Is Cold Steel Still The Same?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 31 ก.ค. 2024
- Since GSM acquired Cold Steel, we have been flooded with questions like, "Is Cold Steel still the same?" Today we answer that for you.
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I think that cold steel is still awesome! As well as offering new products and getting more into bushcraft and usability. As a wood carver I use my cold steels all the time! I beat the hell out of my 4 max. Blade retention on the s35vn is still great! Easy to sharpen too!
The chopper not sinking into the wood hard-cutting to it positioned perfectly in the wood might be the funniest thing I’ve ever seen. 😂
Haha wtf that is sad
Nuff said
I think our buy just needs to work on his cutting/chopping skills lol.
lol. Could probably use a regrind 😂
Well it's designed by Jimi Slash, for Jimi Slash. It takes a Jimi Slash to wield it and get the correct results. The "strength" of the wielder is a big part of the equation.
This was a really well filmed commercial
Yes, except where that Jimi Slash Chopper bounced off the log barely skinning the bark.
I was thinking the same. Not a lot of arguments towards the main topic.
I disagree. The grinds are off on the cmp 3v trail master, Lynn would never have allowed that!. Their knives are not razor sharp out of the box either anymore, and they're more expensive too!
I also agree that this was a 5 minute GSM advertisement....
Shouldn't there be a "paid promotion" disclaimer at the start of this ad?
I'm not paying $200 for Aus 10!
What knife is that??
dont buy off the cold steel site, everything is on sale through distributors
or even more for 4034
"this chopper"
*Doesn't chop*
🤣
Saw that!!
Guess Cold Steel sales are down and they decided they needed an ad....
100% agree
Maybe had they treated their customers a little better they would not need this commercial.
LOL how much did GSM pay for this ad
😂 does your dumbass really think bladehq needs GSM to pay their bills....
What a stupid comment you made
likely A LOT
Knowing what I have learned the hard way about GSM, I'd wager they have something on him.
@@4449Johnwhat experiences or nuggets of knowledge can you share on gsm? Im intrigued and boycott happy lately 😂 I'm just looking for a reason to cut off more shitty companies.
Easy money. 🤑💰💲
Ill never forget the day my buddy walked into work with a Recon Tanto in his pocket. I think half of us went out and bought a cold steel because of that. We were the best armed Lowes store this side of the Mississippi.
Oh, they're the same people that bought SOG! I never realized. Makes perfect sense, though.
Only difference I’ve noticed is that their quality control is a bit lacking now. I’ve bought a knife since the buyout and it was missing screws on the scales.
Hunh, YOU got a GOOD one!
Yeah, one of my knives came with a dent on the cutting edge. It just took me that one time to never buy from them again. Except maybe for the competition cutting sword. That I do have my eyes on and the pocket knives with the triad lock are good like the sr1 light
You are making this ad as if GSM has a gun pointed at your head.
LOL 🤣
100% it seems that way lol
No mention of CS knives sets at Walmart for 20$... that's something I didn't see happening when Thompson was the owner. Looks like Ali-Express knives rebranded to me. I see SOG is releasing something similar in quality under their name and I see the dots connecting.
Yeah, im sure that board of directors is gonna prioritize quality and affordability over profits. Thats what usually happens i think.... Super stoked to see how great the cold steel bear Grylls knife will be.
Maybe someone should tell GSM that the people with SOG products would appreciate some customer support, like sheaths, warranty service and replacement parts.
WHY? They have no customer service for Cold Steel either. They get an item sold and promise a warranty and support, but when it comes time to honor any of it, they snake their way out of it on a technicality. Just try and leave a less than glowing review on their website, they will pull some obscure rule out of their corporate culo and say better luck next time.
I remember as a teenager in 2000 walking into a surplus store and buying my first coldsteel knife, an srk in aus8 with cash I had saved up from working for local farmers. Today as a well driller, an sr1 lite clip point is in my pocket everyday. In my honest opinion, GSM is continuing the legacy
They are still good I have the SRK SK5 full size. I don't think you can get a better fixed blade for 40 bucks. I have a fin wolf made before the transfer and a 4 max made after and they are both the same amazing quality. I have a recon tanto in VG1 the oldest and once again totally sick.
No GSM is not carrying on the legacy, if you've ever had to try to deal with their version of customer service you would know that
D-Ridder comment.
