[sonofodin]

I think alot of people should write letters to cold steel and raise an issue about quality control. My ODA, Finn Bear and Ti-Lite are fine blades but after getting my kukri machete I noticed the issue. It also seems that drawing my ODA out of the plastic sheath dulls the edge from splendor to needing rubbed for a sec on the fine arkansas stone. Back to the kukri, mine was not ground right and I had to file it down and get out the diamond cards. Took me three days to re-shape and hone it down. I like cold steel but for a company that pushes so HARD with their DVD's and reputation, why in *insert* would I have to even deal with this issue? I have been reading some of the threads with other folks who have machete's from CS and they also have issues with it not holding its edge and being soft steel. There is no point of just me writing by myself but if enough CS customers speak up about it I think maybe they will step up the control on their quality, like they should. Or, maybe, their factory no longer belongs in south africa....

[Valkman]

Voted No - I wouldn't own anything from them because of the owner. Their hype is a joke and no wonder the knife doesn't live up to it.

[sonofodin]

Send me a private message explaining maybe why you say that? I ask only for scientific data gathering. I am intirested to know why you say that :)

[steeltiger]

They're not perfect, same goes for anything,and Lyn may be ( dont know how to put this politley )a ''scumbag'' but that has little to do with his knives, and anyway I don't care. I like his knives and they peform well, thats all I need to know, I loosley vote YES.

[JTW Jr.]

serious question , does Cold Steel actually make any of their knives or are they just a company that designs them , has them built and sells them ?

either way , I will pass on anything Cold Steel. Much better alternatives out there.

[sonofodin]

I think some of them are, and some of them are not. My ODA is made in the USA, but the Ti-Lite is made in japan, the Finn Bear in Taiwan and my kukri in south africa. I think they just design them...

[Snarlingiron]

Lyn may be ( dont know how to put this politley )a ''scumbag'' but that has little to do with his knives, and anyway I don't care.

Hmmm.. I have seen posts along these lines several times. Anybody care to elucidate? Do you just dislike his advertising and marketing methods? Is he a convicted criminal? What makes the guy a "scumbag"?

I have bought 2 Recon 1's, and three of my friends own them, and we all to a man think they are a very fine product.

So, does someone have a big enough pair to step up to the plate and tell us all why Cold Steel's owner is a scumbag? Or do we just continue to indict by inuendo?

Note: I am not defending the guy, I don't know one way or the other, I just wonder how he got this less than sterling reputation?

[Skofnung]

I too would like to know exactly why Mr. Thompson is disliked in the knife community. I always assumed that it was for dubious marketing, but it seems that it may be more.

I own a Cold Steel Oyabun Tanto that was given to me. It cuts well, takes and holds a good edge, and is overall a good knife. I don't care much for the "American Tanto" design in general, but I can't say anything else bad about it.

The only other CS product that I've dealt with is the Bushman, and again, it performed admirably.

The only thing that I can think of regarding your machete is that most machetes are rough from the factory and need to be brought up to par. That is why it only cost you ~$15 or so, depending on where you got it.

[sonofodin]

This is about machete's...not knives. As for Lyn Thompson, I do not know the man thefore I cannot and will not judge his character. I brought this up only to state that the machete's could do with a little more quality since the edge of mine was flat.

[JShirley]

Well...if you register at BladeForums.com, you'll find lots of info about this.

I would prefer to be positive when speaking of people, so let me say that I have met Lynn Thompson a couple of times- and I really have a very high opinion of some other company heads, like Jerry Busse (Busse) and Sal Glesser (Spyderco).

As far as their knife quality and value goes, I have owned quite a few CS products, most of them knives. Let me say that some of their knives are quite good, but on many of them, you pay extra for the hype.

John

[steeltiger]

I wasn't trying to insult him there, just stating that most people seem to think that and that I havent researched that much, due to lack of interest. I wasn't very clear on that I can see. Personaly I think I've seen enough about his reputation, and would like to hear more about performance and quality, a friend of mine used his 4'' voyager for trimming tree limbs, and my dad punnishes his so badly, I actualy stand idly by and grit my teeth hoping someday he will learn that is considerd extreme abuse, and will damage the knife, but suprizingly, it hasent yet.

