Thoughts on Steel Warrior and other Frost Knives
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ย. 2024
- I've been accused of heaping undue hate Steel Warrior due to my thoughts on a few of the knives in their line. I thought I was just being honest but prehaps I'm biased. I figured I'd look a wider selection of Frost knives and give you my thoughts. I'll probably follow it up later with some of the knives that left a bitter taste in my mouth. But for now...
Just realized the intro was repeated. Sorry about that! At least it was short.
Tobias Gibson good points are worth repeating
Do you collect marbles knifes .they are very good knifes for what they cost and they come very sharp .I think marble knifes are a step a bove frost and maybe roughrider knifes .but I really do like roughrider and frost .great video and please be safe .
After admitting all their flaws and problems, I think Frost stands out as the leader in making really *happy* knives.
That's a good way to put it.
Yes indeed...Cutlery Corner got me back into buying and collection knives!! Great video Tobias!
I am one of those that started with Frost knives. Back in late 90's early 2000's I got into traditional patterns by buying as many as I could from SMKW . Back then most of them where made in Japan and some of them where good enough quality that I still like them today. If I remember right about 2004 Frost began to have them made in Pakistan and the quality went way down. So I stopped buying them. Now Frost has several brands made in Pakistan, China and even Germany. I have found that if I make sure it is not made in Pakistan It is probably a pretty nice knife. I would say that today Frost's better brands are as good as Rough Rider. Some of the better brands are Steel Warrior, Caliber, Mustang USA, Crowing Rooster, Frost Family, Bull Dog and Ocoee River.
I really love the Crowing Rooster brand! Wish Frost would use them as the quality standard for All of their knives!
That copperlock is very original with its locking mechanism. I need to pick one up. Thanks for showing it.
My dad always used the cheap knives for prying or what ever he wanted, always had a buck 110 leather sheath with the snap, he would tuck a little cheapy in with it, that was his edc, thanks for sharing
Great video Tobias. I remember many a night watching the Cutlery Corner knife show on TV. Never bought one, but it was something knife related to watch when I didn't have TH-cam, or the internet. I prefer Rough Ryder's. The only Frost knife I have is a small green wood handle lock back that used to be my father's.
I have actually only made on purchase from Cutlery Corner Network and that was done purely as an experiment. But I have to say their are several Michael Prater Knives they’ve been showing lately that have me almost picking up the phone!
Spent many nights before the time of You Tube watching Cutlery Corner I really like RR as well 🗡️
I'd buy that for a dollar (Robocop)Great walk and talk on the Sunfish knife.
the $12 fixed blade is more than enough knife to handle most uses, and the sheath looks sufficiently well built to be useful. The jigging on the blue handle scale i actually prefer to most other jigging pattern, esp. buckshot that has too many holes. The green crocodile bone Congress is beautiful. love the sheepsfoot on it. also good to know it has a half stop
I started collecting Frost knives over 30 yrs. ago. Some are Parker-Frost, some are Frost Cutlery and I have one lone Steel Warrior little toothpick.
Another informative show.
I guess I'll have to start looking for those patterns I want to try but can't find elsewhere.
Thanks again for the great info!
I love the Chawctaw one of my favorite patterns also really like the Green Bone on the bird and trout knife ✌️
On the secondary market you can get some really nice knives that Frost made with Jim Parker in the 80's & 90's. These knives: Parker/Frost, Parker/Imai, Imai and Parker/ Eagle. These were made in Japan and sold for more than Frost knives. I've seen these on ebay for 50 to 70$ or even more. If someone knows more about the Frost Parker relationship please post your info.
MrRebus777, the Parker, Frost, and Pipes family are all friends and may even share some of the Gene pool with each other. Jim Frost and Kevin Pipes (owner of SMKW) are actually good friends and fishing buddies. The Parker family have had relatives working for both Pipes and Frost at one time.
