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- Apr 11, 2016
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With the demise of the Cold Steel Forums, I am attempting to recreate the History threads that I had done over there. Hopefully this can be made a sticky.
History of Cold Steel Push-knives
My plan is to paste in all the text, and then populate the pics, so bear with me. Hoping to include more pics this time. Most of the pics are from knives I either own or bought and resold. Some of the pictures are not great, as the CS Forums site had size limits, and I wasn’t going to take all new pics…I may replace some here and there as I go.
I am also adding more detailed text descriptions of the markings, instead of just relying on the pix. That way if the pix are lost there is still something to go by.
The info presented is based on what I’ve learned over years of collecting and research. I can’t guarantee that it is all 100% complete and accurate, and I welcome any additional info and corrections.
====================================================================================================
Original Urban Series:
The oldest info I have is a magazine ad from 1982 and a catalog that I was told is from 1984. Both include the Urban Pal and Urban Skinner (the 1982 ad also shows the Urban Hunter and Urban Shiv).
The original Urban Pal is all-steel with no handle material, while the original Urban Skinner has a Neoprene handle, which is smooth, unlike the later version that has the more familiar checkered Kraton handle. Both are single-edged. The Urban Skinner has a slot in the blade (there was actually an FAQ on the Cold Steel website about why they did this..."This is simply a design feature to add interest and to lighten the blade").
Period:
Urban Pal: Not exactly sure, but would say very early 80’s to late 80’s. It is not in the 1992 catalog. Instead, there is the Mini Pal.
Urban Skinner: Not exactly sure, but would say very early 80’s to mid 80’s. It is not in the 1988 catalog.
Blade Steel:
Urban Pal: listed as 440C in the 1982 ad and 1984 catalog. The 1988 catalog doesn’t say.
Urban Skinner: listed as Uddeholm stainless in the 1982 ad. The 1984 catalog doesn’t say.
Blade Length / Overall Length:
Urban Pal: 1 3/4" / 3"
Urban Skinner: 3" / 5"
Markings:
Urban Pal: Seems to be a lot of variation. The 1982 ad and 1984 catalog seem to show it with the COLD STEEL logo arranged with COLD over STEEL. The ones I’ve seen have the COLD STEEL INC logo on one line, with “Ventura, Ca.” underneath. Some then also have “Made in Japan” under that, while others have it on the back. I also found pix online of what looks to be a very old version that just says “URBAN PAL” on the front, and “1578” on the back…no idea what the 1578 means. It also has the “scabbard” from the 1982 ad.
Urban Skinner: Handle embossed with Cold Steel logo. The 1984 catalog also shows it with “URBAN SKINNER” on the blade above the slot, but the one I had did not have this.
Sheath:
Urban Pal: The 1982 ad shows it with 2 sheaths…a “card case” type and a “universal scabbard”. The 1984 catalog shows a fold-over type sheath with snap closure. Both are B&W, so not sure of the color, but all of the fold-over type sheaths I have seen have been brown leather. In the above pic that has the “scabbard” from the 1982 ad, it looks black.
Urban Skinner: Black leather with belt clip
==============================================================================================
New Urban Skinner, Terminator, and Defender Series:
In the 1988 catalog, the Urban Skinner now has a checkered Kraton handle. There is also the Terminator, which is double-edged.
At some point, they changed the names…the Terminator became the Defender I, and the Urban Skinner became the Defender II. As far as I know it was simply a name change...I don't believe the knives changed at all. My guess is that the name change was to be more politically correct.
Period: Not really sure of exact dates, but mid-late 80's until 1995. They are Terminator & Urban Skinner in the 1988 catalog, and then they are the Defender Series in the 1992 catalog. Not exactly sure when this changed.
Blade Steel: The 1988 catalog doesn’t say, but the 1992 and 1993/94 catalogs say "400 Series Stainless"…the 1995 catalog says AUS 8A. They may be the same steel.
Blade Length / Overall Length:
Terminator/Defender I (double-edge): 3 3/4" / 6"
Urban Skinner/Defender II (single-edge): 2 3/4" / 4 3/4"
Markings: The blade is marked “Made in Japan” on one side. The Kraton handle is embossed with the COLD STEEL INC logo over “Ventura, Ca” one side, and “Made in Japan” on the other.
Sheath: Black leather with steel belt clip. ETA: As The Whip notes later in this thread, at some point kydex sheaths were also offered. The Whip posted pics of both versions (single and double edge), and I just obtained a Terminator with the kydex sheath...see added pics below.
Misc: A Defender I was used in the movie Platoon. One was also used in the movie Total Recall, when Sharon Stone and Arnold's girlfriend were fighting, right before Arnold kills Sharon Stone..."Consider that a divorce" LOL. I also have a Terminator with a box that is labeled “Magnum Skinner”, but you can tell that under the Magnum Skinner label is a Terminator label. And both labels have model #24, so it’s not just a mistake. Only thing I can think of is that before changing the name to Defender, maybe they were going to call it the Magnum Skinner, and actually had some labels made up. And maybe after deciding to go with Defender instead, a few made it out the door with the Magnum Skinner label by mistake.
