What Is The Difference Between A Cobra And Cowboy?

[Kcinnick]

What is the difference between a cobra class 4 and Cowboy 4500?

[Wizcrafts]

The Cobra is brown; the Cowboy is beige. The Cowboy presser feet and throat plates are cut from stainless steel. Both machines have the same specs and are well made and serviced by the most competent mechanics in the business. The official Cobra and Cowboy dealers stand behind the machines they sell. Price-wise, if similarly equipped, they cost about the same. The Cowboy machines are offered a la carte, at a lower price, for those who don't want or need all the accessories, and are usually in stock all the time.

[TwinOaks]

The Cobra is in California, the Cowboy is in Ohio, that may play a role in shipping charges.

[Steven Kelley]

I bought a Cowboy from Bob at Toledo Industrial Sewing in July. VERY happy with the machine and the service Bob provides. The machine was setup to sew when shipped. I just unloaded it, mounted the head on the stand, and started to sew. No adjustment needed at all. I've also heard good things about Steve at Cobra.

[Art]

As far as having machines in stock, Steve sells so many that they are always on order. Tony goes through each machine and that takes half a day if there are no problems; if something is not to his liking, it can take a whole day to make it purr like a kitten. I have six machines I got through Steve and have not had a problem with any of them, except maybe lifting that 320 lb. strap cutter, son did it by himself, oh to be young again.

I have my preferences, but both machines will sew, and that is what it comes down to.

Art

[Kcinnick]

So the price difference is in the accessories and stainless steel? It seems like I see more people talk about their Cobra purchase, but nobody has anything bad to say about the cowboy's at a lower price, not to mention the other versions of this machine. It seems like the choice really comes down to cowboy or cobra.

[Mike Craw]

I have never sewn on a Cowboy, but I can tell you from personal experience about the quiet, power, and customer service of the Cobra. All of my previous sewing had been done on an Artisan 3000, and I followed the advice of Pepper and others on this forum and Leather Pros and went with a Cobra 4. When I got mine, I experienced some problems which I attributed to lack of familiarity with the machine. I sewed some more and didn't improve much, so I called Steve. The first night, he spent over an hour with me on the phone, talking me through various operations on re-threading, tensioning, and lubrication of the machine. I didn't seem to be having much luck in the following days, and Steve called me back on a Saturday night to see how things were going. He spent another hour that Saturday working through various diagnostics.

I emailed hom a couple of days later and told him that I'd about decided that I was too old and set in my "hand sewing" ways and probably didn't have any business owning a high-tech machine! Steve called me on the phone that night and asked that I ship the machine head back to him in California, and that he would pay for the shipping!

I did, and I had the machine back within a week. Steve called to tell me that he had reset the timing and changed a part. This thing sews like nothing I've ever seen. It even makes me look like I know what I'm doing (and that ain't easy.) You won't do any better in terms of quality than with Cobra, and I'm betting that you'd be hard pressed to match the customer service anywhere.

Hope this addresses some of your questions.

[MADMAX22]

I picked up a CB4500 from Neals saddlery about 8 months ago I think. Was shipped painlessly, it took a few days to come in to his shop then they went thru it and got it all setup and adjusted. I unpacked it, put it together, oiled it and started sewing. Ofcourse I had a few questions and he spent some time on the phone with me getting me thru the few questions that I had. Bob's videos on utube helped with the rest. I even talked to Steve a couple of times and he is a really great guy as well.

Do I regret getting the CB instead of a cobra, not at all. If I did it again would I change who I got it from, to answer that the only reason I would go with cobra is because I live in WA and they ship out of CA. Either way no matter who you get it from either three of these guys will spend the time on the phone with you to make sure it is running great. Oh and to mention these guys are all in good standings with one another and even if you didnt buy from one or the other I am sure would still end up helping you out if you had questions.

As far as a price difference I didnt really notice much of one. When I got mine I think the CB was a little cheaper but all in all its about the same.

[Warpe]

I purchased a cowboy 3500 a while back and other than a learning curve in tensioning (my problem, not the machines) i have had zero issues with it. Customer service is great and shipping was quick.

I defiantly recommend the Cowboy series.

[MADMAX22]

Oh wanted to add if you pick one of these up, after running it for a while make sure to check on the reverse lever there is a screw in the back that can come loose a little bit, you can start to feel it a little in the lever when it starts getting loose and your reverse stitches stop lining up with the forward ones. Just something to check for those that have these.