[kannonfyre]

I have three questions:

1) For a tough jungle knife to be used in the tropics, (Kukris are banned by the local govt) is the CS Trail Master worth the $$ that it costs?

2) How close do the CS Laredo bowie or the CS Natchez Bowie come to being accurate historical replicas of actual 1800s bowie knives?

3) The CS website is full of videos about how hard a%% their knives are (i.e. slicing free hanging rope, butchering carcasses with one hack and punching through car hoods). Do these knives really stand up to the claims? Are other producers capable of regularly replacating this kind of performance?

[Long Knife]

I'm skeptical but that's just me. The ones I see at the gun show are pretty low end and inexpensive. I'd rather buy a Busse or RAT. In fact I'm getting two RAT's for my BOB: a RAT 3 and RATAK II. For a folder, a Retribution. Right now I'm using a CKRT M-16 T-13 but want something with a beefier handle.

[hso]

1) An inexpensive machete may do as well as the Kukri in your environment.

2) There were so many different "Bowie" knives at the time that any wood/bone/horn/stag handled carbon steel bowie-like knife would be close to what was availble.

3) Many manufacturers' knives can do what CS demonstrates on their vids. They just don't bother to advertise the way CS does.

[Sniper X]

I have had 2 Cold Steel knives, the Tanto (San Mai III) laminated blade folder, and the Magnum Tanto also in San Mai III laminated blade fare. The Magnum Tanto never failed but the lock detent slot on the blade broke when a freind of mine was looking at it and threw it at a tree to see if it would stick. Yeah he was not a "knife guy" so didn't know you don;t throw a folder....but anyway I thought that was pretty lame until i heard that was the only weak point of the SMIII process. A little brittle in some instances.

[Dr.Rob]

I've been using a Cold Steel tanto as a hunting knife your 20 years. In my experience, CS makes good stuff.

Sounds like a good short knife and a reasponable quality panga/machete is what you need.

[Sniper X]

WOW! Streider is awesome....check this one out. Kinda like this one Dr?

[Eleven Mike]

1. Can you find out what kind of machete the locals use? Go with something like that, but well-built. You'll either want a long, light, flexible blade or something heavy for chopping.

2. Ask a dozen experts about the original Bowie knife, and you'll get a half-a-dozen answers. We don't even know if the "Bowie knife" was one particular knife or different knives of the same type. Is it important to you that you get something authentic? Someone will be along to disagree with me shortly.

3. Cold Steel makes good knives and some of their knives will do what the videos demonstrate. A lot of other good knives will do those things, too.

Can you let us in on what kind of fun you're in for?

[Sniper X]

Sorry if this is 205, but check out cold steel machettes! Nice!

http://www.coldsteel.com/machetes.html

[Eleven Mike]

Is it just me, or have Cold Steel's web pages always been lame? They need a lighter background, for starters.

I like the handles on the new machetes. The handles on the old ones are way too chunky.

[Sniper X]

They do look nice.

[Mandirigma]

The handles on the old ones are way too chunky.

And slippery! had to wrap mine.

[CWL]

In the jungles I've been in: Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Burma, Vietnam, Taiwan: the locals always used some sort of bolo knife or parang, perhaps an odd machete or two. These are incredibly efficient designs for forest/tropical dwellers. These cost about US$20 or so. The only other knives used were bayonets, and these were for anti-mine probing. If a bowie shaped design would be efficient, I think that natives would have adopted it long ago.

I have carried a few custom stainless knives which have promptly rusted in the first week of being in Asia.

I don't know where you're going, but don't carry anything so valuable that you will miss if stolen.

[steeltiger]

Cold Steel's knives have always done well for me and they are durable. I have about thirty: they're about the only brand I buy. They are the only knives I know of that simply won't break and I'm not tempted to push the limits of other knives as I'm not very sure I'd get half as far as cs's- even good brands (buck/crkt/benchmade/kershaw...) I think you should look at the Recon Tanto; I've used all my weight to pry and made a one/sixteenth in offset in the axis line of the spine- it may not chop real well but it'll take anything you can give it. The machetes are good, but make sure that you get one of the thicker ones and something with the "latin machette" style handles. The thin blades can bend if you're not careful, but the thicker ones haven't given me a problem.


PS i like the "toa bundouki m'kubwa" comment mentioned earlier

[JTW Jr.]

one brand I have never had the desire to own is Cold Steel , their marketing is a joke. I put them in the same category as Dork Ops.

Based on LT alone , I would buy 20 Fury knives before 1 Cold Steel.

