it takes years and years to build your reputation and only 5 seconds to lose it.

Even Chinese made Rough Rider has a no questions asked return policy. Cold Sterl needs to step up.

Company trend -Lets get rich by making a great product. Later -Lets get richer by cuttering corners but charge the same. Down fall 👎

It’s so sad. I had been a Cold Steel customer since 2004. In the past two years I’ve noticed a serious decline in their products and their customer support. The worse was when I had to wait an entire month to get a new extendable baton. They made me wait 2 weeks to report it lost even though the tracking said it was still waiting in their factory. And when I finally asked for my money back, they magically found it somewhere in shipping 🤦‍♂️

GSM is garbage,no Lynn-no quality control.

That is SO disapointing. They shoot themselves in the foot with that foolish attitude.

If your wanting to verify those heat treat concerns ...send em to your boy. I'll test em for free. 😎

To any newer knife guys: if it looks like a gas station knife, it is. Price doesn’t matter. Knives are tools buy the tool you need in the price you want.

To tell the truth, I have noticed the quality of Cold Steel going down every since they discontinued the "Carbon V5" steel.

when i found out he sold the company i bought all my favorite CS knives cuz i knew the company would go to shit and for the most part it has :(

This happens when the 'Bean Counters' take over.

Their swords surprised me. I had the 1830 Napoleon sword and was gently testing its cutting capability on those bow and arrow targets the foam kind and the blade broke in half as soon as I did that! The sharp part of the sword that broke nearly hit me!

Public announcement, gsm also owns SOG knives.. soon both sog and cold steel will be synonymous with Smith & Weston...

Ever since they sold out to GSN, I just gave up on them. I already had everything I would ever want out of the company. Considering that Andrew Demko created almost all of the knives that I had from Cold Steel, he is my new go to for new knives. Really can't wait for him to start shipping out his new AD10 with the enhanced Triad Lock.

Customer service should ALWAYS be top tier.

I've never heard of anyone having a ColdSteel warranteed. Their customer service has always been garbage.

We all knew this was going to happen after the company sold. Lynn should have saved face by abandoning the company all together instead of sticking around to help the new owners sell products with his presence.

Folding knives are already broken! Fine for opening cute little Amazon packages. 😂😂😂

I stopped buying Cold steel when my brand new Cold steel neck knife was lost because it would not stay in its sheath. I just refuse to waste my time and money on a poor brand. Cold steel over priced Junk knives.

Damn They really went downhill

Dude, if they are that bad, how did you come about buying three of their knives ? After the first knife failed, I would not take another chance on them.

This really sucks. I've been holding off buying new CS knives for a while now since LT sold off the company. Not because I'm so smart, but because their pricing of their new big blades went through the roof. The Mayhem being one of them, not to mention the Jimi Slash Competition Chopper. I don't know who they are trying to appeal to, but it's definitely not their base.

Sad to see how some companies refuse to update their service or quality, and fall so easily off because costumers talk today on the internet.

Proper heat treatment is the most expensive part of making a mass produced knife, and the easiest to cheat on since you cant see the difference when buying it.

Oh man Donnie I am sorry to hear that you are having problems with the Cold Steel knife company. So far, the Cold Steel knives that my dad bought are holding up pretty good. One of my "I wish I had knives" was the Natchez bowie, but I am afraid of purchasing one of them now. If it breaks, they probably wouldn't replace it. Thanks for letting not only me but the rest of us knife guys know.

So where to go now for outrageously large wall ornaments?

Im just curious is that knife meant for throwing some of these high end knives only have certain applications they can be effectively used for im not saying ur wrong i was just wondering myself

After listening to this I am never buying another Cold Steel product.

glad you finally did a video on it! Hopefully someone there sees it.

I do like the knives that I have from Cold Steel ... but I have heard multiple complaints about their CS. Thanks for the share of your experiences, DBAD. There is NO EXCUSE for poor/no heat treatment of the steel.

"White hills knives" is even worse 🎉

I also believe that Cold Steel prints a description on the packaging that for certain knives, leverage or impact loads are not included in the warranty agreement.

This is a crying shame. I have been a fanboy since the 80's. You were generous to even give them a 2nd chance. Can't say I would buy from them again after hearing this.

