Coldsteel Sold???

I insta9ves I am with you and I like your collection of CS folders. XL CS folders are fun to fondle, for a while. After that, I'd lose my interest in them quickly as they are awkward to carry and not practical for use. Too large a folder with the strong tri ad lock is also not very easy/safe to one-hand open. My sweet spot with CS folder is in the 3.5"-4" blade length range. While most other companies also focus on this range, I still feel CS has its market: its knives are strong, safe to operate, with great steels, and mostly budget friendly. Recon 1 is perhaps my most favorite CS folder. I just ordered AD-10, AD-15, and 4-Max Scout. Will see how they hold up to the fame. I might also grab a Code 4, a large Voyager, another Recon 1 (tanto?), and American Lawman (if I can find one with a reasonable price).

Bah! I love my 5.5" Cold Steel folders and carry one pretty much every day. That said, I also like some of their smaller folders as well. Cold
@Larry - I really don't think us CS fans should be fighting amongst ourselves at this time. I know you wanna argue with me whenever I expressed my desire for CS to produce more Normal(f--king keyword right here dude) sized knives, but we just gonna have to agree to disagree here. You have your preference, i have mine, and we don't need to change our preferences.

People who hangout in this forum or know me on Instagram(@niobiumcarbide) probably know that I'm one of the biggest CS fans. I literally have one or multiple of every single folder CS had ever made since 2010 that has a 4" or less blade(yes I'll never buy XL folder that i don't use or carry). I have about 2 Pelican 1550 worth of CS folders, which is around 120. My point is, CS sure has a lot of well known XL knives, but they also has a lot of other things they are famous for.

You like their XL knives, great. I like Normal sized knives, and I hope they make more of them. We may like different sides of CS and have different wishes, but it's important to keep in mind that we both like CS, and have as much right to be on this forums. So keep that in mind when we attack other people's preference next time.

Here's a few of my favorite "petite" "tiny" and "boring" knives to close this off:
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Beautiful collection!

I am one of those odd folks who really loves Cold Steel's larger designs. I like the others as well, and have a number of them (though not as many as you), but my favorites are the big boys. And yes, I carry them almost every day. It's nice that Cold Steel makes knives that both of us can appreciate. I would like to see that continue.
 
Bah! I love my 5.5" Cold Steel folders and carry one pretty much every day. That said, I also like some of their smaller folders as well. Cold


Beautiful collection!

I am one of those odd folks who really loves Cold Steel's larger designs. I like the others as well, and have a number of them (though not as many as you), but my favorites are the big boys. And yes, I carry them almost every day. It's nice that Cold Steel makes knives that both of us can appreciate. I would like to see that continue.
Me too that is what CS is about for me. XL Voyager carried all of the time. Occasionally the XL Espada Aluminum, love peoples reaction(that's legal?) Most of my smaller ones are Spyderco. Of course I do sympathize with those that cannot legally do so.
 
...I picked up a LNIB American Lawman in CTS-XHP and liked it a lot. That led to a Recon 1, which I thought was absurdly big at first. Eventually I started carrying it and realizing it wasn’t that big.

BEWARE... Cold Steel knives will change your perception of what's "too big to carry"! :eek:

I thought the Recon 1 I bought was a little too large for EDC. Then, I bought a 4 Max Scout because I thought it was representative of CS's big knives. I carried it for a few days just for fun and found it was surprisingly easy to carry. So I ordered an AD-10 as an easier to carry example of a nice chunky Andrew Demko knife. I carry it a lot.

Now, when I pick up a Recon 1 I think, "What a nice lightweight little knife!" :) I just compared my Recon 1 tanto with my Emerson CQC-7V and was shocked at how small the Emerson looks to me now.
 
BEWARE... Cold Steel knives will change your perception of what's "too big to carry"! :eek:
Truth. I was on the edge of town where people let their dogs run free. Suddenly I was literally surrounded by 3-4 vary aggressive barking dogs, taking turns moving in and out on me, as I'm doing circles yelling at them. At least one was a pit bull. I saw the owner off in the distance. After maybe a long half minute he finally got close enough to start yelling them off. What if Bozo was half a mile away ? It was a memory that is burned into me. In those "unexpected" situations, do I want to be carrying a SAK, or a big C.S. for (insert many scenarios here) ? I made my decision long ago. Things get very clear and simple when you are in a situation, isolated and alone.
 
I have a concealed carry permit. I'd prefer to deal with lethal threats at non-contact distance. :eek:

But seriously... as a retired USPS letter carrier, I suggest you pick up a couple of cans of dog spray. It's very effective and puts you in far less legal peril than a knife or handgun.
 
