The 4034 knives are starting to roll out. First real world testing shows promising results

DocJD said:
Probably a crap HT and/or just not really the advertised steel at all . :thumbsdown::thumbsdown:
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There have also been a lot of good reviews. We‘ll see if the latest 4034 knives do as well, and at 10x the price, they better do significantly better. That is hard to do when you are starting out with the lowest possible grade of cutlery steel and a poorly designed sheath that is known for quickly dulling much higher grades of steel.

n2s
 
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DocJD said:
Here's a golden opportunity for some guinea pig to become the experimental sacrifice to really proof test the big new CS 4034 choppers ! 🤪

On sale for ~50% off list , at Knife Center : https://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/...ld+steel+4034&steel=4034&s=1&sortType=priceDe

Still ridiculously overpriced , IMO , but I could be completely wrong . :confused:
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I really like the description of the 4034 Natchez Bowie:

"The very best in materials and workmanship is what makes performance like this possible. The blade is made of 4034 stainless steel. It’s costly and difficult to fashion, but the resulting blade it yields is virtually indestructible."

This was the exact text they used for the San Mai version:

"The very best in materials and workmanship is what makes performance like this possible. The blade is made of vacuum heat-treated VG-1 San Mai III blade construction. It’s costly and difficult to fashion, but the resulting blade it yields is virtually indestructible."
 
Your Name Goes Here said:
I really like the description of the 4034 Natchez Bowie:

"The very best in materials and workmanship is what makes performance like this possible. The blade is made of 4034 stainless steel. It’s costly and difficult to fashion, but the resulting blade it yields is virtually indestructible."

This was the exact text they used for the San Mai version:

"The very best in materials and workmanship is what makes performance like this possible. The blade is made of vacuum heat-treated VG-1 San Mai III blade construction. It’s costly and difficult to fashion, but the resulting blade it yields is virtually indestructible."
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Fun with Find & Replace!
 
Your Name Goes Here said:
I really like the description of the 4034 Natchez Bowie:

"The very best in materials and workmanship is what makes performance like this possible. The blade is made of 4034 stainless steel. It’s costly and difficult to fashion, but the resulting blade it yields is virtually indestructible."

This was the exact text they used for the San Mai version:

"The very best in materials and workmanship is what makes performance like this possible. The blade is made of vacuum heat-treated VG-1 San Mai III blade construction. It’s costly and difficult to fashion, but the resulting blade it yields is virtually indestructible."
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Welp , if you're gonna steal ad copy , you could do worse than the old CS stuff . Lot of it probably written by LCT , himself ? :rolleyes:
 
My opinion concerning this matter is this... If you're going to use low end/budget friendly stainless steel, make sure you price the product at a low end/budget friendly price.
Since they seem to have royally failed at achieving that, I personally won't even consider buying any of these.
 
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PocketKnifeJimmy said:
My opinion concerning this matter is this... If you're going to use low end/budget friendly stainless steel, make sure you price the product at a low end/budget friendly price.
Since they seem to have royally failed at achieving that, I personally won't even consider buying any of these.
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That's me as well. I wont even consider it. The problem is not that they are making their flagship knives in flea market steel -- though that is bad enough -- but that they are charging premium prices for those same knives while lying to uninformed buyers (people who trust the Cold Steel name) about what they are paying their top dollar for. From my perspective it is deceptive and bordering on fraudulent.
 
PocketKnifeJimmy said:
My opinion concerning this matter is this... If you're going to use low end/budget friendly stainless steel, make sure you price the product at a low end/budget friendly price.
Since they seem to have royally failed at achieving that, I personally won't even consider buying any of these.
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Hit it on the head right there. This is like the equivalent of Spyderco releasing the Paramilitary 2 in 5Cr steel and selling that for $130.
 
DangerZone98 said:
That’s the crux of the matter right there. Why get a 4034 big blade for premium prices and with lackluster customer service? These knives would have been decent at the $60-$80 range. Would have been tempting just for playing around or decorating the wall.

It’s difficult to pick a $180+ 4034 kukri over a $120 BK9. Heck, you can get a decent big blade from Kailash for less then 180 bucks.
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I wouldn't even pay $30 for a Taiwanese 4034 blade. 4034 is the lowest grade knife steel out there judging by it's composition. 420HC, 4116 and Sandvik are superior, and they are considered at the bottom end of the knife steel scale. This has to be worst thing I've ever seen a knife company do. Are they trying to destroy the Cold Steel name? This is nutty squared
 
Chris_Texas said:
The problem is not that they are making their flagship knives in flea market steel -- though that is bad enough -- but that they are charging premium prices for those same knives while lying to uninformed buyers (people who trust the Cold Steel name) about what they are paying their top dollar for. From my perspective it is deceptive and bordering on fraudulent.
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This-- yes it is fraudulent. Outright fraud on less informed Cold Steel customers.

