Today, Cold Steel announced that it will be transitioning all products that currently use CTS-XHP steel to S35VN. The company cited challenges sourcing the Carpenter-produced CTS-XHP as the primary motivator for the switch.

While pleased with the steel’s performance they say S35VN offers the same strength, durability, and edge retention properties that are associated with CTS-XHP. Cold Steel will phase in the new blade material and they expect the process to take less than a year overall.

CTS-XHP made its first appearance in the Cold Steel lineup in 2015, after the company answered fans’ request for a steel upgrade over their then-standard AUS-8. That change set the bar for all mid-range Cold Steel products for the next three years. It came with a bump up in cost, but Cold Steel says the move to S35VN won’t affect prices. “We feel we can deliver the same, great quality products to our customers sooner and for the same price, by using American CPM-S35VN steel,” they wrote.

S35VN’s availability should develop a more steady stream of new product on dealers’ shelves. “Our goal is to always have satisfied customers, and we feel that by eventually using CPM-S35VN for more products, it will allow us to get our awesome blades in your hands sooner and help to prevent long backorder wait times.”

The company tells us that 37 models will be affected by the change. Recent Cold Steel releases like the Golden Eye, SR1, and the Lucky One are already outfitted with S35VN.



Steel experts often describe CTS-XHP as equivalent to a stainless D2. S35VN is a well-known powder steel from Crucible, developed as a ‘sequel’ to S30V in conjunction with Chris Reeve and other experts.

Knife featured in image: Cold Steel Tiger Claw