I tried to order a "securex" replacement sheath for an older carbon v srk and got ignored. Nice service huh? Been hearing a lot of bad reviews of late. One guy broke a brand new Republic fixed blade and they refused to honor the warranty

Sad. I remember when Cold Steel used to be the real deal. They offered big outrageous looking folders that stood up to abuse. Wish I’d have pulled the trigger on a Spartan and Gladius machete before Lynn sold the company

Never abuse your Tools! 😂

I'm definitely hearing you on the customer service. I ordered one of the limited edition titanium Ad10's from the Cold Steel website over two and a half weeks ago. It was in stock when I ordered it, and they took the payment from my bank account. Well, a week went by, and there was no update on shipping. So I called customer service and was told that they would have to get answers from higher management, and placed on hold. When she returned she said that no one was available and someone would contact me later that evening. Never happened. So I called again a couple days later. I was told that they were out of stock and would get more middle of July and someone would contact me to see if I wanted to wait or get a refund. Again no reply. I finally called back again today to confirm the date and was now told it would now be July 30. And from now on if I want to place an order to call them to confirm its in stock before I purchase it. I'm not going to say that I won't purchase another Cold Steel. But I guarantee it won't be from their site.

I've been a CRKT fan for awhile. My brother liked Coldsteel. He never used his knife for anything but opening candy wrappers. He's a snowflake. My CRKT is at the bottom of a river because it came undone after I jumped from a bridge. He still has his Coldsteal Recon first edition but it's broke for whatever reason I can't explain and neither can he. It was junk, plain and simple. I bought another CRKT M16 and I still have it 25 years later.

I think I have 40 Cold Steel knives, the first bought in 1987. I’ve contacted their customer service three times, the first to get a new pocket clip 5 years ago which was no problem, but the last two times to the new company and they were useless. Every one of the old knives came like razors, except two in the last year were like butter knives they were so dull. How disappointing. They should have outright replaced any knife with such a crappy heat treat that the blade bends. This is becoming more and more common as giant companies buy up existing companies then water down their quality and warranties.

Word gets out quick!!! They will definitely lose business over their CS BS!! Hate that happened to ya..Know you really liked the design!!! Positive side is you saved alot of people money!!! 👊🏻

It probably doesn't apply, but my favorite line from "Van Halen" is, "The only thing that stays the same, is CHANGE"! I'm 74 & I'm ashamed to admit how many models of the original "Cold Steel" cutlery & other "Special Projects" items I own & have never had a problem with any of them. Lucky me!!! Wait, I've got another one, "It's an ever changing World in which we're living"!!!

The tip on my SRK broke without any abuse. It's actually the only knife that failed on me, ever.

That's a real shame about Cold Steel. With all of the experiences you've had recently there's no doubt that big problems exist there now. There was a time when they had excellent customer service and fantastic quality, but it seems that time has passed. I bought a Cold steel 4'' Voyager around 1995 - 1998. I carried it a couple of years and snagged the plastic pocket clip (before they were steel) on a pallet at work while inspecting product and broke it. I called Cold Steel the following day to see if they could send me a new handle and they said send the knife back to us. I said just bill me and whatever the cost I'll pay for it. I had skinned game, filleted fish, and done camp duties with it and it became my go to knife. 2 weeks later a brand-new Voyager arrived with the then new, steel pocket clip and a note stating no charge and the steel pocket clip should be far more durable. I wish that type of service was still available from them.

I was never interested in the Mayhem design, but it is still disappointing to hear that GSM is making things worse. They also own SOG knives.

The warranty clearly states: Don't be a "Donnie B". Donnie B will not be honored, we've seen his videos. 😂 Seriously, this is sad news as I have a large Cold Steel Collection. I just purchased another "Black Bear Classic" from them. That's an expensive knife. I won't be spending my money with Cold Steel any longer, after seeing this. There are plenty of really great knife brands that are no risk. Heck, even Rough Rider honors their knives.

I prefer Buck way more than Cold Steel, the new TRX 110s are frickin amazing.

Thanks for the heads up. I will spend my money on other knife companys. Whats your thoughts on OKC knives?

I've been done with them since they switched out the 01 tool steel for 4034 budget steel and put a premium sticker on it.

