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- Aug 4, 2013
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We know that Cold Steel has had their products made in USA, Italy, South Africa, China, Japan, Taiwan, India, and likely other countries.
I believe the American and Japanese made have been the most desirable by collectors of Cold Steel, but Taiwan has also proven to be a good source for them for consistent and nice quality items.
They, (meaning Taiwan), are obviously using some state of the art equipment, and therefore puts them in Cold Steel's full modern production and material category.
Now, for their products in the less than high tech materials and manufacturing methods category, their products coming from India are the ones that mostly come to mind.
While CS may be dealing with different makers in India to make this genre of their offerings, it seems that Windlass Steelcrafts is their biggest, (if not exclusive), manufacturer in that country.
I don't exactly know how CS gets sharpened swords, knives, and other implements, sharpened from over there. It seems that India's exportation laws prevent the items from being shipped sharpened, so either CS is having them sent to another country for that sharpening, or they are done here in the USA sometime after they arrive.
In any case, they are manufactured using traditional carbon steels, such as, 1055, 1065, 1085, and 1095.
Their handles are usually made of natural materials, including leather and rosewood.
Blades are not done using the stock removal method, but instead literally hand hammer forge their blades before they are sent to the grinding department(s).
My understanding is that their tempering/heat treating is up to modern tech, but pretty much everything before that point is still quite on the "old school" side of things.
Although these items may be considered mass produced, they are far from the true modern cookie cutter high tech methods used by the makers of most of the other CS products being made in other countries. Labor is usually the biggest cost factor for manufacturers, but in India's case, the low employee wages are still the better overhead cost choice over the expenses of acquiring the latest state of the art machinery/computer equipment.
This all translates to Cold Steel products that have quite a bit of "hand made" charm to them, but also means they are less consistent/precise as, let's say, their Taiwan made products.
I have mentioned before that I see pro's and con's to both genre's of products. I like the ultra modern made products, but I also like the products with the obviously less than modern made methods behind them. That said, I own specimens of both categories, (things that were made using almost complete "state of the art" methods, and things that were made more in the "old school" ways). What's my favorite of these two genres?... The more old school made items. It's just a personal preference thing
With Windlass Steelcrafts likely making the bulk of Cold Steel's India made products, here is a link to a Windlass Steelcrafts promotional video that gives some really eye opening glimpses at how old school some of their "manufacturing" really is. The video shows workers hammering away while making some sword blades, and they are using some pretty primitive looking tools in a very much less than modern looking environment.
These realities are a big reason why I can appreciate Cold Steel's India made products, even with them usually having more inconsistencies.
Although the video is from Windlass Steelcrafts, I'm pretty sure that all the other India manufacturers making similar products over there, are using similar methods...
I believe the American and Japanese made have been the most desirable by collectors of Cold Steel, but Taiwan has also proven to be a good source for them for consistent and nice quality items.
They, (meaning Taiwan), are obviously using some state of the art equipment, and therefore puts them in Cold Steel's full modern production and material category.
Now, for their products in the less than high tech materials and manufacturing methods category, their products coming from India are the ones that mostly come to mind.
While CS may be dealing with different makers in India to make this genre of their offerings, it seems that Windlass Steelcrafts is their biggest, (if not exclusive), manufacturer in that country.
I don't exactly know how CS gets sharpened swords, knives, and other implements, sharpened from over there. It seems that India's exportation laws prevent the items from being shipped sharpened, so either CS is having them sent to another country for that sharpening, or they are done here in the USA sometime after they arrive.
In any case, they are manufactured using traditional carbon steels, such as, 1055, 1065, 1085, and 1095.
Their handles are usually made of natural materials, including leather and rosewood.
Blades are not done using the stock removal method, but instead literally hand hammer forge their blades before they are sent to the grinding department(s).
My understanding is that their tempering/heat treating is up to modern tech, but pretty much everything before that point is still quite on the "old school" side of things.
Although these items may be considered mass produced, they are far from the true modern cookie cutter high tech methods used by the makers of most of the other CS products being made in other countries. Labor is usually the biggest cost factor for manufacturers, but in India's case, the low employee wages are still the better overhead cost choice over the expenses of acquiring the latest state of the art machinery/computer equipment.
This all translates to Cold Steel products that have quite a bit of "hand made" charm to them, but also means they are less consistent/precise as, let's say, their Taiwan made products.
I have mentioned before that I see pro's and con's to both genre's of products. I like the ultra modern made products, but I also like the products with the obviously less than modern made methods behind them. That said, I own specimens of both categories, (things that were made using almost complete "state of the art" methods, and things that were made more in the "old school" ways). What's my favorite of these two genres?... The more old school made items. It's just a personal preference thing
With Windlass Steelcrafts likely making the bulk of Cold Steel's India made products, here is a link to a Windlass Steelcrafts promotional video that gives some really eye opening glimpses at how old school some of their "manufacturing" really is. The video shows workers hammering away while making some sword blades, and they are using some pretty primitive looking tools in a very much less than modern looking environment.
These realities are a big reason why I can appreciate Cold Steel's India made products, even with them usually having more inconsistencies.
Although the video is from Windlass Steelcrafts, I'm pretty sure that all the other India manufacturers making similar products over there, are using similar methods...
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