I know this is an older video, but my take on Frost is they're a good company to have around. I like the Buck 110 style of knife, and a company like Frost makes almost a dozen knives similar to it in a variety of handles all for shoestring budget cost. It'll never be as good as the real Buck of course, but its nice to have the options without breaking bank. That plus they have a bunch of off the wall knives that are hardly practical like the Commanche Bigfoot, but that are so much fun to collect and handle.
I really dig that red Sunfish with the blade etching too. I have a Canyon Creek sunfish in white smoothbone with the exact same blade etch.
When I was young I bought a lot of Frost knives some how I always managed to brake them,but I do like the design of that Chawktaw.
Toby, I bought my share of knives from Cutlery Corner, years ago. I avoided the tactical style knives and stuck with their traditional lines. Fell away from Frost when Rough Rider/Ryder came out.
That being said, my favorite pocket carry, now, is a Frost branded 4.5 inch Beaver Creek Stockman.
I have several Frost fixed blades made in Japan in the 90s. I think they're good knives and I've put them to hard use for years. They've held up very well.
Love that MOP, I have a MOP Swiss Army knife, my first Butterfly Knife was was a Frost from 1982, still have it.
A decade or more ago, I started doing some dumb things, started buying knives on TV from Cutlery Network; all the usual suspects were present. I realize its not acceptable behavior to speak ill of the dead, and that same person and his minions may have done a lot to get people into collecting knives, but they sold a lot of marginal knives in the process; mostly to unsuspecting newbies. I know, I've been looking at what I was sold, and over half have issues and about a third have outright defects, a couple dangerously so. A few are nice however, but the best FROST KNIFE in my collection is not as nice as my worst looking Rough Rider. That was back before I knew about TH-cam and such. I've learned a lot watching a few of the channels on here, Tobias, yours most of all. Thank You!
I think Frost did improve over the years but I will also be the first to admit that much of the stuff he was selling 10-15 years ago was complete trash, especially those 100 knives for $100 deals. And yes they still do those things occasionally. I'm also not overly impressed with his many of his Hen & Roosters, supposedly out of Germany. I think things may have improved more recently with Buzz Parker (son of Jim Parker) and Michael Prater putting more of their time (and reputation) into the brand/brands. But yeah, they still have a lot to do to convince people (including me) that their products deserve my money. I've had some good experience with many of my Frost knives but I've also been screwed. It's funny... Often, when I get a Frost knife, the response isn't "Hey, this is knife is pretty good." It's "Wow! This knife isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be!"
Really enjoyed this mate it's not a brand we get. Atb paddy 👍☘️😃
Oh that knife with the fly fishing reel shield has got me all excited! You have an amazing collection of knives!
I like the sound of the SNAP on the sunfish mmmm
Good video and fair. I used to never consider Frost (even though the first knife I bought as a teen was a Frost locking toothpick) but recently got a Frost "Bulldog" lockback whittler on SMKW flash sale. Solid lock. Some blade rub. All in all a good using knife.
Yeah, he sells some junk for a ridiculously low price. He also sells some pretty decent stuff at a fair price. And also has some of one of kind stuff that is quite remarkable. The key is choosing wisely. It's a pity. I wsh he'd drop the junk but for some reason I think that those are the knives that allow him to stay in business so he can offer the better knives.
I just bought the boker version of the hobo trapper and you are right about the design fault, they should have had it lock with the fork down.
Thank you Tobias, I didn’t know about those locking copperheads. I ordered myself one and I was impressed, quality seems to been improved. Great EDC carry.
I agree I have a love hate relationship with frost and steel warrior knives. I tend not to buy them anymore but that is because I'm into SAK knives and R/R barlows.
Rough Ryder is a 75% brand to me where 75% I receive are free of any flaws. Frost is more of a 45% brand (group). But in my experience Steel Warriors seem to be of a higher quality oftentimes .
My feeling is that Steel Warrior is spot on with quality with several select patterns and should just stick with them. Others prove to be horrendous and they should just stop making them. I also don't like their jigging patterns for their bone handles and the knives seem to shed their shields.
