New 2018 cold steel

Anything interesting?

  • Yes, will consider one

    Votes: 23 24.5%

  • Yes, definitely buy one

    Votes: 13 13.8%

  • Yes, consider multiple

    Votes: 19 20.2%

  • Yes, definitely buy multiple

    Votes: 14 14.9%

  • Nah, nothing interesting

    Votes: 22 23.4%

  • Who Cares

    Votes: 3 3.2%
  • Total voters
    94
I'm glad to see San Mai returning. I didn't have all the San Mai models I wanted before they became scarce. I hope they expand that lineup. Gonna try that Luzon, too.
 
Luzon is intriguing (I AM here in Luzon!)

I've harped on bringing back the Bush Ranger fixed blade from awhile back, though being able to EDC it is certainly a plus <<<BUT>>> why oh why couldn't it be longer than 3.5"? Seriously? (I was hoping a worthy successor to replace my large Voyager).
 
For the people commenting on the small number of new releases, remember last couple of years? They continued adding new things to the upcoming list for a couple of weeks after the initial list was posted, so this isn't necessarily everything. Is pretty small for an initial list, though.

As for the items themselves...I dunno, the large Luzon for sure, since I like the big XL blades. I like push daggers too, so that drop forged one is also a likely candidate. Maybe that Mini-Tac Bowie. Nothing else really jumps out at me.
 
IMO the price is starting to get a bit too high, and im not talking about MSRP. For example the street price for Storm Cloud is listed as $190 on BladeHQ(check my previous posts to see how to find the street price). That's more expensive than a Benchmade 551-1 Griptilian with G-10 and CPM-20CV steel at $178.5 street price.
You might argue that the Storm Cloud has carbon fiber, however that's only a layer of carbon fiber on top of the G-10 scale, and it's almost identical to carbon fiber G-10 laminate used by Ganzo.
Check out this video where the Night Force CF/G-10 laminate is compare to Ganzo's.
 
The Storm Cloud has definitely caught my eye. I like the look, the CPM-20CV steel, the thumb-plate opener, and the 3.6 ounce weight.

I especially like the return of the San Mai tantos.
 
Seems kind of backwards to me that they would keep the SMIII TM production in Japan, and move the rest of the SMIII stuff to Taiwan. The TM and SRK are more likely to be used, while the Magnum Tantos and Tai Pan are more likely to be collected. Users aren't going to mind being made in Taiwan as long as they perform, but collectors would much prefer being made in Japan.

Probably has something to do with the TM having a convex edge.
 
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I love the fact that they are using more thumb plates. The storm cloud and bush ranger look awesome, maybe we will see a larger variant of these. A 5.5 or even 4.5 inch version of these would be great. The Luzon looks cool too. I am still hoping for a new xl beast though, very unlike cold steel to roll out 95% edc friendly blades. But again I’m stoked about the San mai tantos.
 
After looking at the specs again, I am not feeling most of these. They all seem to have a couple of aspects I don’t like. One of which is the cheap Chinese steel many of the budget knives have. The Storm Cloud was okay, despite the tanto blade, then I saw the price. With that said, I do like the Tac-Bowie and Bush Ranger.
 
Don't like the none triad locks they are going with on some. Also, I'm disappointed in the chinese steel garbage. 4116 Krupps and AUS8 is about the lowest quaility steel I want t go with. 8CR13mov is not something I'm fond of. The mini Tac Bowie may be the only one for me. Already have the San Mai models from years past.
 
I keep looking over the list trying to check myself and see if i was being too harsh on their new offerings. But no, the more i look at it the more disappointed i get. Bush Ranger is the only thing even worth half a second glance to me. Not one single thing even comes close to kicking the dealer exclusive satin s35VN recon spear point i purchased last year out my pocket. And that 8cr steel? why go from BD-1 to that? and the non-tri-ad lock with safety? what the hell? the tri-ad is on all the cheapest offerings working just fine, just a big fail. A truly boring offering so far for 2018.
 
I can see the appeal of the Bush Ranger, but seems a bit pricey. Will probably get the DF push knife at some point as I have a weakness for push daggers. Like others, also wondering why they're using a different lock with extra safety on the cheaper knives...would think the extra safety would negate any cost savings. I guess the change to 8Cr13MoV isn't too surprising...they first shifted production to China/Taiwan but still used "Japanese AUS 8A"...figured it was only a matter of time before they completely transitioned over. Not really feeling the Storm Cloud...the point seems way too low...looks like it lines up with the bottom of the handle rather than being more in the middle like the old Hatamoto.
 
Maybe they're using the backlock with safety to differentiate the lower-end models from the higher-end models featuring the Tri-Ad. For marketing purposes.
 
Here's a crazy theory...just looked at the old catalogs and the Tri-Ad lock was introduced in 2008. Maybe Demko and CS had some sort of 10-year deal that has now expired, and it would be too costly to use the Tri-Ad on the cheaper knives.
 
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I am definitely interested in the bush ranger and the storm cloud. I love CF and really want a Cold Steel with some carbon fiber scales
 
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