Cold Steel

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knivesandbooks
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Re: Cold Steel

#21

Post by knivesandbooks »

Bloke wrote:
Tue Jan 01, 2019 11:22 pm
I find Mr Thompson highly entertaining and informative. :)

Image
Ahh the ancient art of Taekwon-Lynn-do.
Sometimes the streets are the world's bloodiest battlefields. Sometimes you can't carry a gun. Sometimes you're faced with an edged weapon wielding Wildman.

However, you've spent years in the dungeon dojo of your mom's basement. To the sounds of ACDC and Slayer, you've tirelessly practiced the moves of master at arms Lynn Thompson and his Hawk-style.

You almost left the house with only 2 karambits and a copy of your favorite Steven Seagal film. Luckily, the pudgy yet tactical voice in your head told you to reconsider. Instead you brought your tomahawk and Cold Steel Natchez Bowie.

You were surprised that an opponent would even face thee. Most people move to the other side of the street when they see you walk past with weapons glistening and jangling, trench coat blowing in the wind, fedora canted back. But this opponent had gal. At the moment you saw a raised hand you instant hooked, parried, slashed, and thrust your way past the person.

You looked back to see the devastation, since Master Lynn's spirit possessed you in your tactically synchronized defense frenzy rendering you oblivious.

In your wake was a broken and torn mannequin, a crying child, and mall security in hot pursuit.
Last edited by knivesandbooks on Tue Jan 01, 2019 11:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and on those in the tombs bestowing life!
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anagarika
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Re: Cold Steel

#22

Post by anagarika »

Fred Perrin used the folders as throwing knives.

https://youtu.be/_1JyaTXdA1I

I don’t like their advertising (incl DLC, strange name with big font on the blade, putting down other companies, etc.) either, but some of the products are excellent from build and functional perspectives.

@SEF,
The Voyager finish is great, I like them.
Chris :spyder:
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Re: Cold Steel

#23

Post by cbrstar »

SpyderEdgeForever wrote:
Tue Jan 01, 2019 11:20 pm
Alright, let me play the part of "Mr. Cold Steel Advocate" here. I am not trying to put down the Chris Reeve Knives or criticize his prices. But, let's look at this from a purely functional point of view. You say that Thompson and Cold Steel took some shovels and ground them into knives.

Let's look at the prices vs the function:

Do the merits of the Cold Steel Bushman meet the claims put forth in the catalog? Yes or No? Meaning, inch for inch, would the Cold Steel Bushman series of knives hold up to serious hard field use or not? If the Cold Steel Bushman has the hardness, flexibility, toughness, and sharpness and other properties, to hold up to the claims they are making, then the choice is obvious.
Sorry but that's like saying "Hey my Lada can drive to all the same places your Ferrarri can so it's just as good" They may both function as cars, and all knives cut stuff, but a huge amount of craftsmanship and quality went into one and not the other.

Your statement is a perfect example of the overhype that surrounds this brand. Hows a $20 knife that's popped out of a machine that used to make shovels even compare to a precision handcrafted instrument like CRK? But the silly thing if CS brought the Bushman back they would be $100!!!

Like I said the Recon was cool at $45 but not cool $169. I've yet to see anyone throwing the $169 version around ;) But the biggest and worst CS offender I have ever seen is the 35ATCJ Gurkha Kukri San Mai III. a $1000 list price for a knife with a plastic handle? :rolleyes: Especially since you can get a real one for 1/10th the price.