Hi. I don't know who or what to believe anymore. I bought a Bushman recently, and it arrived in an authentic-looking Cold Steel box, and everything looks good, except the handle has a visible seam (unwelded). I queried with the shop, and with Cold Steel. The shop said they buy from a known USA distributor, but Cold Steel says the authentic Bushman has a welded seam, and that the knife must therefore be counterfeit. I have seen a few places selling them with the unwelded seam. Is it truly counterfeit, or has the manufacturing changed because CS was sold? How would I test the blade without causing failure?
This is my knife:
Bushman.jpg
 
Hi. I don't know who or what to believe anymore. I bought a Bushman recently, and it arrived in an authentic-looking Cold Steel box, and everything looks good, except the handle has a visible seam (unwelded). I queried with the shop, and with Cold Steel. The shop said they buy from a known USA distributor, but Cold Steel says the authentic Bushman has a welded seam, and that the knife must therefore be counterfeit. I have seen a few places selling them with the unwelded seam. Is it truly counterfeit, or has the manufacturing changed because CS was sold? How would I test the blade without causing failure?
This is my knife:
Bushman.jpg
Just return it and buy from somewhere else
 
Just return it and buy from somewhere else
But if this is how they're being manufactured now, then I'll just get the same thing because it is authentic? The shop I bought from is a small independent specialist, claiming to buy from Blue Ridge Knives. This is causing much issue for the shop.
 
I would definitely return it. If CS told you themselves that the seam should be welded, then either it’s counterfeit or someone didn’t do their job during manufacturing. Not only that, I would think that seam would widen especially with hard use over time thus rendering the knife useless. I’m interested in the Bushman as a beater knife and I would not accept this at all.
 
That is a bummer. Seldom does a brand get sold and stay true to its history.

Hard to do business in Kali these days so I can see them moving HQ to just about anywhere else.
Texas seeks companies to move here, lots of tax incentives etc. No wonder they moved. It’s a shame, I hate seeing takeovers of smaller companies by corporations.
 
Hi. I don't know who or what to believe anymore. I bought a Bushman recently, and it arrived in an authentic-looking Cold Steel box, and everything looks good, except the handle has a visible seam (unwelded). I queried with the shop, and with Cold Steel. The shop said they buy from a known USA distributor, but Cold Steel says the authentic Bushman has a welded seam, and that the knife must therefore be counterfeit. I have seen a few places selling them with the unwelded seam. Is it truly counterfeit, or has the manufacturing changed because CS was sold? How would I test the blade without causing failure?
This is my knife:
Bushman.jpg
I looked at all the catalogs, and not all show that side. But the ones that do, they are all un-welded...below is an example from 2013. The latest one that shows it is 2015, so unless they changed it in the last few years, seems legit.

2013 Bushman.JPG
 
Interesting. I still don't know what to believe now. The catalog shows a picture without a logo.
 
The Cold Steel Bushman used to be an open socket but has been welded shut for years at this point.
From BushcraftUSA forum in 2014.

The contact person at Cold Steel insists that the Bushman knives don't have an open seam. I think this is important - I am seeing more and more with the open seam, especially after Cold Steel was sold.

Perhaps counterfeiters are using this time shortly after Cold Steel was bought to cash in a bit.
 
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From BushcraftUSA forum in 2014.

The contact person at Cold Steel insists that the Bushman knives don't have an open seam. I think this is important - I am seeing more and more with the open seam, especially after Cold Steel was sold.

Perhaps counterfeiters are using this time shortly after Cold Steel was bought to cash in a bit.
Looks like it was FortyTwoBlades FortyTwoBlades that said that on the other site...maybe he can shed some light here. Seems odd that they wouldn't have highlighted that "improvement" .
 
They were welding them for a long time, but I can't speak to what they're doing currently. It's very possible that they've simply gone back to the open seam design or simply received one or more of them (such as a production run) that didn't get welded for some reason and they may have decided to simply sell them anyhow even if they noticed the oversight. It's really not a big deal and I wouldn't be too worried, personally, unless you really care about an open vs. welded seam.
 
I couldn't care less if it was welded or not. I only care if it's authentic or not. One buys a Cold Steel knife for very specific reasons.
 
I couldn't care less if it was welded or not. I only care if it's authentic or not. One buys a Cold Steel knife for very specific reasons.
It should be welded and nearly seamlessly so that it's smooth .

Unless they've changed this , it's a serious manufacturing flaw even if genuine .

I would most definitely return it and find one that's properly made as well as genuine . YMMV . ;)
 
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