Cold steel. sold proof dvd.

[Cosmose]

have you fellow's seen this dvd? i bought a cold steel kukri and got the free sold proof dvd. and i must admit i'm impressed. i know some badmouth cold steel. but i sure don't understand why?
i was just wondering what you fellow's thought of the dvd.

 

[wheelgunslinger]

I think it's a genius move on Lynn's part. He's a smart guy when it comes to marketing.
As for the DVD, I think it's pretty neat too. Interesting tests and such.

From what I've been able to ascertain, Cold Steel has a lower line of crappy stuff, a middle class of better, and then a premium line of cutlery. So, some of the rep they get is deserved, but that's not all there is to them.

 

[coelacanth]

the DVD is reasonably well produced but . . . . .

you will notice that most of the cutting is staged and not actually a "real world" test scenario. That said, its a pretty saavy marketing move but a lot of us here have had ups and downs with the Cold Steel products. Some are good values and others are largely overrated. I find their fixed blades to be generally of higher quality than their folders but the good thing is the stuff isn't terribly expensive so you can pick your poison and make up your own mind. Good luck.

 

[markk]

Personally,I love the DVD.Talk about knife porn...

 

[CWL]

The knives are fine. Nobody needs to pound thier knife thru a car door or a 55gal. oil drum, but it's cool to know you can.

Most people do not like CS because of the owner, some also think his stuff is overpriced for what it is.

 

[Joe Demko]

Provided you pay around 50% of retail, Cold Steel is okay. Their folders have never appealed to me. Neither have some of their goofier "special projects." I do own a couple of their fixed blades, though. I'd stay away from their copies of other people's stuff. For the price of a Cold Steel copy of a Randall, you're darn near to paying for a real Randall...plus there is the issue of whether Lynn and company can be said to have basically stolen their designs. AG Russell won't even mention CS by name in his catalogs or carry any of their stuff apparently for that reason.

 

[RyanM]

Good marketing, but don't drink too much of that kool-aid, tasty though it may be. Well over 50% of their claims are outright false, really.

 

[WOODROW]

I own the Recon 1 spear point folder, Recon Tanto and the SRK. I carried the tanto for several years in the U.S.M.C. and I had no problems or complaints with it at all. As for the other 2, I carried them for camping and law enforcement for nearly 8 years and I would trust either of them. I have since retired both and now carry a different brand but still have all 3 C.S. blades and they still cut long, deep and clean.

 

[hso]

Careful Joe. Randal model 1's are running half a grand while the CS version is just under $300. That's enough of a difference to make a difference. Of course the CS won't appreciate over time while the Randall will (if unused). While I'm no fan of Lynn Thompson and the hyper hyperbole of his Solid Proof videos some (some, not most) of CS products are pretty good.

 

[thegriz]

I like Cold Steel

I have a couple trailmasters, some voyagers, a gurkha kukri, a few other misc items. I love them and use them.

I've also tried several of their products and found they were not to my liking. You also have to watch out for their some of their low end products and counterfeits.

I admire this company for not being politically correct and admitting that in addition to being good tools knives can also be employed as weapons. I especially admire them for offering some training on the use of their knives for fighting.

I am sick of hearing about "tactical knives" with 2 inch blades from other companies. It almost makes me as sick as seeing most men carrying a cell phone in a hip holster instead of a firearm. It's a sad state of affairs but not part of this topic.

Bottom line with knives, like guns, tools, cars, etc, is that each person needs to test drive them to see if it's right for them.

The proof video is fantastic. The other knife makers are lazy cowards for not offering their own proof videos, especially those who criticize the videos produced by Cold Steel.

 

[Slamfire]

I like the fact that Cold Steel at least does “proof testing” of their knives. Now you may not agree that the test is valid, or even intelligent, but no one else does this. I have never seen any competing company hang 100 pounds of weight on the end of one of their folders.

Cold Steel makes good knives. If you shop around, you can get decent prices.

