Cold Steel Talk

[VashHash]

I have one of their gladius machetes. It's very soft so it can take some abuse. It was definitely not sharp when I received it but I fixed that after stripping the coating. It looked like someone tried to sharpen it with a hand held 4 inch grinder. I actually use it for throwing more than clearing brush. When the tip bends I just bend it back. I often forget about it because after the move I lost access to woods and areas where I would throw it. It lives in my shop now. I would rather buy south American made machetes. They seem to hold up better.

[ladybug93]

so, i just ordered a rajah iii today on amazon for $48 after tax. did you know you could split it into three payments?! i only paid $18 today, ill have the knife tomorrow, and then two more months of $15 payments. that's not even going to be noticeable. what a dangerous, but beneficial feature.

anyway, i'll report back with initial impressions and comparisons.

[vivi]

I have one of their gladius machetes. It's very soft so it can take some abuse. It was definitely not sharp when I received it but I fixed that after stripping the coating. It looked like someone tried to sharpen it with a hand held 4 inch grinder. I actually use it for throwing more than clearing brush. When the tip bends I just bend it back. I often forget about it because after the move I lost access to woods and areas where I would throw it. It lives in my shop now. I would rather buy south American made machetes. They seem to hold up better.

their machete edges are really hit and miss. My two kopis machetes came with nice and even bevels but the apex was pretty dull. my slant tip machetes came very sharp and well ground. my black bear machete looked like it was sharpened by a blind drunk man and had the worst burr I've ever seen on any cutting tool.

Even the last one took a great edge with ease though.

[akapennypincher]

Think the Cold Steel band has gone in wrong direction the last couple of years. They Cold Steel use to have big booth at Phoenix's SAR December Gun Show, use to look but never bought, as I thought value & quality was not there for price.

JMHO. Know they have big following, and some interesting thing on U-Tube.

[vivi]

Think the Cold Steel band has gone in wrong direction the last couple of years. They Cold Steel use to have big booth at Phoenix's SAR December Gun Show, use to look but never bought, as I thought value & quality was not there for price.

JMHO. Know they have big following, and some interesting thing on U-Tube.

I feel like they have some very high value items. Some of the ones I've gotten over the last year.....

$33 SR1 Lite - One of the smoothest lock-back style folders I've ever used, and an incredibly strong design.

$31 SRK - Great general purpose medium sized fixed blade

$80 3V SRK - Great price for the steel.

$56 Frenzy - Probably the highest quality folding knife I'll ever purchase brand new for under $60. Very smooth, light and thin for the size. Pretty much flawless from what I can tell.

I get not liking X design but the $$ they charge for the quality they offer is extremely reasonable IMO.

Their Taiwan folders and fixed blades are priced competitively with Spydercos chinese. My FRN Resilience costed more than my 4 Max Scout, my Bow River more than my SK5 SRK, etc. You can get a 20" machete from them with sheath for the price of a Spyderco Bug.

[ladybug93]

$56 Frenzy

this still blows my mind. i've never even seen them below $100. let me know if you see them that low again.

[ladybug93]

got the rajah iii in today. first impression is that it's very similar in size to the manix, but with a chunkier handle and an even deeper negative angle on the blade. more to follow, to include comparison pics, later.

[VashHash]

Got this in Tuesday. Sheath is pretty tight but I put my edge on it this morning. A little oil helped with the sheath but it's still not where it needs to be.

[vivi]

Got this in Tuesday. Sheath is pretty tight but I put my edge on it this morning. A little oil helped with the sheath but it's still not where it needs to be.

I've got the Olive Green and FDE runs. Same deal with the sheaths. They both came pretty tight. They've loosened up enough after some use I'm not gonna bother heating the sheath up and reforming it.

I've touched mine up but I still need to put a thinner edge on one. They're my first 3V knives and I want to see how it holds up to harder use with a thin edge.

[akapennypincher]

Cold Steel is just not making me shake in boots.

[VashHash]

$56 Frenzy - Probably the highest quality folding knife I'll ever purchase brand new for under $60. Very smooth, light and thin for the size. Pretty much flawless from what I can tell.

Wish I would have seen this deal. I've had my eye on a frenzy for a while.

[ladybug93]

rajah ii and iii comparison pics, as promised.

the rajah iii is almost the same exact size as the manix, even closed. it's got a thicker handle, but it's well contoured. if you like the negative blade angle of the manix, you'll love this one because it dips slightly lower and has the benefits of a recurve. it doesn't sport the choil that i love on the manix, but it's still comfortable to choke up on the flat ricasso area and the knife is comfortable in other grips as well, such as the pinch grip.

overall, the quality is noticeably lower on the rajah than the manix, so it's definitely not taking over my pocket, but it also only cost me $48 after tax, so i'm much more likely to choose the rajah when i head out into the woods or have hard work to do. and just because it's less refined doesn't mean it's not perfectly adequate as an edc knife.

vivi, you should skip this one. the main area for your hand is slightly less spacious than the manix 2, so it'll be too tight for you. it squeezes my hand a tad, so i know you'd hate it.