Dude was out there sucking off the Farmers for quarters and that's why it took so long for him to save up to buy a pocketknife.
I'm begining to think there's a lot of older stock still floating around. Most of mine are made in Taiwan and are nice with no manufacturing defects or durability issues. The SRK is the only chinese made one I have. I've seen people break the C model pretty easy. I haven't beat on my srk yet. I'm thinking qsp will move more manufacturing to the mainland like its other brands have. I'm saying in my comments I haven't witnessed a complete collapse yet.
If you don't live in the USA it's way overpriced for the materials used. Also their qc is lacking.
Yes they are still the same, but now some items are hard to find or discontinued 😢
No, they aren't the same. Their quality has gone down in the newly made models made by GSM. They use budget steel on some models and try and sell it for a premium price like on the razor tek. Just go look at joe x he called them out.
@@javiergarza8626 ALWAYS watch joex before buying a knife. He’s the reason i decided to get an ESEE 6 over an SRK or Becker
Come on! Do not fool us. It is undeniable that the quality is not the same and the price increased since GSM.
Many models have worse geometry (current Master Hunter is not longer slicey).
More and more knives are made from trash 4034 steel instead of AUS-10A or AUS-8A or atleast 4116 Cryo.
The comment section of this video says no. I say an era ended when Lynn Thompson sold it and that era can never be reproduced again.
A 7.5 CTS XHP - DLC Espada can never be duplicated at the price it was originally or even commiserated at todays dollar exchange as with all the old discontinued models.
They just aren't as good a company after GSM bought them... to bad Lynn needed the money
You have NO idea what you're talking about you are an amateur.
Yep they're customer service and quality control are so far below what the original Cold steel was
@@knighthawk3759 Wow, and I thought it was just me thinking that.
Pretty sure he had no need of money. Old and tired more like. Lugging all that weight around would be very tiring! Life threatening, actually :-/
Doubt he needed money, more like he wanted to finally retire from the game.
Wow, I just spent 4mins watching an ad.
Well, Still buying the new Arcangel anyway. vOv
Where are you buying an archangel at, thought they discontinued.
Just bought a cold steel hideout and am returning due to poor quality, see channel for proof did a video just last week about it.
They are NOT THE SAME ! Knives are not as sharp in many models and I got one that the lock doesn’t engage
i've seen one review and a handful of complaints about a few existing products being brittle due to bad heat treatment. In fairness that concerned specific fixed blade models made in china specifically, and could be due to a single bad batch carbon steel or something like that. Otherwise they've done things like partnering with jimislash and bringing back the Talwar, which I love. I also do like alot of what SOG is doing as well.
So for me it's been mostly good, the good thing is Cold Steel knives aren't so expensive that I can't afford one or two lemons to find out if GSM is doing a good job.
I'd say they are mostly still the same
But their new customer service is garbage and they discontinued certain knives and brought back others. But overall. They are the same
Great video, really enjoyed that 👍🏻
That's easy, yes they changed. I have 2 recon 1 knives and the handle has changed, blade material changed and quality has declined.
Makes sense if you do not think about it. I have dealt with Cold Steel since 1996 they are still great. You offer nothing by way of fact. Cannot take your comment seriously.
@LonestarTaoboy so the fact the handle scales have changed, the blade material went from CTS-XHP to S35vn And older blades can't be put in the new handles even though they are the exact same model.
@@Macgyver46 I tried too to put the new s35v blade on an old handle. I don't like the new handle. Not possible.
The change from CTS-XHP to S35vn happened before GSM acquired the company, and was arguably an upgrade in materials, definitely not a downgrade. Nothing you said quantifies a decrease in QC.
@Macgyver46 they switched steel years before GSM took over. And their heat treat on XHP wasn't great. Brittle steel that broke chunks off left and right. Lost count on how many XHP blades I saw lose a big chunk out of them. S35vn has great edge retention and is tougher, like what you buy a cold steel knife for.
That sword swing though. 😂
If you think cold steel is the same after the GSM sale you are smoking something crazy
If anything, they’ve improved. They are still unapologetic about their “controversial” marketing and continue to create new “pocket swords” that can cut a hog corpse in half with one blow. And regarding quality, their S35VN heat treat is top notch & every knife I’ve gotten from them (from the Taiwan factory) has been perfect.
