Vaqyero Grande, El Vaquero, and Vaquero

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Kevan Taylor-Perry

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Sep 3, 2000
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I waited until I had all three to post this review. The Vaquero series of knives, as you know, is by Cold Steel. To me, the question I ask of myself here isn't whether or not the Vaqueros are good at cutting down trees or winching a stuck jeep out of a ditch. My needs are simple---self-defense and cutting a seatbelt if necessary. The needs of the reader, the reader will have to decide. If those needs are similar, well, here we are:

1.) VAQUERO GRANDE---This is the largest of the series with a 6" blade. You have to see this knife to believe it. Then you need to hold it to believe your eyes. Pictures do not really show the actual size of this knife. But amazingly, and startlingly, for its size, it rides very well in the pocket. So much so, very few people will know the actual size of the knife you have in your pocket. This is due to the shape of the handle and how it rides against the pocket on the right side. This is a tip-up clip, by the way. This knife opens FAST just using the thumb stud, which is located in a sweet spot, at least for my hand. But when you use the "Brownie pop" to open this knife, it's like you pulled a fixed-blade out of your pocket. Sounds like you chambered a round when this knife clacks shut. Knife came shaving sharp out of the box. Intimidation factor of this knife is extremely high, so this is not the knife to cut apples at work with. As far as I can see, self-defense is really the domain of this knife, so, I would carry it accordingly. If you've seen this knife and like it, buy it. Yes, it's worth it.

2.) EL VAQUERO----This is the 5" blade version that Cold Steel discontinued. Which is a damn shame because this knife is sweet. It has a large blade and yet carries even better than the Vaquero Grande. In fact, amongst the sheeple, the have absolutely no idea of the size of this knife in the pocket. Few can spot a Vaquero Grande as being a big knife when in your pocket. Almost none will tag this one. It is tip up carry and very fast to deploy. Again, the thumb stud alone is fast on this one. This knife comes shaving sharp out of the box. If you see this version still around, buy it. For some purposes, this is actually the best of the series.

3.) VAQUERO----This is the 4" version. I don't like this one as much as the larger ones. For one thing, a major thing, the thumb stud is located in a hard to use spot. With this one, you have to push against the stud rather than push down on the stud and swivel. The action is not near as smooth as the larger ones. It is razor sharp out of the box like the larger ones, but the opening is much slower. Considering how easy it is to carry and conceal the 5" one, search and find the 5" one. Still a good knife, just slower than the 5" and 6" one to deploy.


OVERALL----The Vaquero Grande and El Vaquero are the ones I'd pick. The 4" Vaquero I'll keep as part of the Vaquero collection, but won't carry it. If you're looking for a utility knife, you may be better served elsewhere. These Cold Steel serrations can be sharpened with a Lansky CS sharpener, but why use this knife as a boxcutter? There are better tools or that. Like boxcutters. The serrations will cut flesh fast and painfully. Which is probably the purpose of the particular design in this case. The zytel handle won't stand up to much abuse, but I do have a 8 year old Bucklite that has stood up to lots of abuse and is still fine. As far as self-defense goes, you get a lot of bag for the buck. No, it's not a AFCK Axis lock. But the blade design and size has its own advantages. Overall, I find the Vaquero Grande and El Vaquero to be great knives for the price. But they are a niche-knife and that niche is defensive carry with little or no cutting chores.
 
I think that you can use the Vaquero Grande and El Vaquero for some daily cutting chores. Large bags, such as pet food, kitty litter, and peat moss come to mind. Also, all of the Vaquero series are great mini-chainsaws and single-blade pruners.

The Large Vaquero, previously the El Hombre is hard to open compared to the Vaquero Grande and the El Vaquero, but it gets easy with time and practice.
 
These knives are popular among traveling salesmen (no it's not a joke) due to their self defense capabilities and relatively low price. I will disagree about Cold Steel Zytel not being able to take abuse. I have a Voyager that is zytel and it takes everything, including batoning with a brick, and after 5 years still locks up like a vault.
 
Bownshoe,

Are you saying that the Vaquero Grande is popular among travelling salesmen or just Cold Steel folders in general?
 