I gave up on Cold steel when they sold to GSM. Will never buy another

Damn it's sad! I was a huge cold steel guy but quality has gone down on many models. At first I thought gsm was doing right by us but as time passes I see increased pricing and decreased quality

Cold Steel as it was is gone. Cold Steel WAS Lynn Thompson!

A better way to straighten a bent knife is to put it in a bench vise with two screwdrivers on one side and one screwdriver on the other. In this way you can bend the knife anywhere along the blade by repositioning the screwdrivers.

oh my god, dude... what happened to you - you've lost so much weight

What steel is that on that mayhem?

I have an O1 trailmaster that ive used as my main knife for years and the hand guard got loose on it, so i reached out to the company and asked if there was any way to repair it and i got absolutely nothing back. Also i bought the 1917 bowie is a replacement and it came duller than a butter knife. RIP coldsteel

Unrealistic bro.The Mayhem is not a throwing blade.It’s a people slasher. I’m not gonna boycott just yet but I will say NEVER spend more than $200 on any cold steel regardless of metal type.I have a couple high end fixed blades that have bad grinds and uneven tips.$300 + blades should be flawless in build quality. Never overpay by buying direct from cold steel.Get them much cheaper from Midway.

Throwing it likely voids the warranty.

Thanks Donnie ! I didn’t even know that grown men actually bought Cold Steel knives. I bought my first CS when I was 15 and my second and last one when I was 17.

So freaking true thank you my brother they used to be a good knife but production now is garbage I will never waste a cent on any cold steel products a company that can't stand behind it's own product isn't worth our hard earned cash ,

That's a shame! That blade shape on that folder is cool damn shame!

The guy above said it best. Decades to build a reputation and seconds to wreck it!!! The only knife company I would 75% trust is ESEE. The reason I say 75 percent is because of folders and knives they sub out.

By the way, the tip is not going to rebend more easily because it was straightened. Don’t worry about it. But stop throwing knives that aren’t throwing knives.

CRKT is better. Agree with you for sure!

My last 2 CS were dull as fuck. I mean it took me 5 mins to sharpen but.. Fart! Also broke 2 of my Sure flight sports knives in half. If only TOPS made some of the ColdSteel models we'd be in business

Thank you for sharing this about CS. I've been looking at a few of their knives recently, but after seeing this, I'm out. For that kind of money and crapoy customer service. Hell no.

Time change sucks. Bring the real cold steel back DBAD

GSM bought SOG last year or so and same bad customer service.Not fond of SOG knives they have come out with.Needless to say I’ve only bought one SOG and that was from ACE hardware when I was in there.Im done with SOG because of GSM🔪👍

That's what hapoend to my srk no heat treat never held an edge kabar is pretty bad too

When I first got a Natchez Bowie many years before CS was bought by GSM it came with the tip folded back on itself 180 degrees. Sent it back and they sent me a new one. Years later I bought a 1917 Bowie and it came dull. But all my other CS knives have been good.

I've bought at least 6 or so different weapons from Cold Steel, they've all been awesome so this is heartbreaking to hear.

I had a similar issue when I purchased a Set of XL Talwars when GSM, Cold Steel, first brought them back. They would go into, what I call, Fixed Blade Mode. It was almost impossible to unlock the Blade when opened. GSM, Cold Steel wouldn't let me send them in for repair or replacement. This was a Factory Defect. They should of handled it. I ended up figuring out how to fix them, after giving up on GSM, Cold Steel's Customer Service. The problem was the Stop Pin. It was too small. It was 5.97mm thick and needed to be 6.22mm thick. I swapped the Stop Pin from one of my Original AUS-8A Talwar's; it had the 6.22mm thick Stop Pin in it... So, they didn't make them exactly like the Original XL Talwar. The way GSM, Cold Steel's, New Customer Service treated me, well, it turned me off. The Original Cold Steel Customer Service in Ventura, CA always took care of any problems I had. Their Customer Service used to be Top-Notch. GSM, needs to back their Products. My experience turned me off and I started trying other products from other Companies. Sorry to hear about what happened to you, Bro. :-( Myself, I still like to use and carry my Cold Steel Blades. But, I don't have a lot of luv for their Customer Service. I hope my Mayhems are okay. I modded one and use it. When I recieved my first one, I noticed that it didn't have a reinforced Blade Tip and that the tip looked fragile to me. So, I don't stress the Blade Tip. Also, the one I modded wasn't a easy one to polish. So, I know it was heat treated... The Steel is hard. And, m8ne is holding it's edge and is razor sharp. Like you, I think the design of this one is a lot of fun. I have three Mayhems, the Limited and two AUS-10A Models. I absolutely luv mine. It's like a Pirate's Pocket Knife... :-) I bought my AUS-10A Mayhems from MidwayUSA.com; they were only $135 a piece. The Mayhem is a very Heavy Folder with a weak, unreinforced Blade Tip, that's why I think yours bent. Actually, I am sort of surprised it didn't snap the tip of the Blade off... A Blade Tip, like what's on the Mayhem, can not handle lateral stress. It would be stronger vertically. That's why I always pay attention to how the Blade is ground. Not all Knives are made to withstand throwing. Especially, heavy Knives without reinforced Blade Tips. But, regardless, GSM, Cold Steel needs to back their products, especially, against Factory Defects. :-( Peace, Stiletto :-)