You have NO idea what you're talking about you are an amateur.
Indeed. I only buy the *ORIGINAL CS* products. I held two of the GSN pieces. Sorry. Not sorry. You can't beat the original.
How are the Espada’s a practical EDC? They are humongous knives, or as some call them, “pocket swords.”
Absolutely ridiculously and obnoxiously large knives that are not practical at all and the marketing videos are stupid as well.
Who seriously hangs a pig head from hooks and then proceeds to chop it in half? I’ll tell you who? Idiots and people who pretend that they are ninjas.
I have bought over 30 cold steel knives and since they sold I’ve bought 2 or 3 and they definitely seemed like they were made in a different factory. Different fit and finish for sure and just not the same quality in my opinion. Still great designs and decent knives just not the same.
I bought my first cold steel 30 yrs ago.a carbon 5 recon tanto it still works just fine.
I was satisfied that GSM gave me a replacement of SR1 Lite after me having 1 year of the knife. I love my Cold Steel collection and it's been a fun ride.
I'm going to be honest, whether it's BladeHQ themselves slipping up with handling inspections or Cold Steel slipping up on quality control, I ended up getting a 5Max recently and some things were immediately apparent before I even used it at all. Scuffing on the side of the blade, chipping in several spots on the cutting edge, and the liners themselves have lots of random "pitting" marks showing they didn't even do the minimum in sanding those edges to be smooth. I'll add it's also not centered, which I don't really hark on Cold Steel for that too much usually and it had one of the easiest tri ad lock disengaging I've ever had with them meaning they made the back spring tension lighter. I got a signature series Tilite and it's essentially what I'd expect from Cold Steel and the liner for it is smoothed out all around as compared to the 5Max feeling like the liners are unfinished. It's small details, but I DO think under this new ownership they're slipping up on quality control a bit.
I use a old steel srk-c as my everyday carry at work, it's been fantastic. I abuse it every day and it's still going
I bought a Recon 1 under Lynn's ownership and it arrived supper sharp and well-built.. I recently bought a Mini Recon 1 with AUS 10 and I can't tell a difference. Razor sharp out of the box and AUS 10 holds a good edge. I think they are in good hands. I'm excited what they will be doing with Camillus.
The Jimi Slash chopper won't work if you limp wrist it like a person apt to limp wrist things; @ 2:20 .
Gotta disagree with the care and attention as far as SOG goes. Bought a multitool that was bent out of the box.
Always looked at them as a weapon knife company. Which many of their stuff were featured in films/ cinema.
That's exactly why I love their knives lol! Weapons first( majority of them), tools second.
Can confirm that after GSM the SRK is a shell of its former self.
Me as well tri - lock has never let me down ever I have broken the blades on cold steel knifes but never ever any lock that they have made. I got the cold sticker on my van people know what I have. I get a lot of people come close up to the rear of my van and see cold decal then they back way off as I drive down the highway. Awesome company stick man still demonstrates how tough they are.
The ad10 is my by far my favorite.
My absolute favorite is the Voyager Vaquero XL serrated. But I never sharpen it. Is only for self-defense.
I have one. Need another!!
I just got an sr1 lite and it's so sick. I like it just as much as my demko mg ad20 and that's saying a lot.
That SR1 Lite is maybe their best deal in that price range, I have two and LOVE them, and have gifted one as well. Be careful with the pocket clips, two of mine broke, I think they were too brittle for some reason. I could not get new ones from GSM/CS so went with aftermarket titanium replacements; best idea I ever had.
Haven’t bought any CS knives lately. I have some from the early years from the Voyagers to the SRK and Master Hunter with Carbon V steel. I also have the stockman pocket knife in Carbon V and a Peace Keeper among a few others. Never had any issues with any of them.
Recently got a ti lite kriss 4 inch and 6 inch serrated kris and a serrated spartan, all have excellent grinds and have held up through some gnarly stuff..
These were from midway and Chicago knife works
Bought a long handle wakizashi, blade was like it was half-assed sharpened with a brick. Bought my first one in the 80's before deployment. And many since. Won't be buying any more.
