Cold Steel, Inc. is an
America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
n retailer of
knives
A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced ...
/
bladed tools,
training weapons,
sword
A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...
s and other
martial arts
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...
edged and
blunt weapon
A blunt instrument is any solid Physical body, object used as a weapon, which damages its target by applying direct mechanical force, and has no penetrating point or edge, or is wielded so that the point or edge is not the part of the weapon that ...
s. Founded in
Ventura, California
Ventura, officially named San Buenaventura (Spanish for "Saint Bonaventure"), is a city on the Southern Coast of California and the county seat of Ventura County. The population was 110,763 at the 2020 census. Ventura is a popular tourist des ...
, the company is currently based in
Irving, Texas
Irving is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. Located in Dallas County, it is also an inner ring suburb of Dallas. The city of Irving is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. According to a 2019 estimate from the United States Census Bureau, ...
after an acquisition by GSM Outdoors in 2020.
Cold Steel products are manufactured worldwide, including in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
,
mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
and
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
.
Products
![Cold Steel Warcrafter Tanto](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Cold_Steel_Warcrafter_Tanto.jpg)
The company's products include fixed blade knives, folding
knives
A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced ...
,
sword
A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...
s,
machete
Older machete from Latin America
Gerber machete/saw combo
Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas, Oaxaca">San_Agustín_de_las_Juntas.html" ;"title="Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas">Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San ...
s,
tomahawk
A tomahawk is a type of single-handed axe used by the many Indigenous peoples and nations of North America. It traditionally resembles a hatchet with a straight shaft. In pre-colonial times the head was made of stone, bone, or antler, and Europ ...
s,
kukri
The kukri () or khukuri ( ne, खुकुरी, ) is a type of machete with a distinct recurve in its blade. It serves multiple purposes as a melee weapon and also as a regular cutting tool throughout most of South Asia. The ''kukri'', ''khuk ...
s,
blowgun
A blowgun (also called a blowpipe or blow tube) is a simple ranged weapon consisting of a long narrow tube for shooting light projectiles such as darts. It operates by having the projectile placed inside the pipe and using the force created by ...
s,
walking stick
A walking stick or walking cane is a device used primarily to aid walking, provide postural stability or support, or assist in maintaining a good posture. Some designs also serve as a fashion accessory, or are used for self-defense.
Walking sti ...
s, and other
martial arts
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...
items and training equipment. Their knives are used by military and law-enforcement personnel worldwide.
Cold Steel is credited with popularizing the American
tantō
A is one of the traditionally made Japanese swords ( ''nihonto'') that were worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan. The tantō dates to the Heian period, when it was mainly used as a weapon but evolved in design over the years to become more ...
in 1980.
Cold Steel marketed knives made for them in the U.S. by
Camillus using a
carbon steel
Carbon steel is a steel with carbon content from about 0.05 up to 2.1 percent by weight. The definition of carbon steel from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) states:
* no minimum content is specified or required for chromium, cobalt ...
given the trademarked name "Carbon V" (read "carbon five"). Their imported knives were nearly all made in
Seki,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
using
AUS-8 which Cold Steel labelled "400 Series Stainless". They also had two models made in
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, 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
Mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
(
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
) but allegedly due to quality issues they switched to Taiwan for 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 AUS-8A & 10A both imported to Taiwan from Japan. However the Sanmai III models remained strictly Seki production. The largest Sanmai III fixed blades are made by Hattori.
Seki City production knives are made using VG1
stainless steel
Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...
and VG1 core Sanmai III. Current and past models have used: German 4116 stainless steel, D2, 1055 high carbon steel, O-1 high carbon, SK-5 carbon steel, AUS 8A & 10A, CTS XHP, CPM S35VN, and CPM 3V tool steel.
Cold Steel's folding knives are renowned for their lock strength, due to the TRI-AD Lock, designed by custom knife maker Andrew Demko.
Cold Steel's swords are primarily made from 1055 high carbon steel and
Damascus steel
Damascus steel was the forged steel of the blades of swords smithed in the Near East from ingots of Wootz steel either imported from Southern India or made in production centres in Sri Lanka, or Khorasan, Iran. These swords are characterize ...
