begleiter or V3 vigor?

I have both and prefer the V3. The Begleiter has a very narrow grip, similar to an Urban Trapper, which can be uncomfortable for some. The V3 is smaller but feels more substantial in hand. They're both great knives for the money, but the V3 is a little better all around IMO.
 
thanks, I've been leaning toward the V3.

I get what you mean about a narrow grip, I picked up a mini kwaiken awhile back. But I got it as a gentleman's knife.

Do you by chance have anything you could compare it to?
It looks beefier than a Skyline but smaller than a mini grip(g-10).

Hows the action?
 
Last edited:
Action is smooth, but it's not a speedy thumbstud flicker. The VG10 holds an edge like you'd expect.

The feel in hand is actually very reminiscent of a small Sebenza 21. It's a really under appreciated little knife.
 
I can't speak for the vigor, ended up with a begleiter instead. It was supposed to be my poor man's BM 940 and it mostly delivered. It's less gentlemanly and I think it's actually a great EDC knife. I actually think it feel substantial enough in the hand to be comfortable, almost like a longer handled mini-grip. I think the 940 has a considerably smaller handle, for a comparison. The beglieter is also a very flat knife in that it doesn't have a lot of contouring and such like spyderco's do, but I actually like that for the knife that it is. It packs into the pocket pretty nicely and the spring clip is acceptable (nothing special there).

Personally, I feel the knife blade could use a thinner stock so it would be a better slicer if it were to be considered a gentleman's folder. I feel it's almost like an "production floor office" kind of thing.

I've become quite fond of the begleiter after figuring out how to flick it open as mine has a fairly stiff detent. It would see a lot more pocket time if I didn't have a 3" knife law in the city I work so it gets stuck to home EDC where I'm allowed a larger knife. I have the green beglieter which really grew on me after a short period vs having another black handled option. It also matches my carhartt coat well which just added a little smirk when I discovered that.
 
The Dorado, Gemini, Intrepid and maybe a couple others have bearings.
I found that surprising.
Also makes me rethink moving up to a Dukes or a Flashbang instead of a V3.
 
So I'm not sure what your intent with either the vigor or begleiter is but for me, the begleiter was a cheap way of getting a benchmade 940/943. I recently was able to scoop up a used 943 on the exchange and the likeness in knife profile, size and all that jazz was actually pretty close, the 943 obviously much more refined. Here's some pics in case you're looking for a more gentlemanly/office look.

KboEXzel.jpg

7hGgfA5l.jpg

SCWnedDl.jpg

F8lca63l.jpg


Sorry for the horrible angles, my camera didn't seem to want to focus for anything in better angles with the way the lighting was in my dining room this evening. Hopefully it helps you decide if it is or isn't for you at least.
 
thanks for the comparison shots.

I'm returning a zancudo (in D2) to an online store and will have credit. That might tell you what I'm looking for.
3in. to less than 3.5in. blade. Thinner handle in G-10 (or Ti, or Aluminum)
I recently got a H&K mini axis but with them being discontinued, I kind of want to save it.
 
That's kind of in my area of liking as well, though Iv'e starting gathering a lot more 3 & under after starting a new job in a city with 3" blade restrictions.

Here's a comparison of the zancudo to the begleiter along with some other options I have that are similar to what you're looking for. It ends up being expensive but applied weapons tech scales on a grip or mini-grip are awesome, minus that they're a little (0.5mm maybe) thicker than the stock grips. I only mention that because of the HK and I assume you have some affinity for that type of lock.

eeQSLNHl.jpg

OaPn2xLl.jpg
 
cnm123 said:
I've got a couple mini grips and a spyderco manix2. yours a native?
Click to expand...

Sage 2. From top to bottom of the above pic, mini-grip, sage 2, zancudo D2, begleiter.

I have a native 5 on the way, should arrive Wednesday and I'm thinking I just want a delica and FRN chaparral to complete my ~3" EDC'er options. I really like the sage 2 blade but I like the way the mini-grip carries more as the sage 2 can feel a little tall in the pocket though a little thinner handle.

The manix 2 is a great knife but I eventually traded it away for a mini-grip since I never carried it due to the size and blade length laws around work. I also prefer a less aggressive grip from the handle so I really like metal grips but some synthetic handles that aren't so textured work well too. The begleiter is about perfect for my tastes so I carry it around the house a lot.
 
I don't know my spydercos too well on sight. I've had a Tenacious for a few years now and use it occasionally.
Just this year i got the manix. It was an impulse buy at a knife store, they had a in-store only promo for $20 off.
It's heavy, jimpy and grippy! but it works for me.
 
cnm123 said:
I don't know my spydercos too well on sight. I've had a Tenacious for a few years now and use it occasionally.
Just this year i got the manix. It was an impulse buy at a knife store, they had a in-store only promo for $20 off.
It's heavy, jimpy and grippy! but it works for me.
Click to expand...

The manix is a great heavy use folder. If I still lived out in the country where I was frequently in the woods I would have a lot more use for it than I do in city limits. The hand feel of the manix was great and I'm hoping the native 5 is basically a baby manix but with a back lock. The easiest way to tell the difference from the sage and native 5 is the native 5 has a straight back transition from handle to blade whereas the sage has upward sloping blade similar to what the PM2 has but to a lesser extent; it really locks in a fore finger and thumb grip on the blade when using the choil. The thumb grip is a little more pronounced than the manix 2.

I like spydercos for their function but they tend to be ugly, IMO. They're growing on me the more I use them but many are far from eye pleasing. Kizer and Benchmade do a much better job in that regard (of course, many others do as well). There's so many nice options out there for folders in the 2.75"-3.5" blade range. I really think kizer adds a lot of value getting good looks mixed with function whereas spyderco get the value but almost purely on the function side until you hit the higher dollar stuff, with some exceptions. I think kizer's bladesmith series hits a nice value on the higher end market and the vanguard series a big bang for the buck in the EDC/user market. Biggest downside with Kizer is that I don't know anywhere that carries them in a local store and it seems almost like they're almost exclusively sold online right now, except for maybe a blade HQ or larger knife store that also has an online store.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top