Kevan Taylor-Perry :

The zytel handle won't stand up to much abuse ...
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It is fairly weak as it is only plastic, I did some light prying with the Vaquero Grande and the pins sheared right through the handle easily, but for any cutting work it holds up fine.

As a utility knife I liked the Vaquero Grande for the length and thinnest of blade and edge. It really worked well as a folding camp knife (no chopping). The downsides are the serrations which are fragile and difficult to sharpen.

-Cliff
 
Lansky makes a dog-bone sharpener specifically for Cold Steel serrations and I've found it works pretty well. It gets the grooves of the large and teeny serrations and the part that's used for the large serrations is good for taking off the burr on the flat side. It's perfect when used in tandem with a v-rod sharpener like a Sharpmaker.
 
The Vaquero series is popular among some traveling salesmen as a defensive knife. I got this from a friend who travels and sells. He was turned on to Vaqueros by his associates and told me that more than one carries a Grande or the mid-size one on every trip.

I believe Zytel is not "just plastic" but a fiberglass reinforced nylon product made by DuPont. Per Cliff's comment on FRN in handles, I believe Glesser of Spyderco comments are pertinent. Glesser has indicated in a past thread,

"I am not a Zytel expert, but I am considered somewhat of a knife expert. My company has put more than one million FRN folding knives in the field over the past 12 years. Our problems with the material have been;

1. Larger clips breaking when we made them integral. After 6 changes to the mold over a 9 year period to come up with the right combination, we finally went to a steel clip.

2. When the temperature drops below 40 degrees below 0 F., they become brittle.

3. In a great deal of direct flame, then have burned.

We have driven trucks over them. They have been retrieved from swamps (after 2 years). They have been retrieved from the stomaches of fish. We have been quite surprized at the ability of FRN to withstand and survive. I will say that most of our FRN (90%) have not been the Dupont product. This is not to say that the Dupont product is inferior. We break approximately one out of 200 pieces with computerized breaking equipment. Our Endura model generally breaks at about 80 -90 inch lbs (per inch of blade). On a 4 inch knife, that is in excess of 300 inch lbs.....consistently."

Of course cliff broke the "plastic handled" knife, he always (well almost always) tests to failure. His work is not really pertinent to real people.
 
brownshoe :

We have driven trucks over them. They have been retrieved from swamps (after 2 years). They have been retrieved from the stomaches of fish.
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This could be done with any cheap plastic, especially the second which illustratessimply the stability to the digestive system of a fish. Glass would pass that test either, not really a great one for handles.

Wheat Bran is an insoluable fibre that passes right through you as well (and most animals). Does this make it a good handle material. You could also drive a truck right over a cushion and it would not break either.

Of course cliff broke the "plastic handled" knife, he always (well almost always) tests to failure.
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It is the point at which it breaks, the manner in which it broke, and the conclusions drawn which is relevant, not that it broke.

The arguement you raised could also be used to say that cutting ability and sharpness are irrelevant as all knives can cut, security doesn't matter because any handle is secure if you grip it hard enough, edge retention doesn't matter because you can sharpen any knife, etc. .

The weakness of Zytel is why many of the higher end knives have steel liners, to both make the knives more rigid and support the construction so that shearing like I described is made much more difficult.

Interesting comment about the sharpener, last I used them was some time ago, then the only method of sharpening them was to enlarge them with a fine file, or wrap sandpaper around something thin. The fine serrations were too small for most ceramic sharpeners.

-Cliff
 
Brownshoe,

Thanks for the clarification.

Cliff,

If you have some more serrated Cold Steel products and don't want to grind off the serrations, it's a nice solution.
 
First off I have to admit I am a huge fan of this knife. I have owned my Cold Steel Vaquero Grande for several years now and it has preformed very very well. I have tried to take good care of it but invariably have beaten the tar out of it and it still cuts with sickening ease and power. I have been forced to use it in several violent confrontations and when no other options are left this is the one you want to be gripping on folks. I am no knife fighting expert mind you but with a passing knowledge of the basics the knife disabled my attackers handily, inflicting serious injuries with little effort. As stated before the intimidation factor for this bad boy is phenomonal. This is a scary freaking knife. It rides so well that most people, especially aggressors dont know that you have 13 inches of knife at your ready disposal. The blade pops out fast and loud, the sound alone is intimidating. With practice I found I could draw and open mine almost as fast as a butterfly knife. Its large, its nasty looking, it comes seeminly out of no where, and once its out there is no confusion as to weather or not you mean business. Also there is nothing like the look on the face of a thug weilding a crappy flea market switch blade when you snap out this "pocket sword" as my one attacker called it out. The sight alone will back many down, and if the looks dont cut it the serrated recurve will.

