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- Mar 27, 2009
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Ever since I saw the first photo of this knife it became the most eagerly awaited Spyderco in human history (for me anwyay 
).
It arrived in the mail today. I always try not to get my expectations up too high because I might get disappointed but man what a knife this is.
The first thing you notice when you handle it is that though quite beefy, it's not as heavy as you might think. It's not light, but it's not heavy either. However, right after you overcome your surprise you are blown away by the fit&finish on this folder. I own one other Taiwanese-made Spyderco (the Gayle Bradley), and it is basically flawless. This knife has way more details in the design, and yet it is at least as well-made as the GB. Every transition from steel bolster and liner to G10 is perfectly smooth, it's always 100% flush. No amount of finalizing by an expert craftsman is going to make a noticeable difference. It really is amazing.
One of the reasons the Vallotton drew my eye so much is the Tanto shape. I love it, even though it's not always practical. But this knife makes it work, and at least as important, it is just beautiful to behold. The deep hollow grind transitioning into the thick strong convexed tip is a stroke of genius, no mounted samurai is safe from me when holding this knife.
The Vallotton is relatively unfriendly to pocket wear. The G10 scales are smooth (which is beneficient for wearing) but the frame and scales make it rather thick.
I don't care, however. I am used to wearing large folders and have longer thicker and heavier ones than this one. If you compare it to the Police 3 G10 however, this will feel like you've just inserted a Busse FBM LE into your FRP.
The blade is S30V and hair popping sharp. It's a Spyderco so this info is superfluous but I thought I'd mention it anyway.
Action is very smooth and the locking liner is very thick and confidence-inspiring. Lock-up is quite advanced, the righthand side of the liner is exactly halfway the tang. I don't consider it a problem, I am going to see if there will be much more wear after carrying and using the knife.
I have relatively small hands, but the Vallotton fits me perfectly. The jimping on the strongly protruding ramp is (like the GB's) quite superficial, unlike most US-made Spyderco's. It's a small hit against the knife, I like my thumb to get caught there and not budge one millimeter. Because the ends of the frame are flared however, there really is very little chance of your hand moving unto the blade by accident.
The G10 scales are polished to what is in effect a mirror shine, and it makes the grain come out just beautifully. The scales are not a simple black, they range from an almost metallic grey to charcoalblack. Just exquisite.
The bladestop is not inside the frame but outside on the blade, like Striders have (among other knives). They can effectively be used as thumbstuds, if you feel the need. Despite my being a Spyderco fan, I don't particularly like the opening hole and on the Vallotton in particular the ramp looks artificial to me, its sole purpose is to allow for the hole. I've held my fingers over the blade to imagine the knife without it and - to me - it would look even better. But that is a matter of taste, and as such not subject to debate.
Weight is 177 grams, which translates to 6.2 ounces. Compare that to the XM-18 (which happened to be in my pocket when the mailman arrived) which is 160 grams, or 5.6 ounces.
Here's the specs according to Spyderco:
What remains is some gratuitous knife porn. WHAT AN AWESOME KNIFE THIS IS. THANK YOU SAL GLESSER AND COMPANY!
).It arrived in the mail today. I always try not to get my expectations up too high because I might get disappointed but man what a knife this is.
The first thing you notice when you handle it is that though quite beefy, it's not as heavy as you might think. It's not light, but it's not heavy either. However, right after you overcome your surprise you are blown away by the fit&finish on this folder. I own one other Taiwanese-made Spyderco (the Gayle Bradley), and it is basically flawless. This knife has way more details in the design, and yet it is at least as well-made as the GB. Every transition from steel bolster and liner to G10 is perfectly smooth, it's always 100% flush. No amount of finalizing by an expert craftsman is going to make a noticeable difference. It really is amazing.
One of the reasons the Vallotton drew my eye so much is the Tanto shape. I love it, even though it's not always practical. But this knife makes it work, and at least as important, it is just beautiful to behold. The deep hollow grind transitioning into the thick strong convexed tip is a stroke of genius, no mounted samurai is safe from me when holding this knife.
The Vallotton is relatively unfriendly to pocket wear. The G10 scales are smooth (which is beneficient for wearing) but the frame and scales make it rather thick.
I don't care, however. I am used to wearing large folders and have longer thicker and heavier ones than this one. If you compare it to the Police 3 G10 however, this will feel like you've just inserted a Busse FBM LE into your FRP.
The blade is S30V and hair popping sharp. It's a Spyderco so this info is superfluous but I thought I'd mention it anyway.
Action is very smooth and the locking liner is very thick and confidence-inspiring. Lock-up is quite advanced, the righthand side of the liner is exactly halfway the tang. I don't consider it a problem, I am going to see if there will be much more wear after carrying and using the knife.I have relatively small hands, but the Vallotton fits me perfectly. The jimping on the strongly protruding ramp is (like the GB's) quite superficial, unlike most US-made Spyderco's. It's a small hit against the knife, I like my thumb to get caught there and not budge one millimeter. Because the ends of the frame are flared however, there really is very little chance of your hand moving unto the blade by accident.
The G10 scales are polished to what is in effect a mirror shine, and it makes the grain come out just beautifully. The scales are not a simple black, they range from an almost metallic grey to charcoalblack. Just exquisite.
The bladestop is not inside the frame but outside on the blade, like Striders have (among other knives). They can effectively be used as thumbstuds, if you feel the need. Despite my being a Spyderco fan, I don't particularly like the opening hole and on the Vallotton in particular the ramp looks artificial to me, its sole purpose is to allow for the hole. I've held my fingers over the blade to imagine the knife without it and - to me - it would look even better. But that is a matter of taste, and as such not subject to debate.
Weight is 177 grams, which translates to 6.2 ounces. Compare that to the XM-18 (which happened to be in my pocket when the mailman arrived) which is 160 grams, or 5.6 ounces.
Here's the specs according to Spyderco:
Code:
length overall 8 11/16 in (221 mm) blade length 3 3/4 in (95 mm) blade steel CPM S30V
length closed 5 in (127 mm) cutting edge 3 9/16 in (90 mm) weight 6.2 oz (176 g)
hole diameter 1/2 in (13 mm) blade thickness 5/32 in (4 mm) handle material G-10What remains is some gratuitous knife porn.
WHAT AN AWESOME KNIFE THIS IS. THANK YOU SAL GLESSER AND COMPANY!
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