the Howard Viele & the Jot Singh Khalsa

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May 25, 1999
Messages
668
My son`s birthday is coming up in August and he really loves both the Jot Singh Khalsa C40 and the Howard Viele C42. I was going to get him one or the other. My son is more of a knife user, as opposed to a knife collector. I`d like to hear from those who`ve owed either of the two. What do you think of them? Do they stand up to heavy use? (My son`s Endura is still intact, but he`s destroyed many lower quality blades.) Thanks in advance.
 
Jeeze
They are sooo different in look and concept. Of the two, I only have the Viele, butt it is my fav Spydie. It is above all "smooth" I have both plain and serrated, the plainedge I will keep. It is tight, slim, full-bodied and substantial in the hand and deploys in a flash. I have worn it with a suit and cleaned trout with it. It is a very nice design for me.
It seems strong with its two stainless liners and the lockup has not moved since I got it. My vote.


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><CHINOOK*>
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Cleverly Disguised As A Responsible Adult
 
Hi Steve,
I have both knives and love both of them! Both would make a great gift and like Chinook says they are at different ends of the spectrum.

As far as utilitarian uses I would rely more on the Viele. I had the plain edge and traded it for the serrated since I am a fan of Spyderco serrations.....so if you were going to give this knife to a knife user I would select the Viele.

The lock up on the Viele is solid. Both of my Viele's had no blade play and the lock up on both was very secure. I like the handle, too. One word of caution: This is a righties only knife! If your son is left handed he will not be happy with this knife. The hole is somewhat smaller but I find it ample enough to easily deploy the blade. It's a beautiful knife and I use mine all the time.

Now plain or serrated? Your call.....
smile.gif


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~Greg~

 
What do you mean by "heavy use"? Personally, I love the Viele, but I've never been too comfortable with the lack of a secure grip that I can get on one.

-Hermann
 
I have a friend who uses his Viele daily, VERY hard. He works in an appliance store and uses it to open all the packing boxes for things like refrigerators, then chop them up to throw away. The handle is all dinged up, the serrations are half worn off, and it just looks like hell, but it's still smooth-opening and always gets the job done. The classy little Viele, with no guard and a tiny thumb-hole, would never have been my pick for this job - but it is clearly up to the task. He's been using it for over a year, and won't be replacing it anytime soon (unless I give back his Benchmade Brend Talon II). Don't underestimate the Viele!

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-Corduroy
(Why else would a bear want a pocket?)
 
Thanks for all the info. I agree that the two knives are so totally different. I`m not even sure what the Jot Singh Khalsa was designed to do. Was it designed to perform a specific task? I`m pretty sure my kid likes the looks of it, but I`m not sure it would be the most practical knife for the $.

To answer Blue_Max, I`ll be darned if I know how my kid destroys knives! He does seem to carve a lot, and told me he wanted his next knife to be a plain edge. So I think he`s going to get a plain edged Viele for his B-day. (Lucky kid....better let his dad borrow it once in a while!)

 
I had a plain-edge Viele for a while(then Kodiak had it, now it has been passed again...) I really liked the knife, and it probably has the safest liner-lock I have ever played with. It also doesn't frighten people like some other blades do
smile.gif

Aaron
ps if he is interested in carving, consider one of the Roselli blades for a next present. They are more traditional styles and perfect for wood carving.

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aaronm@cs.brandeis.edu
I like my women like I like my knives: strong, sharp, well-formed and pattern-welded!
 
Just a little heads up..both of these knives are hard to come by lately...The Viele is back-ordered, some dealers may have them, however. The Khalsa is getting ready to go out the door for the last time. The last batch of 600 has been bought up by a distributor. No other Khalsa's are scheduled for release at this time.
Danelle
 
Steve -- if the Jot is being discontinued get it for your son. He, or you, can get a Viele for his next bday.

Your son might be like the Jot's look for its unique look, or "cool" factor.
 
I had the fully serrated Viele for A while. It got lots of compliments, but I find serrated blades to be nearly useless, and WAY more trouble than what they are worth in terms of sharpening. Maybe I'd think differently about it if I was cutting lots of rope, though. So, either way, I would strongly suggest the plain blade. That said, I got lots of compliments on the Viele. It is a sharp-looking knife. It is defintely a show-piece, and seems to be intended more as a gentlemen's knife. I didn't find the blade shape to be all that useful, really. Also, the opening hole is very small and set very close to the handle. The handle is also quite thick above it, which adds to the challenge of opening the knife. Its action was pretty smooth, but I had to lube it frewuently to keep it that way.
The Viele is a nice knife, but just doessn't seem to be intended for everyday medium-hard use. I would get the Khalsa if I could find one.
 
The Khalsa is definitely more robust and has its unique look. Titan might be right in that it might be a collector's item if no more are produced.

I have the plain edge Viele. Love the classy look, sharp edge and secure lock for general utlitlity. It's sort of my dress up knife. Like it better with the black clip (thanks, danelle).

Steve, The Viele (plain edge looks less frightening) is a good choice for your son, BUT get the khalso for yourself.
wink.gif


sing
 
Wow, you guys got me all fired up. I want my Viele now! I just traded for one the other day...
 
Cop,
You should be fired up, it's a great knife and has lots of play factor, too, which is always a plus on a rainy day.
smile.gif


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~Greg~

 
Steve B.,

Be careful with the Jot Sing Khalsa the first time you handle it. You'll notice it has a dropped edge, the corner of which protrudes downward in front of a pronounced choil. That corner is very sharp. I cut myself on it the first and only time I handled one, in a knife shop. I haven't liked the knife ever since. But then, I've cut myself with plenty of other knives which I like just fine.

David Rock
 
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