Have you guys seen this?

[Jim2]

This is the Cold Steel Ti-Lite.

It designed to look like a 50's style switch blade. I thought it looked pretty cool.

[Yester5]

They are overpriced junk IMHO. Poor heat treatment and a blatent rip-off of the Emerson "wave". Lynn Thompson has ripped-off Spyderco designs as well. He is a "snake-oil" salesman AFAIC. Save your money and by a good quality knife like Spyderco, Emerson, or Benchmade.

[Jim2]

Yester5,

Don't hold back. Tell me how you really feel. (Ha Ha) I wasn't planning on buying it I just thought it looked cool. Is it really that bad of a knife?

[vampyrewolf]

I've got one, don't carry it a lot. I knocked the top guard off for more comfort and I didn't want it opening everytime I took it out.

8A steel, good enough HT on it, nice heft... but the lock has movement.

<img src="http://www.members.shaw.ca/pjharyett/spyderco/spyder5.gif"><br>Mei Fides, Mei Victus<br>Coffee Before Conciousness<br> Vampyrewolf@yahoo.com

[DAYWALKER]

Aloha! Thanks Jim for this post...and Vampyrewolf especially as you have just saved me some money! I WAS interested in the Zytel Ti...no more! Now, where to get me a couple of Jesters...

God will put you over...if you let Him! Mark 11:23!

[vampyrewolf]

I have the titanium version... the zytel ones that I handled instore after they came out all felt really cheap.

<img src="http://www.members.shaw.ca/pjharyett/spyderco/spyder5.gif"><br>Mei Fides, Mei Victus<br>Coffee Before Conciousness<br> Vampyrewolf@yahoo.com

[dskmanch]

I have the titanium version too and think it is a very nice looking and well made knife with the bonus of titanium, which I love. I don't know about the blade steel as I never use my knives, so all I can say is I'm glad to have it in my collection.

[Yester5]

Sorry Jim...did'nt mean to rant. Fact is, I have several Cold Steel knives. But they go from good to worse. The early model Voyagers and El Hombre are good quality knives, the newer Scimitar, Recon folder, and Trail Guide are shabby. Plus, after reading Mr. Thompsons' hypocritical put-down of makers like Emerson and Strider in his catalog were the last straw for me. I'll never buy another Cold Steel product.

[ken]

Hi Jim,

I find the Ti-Lite to be a very fine knife. But not the zytel model, that one does look and feel cheap. The titanium model is very nice and the blue anodized one with the polished blade looks great.

As far as Yesters comment I don't see how this knife is a rip off of any emerson model/design and to call it a piece of junk!
It is a very good design made with quality material. As far as cold steels owner and other knives I don't really have an opinion.

ken

[jbake]

I have a Ti version. The knive seems well made, but I NEVER carry it (well, maybe once).

It's a fine knife as far as I know, but it just doens't do anything for me.

The only real desgin proplem I have is the guard. To me, it's as if they are upside down, the &quot;ramp&quot; should have been on the thumb side.

[dialex]

Cold Steel also has a Civilian ripoff.

<a href="http://users.pcnet.ro/dialex"><font color=blue>(my page)</font></a>

[AllenETreat]

Gang :

With regards Yester5's comment on Lynn Thompson &quot;ripping off&quot; designs, why don't you start with the CHICOM's? A &quot;snake oil&quot;
salesman he's NOT : he's probably been in business for about the same period of time as your age Yester! Are you some kind of authourity on &quot;heat treatment&quot;? You got a degree ( or certificate from a tech school?)

I think you should go into the trade, and, when you do, post you miserable two cents
on the &quot;techno-junkies forum&quot;. AOBTW : know what making false accusations about plagiarism constitutes in a civil court of &quot;law&quot;? LIBEL! You might very well get sued! ( or your parents might ) So, watch
yer muckraking BS! Savy!?!

Cold steel Ti-lite ( even with zytel handle )
is a fine blade ( gonna get another one soon )as far as it being a &quot;rip off&quot; off the Emerson &quot;wave&quot; is indeed very debatable.

The cold steel black talon, which was withdrawn temporarily from the market due
to &quot;issues&quot; regarding it's similarities
to the civilian/matriarch has since been
put back on the market ( obviously the &quot;rip off&quot; was THAT blatant-or- it wasn't worth
alot of small minded non-sense such as is discussed here ) I might get a black talon as well.

Any more &quot;arm chair experts&quot;?

AET

&quot;All that is necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing.&quot; Edmund Burke ( 1729-1797 )

Edited by - AllenETreat on 2/19/2004 7:55:20 AM

[UK KEN]

Dear all

I have collected and sold all makes of knives over the past 30 years (not that this makes me an authority on the subject). I have 82 Spyderco knives in my collection and their quality is unquestionable. I am however not blinkered in my tastes and own a number of Cold Steel products among other knives.

I have 30 Cold Steel knives including all three Ti-Lites and for the price they are excellently made with good materials. I have carried and more importantly used these knives for all types of jobs ranging from gutting and skinning to cutting tent pegs!

I have sold about thirty of the Ti-Lites and around 400 other Cold Steel knives to UK customers and have had no complaints to date.

Ideas are &quot;borrowed&quot; from many sources! If Lynn Thompson should be taken to task for &quot;ripping-off&quot; ideas, (which I don't think is the case), then almost every knife designer would fall into the same category. There are very few new ideas, most are improvements or modifications of existing designs. I recently sold a twenty year old Italian folder which had the same blade geometry as the Ti-Lite, including the reverse spurs. They may not have been intended to be used as &quot;speed openers&quot; but they were incorporated into the blade.

I agree with AET where he warns of making accusations of this kind. I would be very careful when expressing your views in this way!

Lastly, I can highly recommend Cold Steel products. I hope that no one has been put off buying them as a result of some of the comments that have been made here!

Ken (BargainBlades)

[thombrogan]

When the similarities were brought to his attention, Mr. Thompson agreed to pay a fee to Mr. Glesser. Sal said so over on Bladeforums. Thompson is a bit outspoken, but his corporate behavior regarding pocket clips and the Black Talon's identical semblance to the Civillian/Patriarch line is much better than Benchmade's recent behavior concerning the their 630 Skirmish (and I'm a big fan of Benchmade and Mr. de Asis).

[Yester5]

Calm down AET! I expressed MY opinon based upon my experience- I called a spade a spade, if you don't like it, lump it. BTW, I'm over 50 and I've been making knives since the 70's. I'm no expert (still learning) but I'm also a metal worker by trade so I do know a little about heat treatment. Nothing exotic, but most of my knives were made from O1, A2, and D2. The O1's, I treated my self (along with the ones I made from old files, leaf springs, etc.) The A2 and D2 were heat treated by a local metalurgy shop here in Pittsburgh. All my knives could do the same things shown in Cold Steels' DVD, no matter how stupid.