Hi guys,
I have been reading your very helpfull posts for some time and until now I didn't had a chace to direct a question to you.
I got a question related to Cold Steel knives, a friend of mine had one some time ago, and it looked fine, but no serious work was putted on it. Now surfing the web I found their page and what they say about their product almost sound too good to be true. So my question is: those knives worth the money? or it is just marketing?
Thanks + Regards
Alejandro
PS: I almost forgot it I'm looking for a good knive, not that kind of movie / tactical thing.

I have a variety of Cold Steel knives. They aren't "WUNDERKNIVES" but they are good knives (esp. for the price).
gino <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Personally I think if youre really going to beat up your knives (like I do) then it is all about the steel. So far my favorite is the relatively new S30V. Benchmade, Buck and a few others have a couple of S30V blades on the market. I go for RC 58+ on almost all my knives these days regardless of the material. Of course fixed blades take a beating better than folders and full tangs take beating betting than other fixed blades.

I bought my first fixed blade knife just before my last camping trip, a Buck Vanguard. When learning how to split wood by batoning, it snapped right off at the base of the tang after about 10 minutes. I was quite surprised at how narrow the tang was! I've since decided that a survival knife has to have more of a tang- not sure what it's called, but I'd call it a "full handle" tang, where the tang is the full outline of the handle, and the handle is basically two pieces on either side.

Mentioning the 'K' word in this forum is like putting two wire coat hangers or rabbits together. Before we hit another 100+ post count let me make a few simple observations. The cutlery industry today has a mind boggling selection of steels, treatments, handle materials, sheaths and patterns. With few exceptions they all do a decent job of what should be a very simple operation. A knife does little else than sever various fibers; cellulose in wood, cells in animals and all to often pieces of paper in our wallets. Theres a lot of effort in severing that last item. It's called marketing. Cold Steel markets some decent knives with rather indecent hype. Nothing wrong with that, even nurserymen have to hard sell steer manure sometimes. Your best served by A. making a list of what you want in a knife. B. what you don't. C. what you can afford to spend. It's always fun to invest in a knife with all the dream materials, dimensions and features we envision as 'perfect.' It's a lot more fun to have a knife that does the job with money left over to actually go where that job is waiting <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Goatrider:

I hope you sent the knife back for a free replacement. Unless you were batoning with a metal hammer, I think they should honor the quality their name implies.

Bountyhunter

I didn't want a free replacement, I don't have any confidence in the design after that. Was it bad heat treating or a bad design? Or both? Fortunately, it was only a few days since I bought it, the store let me return it.

I don't know much about metalurgy (does anybody?), but there was a strip of blue metal in the tang, about 1/2 inch from the base. Kind of the color you get when you hold something to the bench grinder a little too long. The metal towards the blade was brighter, towards the pommel was greyer. It would seem to me they tried to differentially heat treat it, with the pommel softer and tougher, and the blade harder and more brittle. But the crossover point should have been on the blade, not on the tang. But there was also an obvious stress point at the base of the tang, and that's where it broke. So, I think it broke because of both bad heat treating and a bad design.

It's all right, I am an engineer. Well, actually, a software engineer, but this is my lunch hour.

Cold Steel makes some darned good knives, but you might want to try going to bladeforums.com or knifeforums.com and taking a look at their maufacturers forums and seeing what each one of them has to say. They are biased, but there is a wealth of info there.

hope it helps,

Garrett

If I may add to Chris’ response, I think you ought to add a D) and E) as well.

D) Fit to your hand. I bought a Becker Knife & Tool Companion because the big handles fit my hand well. I can hold that thing all day without my hands tiring too much. That same knife that fit my hand so well gathers dust in my closet because it is too bulky to comfortably carry on my leg or hip. There are other knives (read bigger) that attach well to a pack, but I’d still want a smaller knife on my person. That doesn’t negate the importance of how the knife fits your hand.

E) Method of carry. It is of no use if it isn’t on your body. How will you carry it; around your neck, on your hip, your leg, lashed to a pack. That Becker fit my hand well, but as stated above, it’s gathering dust because I don’t like how it carry’s.

There are hundreds of knife makers that sell fine products (CS, included). If I were you I’d focus on: what it will be cutting, how it fits your hand, how much you can spend (and it need not be a month’s rent), and how you intend to carry it. Pretty much in that order. Then worry about steel, brand, and if you want a satin, epoxy, or desert camo finish.

Biscuits

Knives are one of those loaded questions people are very passionate about. At the end of the day a rusty tuna can lid can cut cord and skin a rabbit etc...

That being said, the way I see it is "generally" the more you pay for a knife the more you get "to a point" and that point is at the $100 range anything after that the price goes up quickly and the quality lags behind the price the higher it gets.

As said the steels and options are mind bending and one needs to do their homework to get what suites them.

I look for utility, size, durabiltity, sharpening ease, edge holding, comfort and manufacturer warranty. Its about trade offs and what you are willing to trust your life with potentially.

CS make decent knives for a good price in my experience with 2 models.

Flip