Odd voyager

S

Sir Drop-em Flat

Joined
Oct 15, 2021
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I recently acquired a Cold Steel Voyager from a friend who knows someone that works at Cold steel but I can't find any images that look like it when looking up it's specifications, I'm wondering why it is different than the others.
 
From what I can see (I'm on my tablet right now) I think it is fake. I have never seen a Voyager with "COLD STEEL" on that pin. Also cold steel never made a San Mai Voyager. And the lamination line on the blade looks weird in the pictures. As if the line was put on the blade by some other means than the San Mai process. Well that's my opinion.

EDIT: I think the text style is also a little off ?
 
Your Name Goes Here said:
From what I can see (I'm on my tablet right now) I think it is fake. I have never seen a Voyager with "COLD STEEL" on that pin. Also cold steel never made a San Mai Voyager. And the lamination line on the blade looks weird in the pictures. As if the line was put on the blade by some other means than the San Mai process. Well that's my opinion.
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The guy who gave it to my friend is a cold steel knife maker so I believe it to be legit, maybe they made it scrapped it then went with the vaqueros that they released if that's a possibility
 
Anything is possible. BUT, what you are saying is - some guy, gave the knife to your friend. Who is this guy ? And you say this guy is a cold steel knife maker. All the cold steel designers are well known. Knowing the origin of the knife would help. There are not many one off cold steel knives around - and most of those can be traced back to cold steel in some manner.
 
rycen said:
What it looks like to me is an older blade put into a newer handle.
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I've done a lot of examining and there is no signs that the blade was removed and the blade looks dirtied up because I did touch the blade a lot while examining plus my camera isn't that great
 
Your Name Goes Here said:
Anything is possible. BUT, what you are saying is - some guy, gave the knife to your friend. Who is this guy ? And you say this guy is a cold steel knife maker. All the cold steel designers are well known. Knowing the origin of the knife would help. There are not many one off cold steel knives around - and most of those can be traced back to cold steel in some manner.
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*
 
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Simple. Email Demko, he has a website. I am curious, if you look at the spine of the blade, you will see a variation in the color of the steel. It will be faint, and run the length of the blade. This will let you know it is a San Mai blade.
 
The San Mai line looks legit to me for a blade that polished (reminds me of the old Custom Series). If it truly came from someone at CS, could have been some sort of prototype that never made it to production. VG-1 San Mai started in 2006, and that style Voyager handle started in 2010. No telling how many blade and/or complete knife samples were laying around for product development and R&D that someone could have grabbed, especially if it coincided with the GSM takeover.
 
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jlauffer said:
The San Mai line looks legit to me for a blade that polished (reminds me of the old Custom Series). If it truly came from someone at CS, could have been some sort of prototype that never made it to production. VG-1 San Mai started in 2006, and that style Voyager handle started in 2010. No telling how many blade and/or complete knife samples were laying around for product development and R&D that someone could have grabbed, especially if it coincided with the GSM takeover.
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Now looking at the pics with a good screen - the San Mai line does look legit. Would love to see a clearer image (close up) of the "VOYAGER" side of the text - looks slightly different than usual. Also, can you see the steel change on the spine of the knife ?

Going with the thought that this knife is a prototype:

The "COLD STEEL" around the pin is a style that Demko puts on his own knives. I don't believe any Cold Steel knife ever had this ?

As for the San Mai steel, my records, based on old Cold Steel catalogs, show that San Mai was never used in a Voyager and/or a Vaquero blade.

The blade style that is on your knife was produced in (size Medium in the Cold Steel catalogs & had a different shaped handle):

AUS 8A steel 2003 - 2005.

VG-1 steel 2006 - 2008. Not "San Mai" VG-1, but just VG-1 steel.

It was not produced in 2009.

Then in 2010 the handle style on your knife was first produced.

So, a prototype - possibly. As jlauffer said, the handle started use in 2010. The VG-1 blades were only made from 2006 to 2008 and they had a different handle style (and again these blades were only made of VG-1, not San Mai VG-1).

I hope you keep us updated on any information you find. If it is a prototype it would be valuable to the right collector. And I would suggest again, send Demko an email (with pictures), maybe he will respond. Demko has even responded to this forum once that I know of when he worked for Cold Steel.

An interesting bit of information, the Cold Steel catalogs are not always correct. For example, the 2010 catalog says the Voyagers (including the Vaquero) are made of "VG-1 San Mai III" steel. This didn't happen.
 
