Why do knife snobs hate Cold Steel??

[45Shooter]

I don't hate them at all. And I really don't care how they promote their knives. The simple fact, though, is that the steels aren't good enough, the price is too high, Lynn is fat, and the designs are too mall ninja. Pretty hard to get around those things.

The steels aren't good enough - how good does a steel have to be to open a box or an envelope or cut rope or twine? Which probably all the use 80-90% of knives actually get out of the kitchen.

The price is too high - if your'e talking msrp you are 100% right but who the hell pays msrp for anything? A little surfing will get you about 30 to 50% off anything.

Lynn is fat - why is that such a horrible sin or even relevant? Other than the fact that it's practically the last acceptable prejudice.

Too mall ninja - some designs may be a leetle over the top but most of that is because they build big and paint it black and call it tactical. Most of their designs look pretty traditional to me under the paint. Why don't we hear constant mall ninja cries on Strider? Oh, that's right - because they paint tiger stripes on nightmare grind s30v super steel and charge $600 for their folders

 

[A.P.F.]

Why do knife snobs hate Cold Steel?? Because they can.

Sure, most of the time I have a Spyderco or a Buck on me, but I thoroughly enjoy my CS knives...because I can.

 

[45Shooter]

And by the way, a lot of us think the potential of knives as weapons shouldn't be mentioned because they're such lousy weapons.

Are you really serious? Knives, swords (long knives) and spears (knife on a stick) were the primary weapons of mankind for over five thousand years. Certainly they were rendered obsolescent by firearms but not obsolete. Nobody says they should be your primary choice today but what if you aren't allowed a pistol? Even today, most blades under 3 inches are legal most places and I'd much rather have that than be empty handed if confronted by a firearm at close quarters with no opportunity to run and a realistic fear of being shot.

 

[Leadfoot2]

Yes, he was serious

I find that Thompson has a serious lack of class, over priced and of inferior quality,
anyone of the three is enough for me to not buy his product.



Leadfoot

 

[allyourblood]

It seems that liking Cold Steel products is akin to being a Raiders fan, the haters just line up and those who like them just do.

I have equal dislike for all football teams.

But seriously, Cold Steel is alright. They're silly, abrasive, maybe even irresponsible at times. Ultimately, they make some good knives and at least lately, they don't seem to be stealing competitor's designs or stomping on long-established trademarks. They vaguely bash their competitors, but they can't be all bad: they sell Spyderco's Sharpmaker directly from their website. :thumbup:

 

[AKC]

Yes, he was serious

I find that Thompson has a serious lack of class, over priced and of inferior quality,
anyone of the three is enough for me to not buy his product.



Leadfoot

I agree wholeheartedly, and this from someone who has been around CS since it's inception. The initial ideals lasted about 14:59. It's all smoke and mirrors now, and I don't want to be a part of it, never have.

 

[Planterz]

I hate Cold Steel, not because they're a polarizing company, but because - being that they are a polarizing company - threads like this get started over and over and over and resurrected for no damn good reason just when you were finally enjoying the silence of no "why all the Cold Steel hate" discussions.

That and they steal designs. And their over-the-top marketing gives sane knife enthusiasts a bad rap. And Lynn Thompson is a fat poopy-head.

 

[hardheart]

LT's weight really has no place in the discussion, unless we want to start throwing some other names out there. Knifemaking and/or running a knife company are not exactly good cardio workouts. It doesn't matter. Blade and SHOT show pics would drive a lot of companies and makers out of business if it did.

 

[Chris_Himself]

Their knives work.. or so I've heard.

They just don't speak to me actually, they feel alright in the hand but it's an American company that makes it's bread and butter from overseas labor and manufacturing... CRKT is in the same boat so it's not like I just rag on CS

 

[:IV:]

Why do knife snobs hate Cold Steel?? Because they can.

Thanks for generalizing everyone's reason to one solid answer. I should get you to speak for me all the time.

I dislike cold steel because they don't make anything I would buy. That's it.
Their knives don't appeal to me. They're too large for everyday EDC and most of them resemble something you'd use in a zombie invasion. Not to mention the fact that they're pushing knives and swords as weapons rather than tools of the trade, which doesn't do much for the community in terms of reputation with the anti-knife sheeple of the world.

 

[singularity35]

Thanks for generalizing everyone's reason to one solid answer. I should get you to speak for me all the time.

