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Cold Steel Showcases New Atlas and Tri-Ad Lock Lines

April 26, 2022

Cold Steel is bringing out two whole new folder lines, for the Engage and the Verdict. Both lines offer multiple steels and colorations, but one has the new Atlas Lock while the other sports the classic Tri-Ad Lock mechanism.

Engage

In a KnifeNews interview earlier this year, new Cold Steel owners GSM Outdoors talked about the company’s future. A major component of that future, of course, was new models. At the time, Cold Steel had released a teaser video for a knife, originally called the Drifter, equipped with a new for 2022 mechanism called the Atlas Lock. Cold Steel eventually renamed the knife the Engage, and now the whole line has been revealed.

The 2.5-inch Engage is also listed as a blister pack knife – will we see this Cold Steel knife at big box stores?

There are three different blade lengths available: 2.5 inches. 3 inches, and 3.5 inches, but it gets more complicated than that. First of all, the 2.5 model has only been shown with 4116 stainless steel and black GFN scales. The 3-inch model gets the most variations: an orange GFN model with 4116 steel, a grey G-10 or black GFN model with AUS-10A steel, a black GFN model with S35VN blade steel, and, finally, two models with GFN scales (OD green or flat earth) and 4116 steel tanto blades. Well, almost finally: there’s the 3.5-inch model too [see feature image], which has a different handle profile and a forward finger choil, as well as the added length and S35VN steel.

Confused yet? One thing remains completely consistent across the Engage line: the first production presence of the Atlas Lock. Here’s what GSM told us about the Atlas Lock in comparison to the Tri-AdLcok back in February:

We took the stop pin concept and simplified it with a sliding lock bar.  We also added a 2nd pin which is what gives the Atlas Lock its increased strength.  Simply sated, the lock force is distributed over two pins which divides the force and theoretically doubles the load the lock can hold.

Verdict

The Verdict has quite a few variations of its own, but none of them have to do with blade length. Across the entire line, this is an EDC-spec’d folder with a 3-inch cutting edge. There is a spear point model, available in three different colors of GFN with 4116 steel, or in black G-10 scales and AUS10-A steel. The clip point option only comes in GFN and 4116; finally (for real this time!), there are a pair of tanto variations, both of which have G-10 scales and AUS-10A.

The GFN spear Verdict comes with flat desert earth, OD green, or black color scales.

In the aforementioned interview, GSM also told us that, though the Atlas was the new lock on the block, they weren’t going to abandon the famous Tri-Ad Lock – and the Verdict is indeed equipped with that tried-and-true, Andrew Demko-designed mechanism.

Although these Engage and Verdict models have been added to Cold Steel’s website, they’re not yet available to order through the site, nor have they shown up with dealers at this time.

Knife in Featured Image: Cold Steel Engage 3.5

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