Who´d like to see a return of the Vagabond in an upgraded steel?

[Wartstein]

I never actually owned a vagabound, but always found it an interesting and usefull design.

(For those not familiar with this model - see attached pic at the end of the post: Small fixed blade that eliminates the need for an actual sheath, but has just a plastic cover that´s permanently attached to the handle, and can pivot out to cover the edge when transporting the knife, or pivot in to the underside of the handle when using it https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/detail ... roduct=161)

When I bring a small fixed blade when mountaineering, I much more often throw it in my pack rather than carry it on my belt or even neck knife style.

One inconvinience whith fixed blades not carried on the belt is, that as soon as you use the knife, you have an empty sheath to "deal with". So either you hold it in the off hand or have to put it to put it down somewhere.

That´s also true when carrying a small fixed blade (not in a clipped sheath) in your pocket: You have to draw the knife, remove it from the sheath, and put the sheath back in the pocket again before using the knife.

The Vagabond makes all of this unneccessary and using the knife a lot more convinient.

So I´d really like to see a comeback of this rather ingenious design, but in an upgraded steel (for the discontinued model was "just" in AUS-6, so not even AUS-8...)

Who else?! :)

[Mushroom]

I believe this has been mentioned in the past. If I recall correctly, the tooling for this model was updated to create the current Aqua Salts.

[Wartstein]

I believe this has been mentioned in the past. If I recall correctly, the tooling for this model was updated to create the current Aqua Salts.

Then I must have missed it or was not on this forum already at the time.... :o

And right, the handles look very similar (while the Aqua Salt has a longer blade of course).
But the for me defining feature of the Vagabond, the unique "sheath"-design (or rather"NO-sheath" design?) is gone of course... and that´s what I´d be particulary interested in

[GarageBoy]

It was ingenious, but in use the sheath is kinda flimsy in the way I wouldn't just throw it in a pack or pocket

[vivi]

I believe this has been mentioned in the past. If I recall correctly, the tooling for this model was updated to create the current Aqua Salts.

Then I must have missed it or was not on this forum already at the time.... :o

And right, the handles look very similar (while the Aqua Salt has a longer blade of course).
But the for me defining feature of the Vagabond, the unique "sheath"-design (or rather"NO-sheath" design?) is gone of course... and that´s what I´d be particulary interested in

It's unlikely to happen since it'd require brand new tooling.

I saw some go as cheap as $40 recently. They're not valued as collector items so you could find one for a reasonable price on the used market.

https://www.arizonacustomknives.com/cat ... q=vagabond

[Wartstein]

It was ingenious, but in use the sheath is kinda flimsy in the way I wouldn't just throw it in a pack or pocket

As said, I never actually had a Vagabond, so I can´t talk from experience... do you think that could be fixed / improved?
That´s what the description says: "A plastic cover pivots out/upward, snapping-over and safely covering the cutting edge eliminating the need for a bulky carrying sheath."

[Wartstein]

I believe this has been mentioned in the past. If I recall correctly, the tooling for this model was updated to create the current Aqua Salts.

Then I must have missed it or was not on this forum already at the time.... :o

And right, the handles look very similar (while the Aqua Salt has a longer blade of course).
But the for me defining feature of the Vagabond, the unique "sheath"-design (or rather"NO-sheath" design?) is gone of course... and that´s what I´d be particulary interested in

It's unlikely to happen since it'd require brand new tooling.

I saw some go as cheap as $40 recently. They're not valued as collector items so you could find one for a reasonable price on the used market.

https://www.arizonacustomknives.com/cat ... q=vagabond

Thanks, Vivi! :)

But tbh: Though I have no experience with AUS-6, I guess I´d rather pay more and have a "better" steel...

[vivi]

I believe this has been mentioned in the past. If I recall correctly, the tooling for this model was updated to create the current Aqua Salts.

Then I must have missed it or was not on this forum already at the time.... :o

And right, the handles look very similar (while the Aqua Salt has a longer blade of course).
But the for me defining feature of the Vagabond, the unique "sheath"-design (or rather"NO-sheath" design?) is gone of course... and that´s what I´d be particulary interested in

It's unlikely to happen since it'd require brand new tooling.

I saw some go as cheap as $40 recently. They're not valued as collector items so you could find one for a reasonable price on the used market.

https://www.arizonacustomknives.com/cat ... q=vagabond

Thanks, Vivi! :)

But tbh: Though I have no experience with AUS-6, I guess I´d rather pay more and have a "better" steel...

You could always buy an Aqua Salt Maybe take the g-clip off and attach a lanyard to the sheath and handle? Or keep the clip on and clip the sheath to a pocket while you use the knife, then return it to your pack when done?

[GarageBoy]

It was ingenious, but in use the sheath is kinda flimsy in the way I wouldn't just throw it in a pack or pocket

As said, I never actually had a Vagabond, so I can´t talk from experience... do you think that could be fixed / improved?
That´s what the description says: "A plastic cover pivots out/upward, snapping-over and safely covering the cutting edge eliminating the need for a bulky carrying sheath."