My experience with Rough Ryder is better but that might be because 1) they don't put shields on their white smooth bone knives. 2) They might just be getting things right on the select patterns that I buy (I've heard nightmares about their recent Barlows) 3) I like the Rough Ryder jigging patterns.
For years, I wouldn't buy Steel Warriors and then a person sent me about 10 of them to look over. I realized quickly that while they do have flaws, much of my criticism of Frost knives was unwarranted.
My first knife that I kept was a Frost boot knife with laminated wood handle. I loved that knife!
I think I know the knife you're talking about. That same knife was passed off/ made by Jim Parker and the folks at SMKW. SMKW first had it in their Ol' Smokey then Rough Rider! Good Knife
I have been carrying a Whitetail Cutlery muskrat in red smooth bone for about 6 months. Man, I can’t believe how nice it is for the price after cleaning it up a bit
You have a good knowledge of jack knives.
I started collecting higher end US and European knives years ago. Now, I have a nice little collection of steel warrior knives after picking up a SW stockman from my local mom and pop hardware store 😆 and for 17 bucks, I couldn’t pass on it. They are neat, make great gifts and are very affordable.
The stockman is in my pocket right now!
I've got budget knives and some rather expensive knives as well. At the end of the day, my most common knives of regrets have been the higher priced knives. It isn't that they are necessarily bad, it is more that the budget knives handle pretty much everything the more expensive knives handle.
Had I paid attention to frost and RR knives back then I most likely would’ve started with those. Your correct, they cut stuff just like the exspensive knives 😆 that’s what they are built for. Plus all of the different patterns coming from frost and RR knives is pretty neat as well.
I got that green handle "one dollar knife" free as a promotional gift. Actually, it is fairly good for the price (free in my case). It probably is worth "One dollar". I like your comment that many people simply need an extremely affordable tool to cut things with that they can carry around for EDC. So true.
The only Frost knife I have is almost the same as the green-handled one you have without the eagle eye. It's green with a sabre grind. I have to re-sharpen each time I use it. Swiped it from my dad LOL
Sound like you got a real butter knife there!
Sunfish, great eating. They have a belly that looks like a Sunburst. One of the smaller Panfish.
And if you catch a really big one, you might want to toss it back. Some of the big ones don't taste quite as good. But yeah, they're fund to catch and taste pretty good. And unlike perch, sunfish are less inclined to swallow your hook so are even fun if you're just catching and releasing!
Well Tobias I guess the Hobo knife you are holding on your opening page isn’t the Frost.
Another fine selection, thank you.
Thanks. I said a lot of bad stuff about Frost for sometime and then someone gifted me several steel warriors. I basically had to eat my words. Sure they have their flaws but they also have quite a few good qualities. And one of the them is a decent knife at a decent price.
Thank You, as a newer collector very appreciated info
I first got the knife bug from watching cutlery corner. My oldest knife is a steel warrior that I bought back when I was watching cutlery corner on TV.
I think many people got their start watching Cutlery Corner but just won't admit it. The show has stepped it up a notch or two compared to 15 year ago!
@@KnifeChatswithTobias I haven't watched it in years. It was probably 16 or 17 years ago I bought the steel warrior. I also bought one of those bulk packs with a sword and a bunch of cheap knives. It was fun lol.
I wouldn’t buy em for myself but the local hardware was selling them out for 70 percent off so I bought a dozen and gave them to the kids and grandkids who were happy as clams to get them
Two thoughts First it may get them interested in collecting knives and Second the fit and finish was a heck of a lot better than I expected for a bunch of Chinese knives I didn’t see any really bad ones in the bunch The folders were all pretty good but the one modern folder will take some breaking in before I would stake my life on it Thanks for your great work pal
I think you summed it up well. The modern knives with the plastic handles and the "Frost" tang stamp are probably the knives that give "Frost" such a bad reputation. Every time I see one, I just shake my head. Why would Jim Frost put his name on piece of junk like those? If I was turning our dreck like that, i'd name it after my worst enemy. I'd want my name on the top of the line stuff, not the bottom feeding dreck!
