italian brands......viper keeper....

jbmonkey

jbmonkey

sure sure
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Jun 9, 2011
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ran into this one. caught my eye. already have some maserins and akc, aga, frank b, skm and a few others. didnt own one of this brand being viper and I liked the wood scales and beefed up stiletto bit of looks to it........1534543852335916574896812826291.jpg 15345438798937879758768173252478.jpg 15345439128934988218852146970687.jpg

so fit and finish is pretty good for, i assume, Italian made labor costs and the price point. it doesnt really flip open well......but I use the guards for opening. fast enough. the guard also works like a wave a bit if one wants it to. came with pretty even bevels and not obtuse. came decently sharp and being n690 was easy to get it very sharp without any effort on the sharpmaker.

all in all I'm impressed for what it costs and what it is.

I dont see chatter on here about Italian brands often. not sure why as they seem to make some pretty good stuff for decent pricing.
 
jbmonkey said:
ran into this one. caught my eye. already have some maserins and akc, aga, frank b, skm and a few others. didnt own one of this brand being viper and I liked the wood scales and beefed up stiletto bit of looks to it........View attachment 967626 View attachment 967627 View attachment 967629

so fit and finish is pretty good for, i assume, Italian made labor costs and the price point. it doesnt really flip open well......but I use the guards for opening. fast enough. the guard also works like a wave a bit if one wants it to. came with pretty even bevels and not obtuse. came decently sharp and being n690 was easy to get it very sharp without any effort on the sharpmaker.

all in all I'm impressed for what it costs and what it is.

I dont see chatter on here about Italian brands often. not sure why as they seem to make some pretty good stuff for decent pricing.
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I used to think the liner lock on this one was abit thin but now that I’ve seen the thin liner on my 2004 Emerson cqc7 isn’t a problem I’ve reconsidered.

I really love the wire clip on this model. I am a huge wire clip fan. The models at my local store were micarta versions and they seemed to flip pretty good.

I really want to get a viper Italo.
 
^ yep the liner lock bar is very thin, but the geometry seems solid and strong enough.

I tested it from back pressure on the back of the blade like I do all liners and frames and it didnt slip off as ones with faulty geometry do easily with mild pressure, so I trust it for what it is.....a cutting tool not a stabbing weapon.

yep I'm gonna look at more vipers as i really like this one.
 
Nice knife!

I own a Steel Will Gekko and it is almost identical to a Viper model I recently saw in the classifieds. If you like the Viper, check out Italian Steel Wills. Absolutely no doubt they are from the same manufacturer. Maybe a few big Italian companies such as Fox are OEMs for many different smaller makers? I am also surprised that we don’t see more Italian knives.

My Gekko, Fox Predator II and Spyderco Roadie are all Italian and they are incredible knives.
 
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Yeah, that looks very much like a Steel Will knife. I just picked up an Onrush in the same steel.

Really liking it for what it is, but the pivot will need a little locktite.
 
Steely_Gunz said:
Yeah, that looks very much like a Steel Will knife. I just picked up an Onrush in the same steel.

Really liking it for what it is, but the pivot will need a little locktite.
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which one? I was hunting their site and didnt see one just like this viper?
 
halden.doerge said:
Viper is a pretty big OEM.
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I think Viper is a division of the larger Technocut or something like that.

jbmonkey said:
^ yep the liner lock bar is very thin, but the geometry seems solid and strong enough.

I tested it from back pressure on the back of the blade like I do all liners and frames and it didnt slip off as ones with faulty geometry do easily with mild pressure, so I trust it for what it is.....a cutting tool not a stabbing weapon.

yep I'm gonna look at more vipers as i really like this one.
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Imho the Viper Keeper sort of is a stabbing knife.
 
Lapedog said:
I think Viper is a division of the larger Technocut or something like that.



