My vintage Cold Steel pictures, discussions, and general shenanigans

[1stID]

Gunsite folders.

These had a half serrated edge, an unsharpened top false edge just for looks, and the Gunsite logo with crow, err, raven. The extra large one below was a project knife - was dull, had a nasty chip in the front edge, and the crow wasn't fully black anymore. Some sharpening and painting brought it back to it's full looks.

Extra large folder, with 5" blade:

and large with 4" blade:

 

[1stID]

CS made a few models in some sort of plastic, that's pretty strong. I have the Delta Dart, which I guess is the poor man's version of the steel one, and the Executive Ice Scraper! It was billed as a weapon you could have around if you weren't supposed to, and the ads talked about the nasty 3 inch long gash someone would get if hit in the face with it. Or you'd have an ice free window, depending on what you used it for.

 

[1stID]

Twistmaster! Cold Steel always came up with some good names for their knives.

These were cheap at the time, pocket folding knives. Carbon V steel, so would rust if you didn't oil it once and awhile, but would take and keep a good edge. The locking feature was, as the name implies, a twist aspect of the knobbed ring. Simple, solid, and probably cheap to make. Sort of slow to get out of your pocket and open and lock, so more utility knives than whip and slash defensive knives.

 

[1stID]

Folding tantos!

The first versions had a belt clip, made of plastic, and was molded as part of the handle. This wasn't a good design, and lots of clips were broken off. A year or two later, CS changed the design to have a separate metal clip, held in place by 3 bolts, and it worked a lot better.

I have a bunch - 2 x 5" versions, 4 x 5" versions, and a 3" version. CS made them in three patterns - smooth edge, serrated, and half and half.

A couple are the fancy Gunsite ones, with the crow (err, raven!) emblem, and some sort of false edge on the top, which looks nice but does nothing.

 

[1stID]

Somewhere along the way, Cold Steel wanted to make a throwing star, and did they! It's the biggest and heaviest one I've seen, and would pack far more of a wallop than the cheap ass 8 sided ones I loved as a kid. But then again, it doesn't have all the fancy Oriental characters on it, like the cheap ones do, so what good is it?

 

[jlauffer]

The Outdoorsman.

I read they were made for California, which apparently had some stupid law, even then, about tanto edges. This one is brand newish, is the San Mai steel, but for unknown reasons, didn't come with the original sheath. The one it did is a decent copy, but doesn't hold it rock solid like the CS ones.

The mini is a smaller sized version of it.

Outdoorsman collection:

Does that Outdoorsman have a san mai lamination line? The sheath is definitely a red flag that the knife could be fake.

 

[killgar]

That's an impressive collection.

Tanto blades were never illegal in the state of California.

 

[KenHash]

Does that Outdoorsman have a san mai lamination line? The sheath is definitely a red flag that the knife could be fake.

Thought the same thing.
Also the VG1 core should be visible looking down on the spine. A slight color difference.

 

[The Whip]

1stID, welcome to Blade Forums, and thank you for the photos of your excellent collection! You've got some beautiful and rare pieces, particularly that Imperial Tanto! If you're so inclined, please consider adding pictures and any details you care to supply about your SRK to my Cold Steel Knives In Combat thread. Despite the knife's prevalence in the Gulf War, not many firsthand accounts of its use have shown up.


A few points of clarification about some things that have been mentioned in this thread:

Cold Steel never used ATS-34 on the Voyagers. In fact, I don't believe Cold Steel ever used ATS-34 on any of its knives. If I remember correctly, there was a limited run of ATS-55 Triple Actions released back when the company was testing that steel, but that's the only ATS steel that I recall. The Japanese Voyagers were AUS-8A and VG-1.

The first (and at least some of the second) batch of Recon Scouts was supplied to Marine Force Recon (and probably other) units for use in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. They were sterile because of the clandestine, behind-the-lines work that Force Recon was conducting. I'm pretty sure that the knife's name was due to the unit connection.

Cold Steel didn't make the Executive Ice Scraper. That was manufactured by a company called Choate Tool Corporation (now Choate Machine & Tool) out of Arkansas.

The Peace Keepers also were released in San Mai III blades, and versions were manufactured in Taiwan. I've seen some marked "CHINA," though I'm uncertain whether those are legitimate.

Does that Outdoorsman have a san mai lamination line? The sheath is definitely a red flag that the knife could be fake.

Unfortunately, I think it might be a counterfeit. Besides the sheath, the labeling and pommel look wrong. I agree that a San Mai lamination line definitely would be the defining feature.


-Steve

 

[Benjamin Liu]

The steel weapon the Delta Dart was sort of named after was the "Devil's Dart" which was the name of a spike with a wrist and ankle sheath that sold for a short time in ads in "Soldier of Fortune" back in the 1980s. A few other companies copied the Delta Dart and called their stabbing weapons "darts" as well.

Due to the name of the Delta Dart other "darts" and the various people assumed that they were throwing weapons and concluded that they were junk since they did not throw well.

The CS Jungle Dart, however, had both steel and plastic versions.

 

[Benjamin Liu]

Somewhere along the way, Cold Steel wanted to make a throwing star, and did they! It's the biggest and heaviest one I've seen, and would pack far more of a wallop than the cheap ass 8 sided ones I loved as a kid. But then again, it doesn't have all the fancy Oriental characters on it, like the cheap ones do, so what good is it?

What they really need are pictures of dragons, or even better, pictures of Bruce Lee.

 

[1stID]

What they really need are pictures of dragons, or even better, pictures of Bruce Lee.

I think I do have some starts with dragons on them - best 5 bucks each I spent as a kid in the 80's. The 8 pointers were so easy to throw even an uncoordinated type like me could ruin a dart board with them pretty quickly.