@@KnifeChatswithTobias
I wouldn’t have grabbed it but it was the last knife they had out so I thought I was buying them out
After they rang me up they opened the drawer and had a few more folders but I had reached my limit lol
I have a couple Frost knives bcz I couldn’t get pattern elsewhere. Otherwise, I prefer Rough Rider as well.
Frost’s story intrigues me. Starting off selling knives out of his lunch box and building an empire. Some of his knives look amazing but I hear such conflicting reviews I hesitate to buy one. If people buy them and it’s their gateway into better knives, then he’s done something good. Still miss Tom though.
I'm Canadian and personally it doesn't matter to me whether the knife is made in the USA Germany or China . Secondly the USA has been making knives for a few hundred years where's the Chinese had been making knives for a few thousand years. The knives that we see in the West from China are only the knives that people import. What the Chinese keep for themselves is a different story. I have a 30 year old kitchen 'Chinese' butcher knife that I bought from a Chinese market. I only have one and it's still sharp, only been sharpened on the 12'' steel from the same store, and the original grind next to the handle barely different from the rest of the blade. I'm hooked on these old style knives. I started a few years ago collecting pocket knives with Clips but I cannot stand a clip I prefer the old proven traditional knives. However I just ordered seven Rough Rider knives from the USA
I think the issue for many is that it is American companies producing products offshore and therefore putting American Workers out of work. That is more of a political/economics argument and not a question of quality control. I can respect this argument but I find it somewhat simplistic; primarily because American companies have been producing items off shore since the beginning of its history. Growing up, the mantra for entrepreneurial success in a America, was "that's nice, but I can make it better, faster, and for less money!" And this, my friend, is what led to production in China! The US Government opened the door, and American businesses weighed the options. Now some folks are blaming American businesses for doing what they do they do best; finding a way to make a product better, faster, and for less money.
Tobias Gibson The main reason that most production moved to China is because as a whole, consumers want more, faster and cheaper. The u.s. is unwilling to do that. People in China work for less money because they have to feed their families. Americans are unwilling to take a pay cut to keep production there because they’re obviously “worth more than that!” If they don’t get the money they want, they sit on their ass and collect from the govt while their former employer outsources to China and realizes his profits are now astronomical because he doesn’t have whiny assholes demanding more money for the same work.
@@itsawonderfulknife7031 American's can't take a pay cut. Half our population lives in poverty because half the jobs already pay less than the most minimal cost of living here. Even minimal housing here rents for 5-10 times the annual income of a Chinese worker. Outsourcing to China was an act of treason committed by our government and the corporations that own it. It was done to reduce the American people to serfdom.
I have 3 Frost knives that are pretty good, I've had double that number that were absolute junk. I'm just not willing to take that chance anymore.
Yeah a lot of the time It's a HIT & Miss situation with Frost knives!....Some good & some Bad.
Appreciate the history lesson, till now did not know about Frost knives.
Many nicer Frost slipjoints say "1 of 300". Do we believe that? Is that economically viable for a $15 to $20 knife made in China?
It's always suspect but Frost does this laser etching in their shop in Tennessee. They pull 300 knives out of their order and then do the etching. Similar to what SMKW and Case does with Holiday knives. They basically estimate how many they think they can sell and go for it. If it sell well and the demand is still there, they make a minor change, say switch to red jigged or blue smooth bone and pump out another 300. It's a marketing ploy to move knives that weren't otherwise selling in many cases!
Considering my knife collection is for my amusement, it is difficult to justify buying an expensive Case when some of these cheap Frost products are form, fit and finish equals. The Dichromlon grip Steel Warrior Hunters are very pretty, with the dazzling grips and mirror polish blades.
Still have a bunch of crappy Frost knives from Shop at Home almost 20 years ago. (100 knives for $200). Still have most of them. Had to start somewhere. I'm still amused but happy.
I really like a good well designed Hobo knife. Like to learn more about them.
I just picked up Frost Silver Hawk. Decent.