[shecky]

Knife enthusiasts are a group like any other, often take offense at a host of offenses, real or perceived, and will designate themselves police on a variety of issues. In the case of Lynn Thompson, you name it, he's been accused by the gaggle on bladeforums.com. "Stealing" designs, making poor knives, making knives overseas, not making knives at all, promoting ill will against knife owners, etc. Upon scrutiny, the charges usually become weak, and are sometimes entirely fabricated, yet become lore by virtue of repetition. Not that it stops anyone. :rolleyes:

Regarding the machete, almost every machete I've seen, of any make, comes with a roughly ground edge. That just seems to be the practice, to sell them somewhat "in the raw", and cheap.

Some of Cold Steel's wares offer great value, others less so. The most interesting thing about the company is that they offer some very unique items and aren't afraid to go out on a limb with an unusual item.

[Eleven Mike]

Don't forget Mr. Thompthon'th lithp. And the bizarrely childish tough-guy face he always makes in those videos. Now, the lisp is not his fault, but he reminds me of some of our local entrepeneurs who do their own commercials. They think they are uniquely suited to do their own advertising, when in fact, they just are not ready for prime-time and ought to hire a professional.

Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against Lynne Thompson and have been a Cold Steel fan for at least a decade and a half.

[hso]

CS does not have their own manufacturing facility, but then neither do many knife companies like CRKT. Until recently all Spyderco knives were made off shore by manufacturers in Japan. Companies with US manufacturing facilities have some models made by other US companies, Camillus for Case and Buck. AG Russel doesn't even have a "line" of knives at all nor a manufacturing facility, but the knives that AG designs and has manufactured for sale in his shop and catalogue are of the highest quality. So who actually makes the knives for whoever designs and sells them actually has little to do with the quality and reputation of the "Knife Company".

So what makes the reputation of a company? Quality foremost. If the quality of the products are good then the reputation will be as well. Customer Service comes next. But all of that can be overshadowed by the personality of the company and that comes from the owner(s). They set the marketing and pricing and sometimes the public face. Gerber and Kershaw have no public face at all. They're pure corporate entities like an electronics company. Spyderco is Sal is Spyderco. Busse is Jerry Busse. Buck is the Buck family. Some are quieter like Spencer of SOG. Some are in your face like Lyn Thompson.

Mr. Thompson has mellowed over the years (as we all hope to), but his reputation as a confrontational, combative, somewhat unpleasant person will cling to him all his life.

[sonofodin]

Thanks for your input on this HSO.

[MadMercS55]

Lynn aside, pretty much all the CS knives I've bought over the years have been top notch in fit, finish, and overall quality for their price point. They design alot of interesting stuff, all hype and politics aside. I don't really care if their stuff is made overseas or not so long as it's good quality, since alot of other companies are the same way, CRKT, Spyderco, etc.

[steeltiger]

Thanks Sheky,HSO, you posted my exact thoughts for me.

[Mike U.]

I have several dozen of Cold Steel's knives. While I despise the over-hype Lynn Thompson dispenses with his line of products and I especially despise the time he totally dissed 420 steel and then next year started turning out knives in...you guessed it! 420 steel. That just ain't right, for cryin' out loud. :banghead:

You gotta give the man his due though. The guy has the stones to put out products the other companies won't touch. How many companies offer a line of spears?! And my Rifleman's throwing tomahawk works pretty doggone good for under $20.00. He's a little over-the-top in his advertising, but, the man has an interesting and useful product line.

Anyway, CS's Carbon V knives are great performers for the money, every single one I have is not for sale, ever. :neener: The Voyager line is a pretty tough line of folders for having Zytel handles and the blades aren't half bad. They hold an edge for a decent amount of work time and are fairly easy to bring back when they lose their bite.

So, all in all, while the owner may have his faults, the product is pretty good overall. I just wish they would find a new maker for the Carbon V knives. That is sad they had to change over to another steel. :(

[copaup]

I'll miss some of the Carbon V fixed blades that Camilus made for them, and I still like their voyagers. Sadly, the owner is a tool, and most of their newer knives (and new versions of the old Carbon V knives) are using inferior blade steel. You can get better for less elsewhere.

[.cheese.]

I don't know anything about them. I know Spyderco isn't up to the hype. Their knives are all the same from what I can see... with some odd blade styles, but nothing really all that useful from what I can see. Novelty value perhaps.

