- Joined
- Mar 27, 2009
- Messages
- 5,975
When the new line of Voyagers by Cold Steel were first announced, the specs said the blades would be made of San Mai III. I thought that was good news, I have good experience with their laminated steel and it was a step up from VG-1, which in my experience is somewhat prone to chipping.
As time went by the release date for the new Voyagers went into heavy delay, and then it was announced the blades would be made out of AUS8A steel. That was a downer for me, especially when I heard that the more upscale Recon 1, American Lawman and AK-47 were also made of this steel. A bread-and-butter knife, ok, but such tough, hard use folders? They deserved better, IMO.
I've aquired an AL since then, and stick to my opinion on it: it deserves a better steel. The pure G10 frame is the strongest and most rigid of its kind I have ever held, the lock-up is magic, the ergo's are simply excellent. The American Lawman would be right at home with such greats as the Spyderco Military and the ZT0350 if it sported (for example) a 154CM blade. As it stands, the AL is a very good knife for a very good price, but it feels like a lost opportunity to me.
With the Voyager however, Cold Steel have done everything right. Let me start off with the price: I bought this knife for $37. And in spite of the huge number of offerings in this market segment, the Voyager now occupies the throne there, and there are no contenders. Let me explain why.
Blade
It has a 4 full flat ground stone washed clippoint blade. The finish is really beautiful and looks expensive, rich. It came very very sharp from the factory. The thumb stud is a perfect thick round tube with threads on it, ambidextrous. Unlike some other Tri-Ad lock knives the Voyager opens smoothly and in one sweep.
The voyager cuts very well, it does not take a backseat to my new Superleaf for example (although of course it does not hold an edge as well).
Handle
The ergonomics on the Voyager have to be felt to be believed. Andrew Demko is a genius, thats how well this knife sits in the hand. The handle is made of heavily textured grivory, some type of plastic. Its very light, and hardened-aluminum liners reinforce it.
There is no jimping anywhere on the blade or handle but you dont miss it, the cut-out for the thumbstud is quite deep and affords excellent grip. The handle is just perfect.
The texturing is way too rough, as always with Cold Steel. I simply bent the clip back so that it lost a lot of its tension,and now its fine.
Lock.
Tri-Ad lock. With tolerances so tight I cannot imagine any light shining thru the locking lever and the blade tang.
Seriously, this knife has a very tight lock, as well as a very strong one. And yet it unlocks more readily than the AL or the Spartan. You can flick the knife open with just your thumb, no wrist flick needed.
Fit & Finish
For a $37 knive, excellent. The locking lever is flush between the scales. There is absolutely zero bladeplay in any direction. Liners are flush within the frame. Blade centering is perfect.
AUS8A
A lot has been said about this steel. Cold Steel knows how to HT it, and gets a lot out of it. The day after I received the knife I took it on a hike and I put it through its paces. I cut and scraped wood, sliced plastic and even split some medium sized wet branches to get at the dry parts inside. All in all it was used extensively for two hours or so, and though no longer shaving sharp, it still had a serviceable edge on it. At home that night, it took me all of 5 minutes to get it back to where it was.
Did I mention the excellent stone wash finish?
Conclusion
I have perhaps as many as 25 folders in the below $40 range. Tenacious, Resilience, RAT 1, NRG, Scamp, I have Bokers, Byrds, CRKT's, other Cold Steels, Kabars and more. The new Voyager beats them all. It doesn't have G-10, like many of its competitors do (and I much prefer G10 to grivory). That is its only real downside. Grivory feels cheap, where G10 feels rich. It's a miss, and I don't know how adding G10 scales would have affected the price on the Voyager.
But it's no reason to ignore this great folder. The grivory is very functional in every way, and function, toughness and effectiveness is what the new Voyager is all about.
As time went by the release date for the new Voyagers went into heavy delay, and then it was announced the blades would be made out of AUS8A steel. That was a downer for me, especially when I heard that the more upscale Recon 1, American Lawman and AK-47 were also made of this steel. A bread-and-butter knife, ok, but such tough, hard use folders? They deserved better, IMO.
I've aquired an AL since then, and stick to my opinion on it: it deserves a better steel. The pure G10 frame is the strongest and most rigid of its kind I have ever held, the lock-up is magic, the ergo's are simply excellent. The American Lawman would be right at home with such greats as the Spyderco Military and the ZT0350 if it sported (for example) a 154CM blade. As it stands, the AL is a very good knife for a very good price, but it feels like a lost opportunity to me.
With the Voyager however, Cold Steel have done everything right. Let me start off with the price: I bought this knife for $37. And in spite of the huge number of offerings in this market segment, the Voyager now occupies the throne there, and there are no contenders. Let me explain why.
Blade
It has a 4 full flat ground stone washed clippoint blade. The finish is really beautiful and looks expensive, rich. It came very very sharp from the factory. The thumb stud is a perfect thick round tube with threads on it, ambidextrous. Unlike some other Tri-Ad lock knives the Voyager opens smoothly and in one sweep.
The voyager cuts very well, it does not take a backseat to my new Superleaf for example (although of course it does not hold an edge as well).
Handle
The ergonomics on the Voyager have to be felt to be believed. Andrew Demko is a genius, thats how well this knife sits in the hand. The handle is made of heavily textured grivory, some type of plastic. Its very light, and hardened-aluminum liners reinforce it.
There is no jimping anywhere on the blade or handle but you dont miss it, the cut-out for the thumbstud is quite deep and affords excellent grip. The handle is just perfect.
The texturing is way too rough, as always with Cold Steel. I simply bent the clip back so that it lost a lot of its tension,and now its fine.
Lock.
Tri-Ad lock. With tolerances so tight I cannot imagine any light shining thru the locking lever and the blade tang.
Seriously, this knife has a very tight lock, as well as a very strong one. And yet it unlocks more readily than the AL or the Spartan. You can flick the knife open with just your thumb, no wrist flick needed.
Fit & Finish
For a $37 knive, excellent. The locking lever is flush between the scales. There is absolutely zero bladeplay in any direction. Liners are flush within the frame. Blade centering is perfect.
AUS8A
A lot has been said about this steel. Cold Steel knows how to HT it, and gets a lot out of it. The day after I received the knife I took it on a hike and I put it through its paces. I cut and scraped wood, sliced plastic and even split some medium sized wet branches to get at the dry parts inside. All in all it was used extensively for two hours or so, and though no longer shaving sharp, it still had a serviceable edge on it. At home that night, it took me all of 5 minutes to get it back to where it was.
Did I mention the excellent stone wash finish?
Conclusion
I have perhaps as many as 25 folders in the below $40 range. Tenacious, Resilience, RAT 1, NRG, Scamp, I have Bokers, Byrds, CRKT's, other Cold Steels, Kabars and more. The new Voyager beats them all. It doesn't have G-10, like many of its competitors do (and I much prefer G10 to grivory). That is its only real downside. Grivory feels cheap, where G10 feels rich. It's a miss, and I don't know how adding G10 scales would have affected the price on the Voyager.
But it's no reason to ignore this great folder. The grivory is very functional in every way, and function, toughness and effectiveness is what the new Voyager is all about.
