I wonder if recent product moves by LT was a start in different direction...

No worries...can call me John. If you want to tag someone so they get an alert, put an @ in front of the username, like CCOtter CCOtter

These posts with no message are the result of not being able to reply to a message becaue of a problem on my end. I would like to delete them but don't know how. If anyone reading this knows how to delete unwanted posts, could you please point me in the right direction. Thanx!
 
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No worries...can call me John. If you want to tag someone so they get an alert, put an @ in front of the username, like CCOtter CCOtter
jlauffer jlauffer Thank you for this shortcut. I'm trying to use it now to see if I'm doing it right. I've been trying to respond to your post but I could not post a reply. Couldn't get into my account properly, every time I tried to post, it would not input my message. Finally traced the problem to an extension I use with my browser. Turned it off and "voila!"
I'm trying to get caught up on answering you and another member as I am going to be off-line for a while. Cold Steel/GSM agreed to exchange the BBC and I have to get it ready for shipping and provide the proof of purchase they need and then I can ship the BBC to them. I wanted to thank you, KenHash,and Chris_Texas for your help. When I made my first post, I was in a state of anxiety being torn between returning the BBC to the seller for a refund or stating my case to GSM/Cold Steel. The clock was ticking because I only had so many days to return the BBC "for any reason". In addition I was not experienced enough with the San Mai versions to know if my copy was authenic, and whether or not the VG-10 should be on the ricasso or not.
You and the other two members answered all my questions, caused my anxiety level to decrease to zero, and taught me some things I needed to know.
Thank you so much for your help. Lastly, I asked the GSM customer service agent how long it would be before they sent me a replacement. He went to check the inventory, came back on the phone and told me I should receive it shortly after they receive my return because they have a LOT in stock. I was on an "alert me when back in stock" list from my seller for about seven months before they sent me an email telling me they had them in stock again. The reason I wrote that is so that anyone who reads this and wants to acquire a BBC, GSM says they have them in stock. Thanks again for all your help.
 
Looking forward to the pictures.

As to the sharpness, sadly Cold Steel uses glass reinforced plastic for their sheaths. The sheaths will destroy the edge if they make contact at all. I don't mean over time, the sheath will trash the edge pretty much immediately, which means that you will definitely need an expensive aftermarket leather sheath for your expensive new knife.

I ran into this issue again just last week with a 3V Master Hunter. It came frighteningly sharp, but was completely dull after a half dozen trips into and out of the sheath. I like the knife so I will find and order a custom sheath.

@Chris_Texas Thank you for your response. I was having difficulty posting a reply since yesterday, but finally found the problem and solved it. You are absolutely right, those secure-ex sheaths will dull a blade quick. Will get an after market sheath at some point. You are right, that knife is expensive. I had to set a little aside for months before I could afford to purchase it. Now that I have it, (or the one GSM will replace it with) I see I was mistaken in believing the BBC would be something I would actually use from time to time. This is a purchase that I will reserve to pass on to one of my children. Especially if the future reveals there will be no more productions of the BBC or if "Cold Steel" raises the price significanly. Who knows.

Lastly, I am working on getting the pictures uploaded. I used a DSLR to make my pictures, and the metadata needs to be extensively edited before I upload them, to remove all the personal information that I don't want to travel with the file. I found complete instructions on how to upload photos to this site using an image hosting site, plus my membership allows me to upload files directly (as long as I don't exceed the size limitations) as KenHash pointed out to me. Thanks again for your suggestions.
 
jlauffer jlauffer One last thing before I go. Love your Frazetta avatar! I used to own the book containing that work of art and many more. I loved his work.

Thanks. Frazetta and the John Carter books were a perfect match. Love Frazetta too, but for John Carter, I actually like Whelan's cover art better, just couldn't find a good one to use as an avatar.

Good luck on the BBC exchange...hope it all works out!
 
1-As a Platinum member I believe you should be able to post pictures (1) directly when posting by using the either the 4th or 7th icon at the top of the posting text box, or (2) upload your pictures to an image hosting site like imgur or google photos (if shared) and use the 7th icon from the right to insert the photo.