Your Name Goes Here said:
An interesting bit of information, the Cold Steel catalogs are not always correct. For example, the 2010 catalog says the Voyagers (including the Vaquero) are made of "VG-1 San Mai III" steel. This didn't happen.
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Could be evidence of a plan to offer it that didn't come to fruition. It's also interesting that both the 2010 and 2011 catalogs say the Voyagers are NEW.
 
I’d imagine this copy is from a catalog

“Our Voyager® folders are, ounce for ounce, far stronger than 99% of our competitor¹s folders. And this is a fact, not an idle boast.

Each knife features laser cut and hand fitted parts with a stiff spring and our incomparable Tri-Ad™ lock mechanism which is arguably the strongest, most reliable, low maintenance lock in the world.

The thick, extra wide blades in each Voyager® also put the competition to shame, as they are laser cut from our famous VG-1 San Mai III® steel and precision ground to a thin edge for maximum shearing potential. This thin edge also allows us to hone the blades to astounding sharpness. Plus, the cutting surface is continuously curved along its entire length for the most efficient and effective slicing action possible. Additionally, because of their perfect heat treatment and the high carbon content in the center layer of VG-1 San Mai III® you¹ll find the sharpness really lasts a surprisingly long time.

If you like serrations, you'll really appreciate our exclusive pattern. It features groups of very small, sharply pointed teeth separated by wide, shallow arcs so it will rip smoothly yet very aggressively through a wide variety of tough fibrous materials without snagging or hanging up.

The Voyager® Series also offers all the other latest refinements in lock-back construction including lightning quick, one-handed opening, state of the art mechanical fasteners, massively oversized pivot pins that are fully adjustable and properly hardened, and dual stainless steel pocket clips for ambidextrous carry and deployment.

The Grivory handles feature 6061 heat treated aluminum liners for the utmost in strength and stiffness and are ergonomically designed to afford a wide array of grip options including the palm reinforced forward grip for which they are particularly well suited.

Grivory is unparalleled as a handle material as it is considerably stronger than Zytel® and, when deeply textured, offers a terrific non-slip grip. As an added bonus, it's impervious to moisture and wont crack, warp or shrink and remains remarkably resistant to abrasion or discoloration.

As tools these lightweight, super sharp knives are appropriate in almost any environment from hunting and camping to hiking and general utility chores. They can also readily fill specialty functions such as a boat or river knife, chute knife or police/military and survival/rescue applications.”
 
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rycen said:
I’d imagine this copy is from a catalog

Our Voyager® folders are, ounce for ounce, far stronger than 99% of our competitor¹s folders. And this is a fact, not an idle boast.

Each knife features laser cut and hand fitted parts with a stiff spring and our incomparable Tri-Ad™ lock mechanism which is arguably the strongest, most reliable, low maintenance lock in the world.

The thick, extra wide blades in each Voyager® also put the competition to shame, as they are laser cut from our famous VG-1 San Mai III® steel and precision ground to a thin edge for maximum shearing potential. This thin edge also allows us to hone the blades to astounding sharpness. Plus, the cutting surface is continuously curved along its entire length for the most efficient and effective slicing action possible. Additionally, because of their perfect heat treatment and the high carbon content in the center layer of VG-1 San Mai III® you¹ll find the sharpness really lasts a surprisingly long time.

If you like serrations, you'll really appreciate our exclusive pattern. It features groups of very small, sharply pointed teeth separated by wide, shallow arcs so it will rip smoothly yet very aggressively through a wide variety of tough fibrous materials without snagging or hanging up.

The Voyager® Series also offers all the other latest refinements in lock-back construction including lightning quick, one-handed opening, state of the art mechanical fasteners, massively oversized pivot pins that are fully adjustable and properly hardened, and dual stainless steel pocket clips for ambidextrous carry and deployment.

The Grivory handles feature 6061 heat treated aluminum liners for the utmost in strength and stiffness and are ergonomically designed to afford a wide array of grip options including the palm reinforced forward grip for which they are particularly well suited.

Grivory is unparalleled as a handle material as it is considerably stronger than Zytel® and, when deeply textured, offers a terrific non-slip grip. As an added bonus, it's impervious to moisture and wont crack, warp or shrink and remains remarkably resistant to abrasion or discoloration.

As tools these lightweight, super sharp knives are appropriate in almost any environment from hunting and camping to hiking and general utility chores. They can also readily fill specialty functions such as a boat or river knife, chute knife or police/military and survival/rescue applications.
Click to expand...
Do you work for cold steel
 
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