FT Cold Steel knives any good?

[FlyDawg72]

Depends on what you use them for. Most cold steel blades are made out of 440 stainless, which is a good all around steel but tends to get dull fast. Bottom line: if you plan to spend $10-$20 cold steel is good. Any more than that and you should be looking at Ontario knife co. or Ka-bar.

Agree COMPLETELY!

I have a couple customer that LOVE Cold Steel, but they also hone them religiously. They have a couple knives that in my humble opinion are NICE knives, well constructed, and keep a good edge, but overall... unless you want a high maintenance blade to keep sharpened... I would choose another brand.

Good company for their machetes, and single purpose LARGE cutting tools, perhaps not the BEST for a multi-task pocket knife.

Again, just my opinion based on avid user feedback.

 

[144P&Y]

love mine

 

[Uzi Hunter]

I'm looking at the machete's and tanto's.....sound like I need to get over the "Made In" issue and but myself one.

Thanks to all of you for you input and info.

 

[Retread]

Bought a cold steel voyager about 10 years ago. Serrations broke (yeah I said broke) the first time I cut some rope. I contacted the company to give them the option of making it right, and got a huge ration of crap. I took it back to the retailer (Sports Authority). They passed it around commenting on what a piece of garbage it was. They gave me a refund, so I bought a CRKT from them. I've carried the snot out of that knife, and I'm bored as **** with it, but it's still going strong.

 

[Mark Shadow]

On the budget line of knives, I believe that CS represents strong value for the money. A few random thoughts:

1. If I was going to jump into Afghanistan from a C-130 tomorrow to engage in combat operations, I likely would not have a CS Pendleton Lite strapped to my gear. BUT, weekends in the North Georgia Mountains? Sure. Bug-out-bag? Sure. Glove box of the truck? Sure. Deer camp? Sure.

2. China vs. US: Yep, I like USA too. But trade is trade, and once upon a time our country was a world trade leader. We even had ships under sail that were called "Clipper" ships that were designed in large part by New England shipyards for trade across the Pacific to the orient. I think there are trade issues that rest in the political arena, not necessarily in the consumer arena. The Chinese sure do buy a lot of Intel computer chips...

3. Value: Back to the CS Pendleton Lite and a comparison to an Ontario RAT 3 ( a nice solid American made knife). Both will do hunting and bush crafting tasks. Real world consumer prices are about $20.00 for the Pendleton Lite and about $75.00 for the RAT 3 give or take a few bucks. Is the RAT 3 twice the knife that a Pendleton is? Likely. Is it three times the knife? I don't think so. Is it almost four times the knife? That is really pushing the logic IMHO.

The upper end CS knives feel good and San Mai steel is good steel. I agree that the price point may not support the quality of the product...BUT if you look around and shop well, good prices on the higher end knives can be found.

Admittedly, there are likely better comparisons, but I don't think mine is that bad of an example.

4. Sharpness. Sometimes beater knives get no respect. Certainly, better steels hold an edge better. But, sometimes how long the blade stays sharp depends upon how sharp the blade was to begin with. I think someone who has a $250.00 Bark River Bravo 1 might spend a lot of time getting the perfect edge on to the Bark River. It is fun to sharpen a really nice knife. Then again, the older beater knife gets a few swipes on the stone or diamond hone, "feels" sharp, and back in the sheath it goes. Of course what you are cutting makes a difference. Opening up a pig and a doe of the same size could cause a knife to dull a different rates. Sometimes pigs roll in the mud and have particles of dirt in their skin. But then again, I'm not Hawkeye and the muddy doe I drug from the side of the creek was kinda nasty to dress out.

5. Bad consumer experiences. I had a Camaro that the engine seized up due to a mechanical failure at 52,000 miles. I admit I used dino oil but I had receipts for oil changes, and maintenance. Didn't matter, it was out of warranty. Sometimes you just get the luck of the draw on what you buy.

6. Why isn't this thread in the forum section? Likely after this long thread, a moderator will boot me outta here!

Thanks!

 

[harley1903]

Cold Steel is pretty good.

 

[Uzi Hunter]

Thanks again for all the input

 

[Creeper]

The Leatherneck is trash but the Voyager is tough. You just have to check the reviews on which model you want. some are good...some are crap.