I bought a Rajah II BD1, and I am not sure it is the real Cold Steel one

F

Falcenberg

Joined
Mar 29, 1999
Messages
327
Dear All,
I live in Italy, I bought my first Cold Steel knife in 1987, a Magnum Tanto.
Three days ago I bought on Amazon a Rajah II, I was looking for something stronger and easier to resharpen than my Vaquero Grande I bought about 18 years ago. The Rajah II arrived this morning.

I bought it on Amazon because here in Italy knives from American brands are sold at a ridicolous high price: I found a Rajah II at 155 Euros, its price can easily be greater than 200 Euros.

But I saw there are some "clone" of Rajah II, and some of them are quite similar to the real one. I am asking you how can I be sure I received a REAL RAJAH II, because I am afraid: on the blade there isn't the mark "BD1" on the ricasso, and on the box there is a strange label saying "Certified CTS BD1 Steel President Lynn C. Thompson: " and a three letter signature saying "LCT". I can imagine they can mean "Lynn C. Thompson" but it is a weird way to make a signature, it is easy to counterfait.

On the box there is another label, with a bar code, and the following numbers: 0 705442 007562

I removed the label, and under it there is the Cold Steel box bar code saying 7 05442 01284 9 62KGC

Moreover, on the ricasso the "Rajah II" printing is not so near to the thumb plate, as it can be seen on the catalogue.

Again, on the other side of the blade the words "Cold Steel" are on the same line, they are not "on different level".

Please help me to find if it is a REAL COLD STEEL RAJAH 2 !!!

Thank you so much!!!
 
+1 some picture will help. should be able to tell if it's real deal or not mostly by looking at the blade, hardware and handle finishes.

Also with regard to BD1 issue - cold never used to put steel type on their blade, since they were using AUS8A for the longest time. They started doing it since 2015 when they switched to CTS-XHP for higher end models and CTS-BD1 for their lower-end plastic handle models. The first few batch of knives on the market didn't have the new steel labeled hence there were a lot of confusion and people could bait and switch by selling AUS8A model as BD1. For these early batch with new steel but no label, Cold Steel added additional label in their boxes to indicate that the knife is indeed new steel.
The XHP models are easier to tell since they have the new DLC costing instead of the crappy teflon coating(worst coating ever, which they still use on the lockbar and pocket clip), however for BD1 model like Rajah series, you just have to trust their word.

BTW fun fact, i've seen at least 4 variations of the Rajah BD1 models, based on the chronological order of when they are released:
1. BD1 steel, no steel label, beadblasted blade, smooth handle - model 62KGCM (circa 2015+)
2. BD1 steel, BD1 label, bead blasted blade, smooth handle - model 62KGCM (circa 2016+)
3. BD1 steel, BD1 label, stonewashed blade, smooth handle - model 62KGCM (circa 2016+) - Cold Steel transition to stonewashed soon after new steel are released
4. BD1 steel, BD1 label, stonewashed blade, rough handle - model 62KGM (circa 2017+) - last year Cold Steel start releasing rough handle version of Rajah with new SKU

Finally, when buying, be sure to check the SKU, this gives the most accurate info and allows you to dispute when you are not getting what you bought.
62KGC - AUS8A version
62KGCM - BD1 version
62KGM - BD1 version with rough handle
62JM - AUS10A version with rough handle --> this is the latest version circa 2018, so if you wanna buy this version on amazon, ebay or any online retailer, be sure to look for this SKU.
 
Thanks to you, folks.
I tried to add a photo, but I haven't found how.... It is very long I don't post in the Forums, can you help me?
Moreover, about the SKU on the box, it is KGC, but there is the other label saying "Certified CTS BD1 Steel"...

Let me know how to add a photo, thank you so much
 
It looks to me like it has the newer Cold Steel logo that is shown on the cover of the 2015 Cold Steel catalog.

Most companies revamp their logo every so often.

I think that Cold Steel went from their original Japanese-style script/font logo to the more recent "Anytime, Anywhere" version to help make it easier to spot fakes and clones.

Also, they weren't consistent when they did the steels switch in 2015.

Sometimes the steel is marked on the base (left side/facing side), of the blade/ricasso, which I think is the first generations of the newer steels models.

I have a Hold-Out II and a Code 4 like this.

Later on they went with marking the steel type and the newer "Anytime, Anywhere" logo on the (right side/back side), of the blade.

