BF2020 Viper Swayback Discuss Thread

[btb01]

Not to mention, the curvature and sweep of the swedge on my example is perfect. To be candid, it's better done and more uniform than the edge grind on my last GEC was.

I don’t know that much about Viper’s manufacturing processes, but I would guess that the swedge is not done by hand. I could be wrong. And while I think GEC makes an outstanding product, their factory edges have always left something to be desired.

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I can only keep one. Should I keep the dark one or the light one? What do y’all think?

Definitely the dark one! I think that might be the best one I’ve seen, tons of character!

Love the dark ones! A great example you got, Barrett!

Thanks, Dennis! It has a bit of texture, too, which I like.

 

[E40]

I have seen some really nice horn on these knives, thanks to everyone for posting their pictures. Here are my two quick pictures this morning, better ones when I get the chance.

Thanks to knifeswapper for putting this together.

 

[Half/Stop]

Again, love the dark ones. But any of them are keepers! Nice Ron!

Thanks Dennis!

 

[Wild Willie]

Fantastic covers!

Thank you Dennis! I'm quite fond of them myself.

 

[JohnDF]

Nice, John! I had doubts I would like these, but once in hand, I love it!

Thank you, Dennis.
I'm glad you're happy with yours too.

 

[Eversharp!]

Thanks Mike and BladeForums!

 

[FLymon]

Not bad for then local post office to only lie about the time of the day mine were delivered. So they came in late yesterday and I got them this morning.
Worth the wait.
I will clean them but these photos are right out of the boxes. Added the Case Swayback Jack I am carrying today for scale.
Couldn't be happier, thanks to Mike and Bladeforums for making this happen!
Also thanks to Charlie for helping out our Canadian friends. Great folks here on the porch all around.

 

[knifeswapper]

How many of these were made Mike just curious?

350

knifeswapper I do have on question. The frame and bolsters seem light despite their apparent thickness, titanium? or just the light weight of the horn? I've gone back through the description threads, and if they describe it, I didn't see it.

Each side is a single piece of titanium.

As far as I know it's from Mouflon which is an ancient type of sheep now found in the Med area. Mike will likely know for sure.

mouflon

Ovis Aries Aries

I remember that, Ed. I specifically remember Mike mentioning to be careful when torqueing the screws down. I was concerned about that with one of my Lion Steel knives so I contacted Lion Steel and asked if they could provide a torque value for the screws. I'm sorry to say that I never got a reply.

I'm notorious for stripping screws. If screws of any type are easily stripped, I'll strip them just as sure as I'm sittin' here. As a result, I've never attempted to disassemble one of these Italian modern traditionals.

I haven't stripped the thread on one yet. But it is better when putting it back together to just use a speck of loctite and just tighten snug. Viper uses some type of locker that will really set up at times. I checked these knives before boxing them and had to adjust 8-10 of the pivots. A couple of them were so tight that I would have stripped the heads before ever loosening them. So, I hit them with a torch for just a second to soften the locker and they released much easier.

 

[r8shell]

Happy to report that the cleaning went very well! Dawn dish soap, hot water, and a toothbrush removed all the polish from the horn pretty easily, without a lot of scrubbing. The scales (especially the show side) look a good bit different now. All of the finer light-colored streaking in the grain is now gone. Overall, this looks better IMO.

Pros: No fine, light-colored streaking in the dark horn. Looks much better I think.

Cons: The polish does fill in some of the deeper grooves, which gives the surface a nicer, smoother finish, in both feeling and look.

The show side of mine was fairly flat, and after removing the polishing compound, you can see that the actual fibers of the horn were not polished too well, so much of the glossy look is gone. The pile side was polished much better, and retains most of the glossy-looking finish without the lighter-colored streaking.

If I had my druthers, I would have preferred that Viper used a darker-colored polishing compound on the darker horn material which would have blended better. I generally prefer the smoother, glossy feeling that the scales had with the polishing compound still present. But the streaky look bothered me once I realized what was causing it. For this reason, I elected not to remove the polishing compound from the lighter colored knife I have, as the polishing compound does not distract from the look like it does on the dark one.

Here are a couple poorly-lit pictures of the results (and the as-received pics from earlier, for easy comparison). I'll get better photos tomorrow in the natural light.

