Today, the knives made in Japan use VG-1 stainless steel and VG1 core Sanmai III, the Taiwan models use German 4116 stainless steel, D2 steel, 1055 high carbon steel, O-1 high carbon, SK-5 high carbon steel, Japanese AUS 8A stainless steel, American CTS XHP and CPM S35VN powder steels and American CPM 3V tool steel. The largest Sanmai III fixed blades are made by Hattori. Cold Steel's folding knives are renowned for their lock strength, due primarily to the introduction of the TRI-AD locking mechanism, designed by custom knife maker Andrew Demko.