I knew GSM was up to no good when their first move was to immediately cancel Cold Steel's lifetime warranty. It was only because of the massive backlash that they brought it back. Of course, there really is no customer service at GSM for Cold Steel anymore. Lose a clip on your folder? Too bad

I was gaining respect for GSM before all of this. Now, I'm done. Been a Cold Steel fan since the 80s when I was a kid. No more.
 
coloradowildman said:
I wouldn't even pay $30 for a Taiwanese 4034 blade. 4034 is the lowest grade knife steel out there judging by it's composition. 420HC, 4116 and Sandvik are superior, and they are considered at the bottom end of the knife steel scale. This has to be worst thing I've ever seen a knife company do. Are they trying to destroy the Cold Steel name? This is nutty squared
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Often, buyouts like this follow a similar pattern. The buyer looks for a company with a known name, they purchase the company with borrowed money, they then immediately pay themselves back by borrowing heavily against their new victim. They then slash quality while jacking prices and milk the now cancer stricken victim all the way down. They aren't looking for long term, it doesn't matter as they have already paid themselves back. Anything they make on top of that is pure profit. If the company survives, fine, if not no big deal.

Is this the GSM plan? Consider: after an entire year they still haven't bothered hiring people who know anything about knives to answer their phones. Their freaking knife spokesman, by his own admission, knows nothing about knives. Warranty? What's that? They have even gone so far as to stop including both pocket clips with some of their new knives. Apparently that extra ten cents is a big enough deal to be worth it. And now they are releasing flea market 4034 at super steel prices, while telling their customers that it's everything its not.

I can baton through a log with a wedge of wood, so it's not exactly extraordinary that steel doesn't explode when it is called on to perform such a minor task. Perhaps I should pitch fire hardened wood bushcraft tools to them.... it does have the added advantage of being both tool and kindling if necessary. Only $189 for the "Stumpmaster".
 
After reading this thread, my first thought was boycott GSM...

It's just behaving like a corporation, not the CS and Lynn we all grew up, grew old with.
 
coloradowildman said:
This-- yes it is fraudulent. Outright fraud on less informed Cold Steel customers.

I knew GSM was up to no good when their first move was to immediately cancel Cold Steel's lifetime warranty. It was only because of the massive backlash that they brought it back. Of course, there really is no customer service at GSM for Cold Steel anymore. Lose a clip on your folder? Too bad

I was gaining respect for GSM before all of this. Now, I'm done. Been a Cold Steel fan since the 80s when I was a kid. No more.
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Good point there. Not everyone is intimately familiar with knife steels. A beginner camper might take a 4034 knife to the woods expecting good performance. Well, hopefully the knife serves them well rather than suffering a catastrophic failure.

Then again, it’s still the the ultimate responsibility of the consumer to research first before making a purchase. Especially on a tool that you potentially have to rely on in hairy situations. An hour of good research should point you to something like a Becker, ESEE, or Tops.
 
studio said:
After reading this thread, my first thought was boycott GSM...

It's just behaving like a corporation, not the CS and Lynn we all grew up, grew old with.
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The Lynn Thompson I knew bad-mouthed REKAT because they refused to license their Rolling Lock design to Cold Steel over 20 years ago. Without Andrew Demko contributing his knife and lock designs Lynn Thompson didn't really have that much to offer. Cold Steel (without Demko) makes a lot of fantasy warrior stuff that looks like they were inspired by United Cutlery.
 
I will admit that I like the SRK In San Mai, Vintage Bushman, And Marauder fixed blades. along with the Recon 1 spear point, Kudu, and Khan folder. I own those six knives. And I doubt if I ever buy another Cold Steel since GSM took over.
 
Frotier76 said:
The Lynn Thompson I knew bad-mouthed REKAT because they refused to license their Rolling Lock design to Cold Steel over 20 years ago. Without Andrew Demko contributing his knife and lock designs Lynn Thompson didn't really have that much to offer. Cold Steel (without Demko) makes a lot of fantasy warrior stuff that looks like they were inspired by United Cutlery.
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Let the flame wars begin, lol......

Here's what I have to say to Lynn only creating "United Cutlery" like stuff.....- The Cold Steel Voyager Folding Knives, The SRK, used by the Navy Seals BUDS Section, the Recon Tanto, carried all over the world by military forces, the Recon Scout and Trail Master, knives which inspired most of the modern woodsman bowie designs, the Cold Steel Bushman, The Master Hunter, the Outdoorsman Knife, the Recon 1, etc etc. I can go on and on, but I think you get the point. Yes, Andrew Demko was an awesome addition to Cold Steel and helped push Cold Steel folders to the next level with the Triad lock, but Cold Steel was not founded as a folder company. It was based primarily on the Tanto design, which Lynn/Cold Steel popularized in America beginning in 1981. Since then, Lynn has come up with countless unique designs as well as designs he has done with Demko. You are certainly free to feel however you want about Lynn, but comparing him to United Cutlery which was founded after he started Cold Steel, sounds like sour grapes to me.
 
