Lynn Thompson had real passion and love for knives and it was obvious. He was determined to make the best knives he possibly can make, and he marketed them as such, showing people proof of what his knives can do.
No other company did that.
Cold Steel pioneered the knife industry for years, american tanto to tri-ad lock and special kind of marketing has made them stand out from other manufacturers.
Not only that, but they were often best buy for the money too. Their price/quality rate was hard to match.
Lynn's philosophy was to make knives you can depend your life on.
I respect that, and I trust him.
I would be confident to depend my life on both, my SK5 Recon Tanto or my Warcraft tanto in 3V...
But I would never depend my life on 4034 steel.
And to offer well known reputable flagship knives remade in such poor steel was really surprising decision.
But we all seen it coming,
From sheaths going to worse and company not adressing it, to numerous threads popping up complaining either on grinds, gaps on the handle or materials themself not being right... and CS customer service didn't care.
We all knew something is off, downgrades in steel, QC, customer service...
And so it happened, Lynn's heart and passion are now out of Cold Steel and new owners are ready to cash in on the brand name and reputation that he was building for years.
I wish him best luck in retirement tho.
This being said, I ordered another Recon Tanto in SK-5.
Because my current one is old and beat up, but it was my first "real knife" so I will always have soft spot for SK-5 Recon Tanto.
I also have custom sheath for it.