powernoodle
Power Member
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2004
- Messages
- 11,968
Cold Steel was always one of those companies that I pushed to the back burner. Seriously - who in their right mind would want a Cold Steel knife after watching videos of that chubby guy hacking at bags of meat?
Well, the answer was me. One Cold Steel knife turned into two, and now I probably have about a dozen of them. The latest addition to my Cold Steel arsenal is the Voyager XL. When I first saw this knife, I thought it was goofy big, like clown shoes or a giant, foam cowboy hat at a Dallas Cowboys game. But I was well pleased to find that, for me, the Voyager XL is barely just inside the line that separates real usable knives from clown knives.
So what is the Voyager XL? Its a big, honkin' Taiwanese produced tactical/user/EDC knife sporting a 5.5" Japanese AUS-8A clip point blade, plastic (a.k.a. "grivory") scales, and heat treated aluminum liners. Weighing in at a relatively modest (for its size) 7.2 ounces, this behemoth is over a foot long when deployed. Just think how much fun you would have irritating the fat, unhappy, divorced chick at the office when you thwack this monster open to clean your fingernails. But thats not the point of this knife, and neither is vivisecting bags of swinging meat. The advertised purpose of this pocket sword is "hunting, camping to hiking and general utility chores . . . specialty functions such as a boat or river knife, chute knife or police/military and survival/rescue applications." And those things are all true. But for most of us, this is a fun knife, a possible self-defense blade, and a general EDC/utility knife for those of us who enjoy having a giant slab of gleaming steel at the ready. The knife arrived exceedingly sharp, and with a perfect grind. I'll hit it with the Edge Pro when the time comes.
The Voyager lineup arrives with a very well done and attractive stone washed finish. But I chose to slap a hand-rubbed shine on this one with some Mother's Mag Wheel polish, a rag and 30 minutes of elbow grease.
One thing about the Voyager lineup that is not over-hyped is the awesome Tri-Ad back lock. Its a very robust, self-adjusting lockup that transfers forces from the tang to a hefty stop pin rather than directly to the back lock. Here in the real world, that means that you have more leeway to beat on this sucker without introducing rock lock or vertical play into the system. And thats a good thing. The Tri-Ad lock has been abused and beaten on by the likes of Nutnfancy and others with no ill effect, and is widely regarded as possibly the most robust lock in a production folder this side of a fixed blade. That right there is worth the price of admission.
Large and XL Voyagers. The Large seems almost "small" after getting used to the XL. Jimping is non-existent on the spine, but the scale profile envelopes the hand and provides excellent traction.
The Voyagers sport nicely machined thumb studs for easy deployment. I'm pretty good at flicking knives, but for me the Voyager XL requires a good push rather than a flick. Safety is an issue as well, as the strong Tri-Ad lock and huge expanse of razor sharp steel can guillotine your fingers if you don't exercise caution. Opening it a few thousand times while watching Glee (not) would create some good muscle memory and possibly prevent blood loss in the long term.
Note the aggressive texturing on this large Voyager. Cold Steel knives are well-known to be pocket shredders, but 30 seconds of sanding will relieve the sharp peaks while still providing excellent traction. I almost always "tune" or bend the clip just a bit to facilitate easy pocket insertion. Note the sharp peaks in the lower left, which I sanded off under the clip.
Voyager XL with large Espada. While they are about the same size, the additional aluminum bolsters and the extended profile of the Espada move it from practical carry knife into clown knife territory. The Espada is still a sick piece of knife, but just not something that most of us will haul around on a daily basis.
- continued
Well, the answer was me. One Cold Steel knife turned into two, and now I probably have about a dozen of them. The latest addition to my Cold Steel arsenal is the Voyager XL. When I first saw this knife, I thought it was goofy big, like clown shoes or a giant, foam cowboy hat at a Dallas Cowboys game. But I was well pleased to find that, for me, the Voyager XL is barely just inside the line that separates real usable knives from clown knives.
So what is the Voyager XL? Its a big, honkin' Taiwanese produced tactical/user/EDC knife sporting a 5.5" Japanese AUS-8A clip point blade, plastic (a.k.a. "grivory") scales, and heat treated aluminum liners. Weighing in at a relatively modest (for its size) 7.2 ounces, this behemoth is over a foot long when deployed. Just think how much fun you would have irritating the fat, unhappy, divorced chick at the office when you thwack this monster open to clean your fingernails. But thats not the point of this knife, and neither is vivisecting bags of swinging meat. The advertised purpose of this pocket sword is "hunting, camping to hiking and general utility chores . . . specialty functions such as a boat or river knife, chute knife or police/military and survival/rescue applications." And those things are all true. But for most of us, this is a fun knife, a possible self-defense blade, and a general EDC/utility knife for those of us who enjoy having a giant slab of gleaming steel at the ready. The knife arrived exceedingly sharp, and with a perfect grind. I'll hit it with the Edge Pro when the time comes.
The Voyager lineup arrives with a very well done and attractive stone washed finish. But I chose to slap a hand-rubbed shine on this one with some Mother's Mag Wheel polish, a rag and 30 minutes of elbow grease.
One thing about the Voyager lineup that is not over-hyped is the awesome Tri-Ad back lock. Its a very robust, self-adjusting lockup that transfers forces from the tang to a hefty stop pin rather than directly to the back lock. Here in the real world, that means that you have more leeway to beat on this sucker without introducing rock lock or vertical play into the system. And thats a good thing. The Tri-Ad lock has been abused and beaten on by the likes of Nutnfancy and others with no ill effect, and is widely regarded as possibly the most robust lock in a production folder this side of a fixed blade. That right there is worth the price of admission.
Large and XL Voyagers. The Large seems almost "small" after getting used to the XL. Jimping is non-existent on the spine, but the scale profile envelopes the hand and provides excellent traction.
The Voyagers sport nicely machined thumb studs for easy deployment. I'm pretty good at flicking knives, but for me the Voyager XL requires a good push rather than a flick. Safety is an issue as well, as the strong Tri-Ad lock and huge expanse of razor sharp steel can guillotine your fingers if you don't exercise caution. Opening it a few thousand times while watching Glee (not) would create some good muscle memory and possibly prevent blood loss in the long term.
Note the aggressive texturing on this large Voyager. Cold Steel knives are well-known to be pocket shredders, but 30 seconds of sanding will relieve the sharp peaks while still providing excellent traction. I almost always "tune" or bend the clip just a bit to facilitate easy pocket insertion. Note the sharp peaks in the lower left, which I sanded off under the clip.
Voyager XL with large Espada. While they are about the same size, the additional aluminum bolsters and the extended profile of the Espada move it from practical carry knife into clown knife territory. The Espada is still a sick piece of knife, but just not something that most of us will haul around on a daily basis.
- continued
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), as it developed absolutely no blade play afterward. Not many folders can do that, production or custom. The clip was terrible and hence long-gone, but man, what a folder. Thanks for your review.