Imho the Viper Keeper sort of is a stabbing knife.
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yep it does say technocut on the box and paperwork.

yeah it appears that way on looking like a stabber, but to me it's just in looks. no folder is a great stabber, imho. some are better than others of course.
 
jbmonkey said:
yep it does say technocut on the box and paperwork.

yeah it appears that way on looking like a stabber, but to me it's just in looks. no folder is a great stabber, imho. some are better than others of course.
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You’re right about that. Folders definitely aren’t ideal stabbers. That said the liner/framelock is probably one of the worse locks for stabbing imho. Obviously some liner/framelocks will be better at it than others.

For example though I would be pretty confident stabbing with the Ball Bearing lock on my Spyderco Pikal.

Ironically the best folder for stabbing might be one wothout a lock at all. A friction folder with a long extended tang like the Svord Peasant pretty much can’t fold on you as long as you’re gripping it.

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jbmonkey said:
which one? I was hunting their site and didnt see one just like this viper?
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Sorry, I didn't mean it looked like an exact model. It just has a lot of the lines and "feel" to the Steel Will line of knives. I guess I shouldn't say it IS manufactured by the same company that manufactures SW folders, but I get the feeling that it is. Blade steel, styling of the liner lock, similar hardware, etc. On the outside, the Onrush seems like a beefed up, "tactical" knife. It has G10 scales, a very thick steel back spacer, "skull crusher", aggressive tanto blade. However, it FEELS very Italian. Though a thick knife, edge and tip comes to a needle (and quite fragile point), the weight seems like an added feature by a company who generally does not find a lot of good philosophy in going heavy duty for heavy duty's sake.
I don't mean this as a knock against my knife. I really like the uniqueness of it. But I get the feeling that it probably started out as something more streamlined like your knife and then gussied up and weighted down to be more "hardcore tactical".
 
I understand Viper does manufacture the Italian Steel Will knives. My Mini Cutjack in M390 was made by them.

I own three Italian made knives of recent vintage and they are quite good overall (Fox Elite Gentleman's knife, Steel Will Mini Cutjack, and LionSteel Small Opera in stag.) It seems things have changed from the days of only seeing the Stilletto switch blades made in Italy in the US.
 
I own only this one Viper below (Venator). The fit is flawless (no lateral wiggle, no lock rock) and the finish is amazing (the liners are polished inside). The Gabon ebony scales are beautiful. Viper also makes a range of traditional patterns (Serie Regionali) which are very worth looking at (like the Maremmano).

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One LionSteel : a Mini Opera. Again perfect fit, without any wiggle or lock rock and beautiful stag. Milled liners for lightweight...

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Given the number of wiggly and rocky folders of other brands I have received over years, I'd say Viper and LionSteel easily rank in the top best. Just my experience, of course (and with two knives...).
 
22-rimfire said:
I understand Viper does manufacture the Italian Steel Will knives. My Mini Cutjack in M390 was made by them.

I own three Italian made knives of recent vintage and they are quite good overall (Fox Elite Gentleman's knife, Steel Will Mini Cutjack, and LionSteel Small Opera in stag.) It seems things have changed from the days of only seeing the Stilletto switch blades made in Italy in the US.
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Steel Will actually didn’t want to reveal which italian factory was making the higher end cut jacks. Eventually when they were backed into a corner they admitted that it was actually Maserin who is doing the production for them.
 
I had (and have regrettably sold) a full TI Viper Odino. It was an excellent knife, beautifully fit and finished. Heavy as hell though. I’ll keep them on my lookout for future purchases.

Nice pickup, OP.
 
Which makes Viper's version almost a copy.... I read here on the forum that it was Viper when I first bought the Mini Cutjack last fall.
 
I like Viper quite a bit. The Keeper is nice and the Rhino is a little ridiculous, but a very, very well made knife that I like quite a lot. I believe they make the Steel Will Gekko folder, as well, and it's another that stands out to me.
 
I am going to get one of these, I haven't seen a Benchmade or ZT that I have wanted enough to buy in a while so I am in on the Italian makers.
 
I have a finely made CRKT Hi Jinx made by Lion Steel Knives located in Italy. Really excellent fit & finish. Interestingly Lion Steel Knives has won the Overall Knife of the Year award at the Blade Show from 2014 thru 2017. Those Italians make some awesome knives.

 
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