Vosteed - Is the uber hype for real?

I have a very small sample size to go on, I just own 1: the mini nightshade. But based on this one sample, I can say I'm quite impressed.

The ergos are superb, despite being an unconventional design.
Its light as a feather, on par with the mini bugout.
And it came with the sharpest damn blade I have ever seen on a factory knife.
Fit, finish, centering, action are all top notch.

Mine is the s35vn blade with carbon fiber handle variant. If this knife were made by an American company (and I don't mean made in the USA) it would likely cost between $150-$200+ Well, I got mine for $100 shipped. I'm definitely keeping an eye on Vosteed from now on.
 
I know zero about Vosteed knives but I have to say that reading through this thread, I like some of the names they give their knives.

Psyop
Corgi
Night Shade
Thunderbird

Not that it matters much but those are cool names.
 
dano said:
I believe Bestech OEM's for them.
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Kizer did some of their earlier knives. I think some of the more recent ones were done by Kubey but not sure. They are supposedly doing their own knives now.

As far as quality, I've had three of the Mink fixed blade (for scale swaps) and a couple of different versions of their Nightshade. All have been good quality for what they are. Honestly, the Mink was one of the best production EDC fixed blades from last year. Great design and good execution.
 
Chronovore said:
Kizer did some of their earlier knives. I think some of the more recent ones were done by Kubey but not sure. They are supposedly doing their own knives now.

As far as quality, I've had three of the Mink fixed blade (for scale swaps) and a couple of different versions of their Nightshade. All have been good quality for what they are. Honestly, the Mink was one of the best production EDC fixed blades from last year. Great design and good execution.
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I wasn't even aware of the Mink. All of the Vosteed knives I've seen are folders, but the Mink looks fantastic... I've got to get my hands on one of those. The Nightshade looks really good too. A lot of good feedback on Vosteed - thanks! My wallet is going to draw the line somewhere though.
 
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Starmarion said:
I wasn't even aware of the Mink. All of the Vosteed knives I've seen are folders, but the Mink looks fantastic... I've got to get my hands on one of those. The Nightshade looks really good too. A lot of good feedback on Vosteed - thanks! My wallet is going to draw the line somewhere though.
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The Vosteed Mink in its stock configuration is a 9/10 for what it is. The scale texture is super grippy. I rounded the scale edges a little on mine to make it more comfortable in hand (quick and easy with a couple grits of sand paper). The grippy texture still does its job but now the added hand comfort makes it a 10/10. Here is an example on the blackout scale swap I did. I didn't modify the scales near the sheath interface so you can see how it used to be. With the other ones in rotation and my rotation being stupidly large at this point, I'll probably end up selling this one.

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My Vosteed Marten was a turd out of the box. Thumb stud rattled and wiggled. Took weeks to get them to send me a new thumb stud and then weeks to actually receive it. They refused to let me mail it back for repairs. Super frustrating to deal with.

Took about a month to get it fixed and since they used CA glue the thumb stud was an absolute pain to replace. Blade steel is soft, had the edge roll on plastic. Machining is fantastic, which blows my mind.

Not buying anything from them directly again. Purely an Amazon only so I can have a no question asked warranty. Hit or miss item like Kizer, cjrb and civivi. Some are good some are crap.
 
Snacktime said:
My Vosteed Marten was a turd out of the box. Thumb stud rattled and wiggled. Took weeks to get them to send me a new thumb stud and then weeks to actually receive it. They refused to let me mail it back for repairs. Super frustrating to deal with.

Took about a month to get it fixed and since they used CA glue the thumb stud was an absolute pain to replace. Blade steel is soft, had the edge roll on plastic. Machining is fantastic, which blows my mind.

Not buying anything from them directly again. Purely an Amazon only so I can have a no question asked warranty. Hit or miss item like Kizer, cjrb and civivi. Some are good some are crap.
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You'll get it, though. You'll get it.
 
I really want a Thunderbird but after seeing the videos of the Vosteed button lock coming loose. It has me concerned. The red M390 is calling me. I was ready to buy a Tbird when I saw the video and it made me want to actually try one out before I buy one. I might have to suck it up and buy one because I don’t know where you try one.