[James Y]

the pocket clips are mostly good. the compact clips on voyagers and recon 1's work very well for me.

the issue is they have too much tension and no smooth patch on the scales.

I remove them and sand the scales a bit with 120 grit, then put the clip back on. Then I slide a few coins under the clip and leave it over night.

After that they work really well.

The clip on my Broken Skull is the worst. It's halfway to being flat compared to most other clips, and the clip's steel is extremely resistant to bending. I removed the clip, wrapped it lightly, and took a pair of pliers to it to try to create a bit of bend to relax the tension, with no luck. I became concerned that it would snap before it would take a bend, even minimally.

Luckily, the Broken Skull is so thin and light, especially for a folder with a blade slightly over 4", that it doesn't need to be clipped. When I do carry it (rarely), I drop it down in a pocket like an old-fashioned pocket knife and barely notice it.

Ironically, I've decided that the Broken Skull is my favorite Cold Steel folder that I own. I got it several years back when Blade HQ had them on sale for $45.

Jim

[James Y]

I've recently become a *little* interested in the AD15 Lite. It looks like a cool, fun design. It's also fairly low-priced. IF I ever buy another knife ever again in the future. My main hesitation around it is I don't trust that the pocket clip isn't a pocket eater, like every other CS pocket clip.

Jim

[DSH007]

I've recently become a *little* interested in the AD15 Lite. It looks like a cool, fun design. It's also fairly low-priced. IF I ever buy another knife ever again in the future. My main hesitation around it is I don't trust that the pocket clip isn't a pocket eater, like every other CS pocket clip.

Jim

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1023455557?pid=935808

Hey Jim! Check out MidwayUSA.com.. the AD15 Lite is listed at only $54.90 and code "KNIVES042224" knocks off another 25%. I just ordered one about ten minutes ago for $48.75 shipped. I too have always been a *little* interested in the AD15 Lite.. I like the overall design of the knife, but I'm not sure how I'll take to the Scorpion lock.. and I share your concerns over the possibility (likelihood) of a pocket-shredding clip.. at that price though, it's worth the risk for me!

[James Y]

I've recently become a *little* interested in the AD15 Lite. It looks like a cool, fun design. It's also fairly low-priced. IF I ever buy another knife ever again in the future. My main hesitation around it is I don't trust that the pocket clip isn't a pocket eater, like every other CS pocket clip.

Jim

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1023455557?pid=935808

Hey Jim! Check out MidwayUSA.com.. the AD15 Lite is listed at only $54.90 and code "KNIVES042224" knocks off another 25%. I just ordered one about ten minutes ago for $48.75 shipped. I too have always been a *little* interested in the AD15 Lite.. I like the overall design of the knife, but I'm not sure how I'll take to the Scorpion lock.. and I share your concerns over the possibility (likelihood) of a pocket-shredding clip.. at that price though, it's worth the risk for me!

Wow! Congrats on scoring that awesome deal, Rick!

TBH, at the moment, I can't spare even that much for non-essential spending, but I'm sure glad you did! I'm eager to hear what you think of it once you have it in hand!

Jim

[DSH007]

I've recently become a *little* interested in the AD15 Lite. It looks like a cool, fun design. It's also fairly low-priced. IF I ever buy another knife ever again in the future. My main hesitation around it is I don't trust that the pocket clip isn't a pocket eater, like every other CS pocket clip.

Jim

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1023455557?pid=935808

Hey Jim! Check out MidwayUSA.com.. the AD15 Lite is listed at only $54.90 and code "KNIVES042224" knocks off another 25%. I just ordered one about ten minutes ago for $48.75 shipped. I too have always been a *little* interested in the AD15 Lite.. I like the overall design of the knife, but I'm not sure how I'll take to the Scorpion lock.. and I share your concerns over the possibility (likelihood) of a pocket-shredding clip.. at that price though, it's worth the risk for me!

Wow! Congrats on scoring that awesome deal, Rick!

TBH, at the moment, I can't spare even that much for non-essential spending, but I'm sure glad you did! I'm eager to hear what you think of it once you have it in hand!

Jim

Thanks Jim! I'll be sure to let you know what I think.. if it ever arrives! Midway apparently shipped my package via USPS by way of UPS ground (by way of Pony Express..).. hah, my fault for selecting economy shipping. Hopefully next week..