I have a Cold Steel Verdict and i really like it but find the 4116 steel is hard to sharpen because it doesnt want to form a bur on the edge.With my worksharp i need to form a bur and then go to the fine grit belt.
lyn would never let a company disgrace cold steel. iam sure he’s still very much involved with it
As a general rule of life.. I don't take knife advice from a man without a beard.
Any advice actually ...
a wise policy...
Cold steel knives look like mall ninja stuff.
I have the Kyoto tanto. Great fixed blade!
The original mall ninja company. Love the commercials.
Back before Lynn Thompson sold it the Gurkha kukri plus was 300 bucks and for no reason whatsoever with no improvement they upped the price to $700.
They need to bring back the two handed machete.
Their New Verdict is overpriced for Aus10.
Gonna be honest, I was just at Smokey Mountain Knife Works and I handled a couple Cold Steels...they sorta felt like good knock offs of Cold Steel instead of Cold Steel. My brother also agreed and he never really felt one way or the other about it beforehand 🤷♂️
I wish I could get a replacement thumb stud for my SR1. I broke it by monkeying with it with Loctite and unscrewing it without heating first... entirely my fault...but can I find a replacement thumb stud? Nope. Any ideas?
I lost the thumbstud on my Recon 1 and just took a small copper pin and peened it into the stud-hole...certainly looks rustic, however I like the unique look and works great.
Maybe write to SnaggleTooth LLC and talk to Rob, he may be able to hook you up. I use his openers on most of my Cold Steel knives, metal ones, not delrin, and they are great.
eBay! They're there
Yea glad i have almost every discontinued model I wanted with those pre gsm logos.
They don’t make knew blade knife with tri ad lock anymore beside the max5
I love Lynn Thompson and Cold Steel. I hope they come out with amazing new blades in the future!
Are they the same...maybe. I saw in the listing of the other companies owned buy this one SOG, and i can say there are 2 different sogs...the higher quality and the walmart one...i hope that never happens to CS.
Cold Steel is great. I don’t hate GSM. I do not like the coatings they use on most of the new models. I mean come on, the black stone wash just doesn’t seem good enough for the knives they put it on! And the gray on the espadas and recons in red isn’t much better.
My problems has been with website and customer communication. I to order a knife at s discount with the free sharpener. Could not get the site toy order. After several tries the offer went away. Emailed and told what happened, crickets, no response at all.
I had a " notify me when available" on the Scottish Dirk, received an email that it was available. Went to the site and tried to order richt away.
No way to order it - either they screwed up sending the notice or don't keep the website current. Sent an wth email and sgain no answer. If you do order something and receive it then they are right there wanting a review.
The website says they "love to hear from you", but apparently it is one way only.
Website finally caught up to my email notice and I have my knife on order.
I didn’t know about Cold Steel until I started getting into knives more seriously this past year and my first purchase was a SRK San Mai and a Recon Tanto San Mai after watching some Russian guy on TH-cam (I forgot the name of the channel) absolutely obliterate both of them with a torture test. Both knives did really well and I was sold on them, particularly for the price. I’ve since purchased a couple more Cold Steel knives and love them especially for the price they sell for.
Short answer no. I've gotten 4 knives since the change over and there's 0 difference. I also can contact Stick directly if i have an issue. I can't say that for any other company. The main guy will take care of the customer personally.
15+ years ago, I bought a Recon 1 as my daily driver. I'm in the Navy, and at sea that blade was a reliable, heavy-duty beast. I could confidently lend it to a fellow Sailor, and not have to worry about if it'd break or get damaged. While I don't use it anymore, I still have it, and it's a found memory and very sentimental now.
I own 9 cold steel blades c it’s an informed opinion.
Cold Steel rocks... Bought my first knife from them (a tanto with a brass guard) 40 years ago.
i have a recon 1 tanto. had it for years. absolute tank of a knife. i think i paid 130 at the time. incredible happy with it. would buy it again if ever needed(doubt i will ever need to). also have a steel tiger. unnecessary knife but its cool and another tank of a knife. if i needed to trust my life to cold steel knives, i would👍🏻
I only own pre GSM cs stuff. Their machetes and tomahawks are great. Aus8 steel is just disappointing to me now as it dulls after a couple cuts. I only have 3 cold steel folders now.
I really like my Engage in S35vn. Well made and affordable... It's another CS keeper for me.