The Dirty Girl is high on my list of knives to own that I have no real need for. Maybe Vosteed is able to keep prices down by offering shorter blade lengths. Anyone have a Thunderbird with no problems? I’m sure they have sold a lot of Thunderbirds. It seems there would be more info available about this knife. I’m not sure how much I trust YouTube reviews nowadays. It’s seems like everyone is trying to be some kind of influencer. Kind of ironic though….
 
Chronovore said:
Kizer did some of their earlier knives. I think some of the more recent ones were done by Kubey but not sure. They are supposedly doing their own knives now.

As far as quality, I've had three of the Mink fixed blade (for scale swaps) and a couple of different versions of their Nightshade. All have been good quality for what they are. Honestly, the Mink was one of the best production EDC fixed blades from last year. Great design and good execution.
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How do you like the Nightshade? I'm already halfway there on this one with the Elmax steel blade alone. The design is unique and interesting, but how does the knife perform? In other words, what do you use it for? Is it a practical knife or more of a collector's item? Knife is beautiful.
 
ChrisLee said:
I really want a Thunderbird but after seeing the videos of the Vosteed button lock coming loose. It has me concerned. The red M390 is calling me. I was ready to buy a Tbird when I saw the video and it made me want to actually try one out before I buy one. I might have to suck it up and buy one because I don’t know where you try one.

The Dirty Girl is high on my list of knives to own that I have no real need for. Maybe Vosteed is able to keep prices down by offering shorter blade lengths. Anyone have a Thunderbird with no problems? I’m sure they have sold a lot of Thunderbirds. It seems there would be more info available about this knife. I’m not sure how much I trust YouTube reviews nowadays. It’s seems like everyone is trying to be some kind of influencer. Kind of ironic though….
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The button issue has been addressed for a while I don’t think you’d run into a problem but I had the vendor check before sending. The Thunderbird is a fantastic design and fun as heck to use.
 
Starmarion said:
How do you like the Nightshade? I'm already halfway there on this one with the Elmax steel blade alone. The design is unique and interesting, but how does the knife perform? In other words, what do you use it for? Is it a practical knife or more of a collector's item? Knife is beautiful.
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The Nighshade is great. I have the flipper-only versions in 154CM and Nitro-V, as well as the special one in Elmax with flipper and blade hole. I prefer the cleaner look without the blade hole but Elmax is a nice step up.

The blade performs beautifully. The leaf shape gets thin behind the edge and the blade leans forward into the cut. That makes it a great slicer.
 
Yo Mama said:
The button issue has been addressed for a while I don’t think you’d run into a problem but I had the vendor check before sending. The Thunderbird is a fantastic design and fun as heck to use.
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So this has been bothering me. I sent a email to Vosteed customer support but they never answered my question. I would like to have a Thunderbird but I’ve seen too many videos of the button lock failing. I like my fingers So, maybe I wait till they do a crossbar lock. However I did discover their Ankylo. Which is a very nice knife also.
 
I bought the Racoon top liner lock just because at the time it was the only knife I was aware of that was sort of using the compression lock from Spyderco. I've been eager to see that lock style from other brands but it's not taking off like the various Axis lock copies have. But I will add the Racoon has been a very solid good knife.
 
ChrisLee said:
So this has been bothering me. I sent a email to Vosteed customer support but they never answered my question. I would like to have a Thunderbird but I’ve seen too many videos of the button lock failing. I like my fingers So, maybe I wait till they do a crossbar lock. However I did discover their Ankylo. Which is a very nice knife also.
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Try to contact them on Reddit where they are much more active. That's where I've had answers to my questions. They are really quick to respond.
 
I love the fact that I can get well made knives on a budget. I've had a lot of high end blades, but always end up selling to pay bills. That being said, I have a couple Racoons, Nightshade, Shilin Cutter, Psyop and am carrying the Porcupine for the first time today. Love them all. Packaging is great, action is very good on all of them, and again great on a budget.
 
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