Ever heard of GSM Outdoors? They just bought Cold steel.

[cbrstar]

Do we know for sure that the employees were fired? If true that is pretty crappy. Especially since when you can have employees stay on as terms of the sale.

And right before Christmas.

 

[DocJD]

I had some vain hope that new management might mean a positive turnaround .

Put someone like AD at the helm and get back on track with innovative , high performance / value products .

All indications say otherwise .

Ominous lack of communication about this from CS on their own forum here .

If they had any good news for the fans , I suspect they'd be sharing it !

 

[tltt]

Which makes the sale of the company more reasonable.
Forty years is a long working career. I m sure he didnt start the company in high school. And I ll bet Cold Steel wasn t his first job.

I remember reading Lynn was in real estate and advertising for a while before Cold Steel, I'm guessing he's probably in his low-mid 60's now, so it's not unexpected. I do hope he maybe stays on a bit as a designer or some other guidance capacity.

That being said, I'm also waiting for the purge of some of the neat and odd stuff they were known for .

 

[marcinek]

Put someone like AD at the helm and get back on track with innovative , high performance / value products .

Why? Being able to design a knife doesn't mean you know how to run a huge knife company.

 

[afishhunter]

Maybe under GSM's leadership, they'll bring back the five foot one piece heavy wall "Professional" big bore blowgun.

EDIT
And stop marketing virtually everything they sell as a "weapon"...

 

[jbmonkey]

The business of the bigger knife companies is driven by....wait for it....business.

Same with everything.

CS was not making coin for LT to stay with it. Who can blame him?

Irony is, is that the biggest CS fans are the ones most upset by him bailing. And you know what might have made him stay? Those same biggest fans buying more stuff. Or not relying on the warranty and buying new stuff to replace it.

I wasn't a huge CS fan, but the whole thing was entertaining and they had some neat stuff made that people like.

Heck, Twinkies. They were neat and people liked them. They were going to be gone. A venture capital company bought the name and continued making them.

was cold steel not making money? or did Lynn just see a chance to retire from the business and do other things or whatnot?

I assumed retired, but guess anything is possible. since private company books aren't public record.

 

[DocJD]

Why? Being able to design a knife doesn't mean you know how to run a huge knife company.

You can always hire a business manager .

But , I think it helps to have leadership that understands the customer / fan base .

 

[Smiling]

If they make smaller fixed blade in something else than AUS, 4116 or other low end stuff CS used that will be good.
3V and VG1 Mini Pendletons are pretty much best they have and that's ONLY Mini Pendletons.
Rest of small fixed blades - low end stainless.
Even plain carbon or D2 would be better...

But considering how they gutted the warranty - I doubt it'll be happening...

Maybe under GSM's leadership, they'll bring back the five foot one piece heavy wall "Professional" big bore blowgun.

EDIT
And stop marketing virtually everything they sell as a "weapon"...

 

[NewKnifeObsession]

If they make smaller fixed blade in something else than AUS, 4116 or other low end stuff CS used that will be good.
3V and VG1 Mini Pendletons are pretty much best they have and that's ONLY Mini Pendletons.
Rest of small fixed blades - low end stainless.
Even plain carbon or D2 would be better...

But considering how they gutted the warranty - I doubt it'll be happening...

what about a line of AEB-L knives? I see a lot people asking for that on this forum.

 

[Smiling]

what about a line of AEB-L knives? I see a lot people asking for that on this forum.

That would be an excellent choice.

 

[marcinek]

was cold steel not making money?

I didn't say that. I said that them making more might have held his interest.

 

[marcinek]

You can always hire a business manager .

But , I think it helps to have leadership that understands the customer / fan base .

Like a "business manager" might. Actually like a market research department does.

Demko makes a good knife. That does not apply in any way to running a business. Or to selling other peoples' knife designs.

Hey...why not just have a CS "superfan" run the company? Who knows the fan base better than that?

It seems like you think this large company, bought by a larger company, are run like the sandwich shop down the street.

"Hey Bobby has been making sandwiches for us since he was 14 and Fat Bob eats a million of them. Let's have them run the business!"

 

[marcinek]

what about a line of AEB-L knives? I see a lot people asking for that on this forum.

And what percent of CS's business, is, or was, "people on this forum"?

I think we all overestimate our importance in the business of the larger knife companies.

 

[willc]

I didn't say that. I said that them making more might have held his interest.

I kinda doubt that.
He probably just wants to enjoy the rest of his life without running a business.

 

[not2sharp]

And what percent of CS's business, is, or was, "people on this forum"?

I think we all overestimate our importance in the business of the larger knife companies.

Well that depends: We probably represent 30-50% of the market that buys $200+knives and perhaps <1% of the market that buys <$30 knives. So yes we are not much of a market for the kind of junk sold through Bud-K and the like. But, try to find an average big box customer who is willing to layout a couple of bills for a knife.

n2s

 

[marcinek]

I kinda doubt that.
He probably just wants to enjoy the rest of his life without running a business.

Maybe. But money does talk don't it?

And businesses are easier to run (or pass on) if they are making a ton of money.

My point is that it is worth entertaining the idea that the people lamenting him moving on, might have stopped that by putting more money in the business. Or taking advantage of their warranty policy. The loss of which, those people are also no lamenting.

Maybe ol Lynn's kicking back on his Laz-y-Boy in his bike shorts right now saying "If those cheapos didn't bleed me dry using their warrantys I'd have stayed in the game!"

 

[jbmonkey]

Maybe. But money does talk don't it?

And businesses are easier to run (or pass on) if they are making a ton of money.

My point is that it is worth entertaining the idea that the people lamenting him moving on, might have stopped that by putting more money in the business. Or taking advantage of their warranty policy. The loss of which, those people are also no lamenting.

Maybe ol Lynn's kicking back on his Laz-y-Boy in his bike shorts right now saying "If those cheapos didn't bleed me dry using their warrantys I'd have stayed in the game!"

bike shorts....that got me chuckling there.......

 

[marcinek]

Well that depends: We probably represent 30-50% of the market that buys $200+knives and perhaps <1% of the market that buys <$30 knives. So yes we are not much of a market for the kind of junk sold through Bud-K and the like. But, try to find an average big box customer who is willing to layout a couple of bills for a knife.

n2s

True. But what is the bigger part of the pie...a small number of knife nuts like us buying $200 knives, or a huge number of casual users buying $20 gas station knives and/or Vic SAKs and Gerbers at big box stores?

 

[marcinek]

bike shorts....that got me chuckling there.......

Thanks! My pleasure!

All things must pass, CS as we knew it, and some loved it, is gone.

It's not the first time that a beloved knife brand got bought by somebody who turned it into something lesser.

Some makers/sellers specialize in it.

 

[marcinek]

I bet every one of us can name a great old knife name that now sucks.

The sad part of it is that some of us (not me of course ) have been around long enough so that CS is an "old knife name".