I will have to learn more about Cold Steel since their name comes up a lot.

I like Benchmade personally.

[plexreticle]

I own about 30 knives and never found a Cold Steel I wanted to buy. They just don't have any designs that appeal to me.

[Eleven Mike]

I own about 30 knives and never found a Cold Steel I wanted to buy. They just don't have any designs that appeal to me.

What do you like?

[Charles S]

I don't know anything about them. I know Spyderco isn't up to the hype. Their knives are all the same from what I can see... with some odd blade styles, but nothing really all that useful from what I can see. Novelty value perhaps.

I find that interesting. Spyderco uses some of the best steel in the industry with knives that hold an edge as well or better than some custom knives. (I know I own both Spyderco and custom knives). I find their products absolutely live up to their name. Quality production knives. What about them do you not like?

I have a Spyderco Military that I have skinned and butchered three deer without resharpening. Needless to say I am very happy with that knife. I have yet to find other production knives that can meet that level of performance. I have custom knives that do, but not production.

[Eleven Mike]

Quality production knives. What about them do you not like?

The stupid hole. I guess my thumbs must be a tad short, cause they just don't work for me.

[plexreticle]

What do you like?

There is a lot of stuff I like but I avoid design features found on many newer knives, like tanto style or full length serrations.

I have a SOG Seal Pup I really like. I like most non-tanto style Benchmade folders. I have several Case and Old Timers I like a lot.

[JShirley]

I know Spyderco isn't up to the hype...nothing really all that useful from what I can see. Novelty value perhaps.I will have to learn more about Cold Steel since their name comes up a lot.


Interestingly enough, when I first really began to make disposable income, I bought a lot of Cold Steel knives. The more experience I have, the more I value Spyderco. (I've learned a lot of other things in those 15 years, too! ;) )

John

[Eleven Mike]

There is a lot of stuff I like but I avoid design features found on many newer knives, like tanto style or full length serrations.

Me too. I don't think there are any Cold Steel folding knives that aren't offered in a non-serrated version. And unlike SOG, it has no fixed blade field knives with serrations, so far as I recall.

[trueblue1776]

I bought a Ti-Lite 4 years ago for $46, My Al-Mar was a better knife, but it cost three times as much as the CS. I thought the CS was an awesome knife for the money, unfortunately I lost the knife, and they ain't $46 anymore...

[thegriz]

I have several Cold Steel knives. You can find decent prices on ebay but watch out for counterfeits.

Best knife I ever had for pocket carry was the 5 inch Gunsite knife. It's very much like the voyager with the Tanto point. I love the tanto point for slicing open boxes, etc. They are lightweight and durable. The blades come factory sharpened and ready to use. Quality enough to use very hard. Cheap enough to use very hard.

Some of their products seem a little weird to me. Some are just plain terrific. Buy a voyager and trailmaster. They are good knives.

I believe they get a lot of bad PR because they talk about using knives for fighting. They design knives for fighting. They give us the kind of crazy fun stuff we want deep down inside. The other guys are too "respectable" for that.

[JShirley]

I have no problem with tools designed from inception for fighting/combat. I do have a problem with arrogant jerks and even intellectual theft. I prefer to buy from companies I respect.

John

[JTW Jr.]

well said , I put Cold Steel and Fury in the same class.

[islandphish]

I voted not exactly and my reasons echo some of you others'. I have found my Recon Tanto factory 2nd to be a solid piece of steel. Unfortunately I rarely have a time when the tanto is better than a regular blade. I also don't like the rubber grips. It has been reduced to rattling around in the tool box of the pick-up as a spare.

I made a similar mistake last summer when I bought a Becker nearly as long as my forearm. High cool factor low real-world usage factor. Make sure you have the two sorted before you buy from Cold Steel.

For several years now I find myself going back to the Benchmade mini-Griptilian in D2. Tight as ever.

[shecky]

I do have a problem with arrogant jerks and even intellectual theft.

Intellectual theft is one of those charges against Cold Steel I mentioned earlier that seems overstated on examination.

As for "arrogant jerk", I presume the assessment is made from the advertising. It may be wise to remember that advertising is for show.

[JTW Jr.]

