 750 in-lbs minimum, but who knows how high it goes.
 
Most of Cold Steel's folders are what I call "Kill a Man" designs, in other words self-defense or combat tactical fighting knives if you must use those terms. So I guess if you're all about fighting or using your folder in self-defense, then a super strong lock is better I would think. I know I will get blasted for this, but they are in a lot of ways like Emerson when if comes to purpose built knives. That being said, I like many of Cold Steel knives and Emerson, the "tactical" look is what I like as a collector and a user. But everyone has their own fetishes.
 
I was a guy that bought only cold steel and spyderco, my voyager X2 had feild stripped out so many deer it was insane. I abused my factory blades so much, i know if any company saw what i did they would never take the knife back but my X2 voyager was my baby i had field tested the regular size voyager so i wouldnt have to abuse my X2 but knew its strengths. I was feild stripping a deer that the ribs must have been too much. a section of the blade the width of the rib had rolled to the left and i couldnt believe my eyes. i was used to deer making it dull after a days work, but this was completely impossible in my eyes before that day.

I know the locks are strong but they have gone down hill on steel quality since they started heavily using aus8a steel and the like and it holds an edge for an hour on deer not a day.
i dont care where a knife is from unless its china pakistan india crap 420 stainless junk that breaks first day.
 
hardheart said:
and the XL Espada was 658 lbs four inches from the pivot. But again, I don't know if that 800 in-lbs for the axis was correct, it was second hand info AFAIK. Keep in mind that the minimum for Spyderco's Very Heavy Duty lock rating is 200 lbs per inch of blade length, so a 3.75" blade lockback of that rating holds 750 in-lbs minimum, but who knows how high it goes.
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Like that one knife that was setup at Blade that year, holding well over 500 LBS for 4 days if I remember.
 
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