Image

^^^^ Not even a $500 knife IMHO. They are using cheap gimmicks to up sell you an avg knife.
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Re: Cold Steel

#24

Post by Daveho »

I’ve got a mini recon 1 on the way, I’m very much looking forward to it however it looks like it may be the last one of their knives I buy as nothing else seems to fit my criteria
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Re: Cold Steel

#25

Post by Sjucaveman »

I can't bring myself to buy one.
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13
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Re: Cold Steel

#26

Post by Extra330SC »

Daveho wrote:
Mon Dec 31, 2018 2:02 pm
After the discussion in the somewhat off topic price increase thread about the value offered by cold steel for the price I thought it prudent to look into them and to try one out-
Obviously the only model I found slightly appealing was discontinued a while back, the recon 1 mini however finding one was not a big effort and I was glad to pick one up on the secondary market as i don’t particularly want too align myself with the company.
Looking forward to it arriving however, any of you lot into their offerings?
I have the mini and full sized Recon 1 , American Lawman, and 3V Pendleton Hunter! 2 SRK (SK5 and VG1) and a Code 4 clip point. They are well made with good F&F, even grinds, and SHARP out of the box at a great price for what is offered. I've beat the **** out of the SRKs and mini pendleton hunters .....they've taken everything in stride.

I'm not much into social media or watching TV ...so I don't really know about the "tacky" CS marketing! IMHO Cold Steel doesn't have the best designs , materials used, or quality. ..but they have a place in the diverse knife market ....mall ninjas aside!


James
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Re: Cold Steel

#27

Post by vivi »

They still have plenty of good deals in their catalog. The 2nd gen spikes are about $20-23. I ordered one on a whim and it got me back into EDCing FB's for the first time in years.

Don't use it much these days but for the price its a great knife.

Their marketing is silly and kept me away from them for years, but their prices and prosuct quality have never left me disappointed.
:unicorn
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Re: Cold Steel

#28

Post by vivi »

cbrstar wrote:
Tue Jan 01, 2019 9:59 pm
Vivi wrote:
Tue Jan 01, 2019 5:00 pm
cbrstar wrote:
Tue Jan 01, 2019 1:57 am
I feel like Cold Steel is the most over hyped knife on the market.
I feel the opposite. I think people overlook their lockbacks in simple steels with plastic handles because chinese flippers are all the rage these days.

Their machetes are also a great value. I got mine for $10 a piece with sheaths included. Didn't come with a functional edge, but few machetes do. Holds up great once you grind a real edge on it.
See that's the thing they are no longer cheap anymore.

But the main reason I think they are way over hyped is this. Companies like Spyderco, Benchmade etc can sell themselves on their own merit. They don't need to try to put other companies down to show how good their knives are. You can place a Spyderco into the hand of someone who knows nothing about knives and they will recognize instantly that it's something special. Cold Steel not so much.

https://youtu.be/_O1h-XjnoVI
[googlevideo]https://youtu.be/_O1h-XjnoVI[/googlevideo]

Here's a prime example. Wildsteer at the time was a relatively new company that came up with something that's maybe a little quirky but at least it was original. So of course Cold Steel has to have a vid where they "beat it". I don't even like Wildsteer, but that video left a bad taste in my mouth and made me realize that Cold Steel is really insecure about their product, And they have made tons of videos like that!!

But this is nothing new, just look at the cut out from their catalog from 1995...

Image

They literally took a shovel and ground it down into a knife lol!!! But hey guys Chris Reeves is totally ripping you off as our shovel knives are just as good. Don't be a sucker buy 15 of our shovel knives for the whole tribe.

I feel like Cold Steel isn't a premium knife company but a fantasy knife company who wants to charge you premium prices. And they feel they can do that by trying to make other knife companies look bad instead of putting the extra effort and money into making a premium product.
Have you used a Bushman? I have. Cutting, slicing, chopping, batoning, throwing, digging...handled all of these tasks just fine. It's a great knife.

They're only $25 with sheath. So much for their prices being terrible these days.

You sound like you've let yourself become biased against their products due to the marketing (which I admit is easy to do, I did the same for a while). They put out quality cutlery.

Again, my Cold Steel machetes were $10 with sheath. They work great for what machetes are made for. My drop point Spike was $22 shipped and it works great as a feather light fixed EDC. My large Voyager was $50 shipped and in many ways I prefer it to my $150 Manix XL DLC.

