History of Cold Steel Push-knives

I think it's funny that the maker of the video teased the review with "just another gimmick?" Just another gimmick, really? That's like questioning whether the Spyderco Round Hole is just a passing fad!

The Tanto may be what Cold Steel is most famous for, but push daggers are a close second. The first knives Cold Steel offered were push daggers. The company was the first to introduce the concept in modern form and materials, and, to my knowledge, there hasn't been a year in which push daggers weren't offered for sale in the catalog. Cold Steel has generated well over a dozen push dagger designs over the past forty years.

Also, I've never read an unfavorable published review of any Cold Steel push dagger, and there have been many throughout the years from people who know what they're talking about. Yet I'm supposed to accept that the Safe Maker I has merit because someone on YouTube says so? Thanks for the insight, but I prefer instead to watch videos like this to inform my decision-making (not to mention over thirty years of my own experience with Cold Steel's excellent push daggers).



In unrelated news, the Wuhan pandemic has granted me extra opportunities to delve into some historical research. I've since learned a number of things about Cold Steel's history that I think the frequenters of this subforum will find interesting. I have some outstanding questions to which I'm seeking answers currently, but keep an eye on these history threads in the coming months, as I hope to be adding some relevant material.


-Steve

-> Cold steel does make informative videos of own products but I look at personal reviews to get a feel for what it really is in the hands of a "consumer".
Nobody wants a one sided review so I look for the "nastiest" or the most controversial I can find and weigh it. And I think the guy in the vid said he liked it after.
 
Kind of new to the Forum, but I’ve known about Cold Steel for a while, now. I’ve always been infatuated with their push knives. I’ve only owned a couple of the later models, though. Just thought I’d drop in with a tidbit of trivia. The Terminator was actually designated as such because it was supposed to be in the movie. For some reason, though, it never made the final cut. The name change came about because of this, but I’m not sure from which side. Apparently, someone in Schwarzenegger’s team (maybe Arnold himself?) thought it was a cool knife, anyway, and it made it into Total Recall. Cheers!
 
Kind of new to the Forum, but I’ve known about Cold Steel for a while, now. I’ve always been infatuated with their push knives. I’ve only owned a couple of the later models, though. Just thought I’d drop in with a tidbit of trivia. The Terminator was actually designated as such because it was supposed to be in the movie. For some reason, though, it never made the final cut. The name change came about because of this, but I’m not sure from which side. Apparently, someone in Schwarzenegger’s team (maybe Arnold himself?) thought it was a cool knife, anyway, and it made it into Total Recall. Cheers!

Not sure the timeline works out, but could be. I have a catalog that is supposed to be from 1984 (but not confirmed), and it only has the Urban Pal and Urban Skinner. Terminator came out in late 84, which means it was being filmed well before that. But it's certainly possible that Lynn was working on the double-edge design around that time.
 
I’m guessing that the knife was to make its debut in the movie, which would have been great for marketing. That would have sold them as well as the Rambo knives, I’ll bet. I wish I could remember where I read that, probably in one of the old knife magazines from way back then. I just wonder if Lynn changed the designation because of “sour grapes”, or if it was the production studio, possibly due to copyright issues.
 
I’m guessing that the knife was to make its debut in the movie, which would have been great for marketing. That would have sold them as well as the Rambo knives, I’ll bet. I wish I could remember where I read that, probably in one of the old knife magazines from way back then. I just wonder if Lynn changed the designation because of “sour grapes”, or if it was the production studio, possibly due to copyright issues.

It was still called Terminator up until like 92, so I guess the grapes weren't that sour.:D
 
It was still called Terminator up until like 92, so I guess the grapes weren't that sour.:D
I think you’re right about that, otherwise, the blade likely wouldn’t have ended up in Total Recall. I wonder if maybe Cameron’s crew commissioned Lynn to make the knife, and it just didn’t get done in time for the movie. That would kind of make sense. Maybe Lynn liked the design, anyway, and went ahead to push it for full production, and finally delivering one to Arnold at least.
 
*Cold Steel
*Chaos Push Knife
*2021 Introduction
*SK5 Carbon Steel Blade
*Polymer Handle
*Polymer Striker Knobs

Click onto picture below showing the factory packaging to more clearly be able to read further on factory specs (printed on front of the box)...






 
For posterity's sake, a couple of photos of the earliest Neoprene-handled Urban Skinner with the name printed on the blade.