Seems you’d stop giving them money after two bent knives. Who cares what a knife looks like if you keep having issues, just saying

That sucks, Donnie. Sorry….When I saw the Mayhem, I fell in love. I foolishly told my nephew about it and he bought me the Limited Edition Mayhem for Christmas a couple years ago. My blade if fine. Everything about it is perfect. But….that certainly doesn’t invalidate what happened to you. I’ve heard these stories, quite literally, for decades. I never disbelieved them but always took the advice about caution with them as good advice. It’s a big company and when moneys on the line, shady shit happens. And when Cold Steel got bought out, the first thing I thought was, “Oh….this is gonna be bad.” And it seems I, and many others, were right. In many cases, it’s because we’re spoiled, I think. I mean, all of us has the knife that we got from a small independent blade smith and it’s perfect. A brilliant design, quality materials and an artist who cares….he sees something flawed and rather than letting it skate by, he fixes it. Corporate America doesn’t quite deal with things like that these days. Anyway….again, sorry you had a shitty experience with them. I’ll probably back off on them as well even while I love my Mayhem…..

I’ve never liked Cold Steel. Cold Steel sucked when Lynn was there, sucks now. I’ve never owned one and likely never will.

I dont see how so many people are having problems with their cold steel knives, but then again all my cold steel were bought before the "walmart sellout" when glenn was running the show, so i know those are quality, i cant defend the current cold steel market as i havent purchased a new cold steel in several years, but my recon tanto (SK-5 model) has been an absolute beast and is still one of my favorite blades to this day, all i can say is whenever a company decides to put their procuct in walmart, its basically the death of quality assurance and customer care, which is sad because id LOVE to get my hands on cold steels warcraft tanto (cmp 3v)

Agree

i watched the joex video on that knife. let me know what you're selling it for.

Yeah, you can still use that knife, BUT you already know that it's very soft. You could try to put a nice edge on it, but it will be a giant pain in the ass trying to deburr it. And even if you did manage to knock off that burr, a wind gust of 15 mph or more would immediately dull it.

Really sucks to hear because I have loved Cold Steel in the past.

Not my experience with Cold Steel. When I bought a Gladius machete, it came unsharpened. They sharpened it poorly, so I complained & they sent me a 2nd sharpened Gladius and an SRK for my trouble. The 2nd Gladius was sharpened properly. They treated me well and I'll continue to buy from them. They have a good quality-to-price ratio.

But you also have to remember that the blade geometry is completely different. The knife you are showing is ground much thinner and is therefore much more susceptible to bending or impact loads. Then you have to give the knife the application it was built for. I am sure that would not have happened with other Cold Steel models🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️ Despite all that, I don't think the customer service is good given the experience you had. Chris ⚔️

That's terrible DBAD...I've been collecting them for about 14 months and I have a little over a hundred of them...Some from before the buyout, most from after, but I haven't had any problems yet...which is no doubt why I haven't experienced what you've been going through...I hope CS pulls their head out and treats you right!