Laugh at their marketing all you want, but the products are high quality for their price point. I carry my Voyager more than any other single blade folding knife that ran me $50 or less.
:unicorn
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Re: Cold Steel

#29

Post by cbrstar »

Vivi wrote:
Wed Jan 02, 2019 4:25 pm
cbrstar wrote:
Tue Jan 01, 2019 9:59 pm
Vivi wrote:
Tue Jan 01, 2019 5:00 pm
cbrstar wrote:
Tue Jan 01, 2019 1:57 am
I feel like Cold Steel is the most over hyped knife on the market.
I feel the opposite. I think people overlook their lockbacks in simple steels with plastic handles because chinese flippers are all the rage these days.

Their machetes are also a great value. I got mine for $10 a piece with sheaths included. Didn't come with a functional edge, but few machetes do. Holds up great once you grind a real edge on it.
See that's the thing they are no longer cheap anymore.

But the main reason I think they are way over hyped is this. Companies like Spyderco, Benchmade etc can sell themselves on their own merit. They don't need to try to put other companies down to show how good their knives are. You can place a Spyderco into the hand of someone who knows nothing about knives and they will recognize instantly that it's something special. Cold Steel not so much.

https://youtu.be/_O1h-XjnoVI
[googlevideo]https://youtu.be/_O1h-XjnoVI[/googlevideo]

Here's a prime example. Wildsteer at the time was a relatively new company that came up with something that's maybe a little quirky but at least it was original. So of course Cold Steel has to have a vid where they "beat it". I don't even like Wildsteer, but that video left a bad taste in my mouth and made me realize that Cold Steel is really insecure about their product, And they have made tons of videos like that!!

But this is nothing new, just look at the cut out from their catalog from 1995...

Image

They literally took a shovel and ground it down into a knife lol!!! But hey guys Chris Reeves is totally ripping you off as our shovel knives are just as good. Don't be a sucker buy 15 of our shovel knives for the whole tribe.

I feel like Cold Steel isn't a premium knife company but a fantasy knife company who wants to charge you premium prices. And they feel they can do that by trying to make other knife companies look bad instead of putting the extra effort and money into making a premium product.
Have you used a Bushman? I have. Cutting, slicing, chopping, batoning, throwing, digging...handled all of these tasks just fine. It's a great knife.

They're only $25 with sheath. So much for their prices being terrible these days.
The last msrp was $45 back in 2013, which just happened to also be the same price a Recon 1 was. When you put them in that perspective are they still a great deal? I'm not saying they are not handy. I'm saying that trying to compare them to a CRK is ridiculous.
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Re: Cold Steel

#30

Post by vivi »

Why do you care what MSRP is? That isn't the street price.

https://www.knifecenter.com/item/CS95BU ... fire-steel

They've improved the sheath since then too. They're also including a ferro rod. They're great values for $26.
:unicorn
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Re: Cold Steel

#31

Post by Extra330SC »

Vivi wrote:
Wed Jan 02, 2019 5:50 pm
Why do you care what MSRP is? That isn't the street price.

https://www.knifecenter.com/item/CS95BU ... fire-steel

They've improved the sheath since then too. They're also including a ferro rod. They're great values for $26.

I've gifted a couple of these to family friends (fireman ) of my son...incredible value ! Their eyes lit up when I told them they could be attached to broomstick .....insta spear! I can't believe the abuse these 26 dollar blades take ...seems fireman are some of the biggest Pyros! :eek:

James

BTW...I've been eyeing the CS trailmaster the last few weeks. I'm getting the Province to rotate with my Esee 6...but I want a large blade to replace my Kabar Choppa I traded away for 52100 Para 3.
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Re: Cold Steel

#32

Post by awa54 »

Bloke wrote:
Tue Jan 01, 2019 11:22 pm
I find Mr Thompson highly entertaining and informative. :)

Image

I'd agree on the "entertaining" part...