Interestingly the handle looks similar to the R.R. variant .s.s. as well as R.R. Brass one...
whitetail congress is pretty
Years ago, right after Rough Rider became available, I bought a couple of Frost knives. They "left a bad taste in my mouth," too. It's a shame, because they offer some interesting patterns.... outside-the-box type yet not too odd.
Great video buddy and a nice look into the Frost knives, my sticker proof has been accepted, in production now, :) 😎 👍
Been collecting for years since 80s never really heard of frost till the first came on tv how I'm here is come across a steel warrior pocket knife and didn't know the brand
Rough Rider also do a lockback knife where you depress the secondary blade to release the main blade, I am not sure of the model name.
Thanks for the heads up. I'll be on the look out.
It's a RR824, a Trapper with a clip blade and a secondary Wharncliffe.
@@jimmyj4811 I hadn't checked on the knife before I saw your comment, actually it says RR822 on the blade.
just bought a steel warrior from the hardware store its a 2 blade skinner with red bone scales that are really nice
i bought it on sale for 13.99
I was never always quite impressed with some of Jim frost cheaper knife but the man loved knives and even bought knife companies names trademarks that went out of business to keep that trademark and name alive and they built it in China now so has things I'm sure you know cuz you're a knife professional and connoisseur and I appreciate your videos I'm really impressed with Jim Frost even though I didn't like a lot of stuff he was the face of knives and I appreciate everything he did and it was sad that he passed
One time years ago I left a China made Smith&Wesson cutting horse knife in the hot SW Sun and when I opened it every part in the knife fell apart right in my hand . 😧
I couldn't agree more
It's a shame that Covid took Him from us. A knife man legend. Also a lot of people may not remember that at one time he had a partner and at the time his knives were stamped Parker Frost and a lot of collectors consider the quality of these were better.
I wouldn't go as far as to say I've "never" seen a well executed Frost, or a poorly executed RR, however the QC are miles apart in general IMO.. (not talking minor cosmetic imperfections) but, on a $15 knife (i.e.), RR usually (almost always) deliver the goods.. if anything RR have upped their game in the last few years, where most reports I hear Frost's have remained "same old same old"? or worse? Cannot swear to that personally as I no longer give Frost's any consideration, as they represent to much of a crap shoot..¿?¿?
Agree with you that Frost has probably gotten more people into knives than anyone else. BUT his horribly made knives have probably turned more people off of knives also. I like and respect the man, but will never buy another Frost brand knife. I have been burned by and disappointed with more of his knives than any other brand. Complete hit and miss quality. I'm not going to take a chance on his stuff again. Thanks for your honest, entertaining vids. Take care.
I will stick to RR, Marbles, Queen etc for my $15 and under knives.
Nice review. Thanks.
Good video brother 👍
Would the jigging be called a herringbone? Would be appropriate for a fishing knife.
It just might be. I don’t mind it so much on that one for some reason.
I collect Case pocket knives, I have around 60 in my collection, and I have about 7 steel warrior knives, and a few marbles and rough ryder knives, in my opinion, steel warrior is the best made cheap China made knife you can buy, marbles and rough ryder are trash in my opinion.
I have probably around 200 Rough Ryders, and 50+ steel Warrior and other Frost Brand and a similar number of Marbles knife. My experience has been Rough Riders are a better knife but I still buy Frost brand knives because I still they are worth the price you’re paying. Frost often gets a bad rap because of some of his really low quality $1 knives. But his Steel Warrior line is a totally different animal.
@@KnifeChatswithTobias I compared a 60.00 Case mini copperlock to an 18.00 steel warrior mini copperlock (looked just like a case mini copperlock, might not have been the actual name of the knife), and the steel warrior was just as solid as the case in the way it felt and the snap of the blade. The blade had very little wobble and the handle was corelone (looked like abalone), and everything about the steel warriorfit and finish was right up there with Case quality. The only fault i found with the steel warrior was when the knife was opened in the locked position the thing you push down to release the lockback was not flush all the way, but for 18.00 dollars not a bad knife.