Maybe a locking or retention device

[Larry_Mott]

Arizona custom knives had a batch not long ago. They lingered forever.. I was a bit tempted but with overseas shipping + customs + sales tax it quickly becomes a expensive cheap conversation piece..

[TomAiello]

This looks like a good fit for LC200N. It would also be an interesting knife to test Vanax, but I'm not sure if Spyderco would want to take that risk. LC200N is on their regular stock list, so that might be easier to do.

[curlyhairedboy]

I also saw them at ACK, but held off due to the steel. Would love to see a sprint in LC200n :D

[JD Spydo]

I believe this has been mentioned in the past. If I recall correctly, the tooling for this model was updated to create the current Aqua Salts.

Then I must have missed it or was not on this forum already at the time.... :o

And right, the handles look very similar (while the Aqua Salt has a longer blade of course).
But the for me defining feature of the Vagabond, the unique "sheath"-design (or rather"NO-sheath" design?) is gone of course... and that´s what I´d be particulary interested in

It's unlikely to happen since it'd require brand new tooling.

I saw some go as cheap as $40 recently. They're not valued as collector items so you could find one for a reasonable price on the used market.

https://www.arizonacustomknives.com/cat ... q=vagabond

Yeah I was told at least 4 years ago that the tooling no longer exists for the VAGABOND model. It was kind of a dud at the box office from what I was told. It was kind of doomed to failure only being available in that AUS-6 blade steel. That was only about one out of 3 Spyderco models I think that was made with that steel. Now if they would have done it in AUS-8 and made it available in SE & PE both I think it might have had a better ending.

[Wartstein]

I believe this has been mentioned in the past. If I recall correctly, the tooling for this model was updated to create the current Aqua Salts.

Then I must have missed it or was not on this forum already at the time.... :o

And right, the handles look very similar (while the Aqua Salt has a longer blade of course).
But the for me defining feature of the Vagabond, the unique "sheath"-design (or rather"NO-sheath" design?) is gone of course... and that´s what I´d be particulary interested in

It's unlikely to happen since it'd require brand new tooling.

I saw some go as cheap as $40 recently. They're not valued as collector items so you could find one for a reasonable price on the used market.

https://www.arizonacustomknives.com/cat ... q=vagabond

Yeah I was told at least 4 years ago that the tooling no longer exists for the VAGABOND model. It was kind of a dud at the box office from what I was told. It was kind of doomed to failure only being available in that AUS-6 blade steel. That was only about one out of 3 Spyderco models I think that was made with that steel. Now if they would have done it in AUS-8 and made it available in SE & PE both I think it might have had a better ending.

So why not pick up the design, make another model along its lines in a higher end steel and give it another try?

I still think there´d be a market for it. As said, having a small fixed blade, but no "spare" sheath that has to be clipped to somewhere ot to be put down while using the blade is great thing sometimes. At least I´d have a use for it!

[yablanowitz]

It would have to be an entirely new design, as the tooling is gone. That is a pretty big gamble for a concept that already failed once. I remember handling a Vagabond long ago, and trust me, it wasn't the blade steel that made me hand it back to the guy behind the counter.

[VooDooChild]

Like the wankel engine or a supermodel wife. I love the idea of it, but in the real world its probably not as good as other options out there.

It would be cool to see a different version that worked really well, but Im not holding my breath.

[yablanowitz]

I'm curious what advantage this thing would have over a folding knife. That cover has a slot in it where it covers the blade, and the handle has a well for the cover to fold into. Both are just as good at catching mud, blood and crud as the handle of a folder, and are just as hard to clean out, probably harder to clean than an open-back folder. It has a five inch handle and a three inch blade, just like people complained about on the original Paramilitary. It didn't sell at the AUS6 price point, wow would making it more expensive help?

[Wartstein]

I'm curious what advantage this thing would have over a folding knife. That cover has a slot in it where it covers the blade, and the handle has a well for the cover to fold into. Both are just as good at catching mud, blood and crud as the handle of a folder, and are just as hard to clean out, probably harder to clean than an open-back folder. It has a five inch handle and a three inch blade, just like people complained about on the original Paramilitary. It didn't sell at the AUS6 price point, wow would making it more expensive help?

Good points!

Certainly it would be rather a niche product and also certainly I´d like it to have it a shorter handle or alternatively a longer blade.

But it´d still have the advantages that a fixed blade generally offers: No pivot that can potentially fail, so for example some batoning (without having to unlock a lock, like on a folder) would be quite convinient.

And cleaning out would be not that much of an issue,for there is no pivot or "action" that could be inmpaired by dirt...

[yablanowitz]

Except for the pivot of the blade cover. And with such a design, you will always need a handle longer than the blade, so you can cross that part off your wish list. I really didn't think about batonning as it isn't something I do.

[araneae]

I lost mine somewhere about 5 years ago. It had gone on some hiking trips and served the purpose, but I think it got left in the yard somewhere. It had room for refinement, but wasn't bad overall.