As for "arrogant jerk", I presume the assessment is made from the advertising. It may be wise to remember that advertising is for show.


Dont believe is about the advertising , it more than that on so many levels. Search the various knife forums , you will find it all :D :)

[JShirley]

I think I've mentioned that I've met Lynn a couple of times...

[mec]

I tend to like carbon steel knives because I can get them sharper than anything else. The CS carbons seem to be as good as any made from well tempered 1095. Could be better-I can't tell. I have one of the South African machetes and it sharpens well and holds up to the general run of machete chores. I like it alot.

One time, the big guy hussled me away from a presentation he was doing for dealers only at the SHOT- (there wasn't a sign). I won't be writing up any of his products. I suspect he will keep on making money anyway.

[taozen79]

I own many of the cold steel line.... some of the original trailmaster stag, and the first Sai Mai Tanto they offered... I think the current line is not up to the quality of the older ones.. Just seems some of the caring and quality is missing.. .It begin small.... just a good combat knife.... now it trys to be everything to everyone..

one gunslingers opinion

[.cheese.]

Just saw this thread again and didn't realize there were a whole bunch of replies to my post.

Ok, so here's the deal with Spyderco. I love that they use S30V a lot, I just think it's unfortunate that their knife designs (at least for me) offer very little other than interesting aesthetics. They have great ideas for handles and for usages of steels (ie: the salt-water friendly knives), but so far I've found the blade design leaves a lot to be desired.

I find my Benchmades to be the knives I turn to for carrying and using 99% of the time, followed by some of my Bucks.

Spyderco has a fantastic sharpener (which to my knowledge was their first product followed by kitchen knives). I use it all the time.

I think if Benchmade and Spyderco merged, then you'd have the ultimate powerhouse knife company. Let Benchmade focus on blade designs (or maybe just Mel Pardue) and Spyderco could focus on which steels to use. They both could design the handles, although I have to admit I'm partial to the Benchmade handle designs.

Or Spyderco could just hire somebody like Doug Ritter to design some knives for them. (I'm a big fan)

So yeah, to summarize, as to what I dislike about Spyderco: blade design. That's about it. They use excellent materials and make excellent handles, but they need to stick/revert to the KISS principle when it comes to blades.

[Joe Demko]

Cold Steel products are a good buy if you shop around and buy them at about 50% to 75% of retail. The models that are outright copies of Randall and other well known knives, I refuse to buy out of principle and because they cost nearly what a genuine one would cost.
Lynn strikes me as a real horse's posterior; but that is a factor only as it relates to the claims he makes about his products. There have been more than one or two others in the business over the years who were far too impressed with themselves and their products.

[Don Gwinn]

I had an interesting experience a couple of weeks ago in school. One of my students had checked out one of those coffee-table books from the library: Special Forces Around the World or something like that. Each set of opposing pages was supposed to show one type of weapon, equipment, vehicle, uniform, etc.

I didn't pay much attention to the guns, although it looked like they missed some important pistols and had some in there that I wouldn't have included. Then he turned to the knife page.

I kid you not, it was nothing but about a dozen photos straight out of the Cold Steel catalog. There was a CS machete, a CS LTC Kukri, a Bear Classic, a Ti-Lite (!) and several others I can't remember, although I think there was a Vaquero Grande. Oh, and I know there was a Peace Keeper (the push dagger.)

I had to explain why I snickered.

[poor_richard]

Ok, so here's the deal with Spyderco. I love that they use S30V a lot, I just think it's unfortunate that their knife designs (at least for me) offer very little other than interesting aesthetics. They have great ideas for handles and for usages of steels (ie: the salt-water friendly knives), but so far I've found the blade design leaves a lot to be desired.Have to disagree with you a bit here. Their designs tend to ignore aesthetics (many consider them to be ugly). Spyderco centers thier design around function. They are ergonomic, and I tend to like many of the things the do with blades (hawkbills, leaf shape, drop point, hollow grind, full flat grind, saber grind, etc...). A lot of people keep asking for a Spyderco with the Axis lock, but I could care less as I think the mid lock is just fine, and don't know if I actually buy a Spyderco with a Axis (just not my thing). It's inevitable that there will be someone for whom a Spyderco knife does not suite. Sounds like you may be one of those. That's why there is such a good custom cutlery business.:D

[Charles S]

Here is my uneducated take on Cold Steel.

