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UVvis
02-03-07, 01:00
Does anyone have any feedback on Cold Steel Knives?

Many of my martial art friends really like these knives for their toughness, in particular their fixed blade bigger knives.

Dave L.
02-03-07, 04:32
I have owned 1 cold steel lock-blade knife and it took tons of abuse for $35.
Also I own 2 SARK (Search And Rescue Knife) by cold steel, and for $60 each, they were worth every penny and then some.

They use high carbon steel on many knives which rusts very fast if not taken care of. Their stainless steel isn't the best grade steel but you get what you pay for.

They make great knives for the money.

TOrrock
02-03-07, 07:38
I'll echo what Raining Brass said, great knives for the money, performing far better than they should for the investment.

Tough as hell.

A Recon 1 is my daily carry knife, it sees a lot of use and abuse.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/Tim_Orrock/Range%20Day%2011-12-06/SWM22.jpg

LukeMacGillie
02-03-07, 07:55
If I was naked in the woods, and my only options were to carry a CS knife, or chip my own flint knife, or mine iron ore and forge it into a knife, well Id be chipping and mining.
:p

Paulinski
02-03-07, 08:49
Cold Steel = Blatant rip off of other designs. I will never buy one.

Aubrey
02-03-07, 09:06
I've no experience-based opinion on Colt Steal's knives, as I've never owned any. Their blatant ripoffs of other makers designs and their owners penchant for envy-driven attacks on patriots, however, is sufficient justification for me to look elsewhere for edged tools. Subsidize whatever you like, but I prefer to support the good guys that make good gear.

Mac679
02-03-07, 11:16
I will never buy Cold Steel, nor will I recommend them to my soldiers. Not after their recent attempts to drag Strider through the mud. Cold Steel is nowhere on the list of brands that I would trust my life to. There are 2 Strider blades (MT Mod10 and WP Clip Point) on my kit (one will be getting removed) and I carry an Emerson SOCFK on a daily basis. Cold Steel will never have a place in my kit bag or on my RACK.
Some may complain about the cost of Strider, I've never heard of anyone breaking one...

rhino
02-03-07, 11:42
I own several Cold Steel products and have been entirely satisfied with them. At their price point, they make an excellent product and some of their design elements are far superior to some of their direct competitors. I refer specifically to their blade grinds and edge geometry. If you compare something like their Voyager series to most competition in the same price range, you'll see that the Voyage has a wide, very thin blade by comparison. That makes it s better slicing and cutting tool, which is what a knife is supposed to be for most of us. Their manufacturers/contractors do good, consistent heat treatments as well, which is often more important than the which wonder steel of the month is selected.

The now discontinued "TwistMaster" series of knives (the original verson, not the second series) were some of the best cutting tools ever made regardless of price, and when they went on clearance, they were dirt cheap. The downside is that you couldn't open them with one hand. All of the money went into the blade (whichever steel was "Carbon V" at the time) and a very nice, thin flat grind on a fairly wide blade. Edge geometry was as good as it gets in a production knife. I only wish I'd bought more of them at the time.

In terms of the fixed blade knives, their SRK is pretty much indestructible. I prefer a thinner edge, but among the "sharpened pry bars," it's a pretty good cutting tool.

I have no experience with most of their other products.

The downside of Cold Steel is the "personality" of their owner and thus the company. A lot of people are turned off by their advertising and rhetoric, and I can see their point in that regard.

Pat_Rogers
02-03-07, 14:11
CS was pretty much the king of the fixed blade hill 10 years or so ago.

From a technical as well as practical standpoint, they lost that quickly when the Strider Guys (and some others) showed the user community what a functional knife was.

CS is way behind the power curve, and has taken to guerrilla marketing and visual rip offs to compensate for reduced functionality.

I used to work for an organization that private purchased cs. When Strider became available, the cs inventory went as gifts to BEM's or used as chopping blocks for the Strider knives.

His nonsense advertising about being genuine GI fits in a lot of the errornet forums. Strider produces a number of their tools that have NSN's- cs is absent from that venue, for a reason.

I agree completely with Luke and Aubrey on this (and most other things).

There is what i would use if my life depended on it, and there is "just as good as".

Dave L.
02-03-07, 16:03
"Since I bought my STRIDER" 4 years ago I haven't bought any other blade...nor do I really keep up with the knife market.

I didn't know CS had changed their "marketing tactics".

I'm partial to good people with good products(especially ex-marines).

Buy A STRIDER(after saving for 3.6 months):D

UVvis
02-05-07, 02:21
Thanks everyone,

I hadn't heard much of this backstory at all. I tend to get a fair number of knives as gifts. This explains why I haven't heard to much about CS's knives in general, but see most other brands mentioned often.

rhino
02-05-07, 18:06
UVvis . . . you might also want to check places like www.bladeforums.com where you'll find a lot of knowledge and experience with almost any brand and model of knife you can name.

nyeti
02-08-07, 19:50
My experiences totally mimic Pat's. If you want to buy a import knife from a guy who loves to bad mouth folks who have actually done the job and make all there stuff here, fine. They will never get another cent from me.

Their latest ad campaign is pathetic. I am currently working up the Strider L/E Division, but I guess I'm just another wannabe felon in Lynn Thompsons world.

TOrrock
02-08-07, 19:55
Having not seen the latest ad campaign, or be familiar with the owner's politics or attitude, you'll have to forgive me my purchases.....

jsta5.56shooter
03-27-07, 21:50
i own 2 CS blades,2 Emerson benches and an array of folders for everyday use but i must say that my MOD auto is with out a doubt the bigdog of the bunch.
this pup holds a great edge and is small enough to carry comfortably.Only 200.00 bux.

xenophobe
03-28-07, 04:36
CS was pretty much the king of the fixed blade hill 10 years or so ago.

From a technical as well as practical standpoint, they lost that quickly when the Strider Guys (and some others) showed the user community what a functional knife was.

CS is way behind the power curve, and has taken to guerrilla marketing and visual rip offs to compensate for reduced functionality.

CS knives used to be really good, back 15 years ago. I still have a couple of their original knives and they're great... nothing like the cookie cutter garbage they put out now.

JOHNO
05-02-07, 20:58
I keep a few different knives for different types of jobs, back in the 80s, I carried a Randall #14 but they're expensive and tough to replace. I adopted the Cold Steel Military Classic R1 a few years ago and love it, I also gave the Blackjack #1 a fair chance and retired it to the safe. I also was not aware of CS politics.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b128/jaodom722/10-30-05399.jpg

Al U. 5811
05-03-07, 23:21
While I wouldn't consider CS knives junk, I don't consider them a first, second, or 100th choice. You get what you pay for.

Strider, well that's another issue. I unloaded every strider product I owned. Yes, I too once believed the lies. It's funny how some can still stand behind them after all of Micky's bullshit stories. Watching him, CS, and Mad Dog battle it out is entertaining but I really don't care who wins.

I've been an Emerson supporter for quite a few years. I don't think I'll ever have to hear anything negative about Ernie.

PALADIN-hgwt
05-04-07, 08:30
xxxxx

CPR
06-12-07, 13:15
I'd also be chipping and mining. I'm not a fan of Cold Steal's knock-off's or the owner. They had good fixed blades in the 80's. Now - not so much (IMO).

Luckily, my Strider addiction will keep me from learning the above trade.