So what about the Vesuvius??

OwenM

OwenM

Joined
Oct 26, 2000
Messages
6,104
I saw more talk about the Vesuvius before it came out, than after.
Who uses one? What do you think?
I don't really have a purpose for this knife, and the blade's not what I'd call a "high-performance" grind, but there's something about it......
Want to try out a compression lock, plus I'm fresh out of Spydies.
I think the G-10 inlay pic in the 2001 catalog is the best-looking Spyderco knife I've ever seen, too. Handle looks great, very cool blade, good price. ATS-34 floats my boat fine, too.
Looks like I have plenty of excuses to buy one:)

I just checked 1sks, and they are showing it is available with plain G-10 at the same price as the inlaid FRN. I didn't know Spyderco was shipping them in G-10? Is this a misprint (I'm calling in the morning)?

If they are available, what about the G-10 w/inlay? Sal? Update?

Feebl...excuse me, inquiring minds want to know:D

edit: Neglected to ask-is the Vesuvius manufactured in the US?
 
That's not so much a misprint as dated information. It was originally going to be available in G-10. But right now, FRN is the only option. The non-inlay (but still FRN) models are due shortly, and I'm waiting for one of those. The compression lock on them is pretty neat, although the location (almost right under the thumb in a saber grip) concerns me.
 
I just got one. I haven't taken it for a good hard test drive yet. But, my initial impressions are very positive. Very nicely put together, very useful blade shape. The inlay is very pretty, but if it starts flaking off it'll look worse than no inlay at all. I could hear the jealousy in the voice of my buddy who picked this knife up for me. Nice smooth action. Compression lock is a little sticky, but I haven't been able to make it come close to failing. Handle is very comfortable.

The only initial downsides so far seem to be the blade to handle ratio is a tad worse than the delica et. al. Not too terribly bad, though.

For me, I'm in no danger of even coming close to accidently releasing the compression lock, Shmackey. In sabre grip, my thumb rides high up on the blade ramp. I have to contort almost impossibly to hit the compression lock. And it's not incredibly easy access to the lock release anyway.

Again, this is just a first run-through, but my impressions are very positive so far.

Joe
 
Vesuvius - I really like this model, it has become one of my favorites and a daily carry this summer.
It fits my hand perfectly, opens and closes with one hand easily and with the 50/50 plain/serrated
edge meets my cutting requirements. My version has the inlay in the handle, (blue) looks very nice and generates favorable comments from others.
Blade=ATS-34, Handle=smooth FRN with a black clip.
 
Guess I could have been asking, but have been wondering how this knife is working out for folks. Frankly, the fear that the inlay would start coming off/apart has been the primary reason I've not yet bought one.

Charlie -- you've carried yours for a couple months now as an EDC? No sign of any problems with the inlay? You're not in one of the high humidity areas. Do you think a bit more moisture in the air, and pockets, would have produced any problems for you? I noted that you said the FRN is smooth. Are you saying no texture to the FRN at all?

Schmackey or anyone -- have you heard if the non-inlaid FRN handles will have some grip to them, or will they be smooth as well? I'm one who is into as grippy as possible handles, like the Calypso Jr Ltwt. Any notion as to how much of a price break the plain FRN handles will have compared to the inlaid ones?

Anyone, have you bought one of the G-10 handled models from 1SKS? If so, how grippy/smooth are those handles?

Thanks,
 
Thanks, guys.

Originally posted by Joe Talmadge
The inlay is very pretty, but if it starts flaking off it'll look worse than no inlay at all.
Click to expand...

That kind of worries me. That and the thought of it getting banged up and broken. One reason I was interested in plain G-10. Guess I'll wait awhile, and see what happens with this model.
That inlay really does look great, though...
 
Owen, since I bought the knife yesterday I've been gingerly setting it down on the clip side instead of the inlay side, and clipping it to an empty pocket instead of just clipping it to my waistband will it will be up against my skin and sweat. This kind of thing normally doesn't happen to me, and I've just come to my senses and decided to treat the knife no different from my endura. I'll see how the inlay holds up. My expectation is, not too well, but we shall see. I'm expecting it to be a great user, regardless.

Joe
 
Great. I'd like to hear how it fares. Any knife I buy is getting used, and will probably get carried at work-which means it's going to get sweated on, full of grit, banged around a little, and maybe even cut something now and then:eek:
Can't carry a knife that I have to be careful with.
 
I'm pretty sure that the G-10 is a typo. It isn't going to happen unless demand on the FRN model warrants an upgraded piece. Of course, I've been wrong before.

Another potentially wrong piece of information is that I believe the inlay to be a shell/G-10 laminate, like on the Forum Military and the inlaid Native. The bulk of the inlay piece is G-10, with just a few Microns of shell. Provided that the bonding is everything Sal believes it is (and I trust Sal's judgement implicitly!), it should be much more wear resistant than plain shell.

While I haven't carried the Vesuvius much, the inlay on my Native has been subjected to pretty much everything a pocket knife tends to see, for months on end, and it doesn't show at all.

In the saber grip, my thumb is way past the compression lock, resting very comfortably on the textured thumb ramp. I don't see accidental release being a factor on this knife any more than any other.

The only things I really can complain about on the Vesuvius are the FRN ( :p ), on general principles, and that with the lock tab moving right to left, the hand lies in a position upon one handed closing that leaves the fingers in the blade path. With the Gunting, you're applying thumb pressure left to right, so the fingers don't have to wrap all the way around. On the Vesuvius, I'd like to see that changed, or more unsharpened choil be added to the blade.
 
My only current minor nit on the Vesuvius is that, with the hand position I favor, the compression lock pinches me pretty good about half the time I open it. Not as bad as the really early guntings bit, but it's still a bit of a pinch. Someone with just a slightly different hand position wouldn't run into this at all.
 
Hello. To date, there are no G10 versions. The G10 versions were going to be an intro piece with the FRn following. The FRN handles were completed and worked well so we deleted the G10 version. The catalog is not correct on Vesuvius information.

They are made in the Golden plant.

AS mentioned, if the demand requires a G10 version, then we'll make one. Cost becomes the issue with a G10 version.

The shell itself is .008 thick. The shell is laminated to a thin layer of G10 for strength. With several thousand already in the field, we've not had any problems to date on the Vesuvius Shell.

Sorry about the pinch Joe. We're working on it. It is in the position that some people use. I kind of think of it as a "wake up call" that an edge has just entered.

sal
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top