Cold Steel China vs. Taiwan

[Gunz]

Before this gets into a Lynn Thompson bash, please avoid the man and reflect the product per usage experience.

Having said that, I have begun seeing the Made in China blades with teh Cold Steel label. The blades seem more polished in appearance. The edges do not seem as finely ground as the Taiwan ones. I guess China was inevitable, given the manufacturing processes of all manufacturers. The prices reflect at least $15 reduction, depending on the model.

I bought a Safekeepr 2 push blade, which used to be sold around $50 for Taiwan. It was around $65 from Japan. Now, I bought one for $35. Seeing it only has one purpose, a sharp sticky thing is as good as any. I plan on testing the blade on some cardboard.

their gimmicky videos show the blades with past steels. I wonder if they hold the same standards for the China steels and production.

Anyone have any ownership of the recent China blades?

 

[sonofodin]

No ownership of the recent ones, unless the Finnbear is from china. Other than that, my ODA is from the good old USA and my Ti-Lite is from Japan. I think the Finnbear is from Taiwan. Gonna check. Yep, Taiwan. Only blade from China I got is a Spyderco Cara Cara. Got suckered into that one .

 

[MadMercS55]

I have a few of the new Cold Steel fixed blades made in China. Fit and finish were fine and couldn't go wrong at the price. Nothing really wrong overall, China puts out some nice stuff along with crap. A prime example is the Benchmade Vex. China made, but a great knife. Cold Steel will most likely put out another video with all the new models in the near future.

 

[hso]

Be careful of the steel used. The Chinese "equivalent" of AUS 6 or 8 can be a little iffy and unless CS takes great care the heat treat can be questionable. At the price, though, you can afford to buy and try to make up your mind.

 

[Joe Demko]

Chinese-made knives are gradually improving. You still get what you pay for, of course. $2.00 gunshow knives are still crap. Yet, I can remember very well when I was a kid that Japanese-made knives sold in the US were largely junk. Now look. The Chinese aren't there yet, but they are making strides. Similarly, the Pakistanis were making junk in the 80's, started to improve in the 90's, but then backslid to making junk again. Probably a result of their unsettled political situation there.