Cold Steel Just Dropped A Salvo

[goldie]

I just saw on the CS forums that the A2 versions of the trailmaster recon scout and others that were planned are not going to happen,so theyve changed the steel to what id refer to as Bud K steel; 4034; ugh.That is not what i was expecting.glad i have one in carbon v and a recon scout in carbon v as well. wouldve like one of each in A2. They might as well put Gil Hibbens logo on it if thats the steel theyre going to use.

 

[DocJD]

I'm just hoping this never actually gets to market . Or that it's all some kind of cruel hoax .

Terrible idea , IMO , and nearly every comment on the CS Forum seems to agree .

 

[goldie]

Like someone mentioned,itll turn the trailmaster into the Mtech 151 bowie only it will be 140 instead of 35-40 ugh...

 

[Insipid Moniker]

Heck, I'd be happier if they used the SK5 they have in other knives or solid, simple 1095.

 

[Planterz]

That's just hilarious. A bummer for the fans, I guess, but hilarious to me.

 

[Mitchell Knives]

This is a terrible idea on the part of Cold Steel.

Ultimately, it doesn't really matter because there are plenty of other factory and custom options available.

 

[gazz98]

I had never heard of 4034 knife steel until this post. Bleh.

 

[MayHemAndHaw]

So it's 420J2 by a different name..that's a shame. CS has always had goofy marketing but now the knives are going goofy too.

 

[Boru13]

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/a2-steel-update.1742924/page-2#post-19932826

 

[GIRLYmann]

i can only think that its a drastic cost lowering measure?
great ! they've finally realized just how
over inflatedly expensive they stuff has been of late.
i can agree with the lowering of msrp.
but not at the expense of edge holding
or maybe they havre worked out some
secret hardening process for cheaper
steels to make it a worthwhile attempt
at broading or at least to sustain the
present course of its market
trajectory? really the sign of the times...

 

[pnsxyr]

That seems like a VERY strange alternative to A2...if they can't source A2, why not 5160 or 52100?

 

[goldie]

4034 ! That is a massive downgrade.(GIRLYman) what if street price is still 135-150 ? it would have to go down in price just as the steel quality.40-60.00 at best i cant even imagine it.Remember, this affects the laredo bowie,natchez bowie and i think the kukri.

 

[not2sharp]

They may as well go ahead and make them in Communist China. I think Mtech can produce them for them; their resume says they have the experience.

They are probably thinking they can hang the blister packs at Walmart and sell a pile of them for $30-50.00 during the holidays.

n2s

 

[GIRLYmann]

uh, come to think if it, that's probably right.
there might not be a price drop for new stuff.
but the old ones in the inventory
would have to be cleared
and that might go cheap !
stranger things have happened

 

[whp]

I had finally gotten around to accepting s35vn as a replacement for cts xhp in the folders.

The difference in steel cost can t be that big a percentage of the cost of the knife.

 

[dirc]

4034 should be fairly similar to 420hc, it's cleaner in the sense it has much less there, but the lack of vanadium is unfortunate...
for a hard use knife, it should be great since its tough... but the problem will be edge retention

CS would be waaaay better off going 14c28n -> also stainless, tough, and much much better edge retention (and also possible to keep costs down like 4034)

(and I agree with other comments, if they wanted to use a non-stainless steel, the best choice is 52100, or sk5 for toughness)

 

[Mick Boardman]

Bud K steel, that cracked me up, and I know what he is saying, 3’ swords for $59 with free shipping, lol.

 

[DocT]

52100 would have been a good substitute, but this choice is nonsense.

 

[DocJD]

That's just hilarious. A bummer for the fans, I guess, but hilarious to me.

Yeah , as a fan it's pretty sad .

But also sad because I've seen so many previously decent companies go down this road .

 

[dirc]

everyone should remember this is not unique to CS...
kershaw now has over a dozen models with 3cr13... which is far worse than 4034

consider that?