.
Many of Cold Steel's products are designed by company President Lynn C Thompson and based upon traditional knife designs from all over the world, but Cold Steel has also collaborated with custom knife makers such as Andrew Demko, Phil Boguszewski, Zach Whitson, Steven Likarich, Keith Dehart, Rich McDonald, Bob Koga, Fred Perrin and Lloyd Pendleton on certain designs.
Marketing
Cold Steel is known for their graphic marketing videos and DVDs (entitled "PROOF") which demonstrate their products' strength, sharpness, edge retention and durability. Featured tests include piercing
car hood
The hood (American English) or bonnet (Commonwealth English) is the hinged cover over the engine of motor vehicles. Hoods can open to allow access to the engine compartment, or trunk (boot in Commonwealth English) on rear-engine and some mi ...
s, using
folding knives as
monkey bars, slicing through large free-hanging pieces of meat and animal carcass, stabbing/slashing
ballistic gel mannequin
A mannequin (also called a dummy, lay figure, or dress form) is a doll, often articulated, used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window dressers and others, especially to display or fit clothing and show off different fabrics and textiles. Pr ...
s, and cutting
tatami
A is a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. Tatamis are made in standard sizes, twice as long as wide, about 0.9 m by 1.8 m depending on the region. In martial arts, tatami are the floor used for traini ...
rolls
Roll or Rolls may refer to:
Movement about the longitudinal axis
* Roll angle (or roll rotation), one of the 3 angular degrees of freedom of any stiff body (for example a vehicle), describing motion about the longitudinal axis
** Roll (aviation), ...
and free-hanging polyester rope with a single stroke.
In the media
Cold Steel's products feature heavily in movies, TV shows, games and web series. Their knives have seen prominent use in numerous action movies since the early 1980s.
Many of Cold Steel's employees are martial artists and weapons experts, who feature in their infamous marketing videos. Some of the members of their "crew" are also
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
stunt men,
fight choreographer
Stage combat, fight craft or fight choreography is a specialised technique in theatre designed to create the illusion of physical combat without causing harm to the performers. It is employed in live stage plays as well as operatic and ballet pr ...
s and trainers, most notably
Ron Balicki
Ron Balicki (born September 2, 1963) is an American actor and stuntman for various films and television series. He is also a well known martial arts practitioner, teacher and author. He is a student and the son-in-law of Dan Inosanto.
Biograph ...
, Luke LaFontaine and
Anthony De Longis
Anthony Charles De Longis (born March 23, 1950) is an American actor, stuntman, and fight choreographer.
Life and career
De Longis was born in Glendale, California. He attended California State University, Northridge where he was initiated ...
.
[
Thompson also writes regular articles regarding the use of knives for self-defense.][
]
Special Projects division
Special Projects was a division of Cold Steel Inc. that sold a line of tools and weapons such as Spetsnaz
Spetsnaz are special forces in numerous post-Soviet states. (The term is borrowed from rus, спецназ, p=spʲɪtsˈnas; abbreviation for or 'Special Purpose Military Units'; or .)
Historically, the term ''spetsnaz'' referred to the So ...
-type shovels, sjambok
The sjambok () or litupa is a heavy leather whip. It is traditionally made from an adult hippopotamus or rhinoceros hide, but is also commonly made out of plastic.
A strip of the animal's hide is cut and carved into a strip long, tapering from ...
s, and spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...
s. The Special Projects division was closed and many of its products discontinued after Cold Steel's acquisition by GSM Outdoors; those remaining were absorbed into the main Cold Steel brand.
Additionally, a line of tomahawk
A tomahawk is a type of single-handed axe used by the many Indigenous peoples and nations of North America. It traditionally resembles a hatchet with a straight shaft. In pre-colonial times the head was made of stone, bone, or antler, and Europ ...
s, axes, and hammers was marketed under the name of The American Tomahawk Company.
References
External links
*
Cold Steel Europe
- Cold Steel Europe
{{Authority control
Knife manufacturing companies
Swordsmiths
Companies based in Irving, Texas