Just got one of the new Vaqueros and I'm disappointed. Polish job on the blade was spotty and though the feel is good, money would be better spent on other 5-inch knives such as the Gunsite II, which has a better balance and better feel for about the same $$$.
The blade is a bit wider than the old 5-inch Vaquero, but the handle is smaller making is seem like a smaller knife. In other words, the grip isn't nearly as good as the older grip.
The serrations are about the same as found on other Cold Steel knives, but this one seems like a slightly larger 4-inch, and if you've handled one of those you know how smallish the grips can seem in relation to the rest of the knife. Had Cold Steel used its older grip, it would have been a perfect balance.
Still undetermined is whether there's any metallurgical value in a VG-1 knife over an AUS 8 knife. Based on Cold Steel's silence and the fact that there's nothing on its website makes me think the two steels are roughly the same.
The knife seems to be a good cutter, but if I were going to get a Vaquero, it'd be a 6-inch. The grips and blade of those monsters are indeed impressive. I think CS purposely wanted to hold down the size on this model and folks might find the grips to be a bit too small.