All of the recent, newer cold Steel models I have bought are like this, they are the Bush Ranger folder, the Frenzy and the Immortal.
 
I would recommend using Imgur for posting photos. They are a third party hosting site. It's free and easy to use.
 
Looks real to me. And I would guess it is CTS-BD1. You could email your question and pics to CS and maybe they'll confirm.
 
Looks legit. The buff new the edge where they polish it usually comes with all cold steel knives. The pivot screw also looks legit.
BTW since the blade finish is stonewashed, it's the BD1 version. I don't think there's a stonewashed version of AUS8A since the change in finish only come after the steel change.
 
Looks right to me and it's sort of cool to have that set of initials "LCT" on the box label ! :cool::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
Thank you all so much for your quick and kind replies!!!
I did wrote to CS, and they answered me the same day, saying "That is an authentic Rajah and with Lynns signature."
Because the label with the signature seemed a little strange to me (easy to clone...) I asked again, and they answered again:
"We looked at the package as well as the owner. I would hope he knows his signature. It is authentic. "
I sent many thank to them and to Mr. Lynn Thompson, who spent some time of his to help me!!

So, I can say it is authentic and I have Lynn Thompson initials on the box, too. :):):thumbsup::thumbsup::cool:
 
The easiest way to tell is by the body screws. Notice how the screw next to the lanyard hole is in the same location (fake)
s-l1600.jpg

s-l1600.jpg


Now, notice on the real one the screws are staggered and you can clearly see the location of the screw next to the lanyard is different on each side.
62kgcm_5.jpg
 
hermit dave said:
The easiest way to tell is by the body screws. Notice how the screw next to the lanyard hole is in the same location (fake)

Now, notice on the real one the screws are staggered and you can clearly see the location of the screw next to the lanyard is different on each side.
Click to expand...

I would also add, a lot of the fakes have screws that are in a star shape pattern (as seen in the fake knife above). Also, the finish on the fake star pattern screws is rough (to me they look as if they are hand cut; although I'm sure they are not ?). They do not look machine finished on the fake rajah.

The real - rajah screws are machine finished and look like they are made for allen wrenches (they are Torx screws).

Another issues with the fake rajah is the screws at the pocket clip. In addition to the star pattern, they are unpainted (not black).

The real - rajah black colored pocket clip screws and also machined as mentioned before.

Finally, I believe a real easy way to tell is the the name on the knife is in a different location.

The fake, the name is closer to the blade.

The real - name is closer to the thumb plate (as seen in the knives above).

There are So Many rajah fakes - I have seen fake rajah I and rajah II and the limited edition rajah II Blackout on the bay. It used to be you could assume if it was from china or thailand, at just too good of a price - it is fake. But now I see sellers with USA addresses selling a lot of different fakes all of the time.

So many unknowing customers - I feel sorry for the customers and sorry for Cold Steel - the fakes damage a company's reputation. Once damaged, very hard to get back.
 
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Your Name Goes Here said:
I would also add, a lot of the fakes have screws that are in a star shape pattern (as seen in the fake knife above). Also, the finish on the fake star pattern screws is rough (to me they look as if they are hand cut; although I'm sure they are not ?). They do not look machine finished on the fake rajah.

The real - rajah screws are machine finished and look like they are made for allen wrenches.
Click to expand...

I don't own a Rajah II but every Cold Steel I have uses Torx screws (star). So I think you're mistaken.
 
AF said:
I don't own a Rajah II but every Cold Steel I have uses Torx screws (star). So I think you're mistaken.
Click to expand...


AF - thank you - "Torx" screws is the terminology I couldn't remember the other day. [Information added above]

You are correct - cold steel uses Torx screws. Machine finished, very smooth and precise.

If you look at the above pictures you can see the Real rajah has Torx screws (as you know).

If you look closely at the above pictures you can see the Fake rajah has screws that are in a star shape pattern - think of a star you would have drawn as a kid. The fake rajah's Screws are 6 pointed star shaped with very Pointed ends. Think of 6 triangles in a circle. Additionally, the finish on the fake star pattern screws is rough (to me they look as if they are hand cut; although I'm sure they are not ?). They do not look machine finished on the fake rajah - they are imprecise.

If you had a real rajah and a fake rajah side by side it is Very easy to see the differences I have mentioned above. Look at the pivot screw on the fake rajah (Post # 13) - it is the largest and easiest to see the star shaped pattern.
 
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