2- As far as I am aware while the CS Black Bear Classic always had the steel type (or core if San Mai) the recent VG10 core San Mai knives out of Taiwan do not state "VG10". Having the Model on one side of the ricasso, and Cold Steel, San Mai, Taiwan" on the other side appears to be the norm.

Seki made BBC VG1 Sanmai.
4LmBJY.jpg


This is a photo of the ricasso from a Taiwan made VG10 Sanmai Tai Pan.
VMP5n7.jpg

sDkrhm.jpg
K KenHash . I've worked on these files removing unnecessary personal information, downsized them, (had not done this stuff for years but(hopefully) I'll be able to upload them.
I'm a new member to the forum (joined today 4/6/21). I have visited here many times and was truly impressed by the extensive knowledge on the site as well as the apparent comaradarie. I hope I am posting this correctly as a comment on the Black Bear Classic. I purchased one and received it on Friday of last week. Mine was made on Taiwan. The inscription on the ricasso simply states "Black Bear Classic" on one side and "Cold Steel. San Mai III. Taiwan" on the other side. The side you never see in any of the pictures on the internet. No mention of whether it has a VG-10 core or anything. Overall the quality seems ok but there are a couple of issues. On the underside of the sub-hilt there is a 3/4th inch long gouge(?) in the G-10 approximately 1/32 to 1/16th inch deep, and the blade is not the "razor sharp" as San Mai is reported to be. I do not like that gouge in the G-10 and I am currently in contact with GSM about materials or workmanship issues. Mainly I wanted the members who are interested in this product to know what is inscripted on the side you never see. I've not seen a VG-1 version that does not list the nature of the core steel. Is leaving out the core steel designation something that is sometimes done? I would post pictures of the knife and gouge so you could see for yourself, but I don't know how to do that yet.

Update: tried uploading the picture of the BBC, the error message says "file too large" so I have to find my post processing software and reduce the size of the file to what is acceptable. Which means I'll have to do some studying of forum protocols so I'll know what is and isn't acceptable.

Update2: Well, I have removed all the unnecessary personal informtion, downsized the files, converted them to a different OS and (hopefully) I will be able to some of them now. This is a few to see if everything works. If it does, I'll convert and post more. Thank all of you for your patience and I promise to put the horse before the cart if there is a similar occurence.

Looks like one doubleposted. Sorry.
I'm a new member to the forum (joined today 4/6/21). I have visited here many times and was truly impressed by the extensive knowledge on the site as well as the apparent comaradarie. I hope I am posting this correctly as a comment on the Black Bear Classic. I purchased one and received it on Friday of last week. Mine was made on Taiwan. The inscription on the ricasso simply states "Black Bear Classic" on one side and "Cold Steel. San Mai III. Taiwan" on the other side. The side you never see in any of the pictures on the internet. No mention of whether it has a VG-10 core or anything. Overall the quality seems ok but there are a couple of issues. On the underside of the sub-hilt there is a 3/4th inch long gouge(?) in the G-10 approximately 1/32 to 1/16th inch deep, and the blade is not the "razor sharp" as San Mai is reported to be. I do not like that gouge in the G-10 and I am currently in contact with GSM about materials or workmanship issues. Mainly I wanted the members who are interested in this product to know what is inscripted on the side you never see. I've not seen a VG-1 version that does not list the nature of the core steel. Is leaving out the core steel designation something that is sometimes done? I would post pictures of the knife and gouge so you could see for yourself, but I don't know how to do that yet.

Update: tried uploading the picture of the BBC, the error message says "file too large" so I have to find my post processing software and reduce the size of the file to what is acceptable. Which means I'll have to do some studying of forum protocols so I'll know what is and isn't acceptable.

