Brand in Focus: Cold Steel
If you have ever seen a knife punch through a car hood on video, there is a good chance it was a Cold Steel. The brand has always loved to show rather than tell. Its "Proof" videos slice meat, cut rope, chop tatami mats and stab sheet metal, and they made Cold Steel famous long before every knife maker had a YouTube channel. Behind the show there is a simple idea that has not changed much in more than 40 years: knives should be strong and sharp, full stop.
From Ventura to Texas
Lynn C. Thompson founded Cold Steel in 1980 in Ventura, California. His goal, in the company's own words, was to make the world's strongest, sharpest knives. That same year Cold Steel brought out its tanto, and the brand is widely credited with making the American tanto popular. Kraton handles and an early taste for new blade steels followed, and many of those ideas later turned up across the whole knife industry.
In 2020 Cold Steel was bought by GSM Outdoors and moved to Irving, Texas. The products are made where the brand finds the best fit for each model, with factories in Taiwan, Japan, China and the United States among them. The style has stayed the same: big, confident, slightly over the top.
The Tri-Ad Lock
If you only remember one thing about Cold Steel, make it this. The Tri-Ad Lock was developed with custom knifemaker Andrew Demko. It is a back lock at heart, but with a stop pin sitting between the tang and the lock bar. Pressure on the blade goes into that pin and not into the rocker, which is why Cold Steel folders have such a reputation for lock strength. If you want to compare it with Liner Locks, Frame Locks and the rest, our guide to knife locks has the full picture.
Steels range from budget friendly 5Cr15MoV and the popular AUS-10A up to CPM 3V, CPM S35VN and lately CPM MagnaCut. Handles are often G10 or Cold Steel's own glass reinforced plastics like Griv-Ex and Zy-Ex. Here are four Cold Steel knives we currently have in stock.
Frenzy II: samurai roots, pocket size
The Frenzy line takes its shape from the kabutowari, an old Japanese tool meant to stand up to helmets. The Cold Steel Frenzy II brings that into a pocket friendly size: an 8.9 cm sheepsfoot style blade in CPM 3V, a very tough tool steel, 3.3 mm thick, with black G10 scales, a thumb stud and of course the Tri-Ad Lock. If you want a premium steel without going huge, start here.
Voyager XL Drop Point: big folder, no apologies
Cold Steel has never been shy about size, and the Cold Steel Voyager XL Drop Point proves it. The 14 cm drop point in AUS-10A is 4 mm thick, the Griv-Ex handle is long enough for a full grip even with gloves, and the Tri-Ad Lock keeps it all solid. Open it up and you are holding over 30 cm of knife. For camp chores and heavier cutting it does a lot of what a fixed blade does, and it still folds away.
Kris Ti-Lite: something different
Wavy blades go back to the kris of Southeast Asia, and Cold Steel added that profile to its long running Ti-Lite series. The Cold Steel Kris Ti-Lite 26SXK6 pairs a 15.2 cm AUS-10A blade with a slim handle and a Linerlock. It is a collector's piece as much as a cutting tool, and it looks like nothing else in a display case.
Kudu: the classic with a ring lock
The Cold Steel Kudu is the opposite of the Voyager XL. A slim 10.8 cm clip point in 5Cr15MoV, a Zy-Ex handle with wood grain texture and a clever trick: the ring at the end of the handle is also the lock. Pull it and the blade folds. It is light, simple and very affordable, a nice entry ticket to the brand or a knife you toss in the glovebox and forget about until you need it.
Which Cold Steel suits you?
For everyday carry and a steel you will appreciate on a long day, take the Frenzy II. If you want to feel what the Tri-Ad Lock is all about, go big with the Voyager XL. The Kris Ti-Lite is for people who like something unusual, and the Kudu is the easy, budget friendly yes. Browse our Cold Steel collection, read up on blade steels first if you like, or see all Cold Steel products in our shop.