If I ever need to have a ballistic gel zombie torso dismembered I know who to call!
-David

still more knives than sharpening stones...
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Re: Cold Steel

#33

Post by Bloke »

awa54 wrote:
Wed Jan 02, 2019 11:31 pm
I'd agree on the "entertaining" part ...
https://youtu.be/sU1P55Z4e ... P&index=63
A day without laughter is a day wasted. ~ Charlie Chaplin
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Re: Cold Steel

#34

Post by James Y »

I've bought some Cold Steel products over the years, since the late '90s. Their early Voyagers were very good.

I'm not as big on their folders as I am with Spyderco. I absolutely despise their pocket clips and the roughest scale possible underneath the clips, and would never carry a CS clipped, unless I wanted to destroy my pants pockets as quickly as possible. Quality-wise, they have a good product. Do I think they're the best in the world? No way. Their Tri-Ad Lock might be the overall strongest folding knife lock, but that's not enough to put them in my favorite knives category. Sure the Tri-Ad is safe in the open and locked position, but you have to be very careful while unlocking/closing, to do it with two hands in most cases. IMO, lock safety is more than just in the opened position; it's in the opening, opened, closing, and closed phases.

As for their marketing, Lynn is just doing what he's always done. I've seen him criticize, be dismissive of, or get into spitting contests with: Emerson, Busse, Spyderco, Gerber (back when they were better), Benchmade, Victorinox, and others. I tend to separate the product from the marketing. It is true that they make (or should I say, have made for them) some very good products. I've just never actually 'bonded' with any of them, after having tried off and on (mostly off) over a period of many years.

Jim
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Re: Cold Steel

#35

Post by knivesandbooks »

James Y wrote:
Fri Jan 04, 2019 11:52 am
I've bought some Cold Steel products over the years, since the late '90s. Their early Voyagers were very good.

I'm not as big on their folders as I am with Spyderco. I absolutely despise their pocket clips and the roughest scale possible underneath the clips, and would never carry a CS clipped, unless I wanted to destroy my pants pockets as quickly as possible. Quality-wise, they have a good product. Do I think they're the best in the world? No way. Their Tri-Ad Lock might be the overall strongest folding knife lock, but that's not enough to put them in my favorite knives category. Sure the Tri-Ad is safe in the open and locked position, but you have to be very careful while unlocking/closing, to do it with two hands in most cases. IMO, lock safety is more than just in the opened position; it's in the opening, opened, closing, and closed phases.

As for their marketing, Lynn is just doing what he's always done. I've seen him criticize, be dismissive of, or get into spitting contests with: Emerson, Busse, Spyderco, Gerber (back when they were better), Benchmade, Victorinox, and others. I tend to separate the product from the marketing. It is true that they make (or should I say, have made for them) some very good products. I've just never actually 'bonded' with any of them, after having tried off and on (mostly off) over a period of many years.

Jim
Don't forget when Cold Steel managed to get a patent for San Mai and was then suing people for making traditional san mai blades
Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and on those in the tombs bestowing life!
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Re: Cold Steel

#36

Post by James Y »

knivesandbooks wrote:
Fri Jan 04, 2019 12:18 pm
James Y wrote:
Fri Jan 04, 2019 11:52 am
I've bought some Cold Steel products over the years, since the late '90s. Their early Voyagers were very good.

I'm not as big on their folders as I am with Spyderco. I absolutely despise their pocket clips and the roughest scale possible underneath the clips, and would never carry a CS clipped, unless I wanted to destroy my pants pockets as quickly as possible. Quality-wise, they have a good product. Do I think they're the best in the world? No way. Their Tri-Ad Lock might be the overall strongest folding knife lock, but that's not enough to put them in my favorite knives category. Sure the Tri-Ad is safe in the open and locked position, but you have to be very careful while unlocking/closing, to do it with two hands in most cases. IMO, lock safety is more than just in the opened position; it's in the opening, opened, closing, and closed phases.

