Why a Voyager?
I'm sure you're wondering why someone with a robust Spyderco collection is carrying a Cold Steel folder.
Well the Voyager has a few things going for it.
It's every bit of a tank as my Manix XL or Police 3, while weighing a full ounce less. It has the edge length & blade geometry of a Military, letting it cut circles around my saber ground Pacific Salts. All this at 1/3rd the price of most my folders, and it's not even from China.
I still carry my Pacific Salt when I want something as slim and light as possible (while still being a full sized knife), but the Voyager has become my go to. It's replaced the Manix XL from my rotation.
Lets take a look at the knife.
The Large Voyager has a 4 inch CTSBD1 blade, plastic handles, thick aluminum liners and the triad lock. Mine is the clip point version.
The ergonomics are very good for my larger than average hands. The grip locks the knife into my hands very securely. The scales are thick, thicker than the majority of folding knives. While the bulky handle is more noticeable in the pocket than an Endura, it's also more comfortable in the hand.
Choked up on the choil:
If you look at the angle the blade sits at relative to the handle, you can see it has a similar negative angle as the Military, just a bit more mild. This makes cutting with the knife less fatiguing for me compared to straighter shapes.
One of the reasons the knife is so comfortable to me is the lack of a thumb ramp. I do not like most thumb ramps, they never give my thumb enough room. If you look at how I hold my Voyager you'll see my thumb goes right where the point of most thumb ramps would be. Like on my Manix XL, for example:
Now the finger grooves on the Manix are more ergonomic than the Voyager to me, but the thumb ramp placement forces me to hold the Manix in a way that feels less natural to me. For that I give the ergonomic edge to the Voyager. The nicely rounded edges on the FRN scales help too.
Another thing I like about this knife is the lock. The Tri-ad lock is basically a beefy lockback (My favorite Spyderco lock) with a stop pin.
The lock is very secure, with zero play in every direction at all times. It has a very nice self close, which is something I look for in folders. It's very smooth to open and close, and easy to use one handed. I have not tried a Spyderco power lock to compare to the Voyager, but as of now the tri-ad lock is my favorite. No worries about it accidentally coming open in my pocket, or accidentally closing on me while using the knife. No is no way to accidentally unlock this thing, it engages very deep.
I also really like the steel on the Voyager. In fact one of the reasons I bought this knife is I wanted a folder in CTSBD1.
I already knew what to expect from BD1 from using my Ronin 2 and Manix in the same steel. Very corrosion resistant, very quick to sharpen, and takes an incredibly keen edge. Being one of my favorite steels, CTSBD1 was a selling point for me...I considered the Polestar, but I strongly prefer lockbacks to liner locks.
The Voyager is very easy to touch-up to razor sharpness. I usually give it a couple of passes per side on my UF stone once every other week and it's good to go. One of the easiest steels for me to get hair popping sharp. I have not had any issues with toughness or corrosion, as I expected.
The blade has VERY good geometry. Full height flat grind, thinner behind the edge bevel from factory than I expected. After dropping the edge bevel down a bit and giving it some polish, it slices through cardboard and foods with ease. I'm used to other companies typically having worse geometry than Spyderco, so I was happy to see the Voyager came ground as efficiently as any Military or Manix I've owned.
Now, the negatives.
- First, no spyder hole! This took some getting used to. I don't use thumbstuds on any other knife. They work, but I miss the hole.
- The lock bar appears bead blasted, which explains why it's the first part of the knife I managed to rust. (You knew I rusted something! :D )
At some point I'll take the knife down and polish the lock bar. I'm happy the blade has been 100% rust free so far. Few folding knives can do that for me this time of year.
- The clip was pretty tight when the knife was new.
I took it off and sanded down the scales underneath and it works better now.
It's still a bit tight, but I've grown to like it. The knife never, ever moves, no matter what I clip it to, or where. It's good for peace of mind.
Takes a firmer tug to draw, but I prefer that to a loose clip. I like how short the clip it while still grabbing effectively. It doesn't compromise ergonomics as much as longer clips. I like knowing I can clip it to my waistband and sprint down some mountain trails, and the knife won't think about moving around at all.
Overall I think the Large Voyager is a stout, but not overly heavy folder, that at $50 is a very good value. It checks all the right boxes for me. Never thought I'd see the day I EDC a folder without a spyder hole, but here I am. At least until the FFG Pacific Salt drops...that'll probably rule the pockets :D
