Quick look: Cold Steel Voyager XL

Yikes.... I hate seeing this.

I just got around all the nonsense around the Cold Steel marketing due to some reviews of their folders, most importantly a couple from guys on this forum that make knives.

I just got my CS Lawman and I am really blown away by th e lockup. If the AUS8 they use on their folder lines (Voyager, Lawman, Recon) is half as good as the tests I have seen, this knife will last me for a life time. And again, that lockup...

I was looking at the new Recon 1 with the spear blade and the medium Voyager before settling on the Lawman, but after this knife I know I will be getting more Cold Steel. I guess it's OK to brag if you can back it up!

Robert
 
The Espada XL (G10) actually carries quite easily, so long as you don't intend to use that pocket for anything else.

I probably will get an XL Voyager some time. I compared it to the Espada in the shop though, and it was certainly smaller.
 
I've got two of the older models of the XL Voyager. One is so old it has the plastic, molded-on pocket clip. I've absolutely loved them, despite the hollow grinds.

I long wished they'd make this model with a flat ground blade, and finally, they did. The problem being, as far as I'm concerned, they completely ruined the ergonomics of the handle design! I could get along with the semi-guard they added, but what the hell were they thinking when they added all the sharp peaked finger grooves?

So, if anyone at Cold Steel sees this post, please go find the git(s) that decided those abominable finger grooves were a good idea and send them off to scrub roadside toilets with a toothbrush. Then, get anyone left in management to blend the old models with the new and make the XL Voyagers what they SHOULD have been redesigned to be!

Keep the flat ground blades, PLEASE! Keep the new semi-guard, tri-ad lock, even the excessive grip texturing, if you really have to, but, please, Please, PLEASE get rid of those hideous, ridiculous and utterly unnecessary finger grooves and give back the clean, ergonomic curves that made the XL Voyager so friendly to your customer's hands!
 
I agree Colonel Holmes about the clean lines of the old Voyager, and I do prefer it. But there is something to be said - at least in my view - in favor of the increased grip/purchase of the new flavor. A flat grind old style would be groovy, thats true.

Here's a tanto XL I picked up recently. Takes up less space in the pocket than the clip point XL. Thought about putting a shine on it, but I sorta like the stonewash:

 
And a "medium" Voyager, which is really more small than medium, but just as stout as its big brothers:

 
powernoodle said:
I agree Colonel Holmes about the clean lines of the old Voyager, and I do prefer it. But there is something to be said - at least in my view - in favor of the increased grip/purchase of the new flavor. A flat grind old style would be groovy, thats true.

Here's a tanto XL I picked up recently. Takes up less space in the pocket than the clip point XL. Thought about putting a shine on it, but I sorta like the stonewash:

Click to expand...


That stonewash is a nice improvement, especially for a hard use knife. C/S's tanto points don't work for my uses, though. They're too abrupt.

I'm wondering if C/S would actually bother to listen to their customers and make the Voyagers right.
 
I liked the original Voyagers.

I do find the finger grooves to be better than the originals though.

The handle ergonomics are even better too.
 
GCG199 said:
I liked the original Voyagers.

I do find the finger grooves to be better than the originals though.

The handle ergonomics are even better too.
Click to expand...

Finger grooves only work if your hands allow for the spacing and you don't have fingers that are too small or entirely too large for them to be comfortable.

By not having finger grooves, anyone's hands can adapt to smooth curves or even relatively straight lines.

I have yet to find a commercially produced gun grip, knife handle or other tool of any kind with finger grooves that fit me. Having large, wide hands with thick fingers makes it difficult to find tools that can be used effectively. Having a manufacturer deliberately alter a design in a way that prevents you from ever replacing a tool that works well for you is aggravating.
 
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