The Bushido Cowboy
 
Bushido_Cowboy said:
First off I have to admit I am a huge fan of this knife. I have owned my Cold Steel Vaquero Grande for several years now and it has preformed very very well. I have tried to take good care of it but invariably have beaten the tar out of it and it still cuts with sickening ease and power. I have been forced to use it in several violent confrontations and when no other options are left this is the one you want to be gripping on folks. I am no knife fighting expert mind you but with a passing knowledge of the basics the knife disabled my attackers handily, inflicting serious injuries with little effort. As stated before the intimidation factor for this bad boy is phenomonal. This is a scary freaking knife. It rides so well that most people, especially aggressors dont know that you have 13 inches of knife at your ready disposal. The blade pops out fast and loud, the sound alone is intimidating. With practice I found I could draw and open mine almost as fast as a butterfly knife. Its large, its nasty looking, it comes seeminly out of no where, and once its out there is no confusion as to weather or not you mean business. Also there is nothing like the look on the face of a thug weilding a crappy flea market switch blade when you snap out this "pocket sword" as my one attacker called it out. The sight alone will back many down, and if the looks dont cut it the serrated recurve will.

The Bushido Cowboy
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Im not going there..but ohhh I so want to...heh heh..All I will say is that tough guy talk here needs to be backed up with facts..example police reports etc..
 
i love knife fighting!
if there's ever been a knife for fighting, whatever one you guys are talking about is the one! i've used it every time i was in a knife fight!
it kills people so fast, they say "wow, that was fast" as they die!

:rolleyes: just kidding. :rolleyes:

back in realityland...
i almost bought a vaquero grande a couple years back, but i didn't because i was on a college campus where there are rules against knives that big... from what i hear, they're so long that the pivot becomes loose/unstable after a time, especially if any prying is done. i generally have a high opinion of cold steel, though, so if i'm in the mood for a HUGE folder, i guess i might consider the vaquero grande again.
peace.
 
Bushido_Cowboy said:
Also there is nothing like the look on the face of a thug weilding a crappy flea market switch blade when you snap out this "pocket sword" as my one attacker called it out.
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I can just see it now, Bushido Cowboy deftly filets his opponent (who no doubt was wearing a shirt with numbers on the front and a burglar mask)...

beagles1.gif


...iin some dark alley. With his guts spilling out, the opponent cries mournfully, "Crimeny Pete, the Bushido Cowboy has mortally wounded me with his POCKET SWORD!", and then slumps to the ground. Then his eyes turn into little X's.
 
Um yeah so whatever, back to the topic at hand...

what is the difference between the x2 and the Vaquero Grand? I have the five inch version and really like it. Very true about being easily carriable and quick to deploy. These knives were not designed to pry, they were designed to slash and thrust and cut and so far in my experience do that very well.
 
edgetrip said:
Um yeah so whatever, back to the topic at hand...

what is the difference between the x2 and the Vaquero Grand?
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I own both the X2 Voyager and the Vaquero Grande. So far as I can tell, the difference is that the Vaquero Grande has the Nogales shaped blade, and is only available serrated. The X2 Voyager has a clip-point blade and can be had either fully serrated or with a plain edge. If you plan to use the knife alot, I reccomend the X2 Voyager with a plain edge. It is much faster and easier to resharpen than serrated blades are. For self defense, the Vaquero Grande has the intimidation factor, the shape of the Nogales blade with the serrations just looks downright menacing.

Had to come back in here and edit: Forgot to mention, the handles are the same between the Vaquero and Voyager, as are the locking mechanisms, etc. Closed, it is very hard, if not impossible to tell the difference between the two.
 
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