 

[1stID]

My newest Cold Steel - an old school, late 80's Recon Tanto.

As mentioned before, the first version of the Recon Tanto was a cheaper version of the Tanto. Same blame pattern, but the finish is subdued as is the hardware (I guess to be more stealthy when sneaking up on those Commie sentries), and the pommel is rounded, instead of being the "skull crusher!" style.

 

[1stID]

Got in a Mini Tanto last week too, one of the early ones with the brass hardware. The later versions, once Cold Steel went to stainless, had the oval style cross guard, which sort of looks out of place on such a small knife.

I never had a lot of interest in the Mini, but needed it to round out the Tanto collection. Sort of a big brother / little tyke picture with it next to the Trailmaster.

 

[1stID]

With the Mini Tanto, my Tanto collection is pretty well set at this point. I could get a San Mai Tanto, and a Mini with the oval guard, but both are back burner buys for me compared to other things I'd like to get.

From the top:

1st Gen Magnum Tanto - 8-3/4" blade
Magnum Tanto II - 7-1/2" blade
Special Ops Tanto - 5-3/4" blade, stainless hardware when the usual was brass
Tanto, 5-3/4"
Imperial Tanto, 5-3/4"
1st Gen Recon Tanto, 5-3/4",
1st Gen Mini Tanto, 4"

 

[1stID]

1stID, welcome to Blade Forums, and thank you for the photos of your excellent collection! You've got some beautiful and rare pieces, particularly that Imperial Tanto! If you're so inclined, please consider adding pictures and any details you care to supply about your SRK to my Cold Steel Knives In Combat thread. Despite the knife's prevalence in the Gulf War, not many firsthand accounts of its use have shown up.


A few points of clarification about some things that have been mentioned in this thread:

Cold Steel never used ATS-34 on the Voyagers. In fact, I don't believe Cold Steel ever used ATS-34 on any of its knives. If I remember correctly, there was a limited run of ATS-55 Triple Actions released back when the company was testing that steel, but that's the only ATS steel that I recall. The Japanese Voyagers were AUS-8A and VG-1.

The first (and at least some of the second) batch of Recon Scouts was supplied to Marine Force Recon (and probably other) units for use in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. They were sterile because of the clandestine, behind-the-lines work that Force Recon was conducting. I'm pretty sure that the knife's name was due to the unit connection.

Cold Steel didn't make the Executive Ice Scraper. That was manufactured by a company called Choate Tool Corporation (now Choate Machine & Tool) out of Arkansas.

The Peace Keepers also were released in San Mai III blades, and versions were manufactured in Taiwan. I've seen some marked "CHINA," though I'm uncertain whether those are legitimate.




Unfortunately, I think it might be a counterfeit. Besides the sheath, the labeling and pommel look wrong. I agree that a San Mai lamination line definitely would be the defining feature.


-Steve

Hi, thanks for the info. I'll check out my Outdoorsman, looking for the lamination line. If it is fake, it's a good one as it feels and cuts like a CS.

I'd be happy to post about my SRK in Desert Storm, where it resulted in the demise of many an MRE. I looked but didn't see that topic - can you post a link to it?

 

[1stID]

Well, upon further inspection, I don't see any lamination lines on the Outdoorsman, either along the top spine, or on the sides of the blade. The left side of the blade also has the VG-1 San Mai with the three strips on it, while in my catalogs up to 2008. they all show it just saying Outdoorsman on the left.

So it's most likely a fake. Surprised me, as the fakes I've seen on eBay are pretty crude looking, without the proper font or wording on the blade.

A shame, as it certainly feels like a good knife, and you can't tell by looking at it that's it's a fake save for the lamination line. Even had the full "bone breaker" section and 7 notches in the very back top of the blade. I guess the non-original sheath should have been a tip off, but you do see lots of CS's sold without a sheath at all. 20 years later, blades often get separated from their sheaths.

 

[jdk1]

The fact is, the Chicoms, thanks to the transfer of manufacturing knowledge and technology, can produce not only very close copies, but great knives in general. There's also the "fourth shift" where the knockoffs are made on the same lines by the same people, the only difference being Lynn wouldn't get his cut. You have a fantastic collection anyway and, as strange as it seems, a good copy is a neat part of the collection, showing how popular CS knives are!

 

[Albin]

My newest Cold Steel - an old school, late 80's Recon Tanto.

As mentioned before, the first version of the Recon Tanto was a cheaper version of the Tanto. Same blame pattern, but the finish is subdued as is the hardware (I guess to be more stealthy when sneaking up on those Commie sentries), and the pommel is rounded, instead of being the "skull crusher!" style.

Is that a Recon Tanto or the Original or Master Tanto? The CS 1988 (page 2) and 1993/94 brochure (page 3) show that knife as the Master Tanto with a 6" blade. The 1993 brochure (also page 3) shows a Recon Tanto that looks like this - note the SRK-like handle and a 7" blade:

 

[jlauffer]

Is that a Recon Tanto or the Original or Master Tanto? The CS 1988 (page 2) and 1993/94 brochure (page 3) show that knife as the Master Tanto. The 1993 brochure (also page 3) shows a Recon Tanto that looks like this - note the SRK-like handle:

That is the original Recon Tanto, before they changed it. Can see it here (scroll to near the end of first post):

History of Cold Steel Tantos - Unauthorized and Probably Incomplete

With the demise of the Cold Steel Forums, I am attempting to recreate the History threads that I had done over there. First up is the Tantos. Hopefully this can be made into a sticky. History of Cold Steel Tantos This will focus on the “classic” CS Tantos, from the beginning until they...

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