It is difficult to understand why small groups of malcontents become rabid haters of a product. Cold Steel has a very dedicated group of haters on Blade Forums. Say one thing nice about Cold Steel and you will get pilloried. Their arguments are full of emotion, hate, with broad sweeping attacks. These guys make Cold Steel their whipping boy for jobs moving to China, patent law, the unfairness of life, etc. They have got it down to a practiced art form.

Cold Steel makes knives that people buy. Lynn Thompson has built that company from almost nothing to one of the biggest brands in the US. He has done so by offering value commensurate with price. The more you pay, the more you get. I like the fact the catalog has a wide spectrum of knives, goes from decent hunting knives, to pole axes.

Have a bunch of Cold Steel knives. Am happy with them.

 

[Kurt]

Another vote for Cold Steel. Many models over many years and no real complaints. Excellent value for the bucks spent.

 

[hso]

I like the fact that Cold Steel at least does “proof testing” of their knives. Now you may not agree that the test is valid, or even intelligent, but no one else does this. I have never seen any competing company hang 100 pounds of weight on the end of one of their folders.

Let's not assume that because CS puts demonstrations of the lock strength of their knives in their promotional videos that other knife companies do not test the strength of the locking mechanisms in their knives. I personally know that both Spyderco and Buck include quantitative lock strength tests in both the development phase and as QC during production for their knives.

 

[Hobie]

I'm pro Cold Steel. I don't own every S&W product and I don't own every Cold Steel product but I've chosen well and those products are serving me well.

ALL cutting tests are staged.

There are always naysayers for any company/maker. Not all of them are reasonable in their objections. One can see that in their arguments which are riddled with logic faults.

 

[Hawk]

I don't have any issues with Cold Steel's product but find the marketing hype to be over the top.

 

[Ghost Tracker]

I, like the rest of y'all, have knives of almost every variety, built by most well-known manufacturers, in conditions ranging from LNIB to Tackle Box terrible. Cold Steel certainly isn't an Emerson, Ek or Strider but they sure aren't United Cutlery either. I've noticed when I read someone just BASHING them, it doesn't have details about a CS failure or defect. It's usually just villifed opinion. If I had my choice, a Bob Dozier handmade is beyond reproach. But IMHO, being forced afield with a mid-grade CS product is NOT a dreadful situation. I'll simply force whatever I need to cut watch that DVD...and it'll just surrender itself in two.

As for Lynn Thompson - I wish he had my knife & I had his money...rather than the other way around.

 

[Joe Demko]

Dislike of Lynn Thompson's style strikes me as a perfectly valid reason for not buying his knives. There are enough other companies out there making knives of equal or better quality that there is no reason to buy from a man you don't like.
I, personally, don't care for his style but I do own a couple of his products and have owned others over the years. The only one I really, really liked (and wish I still had) is a skeleton-handled drop-point he marketed briefly in the early 80's. It was called the Urban something-or-other.
Other folks do find him abrasive enough to refuse to buy any of his products. Why are they wrong? Why enrich a man you don't like when you can buy from someone else?

 

[Joe Demko]

BTW, if any of you have that model of CS skeleton knife, it was similar to the Urban Shiv but with a drop point blade, that you'd like to sell or if you see one come up for sale I'd appreciate you dropping me a PM.

 

[sandy4570]

I am a long time Cold steel customer and their Kukri machete is part of my camping kit.
I recieve DVD and catalog once in a while and I do enjoy the sword section the most. The newest version has practioner of particular style like the samuria and Chinese sword demonstrated how those swords were deployed . The meat , bottle, water melon and trash can cutting are fun to watch .

 

[Corndogg]

love watching the vid, staged or not. its obviously a marketing DVD, so just keep that in mind. fave section is the big bore blowguns!

own a cold steel Skean Dhu and and Boot Blade II (http://www.coldsteel.com/nise.html). the skean dhu is great, very flat and low profile. cutting edges are nonexistent, but definitely good for stabbing. if i could go back in time, id get the jungle dart or a push blade, as again these are really only for stabbing. and even there, really only as a stabbing weapon that needs to get past metal detectors!