Cold Steel not the same anymore..

A

Anton41Beukes

Joined
Jan 12, 2023
Messages
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I have been carrying Cold Steel since 2010 and my last 3 Cold steel purhases has not been great. Today I got the voyager XL drop point but sent it back immediately. The lockbar sinks in completey and the lock gets stuck. Almost like the stop pin is to small. This is my second one, previous XL I also sent back because of the blade tang and lock "face" not making contact flush which caused blade play. My fde recon 1 with matte black blade I sold after getting it because also the lockbar sunk in all the way. Something is definitely not right with the quality.
 
Anton41Beukes said:
I have been carrying Cold Steel since 2010 and my last 3 Cold steel purhases has not been great. Today I got the voyager XL drop point but sent it back immediately. The lockbar sinks in completey and the lock gets stuck. Almost like the stop pin is to small. This is my second one, previous XL I also sent back because of the blade tang and lock "face" not making contact flush which caused blade play. My fde recon 1 with matte black blade I sold after getting it because also the lockbar sunk in all the way. Something is definitely not right with the quality.
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Could it be that the stop pins and lock bar pins got mixed up? They are nearly the same size and mixing them up causes that exact problem.
 
jux t said:
Could it be that the stop pins and lock bar pins got mixed up? They are nearly the same size and mixing them up causes that exact problem.
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I did disassemble the Recon to check, that's not the problem. It could be quality issues.
 
I thought that this thread was going to be about the "good old days" of Cold Steel. When they used to send a new catalog every year. Even the "Holiday Flyers" that came out twice a year used to be full of great deals on new and clearance items, factory seconds that beat other manufacturers firsts! And about every 5 years or so there would be a new "Proof" Video/DVD, featuring brutal and innovative tests of all that Cold Steel had to offer. As if that wasn't enough there were two parking lot sales per year where you got to meet all of the Cold Steel staff and discuss their knives and other products while dining on free BBQ. And lets not forget the Cold Steel Challenge that celebrated the warrior lifestyle! Yeah, I guess you're right, Cold Steel is not the same anymore.
 
My recent AD10 purchase was a quality knife. I was impressed enough to order a 3v SRK yesterday.
 
It's hard to say for certain if the quality has slipped... I haven't seen it myself, and anecdotal examples don't conclusively show a trend. But it's nice we have the forums to collect user experiences and eventually see if it's a widespread issue. Thanks for posting.
 
I've bought more CS knives since the GSM transition than I probably should have. So far my only negative experience is that my 9.5" Drop Forged Bowie arrived with a noticeable warp in the blade, but for the price I paid it doesn't bother me much. I've only bought models that were in production, or at least planned, at the time of the sale so I'd like to think that I'm still benefiting from the expertise of the old CS.

I seem to hear that, in general, the flagship models seem to hold up to pre-sale quality. That may end at some point, possibly starting now with your Voyager. Hopefully not.
 
My orders from GSM ,with the old school designs, have been fine so far . Hopefully quality will be maintained going forward !

But, I'm very careful now to be able to return to the seller, if defective, and not have to rely upon GSM warranty service .

They are marketing some obvious new junk and some interesting stuff that needs more work, IMO . Nothing I've wanted to buy yet .
 
I ve bought a couple of old line folders with the new logo and haven t had any quality issues.
I m also using sellers with whom I ve had good experience in the past.
And I also see nothing in the new models that interests me.
 
Thing is, we don't know what production contracts may have already been in place. Once they all expire and new ones negotiated, who knows? If that already happened and some stuff is still good, then I guess there's some hope...
 
DocJD said:
My orders from GSM ,with the old school designs, have been fine so far . Hopefully quality will be maintained going forward !

But, I'm very careful now to be able to return to the seller, if defective, and not have to rely upon GSM warranty service .

They are marketing some obvious new junk and some interesting stuff that needs more work, IMO . Nothing I've wanted to buy yet .
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Very well said…I’ve had the exact same experience. I would add that I’m only purchasing when I see a good sale or waiting during specific holidays to see if any price drops take place (ie. 4th of July, Christmas, Black Friday).
 
My last buys include a recon 1, natchez 4034, gurkha kukri 4034, 2 leatherneck bowies and a espada xl. The recon 1 and the espada had the lock not engaging correctly, but I could easily fix it myself. Other than that, all flawless knives.
 
rustinxcohle said:
My last buys include a recon 1, natchez 4034, gurkha kukri 4034, 2 leatherneck bowies and a espada xl. The recon 1 and the espada had the lock not engaging correctly, but I could easily fix it myself. Other than that, all flawless knives.
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My Recon 1 lockbar sinked in all the way as well. The bew ones with the fde scales and natte black blades. This means long term that lock won't have any room to move(self adjust).
 
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