Cold Steel
 |
|
| Corporation | |
| Industry | Manufacturing |
| Founded |
California 1980 |
| Headquarters | Ventura, CA |
|
Key people
|
Lynn C. Thompson (President & Founder), Andrew Demko, Robert Vaughn, Ron Balicki, Luke LaFontaine, Anthony DeLongis |
| Products | Knives, Swords, Tomahawks, Pepper Spray, Machetes, Spears, Blowguns, Axes, Martial Arts & self defense-related Products and training tools |
| Website | www.coldsteel.com |
Cold Steel is a Ventura, California seller of knives, swords and other edged weapons and tools.
Cold Steel's has products manufactured worldwide, including the United States, Japan, People's Republic of China (PRC), Taiwan and South Africa. Some blades are marked Windlass so India made.
The company's products include fixed blade knives, folding knives, swords, machetes, tomahawks, kukris, blowguns, walking sticks, and other martial arts items and training equipment. Their knives are used by military and law-enforcement personnel worldwide.
Cold Steel is credited with popularizing the American tantō in 1980. Cold Steel marketed knives made for them in the U.S. by Camillus using a carbon steel given the trademarked name "Carbon V", read Carbon five. Their imported knives were nearly all made in Seki Japan using Aus8 which Cold Steel labelled "400 Series Stainless". They also had two models made in Taiwan, both of which switched to Japan in 2000. In 2007 Camillus New York went bankrupt and Cold Steel was forced to find a new manufacturer for their carbon steel fixed blades. Cold steel first went to China (People's Republic of China) but allegedly due to quality issues they switched to Taiwan (Republic of China) production. At the same time Cold Steel moved all of their folding knife manufacturing from Seki Japan to Taiwan. The carbon steel was SK5 and stainless was Aus8 both imported to Taiwan from Japan. However the Sanmai III models remained strictly Seki Japan production.
Today the knives made in Japan use VG-1 Stainless Steel and VG1 core Sanmai III, the Taiwan models use German 4116 stainless steel, D2 steel, 1055 high carbon steel, O-1 high carbon, SK-5 high carbon steel, Japanese AUS 8A stainless steel and American CPM 3V tool steel. The largest Sanmai III fixed blades are made by Hattori. Cold Steel's folding knives are renowned for their lock strength, due primarily to the introduction of the TRI-AD locking mechanism, designed by custom knife maker Andrew Demko.
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Wikipedia