I dislike cold steel because they don't make anything I would buy. That's it.
Their knives don't appeal to me. They're too large for everyday EDC and most of them resemble something you'd use in a zombie invasion. Not to mention the fact that they're pushing knives and swords as weapons rather than tools of the trade, which doesn't do much for the community in terms of reputation with the anti-knife sheeple of the world.

You can just not buy but haters gonna hate....

 

[hardheart]

Their knives don't appeal to me. They're too large for everyday EDC and most of them resemble something you'd use in a zombie invasion.

the Tuff lite, medium Voyagers, medium Espada, Rajah 3, mini Lawman, mini AK-47, mini Recons, and micro Recons are too large?

You must really hate Kabar with their ZK line.

 

[:IV:]

the Tuff lite, medium Voyagers, medium Espada, Rajah 3, mini Lawman, mini AK-47, mini Recons, and micro Recons are too large?

You must really hate Kabar with their ZK line.

No, they fit the example of my second reason, although the mini Recon might end up being my first Cold Steel if it works out as well as people hope it will.

I also don't hate any knife, really. I just dislike the style for my personal preferences. I wouldn't buy a Ka-Bar ZK any more than I'd buy any machete because I'd never use it. I'm not the guy those blades are made for.

 

[SVRIDER1]

I have a spyderco with aus 8a made in Taiwan does that make it junk? I remember when we looked at aus8a as a step up from all the other knives we had years ago. Priced too high, I don't feel that, I got my recon 1 for 48. Also for argument sake I work in a place where you can not carry a gun or anything else other than pepperspray...what other options do people like me have( just for a quick background I carry a knife for utility, I use it every single day and no I am technically not allowed to bring it into the city.) I can guarantee you that anything in my hands is going to quickly turn into a weapon if need be. I know this is absolutely going to incite some rage from the forumites who wish to cater to the sheeples unreasonable fear of inanimate objects but here it goes anyway, I DON'T GIVE A DAMN WHAT PEOPLE THINK OF THE SIZE, COLOR, STYLE OF MY KNIFE. As for this not being the right place for this discussion was that to mean bladeforums in general because I believe there is a prac tac subforum so I think this knife forum caters to all type of discussion cutlery based....kitchen or warzone.

 

[J. Hoffman]

The middle-aged mall ninja in shorts is one of the main reasons I'll never buy another CS product.

 

[Ankerson]

LT's weight really has no place in the discussion, unless we want to start throwing some other names out there. Knifemaking and/or running a knife company are not exactly good cardio workouts. It doesn't matter. Blade and SHOT show pics would drive a lot of companies and makers out of business if it did.

I doubt it really matters what most of the people on BF think about CS since BF is a very small part of the knife community in general, more like a grain of sand in a desert.....

In the end it's a big wide world out there and CS sells a lot of knives and has for well over 20 years now.

 

[JoeLan]

I buy whatever knives I like or turn me on. I have nothing but good experiences with Cold Steel knives! :thumbup:

I agree : buy what you like and that's it ...

My opinion is that CS knives are good ... altough I think some model are sometimes too expensive ...
However, I don't like the CS "marketing" videos where people are slicing/stabbing big pieces of meat ... It's out of place ...

 

[1234]

I hate Cold Steel, not because they're a polarizing company, but because - being that they are a polarizing company - threads like this get started over and over and over and resurrected for no damn good reason just when you were finally enjoying the silence of no "why all the Cold Steel hate" discussions.

That and they steal designs. And their over-the-top marketing gives sane knife enthusiasts a bad rap. And Lynn Thompson is a fat poopy-head.

I´m 1234 , and I approve that message.

1234,,,,,,

 

[Samael]

I doubt it really matters what most of the people on BF think about CS since BF is a very small part of the knife community in general, more like a grain of sand in a desert.....

In the end it's a big wide world out there and CS sells a lot of knives and has for well over 20 years now.

While I "mostly" agree with you, click on the SiteMeter icon at the bottom left of this page sometime. I think you'll be very surprised.

 

[jakemex]

I agree : buy what you like and that's it ...

My opinion is that CS knives are good ... altough I think some model are sometimes too expensive ...
However, I don't like the CS "marketing" videos where people are slicing/stabbing big pieces of meat ... It's out of place ...

at least the meat is donated to a good cause... it's just not hacked into nice neat filet mignon