As for their marketing, Lynn is just doing what he's always done. I've seen him criticize, be dismissive of, or get into spitting contests with: Emerson, Busse, Spyderco, Gerber (back when they were better), Benchmade, Victorinox, and others. I tend to separate the product from the marketing. It is true that they make (or should I say, have made for them) some very good products. I've just never actually 'bonded' with any of them, after having tried off and on (mostly off) over a period of many years.

Jim
Don't forget when Cold Steel managed to get a patent for San Mai and was then suing people for making traditional san mai blades
Yep, that's true.

Jim
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Re: Cold Steel

#37

Post by jlw »

I have two CS knives: a Mini Tuff Lite and a Code 4 (clip point). I bought both previously owned (though hardly used) for about half the price they sell for new. I think the Mini Tuff Lite has been discontinued, but they can be tracked down.

I like both of them. I use the Mini Tuff Lite more than the Code 4, but that’s probably because I have a few knives that are similar in size to the Code 4 that I just like more. Both seem very well made. I wish the handle of the Code 4 were a little thicker (the smoothness of the aluminum doesn’t bother me). The clips are fine, but not as good as either a Spyderco spoon or wire clip. Code 4 has the “handed” clips which doesn’t bother me, except when I ponder what a weird design choice it was. The Mini Tuff Lite has its clip mounted for right-hand-tip-down only, which I don’t mind because I never use the clip.

As far as their other offerings, I sometimes look for deals on the Recon 1, SR1, and a couple of the fixed blades (oh, and their throwing knives :cool: ). I certainly don’t “need” another, but if I ever found a good deal one one of those it’d hard to pass up (Although is it really a good deal if I don’t really need the knife in the first place…thought for another thread).

I’m surprised they don’t offer more knives in that 3”-or-so size range. I think a “mini” Code 4 or American Lawman would be pretty popular.

To the OP — has your knife arrived yet? If so, what do you think of it?

James
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Re: Cold Steel

#38

Post by ugaarguy »

Their marketing is frustrating. But the Tuff Lite is an excellent knife for $30, and is far better than the Byrd line. Stupid names like "Broken Skull" also keep me from buying some of their otherwise very good value folders. But the Code 4 for $70-$80 is quite a value for that size knife with aluminum handles and S35 blade. They're also going to make a mass produced version of the AD-15 this year, and I'm particularly interested in that.
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Re: Cold Steel

#39

Post by Extra330SC »

ugaarguy wrote:
Fri Jan 04, 2019 4:24 pm
Their marketing is frustrating. But the Tuff Lite is an excellent knife for $30, and is far better than the Byrd line. Stupid names like "Broken Skull" also keep me from buying some of their otherwise very good value folders. But the Code 4 for $70-$80 is quite a value for that size knife with aluminum handles and S35 blade. They're also going to make a mass produced version of the AD-15 this year, and I'm particularly interested in that.
Wow...thanks for heads up! Really great looking knife and love the simplicity (but uniqueness ) of the scorpion lock!
I've had a 4max in my cart half a dozen times and just couldn't justify it because of size /weight! But a production AD15 ... :)

James
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Re: Cold Steel

#40

Post by SpyderEdgeForever »

I read an article in which Lynn Thompson was interviewed. He said that he at one point offered anyone a large amount of money if they could disarm him hand to hand while he was armed with the Cold Steel Taipan fixed blade double-edged knife. That is this one here:

https://www.coldsteel.com/3v-tai-pan.html

https://www.coldsteel.com/tai-pan-san-mai3.html

There it is in both blackened 3V and satin San Mai III Stainless Steel.

I would like to know what those here who are self defense and knife defense experts say to that if you don't mind. Basically he said a well-trained martial artist, if I read the interview correctly, with this Taipan, could not easilly be disarmed.

That is one amazing blade.
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