Cold Steel, the best value leader in the knife business

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Ganzofan

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Nov 5, 2016
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as I was going through my knife drawer and cabinet today, I came to a realization, all my Spydercos and Benchmade's are gone and in its place I have stacks and stacks of cold steel knives.

I majored in accounting and always look for the best price to value ratio. Back in the 90s and early 2000, Spyderco was the innovator (still is) and value leader (not anymore) and I became a Spyderco fan. Had some very rare Spydies pass through my hands but I just don't see them as a good value anymore and have sold off my stock. Benchmade lacks in innovation (new models) was more premium priced and went to the side for me once I felt like I was buying the same knife over and over again.

Cold Steel on the other hand gets a lot of hate on the forums. I bought my first aus8 Tri-ad lock American Lawman and really liked the knife but hated the cheap paint. Fast forward to XHP being introduced and I've been picking up model after model mostly between $50 - $100. These knives are tough as nails, have good steel, innovative designs, toughest locking system and the best price to value ratio in the industry. Sure I can see how CS knives lack a little fineness but just look at what Spyderco is charging for XHP knives.

Anyways, what I'm trying to say is when I looked at my current stock I realized that my buying patterns have inattentionally made me into a cold steel collector.

Keep up the good work CS.
 
Some good observations. Representing those of us with strict knife budgets.
 
A few CS in xhp are very good. You can keep the rest of the mall ninja stuff and the other crazy crap.
 
The folders are a very good value in XHP I end up carrying them more than most others. Some of the fixed blades are among my favorites as well, some of the other stuff is just cheap fun to mess with.
 
I find myself carrying Cold Steel knives with xhp blades much of the time these days. Strong work knives and light enough for fine all around edc.
Good ergonomics.
My simple knife needs are more than covered by these fine knives.
 
Ganzofan said:
Cold Steel on the other hand gets a lot of hate on the forums. I bought my first aus8 Tri-ad lock American Lawman and really liked the knife but hated the cheap paint. Fast forward to XHP being introduced and I've been picking up model after model mostly between $50 - $100. These knives are tough as nails, have good steel, innovative designs, toughest locking system and the best price to value ratio in the industry. Sure I can see how CS knives lack a little fineness but just look at what Spyderco is charging for XHP knives.
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I've always loved Cold Steel knives, even when they were made of AUS8A, and I liked that they polished the blades. Now that they've vastly improved the steel (carbon and stainless), they're on the top as far as I'm concerned. Yes, it's a bit much when they sta large blades through car tops, but many people secretly like the fact that their blades won't fail in the toughest of situations. I live in a state where it's impossible to get a gun permit, so knives are the only legal means for self defense. And Cold Steel is the only company that makes 5- and 6-inch blades, and they put them in frames that are nearly as robust as fixed blades.

I have one of their old Espadas with a 7.5-inch blade. It's like being able to draw a sword out of my pocket.

I'd rather it be a pocket 9mm, but that's not going to happen. So my hat's off to Cold Steel!
 
Stargater said:
I've always loved Cold Steel knives, even when they were made of AUS8A, and I liked that they polished the blades. Now that they've vastly improved the steel (carbon and stainless), they're on the top as far as I'm concerned. Yes, it's a bit much when they sta large blades through car tops, but many people secretly like the fact that their blades won't fail in the toughest of situations. I live in a state where it's impossible to get a gun permit, so knives are the only legal means for self defense. And Cold Steel is the only company that makes 5- and 6-inch blades, and they put them in frames that are nearly as robust as fixed blades.

I have one of their old Espadas with a 7.5-inch blade. It's like being able to draw a sword out of my pocket.

I'd rather it be a pocket 9mm, but that's not going to happen. So my hat's off to Cold Steel!
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Sounds like California!
 
No other major knife company currently makes serious fighting bowies like the Laredo or Natchez. The Natchez is what got me into Cold Steel. Great values.
 
Mo2 said:
A few CS in xhp are very good. You can keep the rest of the mall ninja stuff and the other crazy crap.
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I have around 50 Cold Steel pieces. My latest purchases are a War Hammer, and a short Assegai Spear :cool:. I love the "mall ninja stuff, and the other crazy crap". It's the only place that you know the "crap" will be great conversation pieces, reasonably (very) priced, sturdy, useable, and if kept in good condition, resellable. As far as the "XHP" knives go, I am already very satisfied with my older AUS8 versions, and will pass on the newer, more expensive XHP versions. If I want to spend $100 for an EDC, I prefer/trust the time-tested S30v, VG10, 154CM blade steels, anyhow.. ;)
 
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Whenever i see a Cold Steel knife my thoughts are something like 'if i were 14 this would be so cool'

I've never onwed one so i can't say much about it, but i've never seen one on the internet that i actually wanted.

Ofcourse crazy knives have their place.
 
mwhich50 said:
I have around 50 Cold Steel pieces. My latest purchases are a War Hammer, and a short Assegai Spear :cool:. I love the "mall ninja stuff, and the other crazy crap". It's the only place that you know the "crap" will be great conversation pieces, reasonably (very) priced, sturdy, useable, and if kept in good condition, resellable. As far as the "XHP" knives go, I am already very satisfied with my older AUS8 versions, and will pass on the newer, more expensive XHP versions. If I want to spend $100 for an EDC, I prefer/trust the time-tested S30v, VG10, 154CM blade steels, anyhow.. ;)
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The management of Cold Steel Madde a great business decision when they decided to upgrade the steel on their premium knives. And another smart decision when they decided to use such a good heat treatment for edge retention and toughness to get the most out of the xhp steel. They realized that the quality of their knives would support this type of steel and allow them to compete with premium brands like Spyderco, Benchmade, and ZeroTolerance. And charge less money for comparable products. These moves have changed the whole company. Any knife nut who now dismisses Cold Steel as a fringe knife company may be missing out on the best value knives in the industry.
Next step is to tighten their customer service.
 
I agree, they have made a lot of changes for the better.

I hope that they bring back older discontinued models with upgraded steels in the future.
 
So the Spyderco's and benchmade's that you bought that were good values at the time are no longer good values because the prices went up AFTER you bought them?
It would seem that their value would INCREASE because you got them for a reasonable price.
 
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