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-Steve
 
For posterity's sake, a couple of photos of the earliest Neoprene-handled Urban Skinner with the name printed on the blade.

IMG-2727.jpg


IMG-2728.jpg


-Steve
Good catch, I have the model right after this. Yours is rarer, either bad shape or too expensive. Saw one on the bay, like new and like yours but I could not bring myself to spend that much. They since cracked down again on push knives, for I think the second or third time(tried to sell a couple after not selling any for a while and got the "message" that they were deleted etc etc).
The Safe Keeper I was the toughest find for me(price/condition), must not have made/sold many.
 
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Good catch, I have the model right after this. Yours is rarer, either bad shape or too expensive. Saw one on the bay, like new and like yours but I could not bring myself to spend that much. They since cracked down again on push knives, for I think the second or third time(tried to sell a couple after not selling any for a while and got the "message" that they were deleted etc etc).
The Safe Keeper I was the toughest find for me(price/condition), must not have made/sold many.

I still don't have a Safe Keeper I, so you're ahead of me in that area. I've always loved push daggers, so I hope to find one some day to complete the series. Collecting takes a lot of patience or a lot of money...and sometimes both!

I was surprised at how quickly the Safe Keeper I vanished from the catalog. I realize that it's a pretty specialized design, but so are all push daggers. I'd really like to see a revival of the whole Safe Keeper line. They were excellent knives.


-Steve
 
I still don't have a Safe Keeper I, so you're ahead of me in that area. I've always loved push daggers, so I hope to find one some day to complete the series. Collecting takes a lot of patience or a lot of money...and sometimes both!

I was surprised at how quickly the Safe Keeper I vanished from the catalog. I realize that it's a pretty specialized design, but so are all push daggers. I'd really like to see a revival of the whole Safe Keeper line. They were excellent knives.


-Steve
I think it died quickly due to its size. Its right on the edge(IMO)of being to large for its handle. It would be one of the last of the line for me to carry, but looks good in the collection. I used to dislike the pushers, thinking they were just some weird thing. I happened to read their history and that is all it took. The design really seems to polarize people. For concealment they are hard to beat, although I did get the early Spike collection with the cord wrap for the same reason. Love to see your collection sometime.
 
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).

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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").

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Urban Skinner: Black leather with belt clip

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==============================================================================================

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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I'm going to steal one of your ad pictures to use in a forum question.
 
IMHO it is a real CS. It looks like the ricasso area was polished(removing the CS Markings) and someone had it engraved(did a good job). I believe it is the Taiwan Model.
 
I didn't realize there was a interest in vintage Cold Steel push daggers. I ordered this one directly from Cold Steel in October 1989. As you can see it hasn't seen much use in the last 33 years. I may try to get this into the hands of a Cold Steel collector if it is a sought after blade.
Can I ask advice on value on this thread? I know it is allowed on the Busse thread (for Gold Members).

Cold Steel Terminator.jpg
 
Hard to say from my experience. Cannot sell on the bay and that is where you get the most. Before they outlawed them I got some pretty crazy money for the old ones. They don't seem to be as popular on here, probably due to the limited clientele. Box and paperwork is a big plus. It would probably go for $150-$200 on the old bay.
 
Hard to say from my experience. Cannot sell on the bay and that is where you get the most. Before they outlawed them I got some pretty crazy money for the old ones. They don't seem to be as popular on here, probably due to the limited clientele. Box and paperwork is a big plus. It would probably go for $150-$200 on the old bay.
Thank you for the info. Just curious, who outlawed them?
 
I'm not sure there's a lot of interest in vintage CS push daggers these days, maybe some, but not a massive amount, at least here on BF. About 2 or so months ago, something like that, a guy put a CS Safekeeper II on BF for trade if I remember right. It was on for a week. I had contacted him about maybe buying it, I offered $75 but would have gone up to $80. He wanted $200. Nope, not for that. He put in the For Sale Fixed Blades sub forums for $200. He withdrew after 5 days of no sale. Whether he got offers or not, no idea. There were none posted in the thread at least...
 
There's more of a market for the old style, Japanese push daggers with the leather sheaths, if they are in perfect condition. 150-200 sounds about right - but as others have said, Bay won't allow push daggers to be sold anymore as those are meanie knives, so you have to find other venues and that limits the number of buyers.
 
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