It’s not the heat treatment on the Mahem. It is the terrible AUS10 steel. Unfortunately that’s on the customer to know the extent of the materials, but it’s a bad choice of steel on the company’s part. They must have bought a ton of that crap because they use it on more and more knives. They gotta cut that out. I’m not that surprised that they refused warranty from throwing a folding knife, though. If you’re going to test knives to the point of bending, even with low end steel, ya kinda committed to paying for it. Feels like taking advantage, especially after getting a reduced price. You honestly believe you’re entitled to a new knife? Cmon man… ESEE’s warranty is the exception not the rule. They’re also built differently from your folding, acute tipped tactical knife in AUS10.

Holy crap, thanks for the PSA! I have owned several Cold Steel knives over the last 25 years and bought them as presents/recommended them to others. Not anymore tough, at least not until CS gets their sh*t together as a knife-making company! For funzies, where is this $380 knife made? China?

Cold Steel died before Lynn sold it,,, that's why he sold it...

Thanks for the video. I used to be a big fan of Cold Steel. As you said, they make some good products. I was very happy with some of those products. Then, I tried to ask questions on one of their videos, and the guy running their KZfaq was a jerk. I wanted to better understand something that they claimed, and he just became defensive and refused to try to explain. I suspect that he just had no clue. Instead of saying that he didn't understand, he tried to be insulting. I think that kind of arrogance permeates the culture there. They do some things well, but the arrogance makes me avoid them. That's too bad. I bought quite a bit of Cold Steel stuff back in the day, but I don't buy their knives any longer.

I’ve ordered 2 frontier bowies,Wild West Bowie,riflemans Bowie,code 4 tanto,and a Kyoto tanto from cold steel. Some of the edges were uneven,there were some flaws but overall they are well made knives. 🔪 I’m sure that when GSM took ownership they planned to cut quality and go for quantity since it will make them money. Lynn Thompson doesn’t care how it’s run anymore since he sold it. I’m going to order several more Coldsteel knives and that will be all for me. There are other companies out there that have far superior products but the price is also much greater. Also knives,swords and other cutlery has taken a massive decline because of firearms so they are only used occasionally. Now people can’t justify spending $100 or more on a blade unless it’s for their job.

Cold Steel have been junk since the early 90s.

Thanks for the warning. I too, was lusting for the Mayhem & probably would have gotten one someday. Think I'll stick with Spartan Blades & Topps Knives as they have never let me down.

The "s" curve on the tip of your folder shows up best when the reflection from the light hits the side of the blade. You can really see how bad it bent on you. Am sorry to hear about the lack of heat treating and especially the lack 9f cooperation from customer service. Have been a fan of Cold Steel for years, but haven't bought anything from them since a "cutting sword" from them. The entire blade is rippled from not being worked correctly. I would've sent it back except I bought it from another company that handles Cold Steel products and sells them cheaper.

Sad to hear. I grew up loving cold steel blades and whatnot. Shame to hear they sold

Thank You! Joe X just broke their leatherneck like it was nothing. It shattered at the tip test.

I am partial to a Cold Steel, but from what I've heard about the poor quality of their products in recent years, especially after Lynn sold it to GSN, I wouldn't touch one, 😎👍👍

This is why I go through Amazon when it comes to buying cold steel. At least through Amazon theres a a slightly better chance at getting your money back. I had my issues with cold steel hatchet right before Lynn sold the company. Had even more issues since GSM took over. Quality Control is trash.

They are slipping big time ‼️ I've been hearing about all types of problems with GSM Outdoors.

I threw my laptop at a stump and it broke! Mac sucks man! What if this was the zombie apocalypse bro! My lap top needs to be able to pry open a car door or pound nails or chop wood! Why dont you just buy a crow bar and sharpen one end. Stop abusing knives then expecting these companies to eat the cost of replacement.

Man. I wanted this knife bad but for some reason my gut told me no...

I would say.. Carefully hammer out the tip straight. I had to do that with both my Bark River Edwin Forest bowies due to the tips coming through the box during shipping and getting bent. The tip on those is so pointy it can so easily happen. But, you have to go slow, and go easy when hammering out the tip lest you break it or weaken the steel. You could even fire harden the tip carefully as well with a torch.

I cut down a small tree with one of harbor freight survival knifes

Last cold steel I bought was the dropped forged survivalist and it’s bad ass I’ve been chopping tree branches down left and right in my yard and I bought the knife cuz of your review so thanks but when did CS sell there company?