BF2020 Viper Swayback Discuss Thread

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

A few years back, Mike introduced his Euro Barlow from LionSteel to us. Titanium bolsters, screwed construction, and modern steel had a lot of folks very skeptical as to whether or not it could be deemed a traditional pocket knife and therefore appropriate for this sub forum. A lot of debate was had, a lot of strong opinions voiced, but in the end, the consensus was that it does indeed fit the criteria needed to meet the defining standards.

These patterns - the barlow, swayback, sowbelly, sodbuster, etc. - are based on actual traditional patterns and the knives themselves behave as such, albeit with more modern materials like titanium and "super" steel. Despite the Torx head screws, screwed construction is nothing new to traditional cutlery and therefore removes the one hangup that a lot of folks have on these.

They look like traditional patterns, they behave like traditional patterns, and despite the modern flair, I am perfectly comfortable deeming them traditionals. The market is all the better for having these options and for having folks like Mike spearheading this direction.
 
Spern
Mine is...strange.
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:D I wanted some interesting character, with a little texture, maybe some areas of both light and dark. It certainly is all that! I just wasn't expecting such clearly defined stripes and it surprised me when I first opened the box. I think I like it. :cool::thumbsup:

Thanks to knifeswapper knifeswapper and everyone else who made the forum knife possible in this strange year.

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Suberb horn :):thumbsup:
 
Vince Prester John Prester John and Rachel r8shell r8shell - I've been waiting for "slicing" to be mentioned but no one has brought it up yet so in a couple hours, I'll give it a go at lunch time. Might have chili instead but no thread about a knife that is a slicer would be complete without a can of Spam in it.

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I figured I'd leave it to you guys to post the first meat slicing pictures. Since the knife is made in Italy, perhaps some Prosciutto? :D
Suberb horn :):thumbsup:
Thank you. :)
 
New pics of my cleaned scales. Note the texture difference, and in the strong light, you can see a little bit of curling of the hair ends in some places (mostly on the show-side scale). It's not a real big deal, but I think I'll try to seal these with some wax. Probably try Ren wax first, and if that isn't satisfactory, maybe a good hard-shell auto wax.

ETA - Added pics from yesterday before cleaning the polish off, again for ease of comparison.

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(As-received)
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(As-received)
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With the comparison photos up now, you can really see how much of the polish was embedded in the ram's horn scales. It's a pretty stark comparison, especially on my show-side scale. They really should have used a darker polish on the darker scales IMO.

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.
The scale screws were of the type that has a patch of non-liquid blue thread-locker already on the screw. It's just to prevent vibration from allowing the screw to back out. They weren't too tight to begin with, and I snugged them pretty good upon re-installation (using a good Wiha driver), there was no concern that they'd strip. I think you'd have to be pretty blatantly over-tightening these screws to strip the threads.

I really like the bark on top with the translucent edges. Almost too nice to use...almost.
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Dang! Another really nice one!!! :cool: :thumbsup:
 
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Posted these in the new addition thread. They all came in today! I wanted a dark scale BF2020 and that's what I got. Love it! Lots of character on all these Ram's Horn scales. Pretty happy with the Northwoods Giraffe and the Boker Barlow as well. Pics don't do them justice. IMG_1781 (2).jpg IMG_1782 (2).jpg
 
I bet it will!! Perfectly suited!! Buon Gusto!!
My Nonna made the best Sopressata!!:cool: My mother used to smoke it for her at our house!! I think that's why my father married her daughter!!:D
Grazie, Charlie! I wish it was home made! My bride is a wonderful Italian cook but Sopressata is not one of her specialties.
 
Prester John Prester John r8shell r8shell Peregrin Peregrin et. all - Winner Winner Chicken Dinner - errrrrrrrrrrrr Slam Bam let's have some Spam!!! It's a slicer folks. Slices really well. Thought this plate was appropriate as Jack Alan Ryan gave it to my wife Cindy before he passed. Besides, it goes with the saying "Winner Winner Chicken Dinner" even though it's a Rooster.:rolleyes:

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Prester John Prester John r8shell r8shell Peregrin Peregrin et. all - Winner Winner Chicken Dinner - errrrrrrrrrrrr Slam Bam let's have some Spam!!! It's a slicer folks. Slices really well. Thought this plate was appropriate as Jack Alan Ryan gave it to my wife Cindy before he passed. Besides, it goes with the saying "Winner Winner Chicken Dinner" even though it's a Rooster.:rolleyes:

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Getting hungry! Lots of variety in the ram's horn knives being posted, and they all look good.
 
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