Viper Knives, Maniago-Italy. What is the overall consensus on quality?

Q

Quapukulu

Joined
Feb 13, 2014
Messages
237
Good morning, everyone.

I am fairly new to traditionals. I've stumbled upon Viper knives recently, and have only seen Bladeforums reviews on their modern knives such as the Rhino and Vox Odino. The gentleman's line with Damascus, olive, ebony and stag are beautiful, and I've been meaning to gift one to an friend who's deploying overseas soon. Does anybody here have experience to the quality and workmanship to the gentleman's Viper knives? If the workmanship isn't worth the price, may you suggest a different brand of traditional European cutlery? Pictures would be appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Rhino
 
In my experience you get great quality for the price. Fit, finish, materials, and blade geometry & sharpness were impressive.
I'd definitely buy another Viper.
 
BluegrassBrian said:
In my experience you get great quality for the price. Fit, finish, materials, and blade geometry & sharpness were impressive.
I'd definitely buy another Viper.
Click to expand...

i second that. excellent fit and finish, just like lionsteel, marinelli and other maniago based brands.
 
I've had this knife for several years and I don't know if it's part of the Gentleman's line or not. It's a Viper Bergamasco made in Italy. Overall quality is satisfactory with one exception. On a scale of 1-10 I would rate the overall quality at about a 7.









I would rate it an 8 if the blade sat a little closer to center when closed.



Action is very smooth with the perfect amount of detent to keep the blade opened and closed. (it's pillar construction with no backspring, yet not a lockblade)
 
Thanks for all the answers so far.

Railsplitter, that horn polish looks amazing. Thanks for the pics. How does the N690Co compare to the VG-10 of... say Spyderco or Boker? Is there any blade rub?
 
RampageRhino69 said:
Thanks for all the answers so far.

Railsplitter, that horn polish looks amazing. Thanks for the pics. How does the N690Co compare to the VG-10 of... say Spyderco or Boker? Is there any blade rub?
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Thanks. I don't detect any blade rub although my photo would suggest otherwise. Honestly, I have no idea about the steel. It's the only knife I've ever owned with that blade steel and I've never used the knife. It's a safe queen.
 
They use a lot of N690Co and do it well in my opinion.

It compares favorably to Spydercos vg10.
 
I have 9 knives by Viper. All of them have near perfect centering. The Gent is my favorite. I even went so far as to order some from Italy because they weren't available in the US. N690co is good stuff as well.

BTW, these aren't traditional knives...... at least the ones I have wouldnt really fit the definition of traditional. They are good nonetheless. There are a few different threads on BF about them.
 
I can only relate to their traditional and gents knives, since I never handled any of their modern folders.
To summarize...they make nice knives and N690Co is a very good steel :)

Fausto
:cool:
 
Yes, let's please stick to their traditional knives folks. Thanks for the reminder, Fausto. :thumbup:
 
Few more thoughts on the topic...
Viper does produce some traditional regional folders, just like the Bergamasco posted above. They tend towards a rather modern interpretation of these patterns, yet they are quite traditional to me. Beware that they use different (stainless) steels for different lines. Viper traditionals do not have N690Co unfortunately, while (as far as I remember) their gents knives do.
Other companies producing traditional cutlery here are Berti and Consigli (higher price point). Lionsteel also makes some nice gents knives.

Fausto
:cool:
 
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- given Spyderco is using this knife making centre for some of their production, would suggest it speaks volumes...


And, regarding N690 - like many steels, it's down to the makers process of HT'ing, not just the steel itself - here's an example...


[video=youtube;CYBFLoeuPhY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYBFLoeuPhY[/video]
 
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RampageRhino69 said:
Would this Britola line qualify as a traditional?
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Yes and no :D
It is included in their line of traditional patterns, although the classic version of the britola (a common pattern in NE Italy) is basically a pruning knife, while the Viper is (as you pointed out) more a sodbuster type of knife. It does look great though :)

Fausto
:cool:
 
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