Is it me or is Cold Steel GSM Lynn Thompson signed edition knives not selling good?

O

Oil Stone Guru. I'm Not.

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Oct 3, 2024
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I have been following knives a bit in the last 12 years. And I am not trying to start a flame war or call anyone out.
I have just noticed that prior to the GSM buy out that any Lynn Thompson signed edition knife sold out really quick.
As in 6 months. And 3000 limited edition pieces.
Ever since GSM has taken over.
I have noticed the GSM ere Lynn Thompson signed editions are still available and in many cases. Easily found.
Despite being limited to 2000 to 3000 pieces.
Some of these were released over 2 years ago. And still available. Anyways, Maybe I am wrong.
It was just an observation I made.Has anyone else noticed similar observations such as mine?
I guess it is safe to assume that any suck future releases under the GSM/Lynn Thompson union are not going to be worth collecting.
Like I said, Correct me if I am wrong. Share your thoughts.
 
Perhaps the people who purchased the earlier signed editions thought they would increase in value, and then they didn't, so they stopped investing in other signed editions.

Also, 2000 knives is not what I would call a "limited edition". That's a lot of knives. So many that it pretty much guarantees that there will always be ones available to purchase somewhere. 3000 knives even more so.

And when Lynns signature is printed on more and more knives, that feature becomes less special.

I'm a big Cold Steel fan, and Lynn has my respect and thanks (for producing my all-time favorite knife, unlike any produced by anyone else), but despite all that, I wouldn't buy a knife just because it has Lynn Thompsons signature on it. In fact, I prefer that my knives not have anyone's signature on them.
 
Personally, I have a lot of Cold Steel, and the prices on the new LT models just aren't that attractive. I could see an extra $30-40 over a standard or comparable model, but not the huge jumps they've tried. I'm content to just wait till they have to discount them. GSM seems to let things sit longer without price drops too.
 
SharpBits said:
A bit of both, I think. The crusty old CS fans left, and high cost CS knives aren't as appealing as their regular stuff.
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I would add that GSM’s sales team is weak and incompetent. We no longer see the constant level of marketing and aggressive product testing that we used to see from Lynn and his team, nor the innovation. GSM knows nothing about knives and can convey no sense that their products are fit for any specific purpose. As far as I am concerned they are just producing questionable clones of the old stuff Cold Steel used to sell.

N2s
 
killgar said:
Perhaps the people who purchased the earlier signed editions thought they would increase in value, and then they didn't, so they stopped investing in other signed editions.

Also, 2000 knives is not what I would call a "limited edition". That's a lot of knives. So many that it pretty much guarantees that there will always be ones available to purchase somewhere. 3000 knives even more so.

And when Lynns signature is printed on more and more knives, that feature becomes less special.

I'm a big Cold Steel fan, and Lynn has my respect and thanks (for producing my all-time favorite knife, unlike any produced by anyone else), but despite all that, I wouldn't buy a knife just because it has Lynn Thompsons signature on it. In fact, I prefer that my knives not have anyone's signature on them.
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The only signature I like on my knives is Harsey!
 
My impression is GSM Cold Steel products are just as good and so far remain true to the Cold Steel concept however I have seen some pretty stupid marketing gimmicks by GSM that Lynn never did when he owned the company. Cold Steel products can and do make decent profits and a significant portion of their buyers are people who know an awful lot about knives
 
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LT is not Loveless. My guess is that the cult of LT largely felt abandoned when he sold the company. I'm not knocking the guy. I have respect for him and I have been buying cold steel products for 25 years. I just don't see why anyone would care if his name is etched on a knife or not.

I have a 2030/3000 LT Leatherneck Bowie. I bought it at my local gun shop because they had it priced at $79. Its the real deal, and I pointed it out to the kid behind the counter and he was like, "well that's what the boss marked it". So I basically got it for half price.

I keep it in the kindling box by the back door and use it to bust wood apart. It's just an average knife built to work hard...so it does.
 
killgar said:
Perhaps the people who purchased the earlier signed editions thought they would increase in value, and then they didn't, so they stopped investing in other signed editions.

Also, 2000 knives is not what I would call a "limited edition". That's a lot of knives. So many that it pretty much guarantees that there will always be ones available to purchase somewhere. 3000 knives even more so.

And when Lynns signature is printed on more and more knives, that feature becomes less special.

I'm a big Cold Steel fan, and Lynn has my respect and thanks (for producing my all-time favorite knife, unlike any produced by anyone else), but despite all that, I wouldn't buy a knife just because it has Lynn Thompsons signature on it. In fact, I prefer that my knives not have anyone's signature on them.
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I would guess that 2000 to 3000 pieces would be limited edition. Considering there a million Enduras and Buck 110 knives in the world.
I see it as if all 2000 sell. Then there is only 2000 pieces that exist. And not easily found.
Then again, I could very well be wrong.
 
Oil Stone Guru. I'm Not. said:
I would guess that 2000 to 3000 pieces would be limited edition. Considering there a million Enduras and Buck 110 knives in the world.
I see it as if all 2000 sell. Then there is only 2000 pieces that exist. And not easily found.
Then again, I could very well be wrong.
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I don't know what the first Lynn Thompson signature knife was, but I know the signature Voyager Vaquero came out in 2017, eight years ago.

Buck has been making the 110 since the 1960's, and Spyderco has been making the Endura since the 1980's. Compared to how many of those knives have been sold over the past 40 years (Endura) and 60 years (110), any knife made in the past eight years could be considered "limited edition". So I don't think that
is a realistic way to determine "limited edition".

I just did a quick look around the internet, just two websites, and I found 4 signature Voyager Vaqueros for sale, and I found 3 others that were sold in the past 8 months. Like I said, they can still be found for sale, even 8 years after they were first released. I'm sure the sellers are asking for more than they paid, but the knives weren't hard to find.
 
killgar said:
I don't know what the first Lynn Thompson signature knife was, but I know the signature Voyager Vaquero came out in 2017, eight years ago.

Buck has been making the 110 since the 1960's, and Spyderco has been making the Endura since the 1980's. Compared to how many of those knives have been sold over the past 40 years (Endura) and 60 years (110), any knife made in the past eight years could be considered "limited edition". So I don't think that
is a realistic way to determine "limited edition".

I just did a quick look around the internet, just two websites, and I found 4 signature Voyager Vaqueros for sale, and I found 3 others that were sold in the past 8 months. Like I said, they can still be found for sale, even 8 years after they were first released. I'm sure the sellers are asking for more than they paid, but the knives weren't hard to find.
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Point well taken. I guess I am looking at things from a production line view and not considering your well laid out logic.
I got no problem admitting I may be in error on my thinking. and I do appreciate your input on this to further help educate me.
Thank you.
 
David Mary said:
Yeah I remember that one. Didn't like it.
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I enjoy hunting and fishing. But not wasteful boastful slaughter of wildlife.
I did not like his arrogance and the end of that video did bother me. But I will admit taking a fish with a sword was pretty skilled.
I just felt they did this in a bad taste sort of way. And they have far more than just this example of stupid marketing.
I think these sort of infomercials they did was a big part in what caused Cold Steel to sell out to GSM.
Many people did not like this type of marketing.
 
Pre GSM, I always liked Cold Steel for the designs. And the Tri-Ad lock. And the value. The "proof" videos were kinda like the car wreck on the side of the road you can't help staring at as you pass by for me.
 
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