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coloradowildman said:
Let the flame wars begin, lol......

Here's what I have to say to Lynn only creating "United Cutlery" like stuff.....- The Cold Steel Voyager Folding Knives, The SRK, used by the Navy Seals BUDS Section, the Recon Tanto, carried all over the world by military forces, the Recon Scout and Trail Master, knives which inspired most of the modern woodsman bowie designs, the Cold Steel Bushman, The Master Hunter, the Outdoorsman Lite, the Recon 1, etc etc. I can go on and on, but I think you get the point. Yes, Andrew Demko was an awesome addition to Cold Steel and helped push Cold Steel folders to the next level with the Triad lock, but Cold Steel was not founded as a folder company. It was based primarily on the Tanto design, which Lynn/Cold Steel popularized in America beginning in 1981. Since then, Lynn has come up with countless unique designs as well as designs he has done with Demko. You are certainly free to feel however you want about Lynn, but comparing him to United Cutlery which was founded after he started Cold Steel, sounds like sour grapes to me.
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Your words are accurate, Sir... And, they needed to be shared, thank you 👍
 
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coloradowildman said:
Let the flame wars begin, lol......

Here's what I have to say to Lynn only creating "United Cutlery" like stuff.....- The Cold Steel Voyager Folding Knives, The SRK, used by the Navy Seals BUDS Section, the Recon Tanto, carried all over the world by military forces, the Recon Scout and Trail Master, knives which inspired most of the modern woodsman bowie designs, the Cold Steel Bushman, The Master Hunter, the Outdoorsman Lite, the Recon 1, etc etc. I can go on and on, but I think you get the point. Yes, Andrew Demko was an awesome addition to Cold Steel and helped push Cold Steel folders to the next level with the Triad lock, but Cold Steel was not founded as a folder company. It was based primarily on the Tanto design, which Lynn/Cold Steel popularized in America beginning in 1981. Since then, Lynn has come up with countless unique designs as well as designs he has done with Demko. You are certainly free to feel however you want about Lynn, but comparing him to United Cutlery which was founded after he started Cold Steel, sounds like sour grapes to me.
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I don't dispute what you are saying. And even before their Tri Ad Demko design folders. Their lockbacks were suspending grown men on monkey bars and pull up videos on their Pre Demko proof videos. If anything, United Cutlery were influenced by Cold Steel and are inferior products to Cold Steel pre GSM.

With that said. I like Lynn to a degree. Owned my share of his knives since I was a teen in the 1980's. And I do acknowledge his importance in the knife world. But he has done some stuff that goes back to their beginnings. And made a lot of unnecessary enemies in the cutlery business. I won't even bother to mention those since I don't wish to slander a company that was a big influence in my teens up until 2010.

I can see how his aggressive actions towards other businesses and potential customers could in part caused the downfall of Cold Steel. Which is now GSM. What I mean by that statement is that from the 80's until 2000. I seen more brick and mortar shops carry Cold Steel.

After 2000. I seen way less shops and businesses not carry Cold Steel. And his refusal to tone his antics down from 2000 onward. In a more politically correct and sensitive time could have in part hurt their business sales.

Another thing that may have hurt their business was that a good portion of their line up was niche stuff. I mean come on. A plastic boomerang, Throwing stars bigger than my hand. Steel throwing darts? Etc. Yes the stuff is cool. But I am under the impression they made many things that may not have sold well enough to recoup manufacturing costs over a long period. But yet continued to produce more niche stuff than what was selling. And they possibly lost money on niche items that perhaps 3% of the population would buy.

Add Covid, limited steel, and closed factories to the mix.

I don't say this as a hater. I still own a dozen Cold Steel folders and fixed blades. I am just bringing up some things that could have contributed to the demise of Cold Steel. But truth is. Lynn soured his own grapes. And Cold Steel did not change and adapt with the times.
 
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Cold Steel, under Lynn Thompson's ownership, had a good run, (40 years). I do have a feeling that the future will not sweep those 40 years under the rug. Why?... Because those 40 years will represent innovation, boldness, and controversy, that will place that period of Cold Steel in a category of interest to future knife enthusiasts. It made too many waves, of all sorts, for it to then easily fade away into history. I hope Lynn Thompson eventually comes out with a full story Cold Steel book someday that covers it's beginnings to his sale of the company. If he gets some professional assistance in putting such a book together, I could see it being a great resource for present day enthusiasts, and for posterity. It would be a great addition in helping others understand that four decade long history of Lynn Thompson's Cold Steel.
 
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