To start with a disclaimer, I ended up buying this knife just for fun. CS is doing a very good job with their tri-ad lock and are building some very useful knives in the Voyager line-up. By looking at them I would say the large (maybe medium) clip point plain edge Voyager would make most sense for most of us. Just as is: Aus8A and all, as part of that "keep it simple" principle. I am happy with my "useful" knives that I am using regularly but I just couldn't take my eyes off that bad-ass vaquero blade, so I went for one. Just to put a smile on my face.
This is an awesome knife. It's big even if not too heavy and the blade swings out with a lot of authority. So much authority that I admit to having been very cautious when opening it one-handed for the first couple of times. When the lock engages you hear a definite and confident "clack," like a rifle bolt closing, telling you "I'm ready for action." So far the only action has been to massacre an evil cardboard box, polyfoam included. Obviously, the enemy stood no chance.
I would leave the specs to the Cold Steel website, and rather rant about my impressions of the knife. To start at the tip, the blade shape is really very unique. The Web is full of pictures from different angles and the upsweep of the tip is more or less obvious. I laid a ruler parallel to the first part of the spine and to me it looks fairly straight and in line with the axis of the handle. On stabbing, the tip penetrates very easy, the cut is quickly enlarged by the push of the widening edge, then the push of the rising spine enlarges the cut some more. Slashing will happen on a curved surface concentrating all the pressure on the contact point instead of a line, like a straight blade. Pull cuts will tend to collect material in the rear concave segment of the blade and push it against the convex forward segment thus making a very efficient cutter. All this physics makes the blade very efficient in dismantling things with very little effort. My only concern would be the very thin blade behind the tip.
The flat ground blade is finished in a stonewash texture, some will like it, some won't. It looks like a light patina on an old carbon steel blade and it sure does not retain fingerprints, which is not bad at all. The light dull grey also makes the knife look more like a working knife and not an exhibition piece. Being so big and heavy, the blade will swing out by itself with a longer arc of the arm and sharp flick at the end. My Vaquero had a very good edge from the box and I know CS has their heat treatment on the Aus8A under control.
The handle is huge even for my large hands. I found three good grip positions using all those finger grooves, plus you can choke on the blade by using a flat area right under the pivot. The pattern on the scales is made of interlocking iron crosses (or Maltese crosses if you prefer) that offer a lot of traction without becoming uncomfortable. Pressing on the handle will yield no flexing at all thanks to the heat treated aluminium liners. Also, none of the gripping positions will let you disengage the lock by accident. To do so you need to press it very firmly indeed with your thumb, and your thumb won't be very happy to do that repeatedly for too long.
As a note to the scales, the CS clip is very tight and the pattern underneath it aggressive enough to be not only hard on your pants pocket lining but also difficult to extract. My Vaquero wasn't meant to hang inside the pocket so the clip went off. In case you will want to retain it, some people suggest widening the clip or filing off some of the texturing. I any case, CS is adding a left-hand carry clip in the box, so you will be covered.
All in all this is a very well put together knife. I should not even mention it, but there is no play whatsoever in the blade. With a mirror polished blade, polished steel bolsters and micarta scales, this knife would be a real show-piece (think Espada). But that it is not. It's a working piece at a reasonable price for how well it is made. Why would the vaquero blade be useful to you, I don't know. I never really understood the modified tantos (in general) either but the clip points look like very useful blades. This knife, on the other hand, just puts a big smile on my face. Try it out, it may put a big smile on your face too.
This is an awesome knife. It's big even if not too heavy and the blade swings out with a lot of authority. So much authority that I admit to having been very cautious when opening it one-handed for the first couple of times. When the lock engages you hear a definite and confident "clack," like a rifle bolt closing, telling you "I'm ready for action." So far the only action has been to massacre an evil cardboard box, polyfoam included. Obviously, the enemy stood no chance.
I would leave the specs to the Cold Steel website, and rather rant about my impressions of the knife. To start at the tip, the blade shape is really very unique. The Web is full of pictures from different angles and the upsweep of the tip is more or less obvious. I laid a ruler parallel to the first part of the spine and to me it looks fairly straight and in line with the axis of the handle. On stabbing, the tip penetrates very easy, the cut is quickly enlarged by the push of the widening edge, then the push of the rising spine enlarges the cut some more. Slashing will happen on a curved surface concentrating all the pressure on the contact point instead of a line, like a straight blade. Pull cuts will tend to collect material in the rear concave segment of the blade and push it against the convex forward segment thus making a very efficient cutter. All this physics makes the blade very efficient in dismantling things with very little effort. My only concern would be the very thin blade behind the tip.
The flat ground blade is finished in a stonewash texture, some will like it, some won't. It looks like a light patina on an old carbon steel blade and it sure does not retain fingerprints, which is not bad at all. The light dull grey also makes the knife look more like a working knife and not an exhibition piece. Being so big and heavy, the blade will swing out by itself with a longer arc of the arm and sharp flick at the end. My Vaquero had a very good edge from the box and I know CS has their heat treatment on the Aus8A under control.
The handle is huge even for my large hands. I found three good grip positions using all those finger grooves, plus you can choke on the blade by using a flat area right under the pivot. The pattern on the scales is made of interlocking iron crosses (or Maltese crosses if you prefer) that offer a lot of traction without becoming uncomfortable. Pressing on the handle will yield no flexing at all thanks to the heat treated aluminium liners. Also, none of the gripping positions will let you disengage the lock by accident. To do so you need to press it very firmly indeed with your thumb, and your thumb won't be very happy to do that repeatedly for too long.
As a note to the scales, the CS clip is very tight and the pattern underneath it aggressive enough to be not only hard on your pants pocket lining but also difficult to extract. My Vaquero wasn't meant to hang inside the pocket so the clip went off. In case you will want to retain it, some people suggest widening the clip or filing off some of the texturing. I any case, CS is adding a left-hand carry clip in the box, so you will be covered.
All in all this is a very well put together knife. I should not even mention it, but there is no play whatsoever in the blade. With a mirror polished blade, polished steel bolsters and micarta scales, this knife would be a real show-piece (think Espada). But that it is not. It's a working piece at a reasonable price for how well it is made. Why would the vaquero blade be useful to you, I don't know. I never really understood the modified tantos (in general) either but the clip points look like very useful blades. This knife, on the other hand, just puts a big smile on my face. Try it out, it may put a big smile on your face too.