Update2: Well, I have removed all the unnecessary personal informtion, downsized the files, converted them to a different OS and (hopefully) I will be able to post some of them now. This is a few to see if everything works. If it does, I'll convert and post more. Thank all of you for your patience and I promise to put the horse before the cart if there is a similar occurence.View attachment 1543794 View attachment 1543794 View attachment 1543795
View attachment 1543800 View attachment 1543801
I'm a new member to the forum (joined today 4/6/21). I have visited here many times and was truly impressed by the extensive knowledge on the site as well as the apparent comaradarie. I hope I am posting this correctly as a comment on the Black Bear Classic. I purchased one and received it on Friday of last week. Mine was made on Taiwan. The inscription on the ricasso simply states "Black Bear Classic" on one side and "Cold Steel. San Mai III. Taiwan" on the other side. The side you never see in any of the pictures on the internet. No mention of whether it has a VG-10 core or anything. Overall the quality seems ok but there are a couple of issues. On the underside of the sub-hilt there is a 3/4th inch long gouge(?) in the G-10 approximately 1/32 to 1/16th inch deep, and the blade is not the "razor sharp" as San Mai is reported to be. I do not like that gouge in the G-10 and I am currently in contact with GSM about materials or workmanship issues. Mainly I wanted the members who are interested in this product to know what is inscripted on the side you never see. I've not seen a VG-1 version that does not list the nature of the core steel. Is leaving out the core steel designation something that is sometimes done? I would post pictures of the knife and gouge so you could see for yourself, but I don't know how to do that yet.

Update: tried uploading the picture of the BBC, the error message says "file too large" so I have to find my post processing software and reduce the size of the file to what is acceptable. Which means I'll have to do some studying of forum protocols so I'll know what is and isn't acceptable.

Update2: Well, I have removed all the unnecessary personal informtion, downsized the files, converted them to a different OS and (hopefully) I will be able to some of them now. This is a few to see if everything works. If it does, I'll convert and post more. Thank all of you for your patience and I promise to put the horse before the cart if there is a similar occurence.View attachment 1543794 View attachment 1543794 View attachment 1543795
 
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No worries...can call me John. If you want to tag someone so they get an alert, put an @ in front of the username, like CCOtter CCOtter
jlauffer jlauffer . John, I managed to get a few pictures uploaded and wanted to "alert" the people who were interested. Can I use the "at" symbol to include more than one person? I still feel like a bull in a china shop, so I'm going to stop for now, learn more about the protocols, etc. before I continue. I did want to let the people who are interested see the groove/gouge on the handle without further delay. Take care!
 
jlauffer jlauffer . John, I managed to get a few pictures uploaded and wanted to "alert" the people who were interested. Can I use the "at" symbol to include more than one person? I still feel like a bull in a china shop, so I'm going to stop for now, learn more about the protocols, etc. before I continue. I did want to let the people who are interested see the groove/gouge on the handle without further delay. Take care!

If you quote someone they will get an alert for that, so also tagging them in the same post is redundant. But to your question, if you want to tag multiple people, you will need to include the @ in front of each username.

Can see 2 pics, but not seeing the gouge.
 
Looking forward to the pictures.

As to the sharpness, sadly Cold Steel uses glass reinforced plastic for their sheaths. The sheaths will destroy the edge if they make contact at all. I don't mean over time, the sheath will trash the edge pretty much immediately, which means that you will definitely need an expensive aftermarket leather sheath for your expensive new knife.

I ran into this issue again just last week with a 3V Master Hunter. It came frighteningly sharp, but was completely dull after a half dozen trips into and out of the sheath. I like the knife so I will find and order a custom sheath.

@Chris_Texas. Finally managed to get a few pictures posted. I don't yet know how it happened, but two of the pics went to my reply to KenHash, three went to my original post.
 
If you quote someone they will get an alert for that, so also tagging them in the same post is redundant. But to your question, if you want to tag multiple people, you will need to include the @ in front of each username.

Can see 2 pics, but not seeing the gouge.
I don't yet know how I managed to screw it up, but three pictures went to my original post, and two to a reply to KenHash. That's what I mean about stopping until I understand and can use the protocols properly.
 
Ok, I see the two photos. Where exactly is this "gouge" though?