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They do look better.

Considering the frame is titanium and the backspring and blade are stainless, I plan on cleaning mine up with the scales still attached.

I'm thinking the same. Then maybe a little wax and buff with a cloth.

 

[Eli Chaps]

...
I haven't stripped the thread on one yet. But it is better when putting it back together to just use a speck of loctite and just tighten snug. Viper uses some type of locker that will really set up at times. I checked these knives before boxing them and had to adjust 8-10 of the pivots. A couple of them were so tight that I would have stripped the heads before ever loosening them. So, I hit them with a torch for just a second to soften the locker and they released much easier.

A little touch of fingernail polish works quite well as thread locker too and is pretty easy to break back open. Been holding my guns together for years.

Nice knives everyone. Congrats and another "well done" Mike.

 

[JonMcD]

Ovis Aries Aries
.

Thanks Mike and @Will Power for the nature nerdery

 

[mqqn]

Hi fellow porch-dwellers!

My beautiful blonde showed up two days early yesterday, thanks knifeswapper for the great work in putting the project together and getting the knives out so quickly!

Mine is very nice - love the scales and the knife is well made - a great addition to my BF Traditional collection.

The Viper with it's older brothers....

best

mqqn

 

[Quiet]

Finally found time to snap a couple of pics, love mine

Man, Paul! You definitely got a stunner there!

 

[Quiet]

I don’t know that much about Viper’s manufacturing processes, but I would guess that the swedge is not done by hand. I could be wrong. And while I think GEC makes an outstanding product, their factory edges have always left something to be desired.

I agree, it's probably a mechanically done process! And yes, I do love my GECs, but some of the edges have been...uhhhh, let's call it a "decent starting point".

Not bad for then local post office to only lie about the time of the day mine were delivered. So they came in late yesterday and I got them this morning.
Worth the wait.
I will clean them but these photos are right out of the boxes. Added the Case Swayback Jack I am carrying today for scale.
Couldn't be happier, thanks to Mike and Bladeforums for making this happen!
Also thanks to Charlie for helping out our Canadian friends. Great folks here on the porch all around.

I love the look of the bottom one, it looks like an old wood of some kind. Beautiful. All three knives are lookers, really.

 

[bbfish]

Update: Ive already drawn blood on myself. These bad boys came sharp.

 

[jrawk]

Its great to read all the positive reviews and see all the variations. Mine arrived last night and is no exception.

I hope this sheds some of the stigma around "modern" slipjoint, or what Mike Latham calls a hybrid. The Viper Swayback is all about attention to detail, from a manufactured perspective. Sure, it's not hand-pinned or hafted or patina'd, but the level of fit and finish, precision, and advancement in both material and construction without losing the spirit of the traditional swayback pattern is something everybody should marvel at.

Bravo to Mike for putting this one together. 2020 is a year everyone wants to get past and forget. But I'm pretty sure this knife will be a highlight for all the
BF knife collectors going forward.

 

[TraditionalMedicinal]

Everybody's are looking aweseome! Mine are supposably sitting at my local post office right now so I should have them later today

Any tips on how to care for the horn scales?

 

[Cvrobinson]

Its great to read all the positive reviews and see all the variations. Mine arrived last night and is no exception.

I hope this sheds some of the stigma around "modern" slipjoint, or what Mike Latham calls a hybrid. The Viper Swayback is all about attention to detail, from a manufactured perspective. Sure, it's not hand-pinned or hafted or patina'd, but the level of fit and finish, precision, and advancement in both material and construction without losing the spirit of the traditional swayback pattern is something everybody should marvel at.

Bravo to Mike for putting this one together. 2020 is a year everyone wants to get past and forget. But I'm pretty sure this knife will be a highlight for all the
BF knife collectors going forward.

Begs the question
Is it a traditional by porch standards
Should pics of this modern traditional be limited to this thread, or is the definition of a traditional evolving and will other modem traditional’s be acceptable on the porch

 

[BDubbs]

No issues calling it a traditional....but I’m still new here.

 

[pjsjr]

I picked mine up at the mail house yesterday just as the sun was going down. Thanks to Mike knifeswapper and all at BF that made this possible. I do like this knife, in all aspects, it exceeds my expections.