Personalities aside, Cold Steel does not live up to the hype that Lynn Thompson espouses. However, I do think Cold Steel produces good products for the money. I have a number of CS products that I am very happy with, others I have tried are not nearly as good as the advertising had led me to believe. CS has for me provided excellent customer service.

My first experience with CS was with their Master Hunter. After reading an article in a leading magazine I realized that the Case knife I had been using for years in hunting was really inadequate, and I needed a CS carbon V knife. I perused a catalog and purchased the Carbon V Master Hunter. Performance wise I really was impressed, the blade was a little large, but it had a good belly and did a good job of skinning animals. Edge retention was good, I could typically go through 1 and 1/2 animals prior to touch up. Sharpening was a PIA on a a hard Arkansas stone.

Several years later I was on a hunting trip where our group was exceptionally fortunate and took 8 animals in two days between 4 hunters. As circumstances would have it I ended up skinning all the animals (hand injuries and prior injuries kept the others from doing the knife work). I first used my Master Hunter, after it dulled(toward the end of the second animal) I finished the rest of the animals using a newer AUS 8A Master Hunter. I was really impressed and I think it is among the best mass produced hunting knife available. The AUS 8A Master Hunter has better edge retention and is easier for me to sharpen than the Carbon V model, my observations are the very different than what Mr.Thompson states. I have now skinned numerous animals with both knives and I believe I have a valid feel for the performance of those knives.

According to Mr. Thompson his knives provide the equivalent of custom knife performance. I cannot speak to this with the CS fighting knives, but I can in their hunting knives. A really good custom knife (Dozier) will outperform CS by a large margin.

Does CS live up to the hype, no. CS does produces good knives for the price. I do agree it is a much better value if an individual does not pay retail.

I know Spyderco isn't up to the hype...nothing really all that useful from what I can see. Novelty value perhaps.I will have to learn more about Cold Steel since their name comes up a lot.

TheEconomist, you and I will seriously disagree on this point. I think Spyderco knives are among the very best production knives on the market today. If I could only own one folder it would be without a doubt a Spyderco (The Military to be exact). I have used a Spyderco Military to skin a hog then a deer without resharpening. I use my Military every day, it is light weight, has almost enough belly to be a decent skinner, is an excellent camp knife, does a good job with food preparation, and could be used as a defensive knife if the need arose.

When I was first introduced to Spyderco I was young and fairly new into shooting and the "super cool" Spyderco Endura had just hit the market. To me the ability to open a knife one handed was great. I thought the knife was a thing of beauty (I know the eye of the holder). I was, at that time, working prehosptial a great deal and I loved the way the serrations would cut through a seat belt, and (I do not recommend this) using fingers on either side of the blade (like gutting a deer) you can strip a pair of jeans in a hurry.

Spyderco knives are not generally pretty (except to me), but they use great matte rials in a well executed design that is very user friendly. IMHO they are among the best knives for the money. Spyderco has excellent customer service. I own a lot of Spyderoc knives.

Benchmade knives may be the best factory produced folders on the market today.

[texascarl]

I ignore the CS hype. Hucksters and salesmen have to eat too, but that doesn't mean I have to stand around paying much attention. That said, I've been happy with the Cold Steel products I've purchased over the years. Note that they were all purchased at far less than manufacturers suggested retail price, and that 'value for money' aspect probably improved my opinon. I have several of their specialty items and enjoy them...but I really can't claim that I need swords and pole axes on a regular basis. Want 'em, yes. Need 'em, not so much. So I'm pretty easy to please on that count.

I particularly like the no-longer-available CS Carbon V country classic series of pocket knives. I have their large 2 blade folding hunter, and their trapper model. Camillus (or whoever made 'em) did a good job on those.

Spyderco knives and Benchmade rock as well. Calypso Jr is a little cutting machine, useful all out proportion to it's size. The Ayoob & Yojimbo are 'odd looking' but work great for my designated EDC purposes. Their military and Chinook are on my wish list. Love my old AFCK, and want a Nimravus asap.

So many knives, so little time and money.

[hso]

Looks like everything worth saying has been said on this topic and we're drifting a bit and repeating ourselves.