I am not sure how I screwed it up, but two of the pictures I uploaded went to the first reply you made to this post. Three others (one containing the picture of the defect) went to the original post I made. As I stated to someone else, I'm going to stop doing things until I can stop being like a bull in a china shop. The whole validity of my original post rests on whether the defect I mentioned is acceptable or not for a knife of this pricepoint. Is it typical of the quality that comes out of Taiwan? In order to answer those questions, I would have to seek the advice of people who are experienced with the higher end products, therefore the pictures are absolutely neccessary. That's why I've been trying so hard to post them. How else could anyone render a valid opinion? Also, I did not want anyone thinking I was pulling someone's leg. What you see is a pretty good representation of the defect. You can clearly see width and length, but not depth. Going to study some more on how to upload pictures.
 
OK, is the "gouge" you are talking about on the underside of the left side scale?
 
OK, is the "gouge" you are talking about on the underside of the left side scale?

I now see the problem in Post #30. Personally, I would send it back. That would drive me crazy. I have an original version from Japan - the fit & finish is Perfect.

As you said, "You can clearly see width and length, but not depth." For me, even if there is no "depth" to the mark - discoloration like that should not be accepted.

I've previously read this entire thread, but I can't remember where you purchased the knife. I would send it back to where you made the purchase. Contact them first to get an RMA #, or whatever is their procedure for returns.

I would not - at this time - return the knife to Cold Steel / GSM - as there have been issues when dealing with them (as seen in posts on this forum). Cold Steel was recently sold to GSM - covered in many posts on this forum.
 
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I now see the problem in Post #30. Personally, I would send it back. That would drive me crazy. I have an original version from Japan - the fit & finish is Perfect.

As you said, "You can clearly see width and length, but not depth." For me, even if there is no "depth" to the mark - discoloration like that should not be accepted.

I've previously read this entire thread, but I can't remember where you purchased the knife. I would send it back to where you made the purchase. Contact them first to get and RMA #, or whatever is their procedure for returns.

I would not - at this time - return the knife to Cold Steel / GSM - as there have been issues when dealing with them (as seen in posts on this forum). Cold Steel was recently sold to GSM - covered in many posts on this forum.
Thank you for the time you took to read and follow the posts. I like what you said about not accepting a defect like that even if there was no depth to the defect. To really see the extent of the mark, you would have to be able to look straight down or a little oblique. The defect is not even with the tang, it starts out even but then slants away at an angle you can't see in a 2 dimensional image. At the widest the depth is about 1/16th inch. Purchased the knife from smokey mountain knife works. I think they may still have some in stock. I wish I had seen your post earlier, because I have already sent the BBC back to GSM/Cold Steel. I did not know of the issues others have had with. I checked in GBU before I contacted them, but did not see anything that raised any alarm. So for better or worse, I now have to deal with GSM. I never could get the money together to get one made by Hattori , in Seki. I think that is something I'll always regret. I,too, thought the fit/finish should be exemplary for a premium Cold Steel offering, and wanted to get the opinion of others who have experience. The one I had was beautiful, even with the defect. Well balanced, fast in the hand. Yours must be awsome.
 
That absolutely needs to go back to the Seller and get replaced.
I had a Seki made BBC that had not damaged, but discolored micarta and I returned it
for a clean one. I would never accept that gouge in the photo.
I hear you!
 
1-As a Platinum member I believe you should be able to post pictures (1) directly when posting by using the either the 4th or 7th icon at the top of the posting text box, or (2) upload your pictures to an image hosting site like imgur or google photos (if shared) and use the 7th icon from the right to insert the photo.

2- As far as I am aware while the CS Black Bear Classic always had the steel type (or core if San Mai) the recent VG10 core Sanmai knives out of Taiwan do not state "VG10". Having the Model on one side of the ricasso, and Cold Steel, San Mai, Taiwan" on the other side appears to be the norm.

Seki made BBC VG1 Sanmai.
4LmBJY.jpg


This is a photo of the ricasso from a Taiwan made VG10 Sanmai Tai Pan.
VMP5n7.jpg

sDkrhm.jpg
 
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