Must have been 20 years ago, maybe 15, but my first Cold Steel was a Voyager. I used the heck out of that knife till I lost it. Then I bought another. I was impressed with the abuse that plastic handled knife could take.
I have purchased a number of Cold Steel knives since then. You get what you pay for. The cheaper knives, they function fine.The expensive Japanese made knives are some of the finest production knives on the market. Those that criticize Cold Steel for being a “marketer” and not a maker are willfully ignoring that SOG, Fallkniven don’t run their own factories but use the same Japanese manufacturers.
I really like the Canadian Belt knife. It does not come with an expensive leather sheath, it is not full tanged, and does not have a walnut handle like the Grohmann, but it does have the same blade steel, and costs $10-15.00 instead of $70.00 -$100 for the Grohmann.
I use the Colt Steel knife in the kitchen, my Grohmann, I take better care of it. It is more like an art knife.
I really like my special forces shovel. I have several. A very useful gardening tool. It will chop roots that will break lesser shovels.
When the Chinese made Trailmasters were clearanced for $50.00, I bought a couple. The factory edge had "feathers", but once those were stoned out, I find the knives take an excellent edge and hold it. I cannot say that the Chinese made Trailmaster are better/worse than the Camillus.