History of Cold Steel Push-knives
My plan is to paste in all the text, and then populate the pics, so bear with me. Hoping to include more pics this time. Most of the pics are from knives I either own or bought and resold. Some of the pictures are not great, as the CS Forums site had size limits, and I wasn’t going to take all new pics…I may replace some here and there as I go.
I am also adding more detailed text descriptions of the markings, instead of just relying on the pix. That way if the pix are lost there is still something to go by.
The info presented is based on what I’ve learned over years of collecting and research. I can’t guarantee that it is all 100% complete and accurate, and I welcome any additional info and corrections.
====================================================================================================
Original Urban Series:
The oldest info I have is a magazine ad from 1982 and a catalog that I was told is from 1984. Both include the Urban Pal and Urban Skinner (the 1982 ad also shows the Urban Hunter and Urban Shiv).
The original Urban Pal is all-steel with no handle material, while the original Urban Skinner has a Neoprene handle, which is smooth, unlike the later version that has the more familiar checkered Kraton handle. Both are single-edged. The Urban Skinner has a slot in the blade (there was actually an FAQ on the Cold Steel website about why they did this..."This is simply a design feature to add interest and to lighten the blade").
Period:
Urban Pal: Not exactly sure, but would say very early 80’s to late 80’s. It is not in the 1992 catalog. Instead, there is the Mini Pal.
Urban Skinner: Not exactly sure, but would say very early 80’s to mid 80’s. It is not in the 1988 catalog.
Blade Steel:
Urban Pal: listed as 440C in the 1982 ad and 1984 catalog. The 1988 catalog doesn’t say.
Urban Skinner: listed as Uddeholm stainless in the 1982 ad. The 1984 catalog doesn’t say.
Blade Length / Overall Length:
Urban Pal: 1 3/4" / 3"
Urban Skinner: 3" / 5"
Markings:
Urban Pal: Seems to be a lot of variation. The 1982 ad and 1984 catalog seem to show it with the COLD STEEL logo arranged with COLD over STEEL. The ones I’ve seen have the COLD STEEL INC logo on one line, with “Ventura, Ca.” underneath. Some then also have “Made in Japan” under that, while others have it on the back. I also found pix online of what looks to be a very old version that just says “URBAN PAL” on the front, and “1578” on the back…no idea what the 1578 means. It also has the “scabbard” from the 1982 ad.
Urban Skinner: Handle embossed with Cold Steel logo. The 1984 catalog also shows it with “URBAN SKINNER” on the blade above the slot, but the one I had did not have this.
Sheath:
Urban Pal: The 1982 ad shows it with 2 sheaths…a “card case” type and a “universal scabbard”. The 1984 catalog shows a fold-over type sheath with snap closure. Both are B&W, so not sure of the color, but all of the fold-over type sheaths I have seen have been brown leather. In the above pic that has the “scabbard” from the 1982 ad, it looks black.
Urban Skinner: Black leather with belt clip
==============================================================================================
New Urban Skinner, Terminator, and Defender Series:
In the 1988 catalog, the Urban Skinner now has a checkered Kraton handle. There is also the Terminator, which is double-edged.
At some point, they changed the names…the Terminator became the Defender I, and the Urban Skinner became the Defender II. As far as I know it was simply a name change...I don't believe the knives changed at all. My guess is that the name change was to be more politically correct.
Period: Not really sure of exact dates, but mid-late 80's until 1995. They are Terminator & Urban Skinner in the 1988 catalog, and then they are the Defender Series in the 1992 catalog. Not exactly sure when this changed.
Blade Steel: The 1988 catalog doesn’t say, but the 1992 and 1993/94 catalogs say "400 Series Stainless"…the 1995 catalog says AUS 8A. They may be the same steel.
Blade Length / Overall Length:
Terminator/Defender I (double-edge): 3 3/4" / 6"
Urban Skinner/Defender II (single-edge): 2 3/4" / 4 3/4"
Markings: The blade is marked “Made in Japan” on one side. The Kraton handle is embossed with the COLD STEEL INC logo over “Ventura, Ca” one side, and “Made in Japan” on the other.
Sheath: Black leather with steel belt clip. ETA: As The Whip notes later in this thread, at some point kydex sheaths were also offered. The Whip posted pics of both versions (single and double edge), and I just obtained a Terminator with the kydex sheath...see added pics below.
Misc: A Defender I was used in the movie Platoon. One was also used in the movie Total Recall, when Sharon Stone and Arnold's girlfriend were fighting, right before Arnold kills Sharon Stone..."Consider that a divorce" LOL. I also have a Terminator with a box that is labeled “Magnum Skinner”, but you can tell that under the Magnum Skinner label is a Terminator label. And both labels have model #24, so it’s not just a mistake. Only thing I can think of is that before changing the name to Defender, maybe they were going to call it the Magnum Skinner, and actually had some labels made up. And maybe after deciding to go with Defender instead, a few made it out the door with the Magnum Skinner label by mistake.
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