22 months i had to wait on my return Rajah-ll 😂 GSM
Soon gsm will buy blade hq I’m just making a prediction, he may as well be making an ad for them right now
I did some last minute frenzy shopping of older Cold Steel models I didn't already have, right after the sale to GSM to snag the older stock, and get ahead of any problems. A lot of people were laid off and they lost Andrew Demko, which is less than good. Some cheaper handle material choices might not be as good and there are some complaints about how GSM handles after purchase things like warranties, but it's not something I've had to deal with.
GSM really needs to stop putting random holes into throwing knives , the hurlbat Templar thrower was so great now they've turned it into a Swiss cheese toy that's sure to break
The products are still cold steel, for sure. Still good knives at good prices (for the most part.) I'd rather cold steel be sold than put out of business, but it's still sad to see mergers
3:28
Only knife brand I recognize in there is SOG, which has to be some of the crappiest knives out there.
Cold Steel's XL Folding Knife is an Excellent Combat Folding Knife
I own multiple CS knives from before and after the change of ownership. There is a difference. They're still not that bad for the money but they're not as good as they used to be.
I haven't seen any decline. I hear a lot about customer service at GSM being poor. Thankfully I haven't need to contact them.
You are fortunate indeed.
Great video, thank you for putting this together.
I had a cold steel knife. It lost its edge the first time I used it. I spent horns trying to put an edge back on it. And was able to. in my personal opinion. Cold steel knives aren't worth buying.
I've bought new cold steel and the only difference that I've noticed is the logo is a bit different.
I just came here for the swords
Give us 5 max scout in Aus10a Cold Steel!!!
I like cold steel a lot
I think they got skinny meaning they gsm changed a lot of shit just look at a 4 max scout before and after the blade grind is different and that’s just one change I’ve noticed I think the heat treatment is different across all Taiwan made knives that said they do have an American made fixed blade which is a good sign and they have a knife in Magnacut so I like what there doing with some knives
They're
I have four or five pre-GSM cold steel products. I love them. I have four or five post-GSM products. I love them.
🤷 seem the same to me.
Try dealing with their customer service also try to convince them that their quality control is way off when you're dealing with customer service
@@knighthawk3759 I have not had to deal with their Customer Service. 🤷
"Titanic" strength? Ominous...
Yeah, that gave me a giggle too. At least he didn't say iconic, yawn.
Didn't the Titanic sink partly because of bad steel?
@@lisakozlowski4057 Yeah sort of, that and a piss poor choice of turning to port instead of allowing a head on impact. At worse, a head on would have damaged maybe two watertight compartments, instead of the 4 or 5 they tore open. She'd probably have stayed afloat that way, or at least taken a lot longer to sink.
Do the same testing as b4 then ill buy
3v steel for under a hundred bucks? Sign me up!
Ive bought several new models from cold steel since the takeover... Ive had zero issues and theyve still been ridiculously sharp out of the box.
Whatever happened to the "inferno Pepper spray " the best stuff out there back in the day!
Yup ,she go cousin
GSMs warranty service is crap, I've been waiting two months for RMA
If gsm didnt put money first it wouldnt be a conglomerate, it was sold to just another major corporation it's not the same anymore.
I love Cold Steel knives.
I am a Cold Steel fan.
I just received a Mini Tac Bowie style neck knife.
The handle has smashed spots and the "laser etching" is not. Possible fake, but I've ordered many from Amazon and they're all good. I don't think its a fake, I think its a second or possibly didn't pass QC. This doesn't make me think great things about GSM, and this obviously paid for ad didnt help.
Im still gonna keep buying their knives because im late to the party but i love the fact that the original founder Lynn Thompson is a practicing martial artist and theres a martial aspect to the whole concept of Cold Steel.
Please dont ruin this for us GSM. Ill say that Keith seems like a good guy, seems honest. 👍🔪🗡️🇺🇸
My advice for GSM is to bring back the old recon scout. I loved that knife.
You mean the old Recon Scout that was made in USA with Carbon V Steel? Not going to happen. I don't know what rock you have been living under but none of Cold Steel knives are made in USA anymore. Haven't been for almost two decades.
@@LXT43 I have not been " under a rock". I am unfortunately very aware of manufacturing circumstances. Just saying, I wish it was back.
Agree real knives for real use. Not just cool hipsters flipping.