Just my opinion , ** your mileage may very , some setting of contents may occur during shipping , + licensing , taxes and doc fees.....etc ;)

[Eleven Mike]

one brand I have never had the desire to own is Cold Steel , their marketing is a joke. I put them in the same category as Dork Ops.

Your loss. Their marketing is over the top, but Dark Ops? Please.

[JTW Jr.]

certainly not my loss , their latest "antics" put them below Dork Ops in my book. An informed buyer is a wise buyer.

[Valkman]

I agree with JTW - CS is owned by the biggest dirtbag around and I won't own any. This guy gets off on making $39 copies of Striders and saying Strider lied about his military service. Yes, CS is about the same as Dork Ops - if that high.

[hso]

Valkman,

There are much bigger dirtbags than Lynn Thompson in the knife industry, not that I care for him at all. Just take my word for it that there are folks that have built their whole companies on the backs of uncredited unpaid knifemakers that make Lynn look like a saint by contrast. The "joke" is there's no more naturally cut-throat business than the knife business.

As to the Strider pissing match. You should see it over at the various knife forums!

Sniper X,

Regardless of the hyperbole, you may be amazed to know that the knife you pictured is a dead ringer for one I own that is 20 years old and a dead ringer for one that Ray Ennis has been making for at least 10 years as well and another that Kit Carson has made for the UDT guys. Does that make Mick Stider a thief and a low life scum for making a knife that looks like something that's been around for 20 years and that other makers are producing? No. It just means that he's made something that is useful as a sharpened pry bar. Not new. Not exciting. Just his acknowledgement that there's a well proven design that he can incorportate into his product line for folks that want a Strider. Might be nice if he acknowledged the folks that came up with it first, but then he'd probably have to go all the way back to some unknown blacksmith in India. T'ain't much new in the knife business.

[Boats]

I agree with JTW - CS is owned by the biggest dirtbag around and I won't own any. This guy gets off on making $39 copies of Striders and saying Strider lied about his military service. Yes, CS is about the same as Dork Ops - if that high.

Mogadishu Mick is a shameless, and sublimely bad, liar about his background. He was busy adding a new layer of BS to his backstory just this week.

Middle Earth Man has been having a bad week. Lynn Thompson ripped off a Strider design and sells it for $30.00 and a whole new crop of knife fans were introduced to the Axis of A-Holes: Lynn Thompson, Aragorn, and Electric Rifle McClung.

[JTW Jr.]

say what you want boats , I know Mick personally , you believe what you want about LT. It dont make a bit of diff to me , I didnt get involved in a Strider vs Cold Steel debate on the others forums , and wont do it here.

I just know I would open the doors to my house for Mick , not so for the other being spoken of.

[Boats]

I can understand a lack of desire to defend the indefensible.

Mogadishu Mick, Cold Steal, Dork Ops, and Mad Mutt are all dirty birds of the same feather, hucksters all.

[JTW Jr.]

whatever bud....
Your list is flawed..... you a DDR fan ?

[Boats]

DDR? I guess you have to be a fan to know what that is. :D Since you know him, what's the poseur up to this week?

[2TransAms]

Well I don't know about all this drama. I know that Cold Steel's marketing is over the top and some of their knives look basically useless,but a lot of their knives are tough as nails and can take quite a beating. When I need something beefy I carry my Recon Tanto folder. If you want to know about quality,I can tell you it's a darn good knife for the price.

They are obviously not custom knives. Most are big heavy utility knives, so if that's what you want then go with Cold Steel. Actually the sharpened pry bar analogy was spot-on.

BTW I'm a Benchmade guy now. Buy one and see the difference. And someday I may move up to the truly custom knives.

[Eleven Mike]

Drama, indeed. I'm sorry if I posted earlier being unaware of the soap opera nonsense going on. I'm in way over my head. This just furthers my conception that anyone too interested in the knife as a weapon is probably a looney-tune. I say that as a knife-nut who carries a medium-sized sheath knife as EDC. Hint: It's for cutting stuff, not people.

Just use what works, people, and forget the personalities. Lynne Thompson is a tubby guy with a funny lisp. But if he makes a knife that appeals to you, who cares?

[hso]

Fellas, let's leave the Busse/Mad Dog type flame wars for the dedicated knife forums. If Mick Stider and Lynn Thompson and their followers want to go after each other that's fine. It won't be allowed here.

Got a specific example that is cross-checkable, lay it out. Got nothing but flame to spew take it somewhere else.

Even the most sainted knife company owners have their flaws and there are damn few sainted knife company owners. And I've met most of them.