I just can’t go with a frost with that low quality. I’ve had a few of them and I ask myself, how the hell did that company stay around this long?
It's a big company with lots of brands and for many the price is right for the knife they get. But I also know where you're coming from. There are several other budget brands in the same price range that are much better. And those one dollar knives are absolutely dreadful for the most part. I'm almost certain the the TV satellite station that Airs Cutlery Corner Network is owned by Frost so any time that channel isn't showing his knife sales, people are buying air time to sell other stuff!
Do you have a tutorial on how to take the scale off, re glue and re pin a loose handle scale?
I just can't trust the "locks" on Frost (or any pakistan/china) knives. It only took a couple of times for the lock to fail before I decided my fingers were worth more than a few dollars.
You know, I've never had a lock back fail once it is engaged, even on cheap budget knives. But then I don't go out of my way testing them. That said, don't get me started with liner locks. To me, most liner locks are just wishful thinking ... especially on budget knives; regardless of the brand! I would never trust a liner lock on a budget Frost knife.
@@KnifeChatswithTobias What I've noticed on budget knives is that the notch in the lockbar doesn't mate up perfectly with the notch in the blade tang causing it to not seat properly. The results can be disastrous.
Do you have a favorite source to buy small fixed blade knives--3 inch or less blade?
They’re not on their website
The exact knives are not there but similar ones come and go. Frost tends to produce tradtional pattern knives with differing covers in batches ranging between 2500-and 5000. Depending on how quick they sell, they will either repeat the run or move on. Some become very popular and are made in tens of thousands. The little fixed blade is still sold but I think they are selling it with a ram horn handle now.
Frost is also notorious at using the item numbers used on CCN as the number for their web site store and selling knives in bundles. So even though the pattern number for the 101 Fixed blade is something line FSW-101-GB you can't find it with that at Cutlery Corner.
I found a similar knife to that fixed blade at Chicago Knife Works with the number FSW101RWB
I’ll tell ya what right on Tobias.......... you know I’ll fucking put your collection up wit the best of them......... and I’ll tell ya it’s such a pretty collection I really like how you mix the different scales and colors together........ I try to do that with my collection it’s important that I mix it up with a lot of colors and bone patterns!!!!!! Thanks Tobias I always look forward to your videos!!!!!!!! 😲
quality over quantity :P
It is my experience that you can have both.
@@KnifeChatswithTobias i suppose, it just feels so cheap and not special for me to habe a chinese knife. I habe a rough rider congress becausr i wanted to check out the congress pattern. It's well made and works fine, just the connotation and stigma makes me not care about it at all and not ever want to do anything with it.
Thats not a real steleto. More of a switchblade type. Stelos ceome straight out of the handle, they dont flip out like a switch blade.
I'm going to try one of the crowing roosters (another one of his series) hoping the resin handles hold on well
I will not buy a Steel Warrior. I cannot get past the name. It sounds like they are playing to the young men dreaming of being ninjas, lol. Cannot do it. "What are you carrying?". "A Steel Warrior". No thanks. Similarly, there is a U.S. made brand called Colonel Coon. No thanks. Same reason. Yes, I know, I'm shallow, lol.
You are 100% right about the goofy name Frost gives his knives. That stupid samurai logo and the steel warrior name is very off-putting. I have the same problem with several other brand names as such.
Love the vids but ... :-)
You hold the knives too close to the camera. We can't see the whole knife and it jumps around too much.
Ehhh 440 stainless.... not good.
yet it has been used for decades. What do you expect on a $15 knife?
@@KnifeChatswithTobias for 15 dollars not much. Just really dislike 420 steel what can I say. Give me 420c, a well Heat treated 420hc or a 154cm and I'll be somewhat satisfied. 3V? Now where talking.
they are worth nothing to me because I would have absolutely no pride in owning one. I see how beginners would get a lot of enjoyment from one though, or non-knife obsessed people
Amen.
Parker cut co > Frost