Spyderco vs Vosteed compression lock knives

[8th_Note]

As we are all now aware, the patent on Spyderco's compression lock has expired, and other knife companies are now free to use this lock design. The Chinese manufacturer Vosteed, who have a history of using varied locking mechanisms on their knives (they even have 2 of their own patented lock designs as well. The Trek lock and the Vanchor lock), have brought the compression lock to market on a few of their models. And the consensus seems to be that they have hit it out of the park. They call theirs the Top Liner Lock (or TLL).

I recently purchased the Vosteed Raccoon with the TLL, as I was interested to compare it to my beloved Spydercos. The model that I bought has a 3.25" bowie style blade mad of 14C28N steel, and black micarta scales with nested steel liners. The TLL is on the right side handle and uses a button on the left side to release it, similar to the Smock. Vosteed offers 3 blade shapes (drop point, cleaver, and bowie) and multiple handle scale options on the Raccoon. They also make the Raccoon with a cross bar lock and a plunge lock.

The Racoon is very similar in size to the Para 3. It has a 3.25" blade, and a handle length of 4.25". It opens via thumb studs. And the blade rides on ball bearings. The action is incredibly smooth, and lockup is firm and secure with zero blade play or rock. The Raccoon has a separate stop pin and lock pin, where as the stop pin is also the lock pin on the Para 3. Other than that, the lock hardware appears to be very similar. They both use a detent ball to hold the blade closed.

So far, I am impressed with the Raccoon TLL. It feels good in hand, but I do prefer the handle shape and the negative blade angle on the Para 3. And while the action on the Raccoon does feel very good, the action on the Para 3 is better and more "solid". The pb washers give the Spyderco a very distinctive heavy duty feel. The choil on the Raccoon has no guard, unlike the Para 3, and its very easy to cut your finger if you use it to choke up. Its really just a sharpening choil, even though the size and shape of it encourages trying to put your finger there. Thats really a bad design. I also feel like the Raccoon wont hold up as well to abuse as the Para 3. The Raccoon is still very new, so long term reliability is still a big question mark. The Para 3 has a proven track record that will be hard to beat.

Price wise, the Raccoon costs about $70 with the 14C28N blade steel (currently the only steel available on the TLL), which is definitely a rung or 2 below the base model G10 Para 3's S45VN. I am sure Vosteed will offer more premium steels in the near future though. Vosteed does not offer any bigger knives either. Spyderco has a distinct advantage in that the same basic design is sold in 3 different sizes (Para 3, PM 2, and Mili 2).

All in all, the Para 3 is definitely the objectively better knife. And I really do feel that the quality materials, quality craftsmanship, and made in USA construction more than justify paying double the price vs the Raccoon. The Vosteed is still very much a "budget" offering, even if it is a lot of knife for the price. But even though it's still not on par with the Golden models I, personally, prefer the Raccoon over Spyderco's budget Chinese model (so long as I don't need a bigger or smaller knife. Or a selection of blade steels).

[SpeedHoles]

I can't really see much there but is that actually a compression lock, or like their acronym says, it's just a liner lock on top? There could be a difference there in the engagement triangle amongst the lock tab and stop pin...

[8th_Note]

I can't really see much there but is that actually a compression lock, or like their acronym says, it's just a liner lock on top? There could be a difference there in the engagement triangle amongst the lock tab and stop pin...

its hard to get a good picture of it, but it is actually a compression lock. Functionally, it identical to Spydercos. There is a tab in the liner that is wedged between the tang and the pin when the blade is open

[vivi]

their designs do nothing for me but I appreciate you taking the time to write up a comparison between the two.

[8th_Note]

their designs do nothing for me but I appreciate you taking the time to write up a comparison between the two.

its the 1st Vosteed that I've bought. I really just wanted personally compare it to the Spyderco. This Raccoon has been getting a lot of hype, and I wanted to experience it first hand. I have quite a few Kizers and I really like their stuff. I've had a couple of Civivis too, but they didnt really do it for me. But in general, the Chinese brands are really bringing high quality for a good price. The stuff that they are making is really embarrassing companies like CRKT and Gerber, who have been coasting on a past reputation for a couple of decades. But I think companies like Spyderco, who pride themselves on being on the cutting edge of the industry, will always be able to maintain their niche

I bought this one used because they have been sold plumb out on the Vosteed website for a while, except for just a couple of the less desirable configurations. So people are definitely buying them.

[vivi]

their designs do nothing for me but I appreciate you taking the time to write up a comparison between the two.

its the 1st Vosteed that I've bought. I really just wanted personally compare it to the Spyderco. This Raccoon has been getting a lot of hype, and I wanted to experience it first hand. I have quite a few Kizers and I really like their stuff. I've had a couple of Civivis too, but they didnt really do it for me. But in general, the Chinese brands are really bringing high quality for a good price. The stuff that they are making is really embarrassing companies like CRKT and Gerber, who have been coasting on a past reputation for a couple of decades. But I think companies like Spyderco, who pride themselves on being on the cutting edge of the industry, will always be able to maintain their niche

I bought this one used because they have been sold plumb out on the Vosteed website for a while, except for just a couple of the less desirable configurations. So people are definitely buying them.

I've checked out a few different of the newer chinese knives. Civivis, We's and some others.

My impressions can be summed up as high quality of manufacturing, but not very good overall working designs.

[mikestp]

Although I'm happy to see the compression lock getting around into more knives I'm unlikely to buy one that isn't Spyderco.
From your picture it seems that the vosteed is much like the smock where the stop pin is moved away from the locking surface on the blade making it less of a "compression lock" and more of a "three point bend lock", whether that significantly reduces strength? - probably not. But I like the "pure" implementation of the lock as on the PM2 etc.

[Red Leader]

Thanks for sharing. I've really gotten bitten by the knife bug over the last year, and I bought a bunch of more inexpensive folders when I was first starting out to see what I liked, and landed on Spyderco.

And while I'm happy where I landed, I will admit that the finest knife, in terms of production execution/fit/finish, is this basic $30 Sencut Actium I picked up, which is just astounding to me. The detent is simply sublime, the blade is drop shutty, no wiggle, dead-on centering, bank-vault lockup with ideal lockface engagement, and just nothing to complain about. It sounds expensive, if you know what I mean. Better than even Taichung, although it's close. While it's steel and overall design is not quite my preference, if I could get that QC in each and every Spyderco I would be ecstatic.

[olywa]

I like the button actuator on the TLL models, though most of these I've tried are just a little undersized for me. I'm looking forward to the Sage 6 in that configuration. While not really a large knife, the ergos on the Sage series work pretty well for me.

[zuludelta]

Interesting comparison. I own four Vosteed folders myself, though nothing with their version of the Compression Lock. Quite decent cutting tools for what they cost, but I don't think I'll be acquiring more in the foreseeable future.

I picked up a Kizer Mini Grouper several months back to check out their take on the button-actuated Compression Lock & thought it was okay. I did notice that the anvil pin/stop pin on the Kizer was noticeably smaller than the ones in my Spyderco Compression Lock knives.

[8th_Note]

Interesting comparison. I own four Vosteed folders myself, though nothing with their version of the Compression Lock. Quite decent cutting tools for what they cost, but I don't think I'll be acquiring more in the foreseeable future.

I picked up a Kizer Mini Grouper several months back to check out their take on the button-actuated Compression Lock & thought it was okay. I did notice that the anvil pin/stop pin on the Kizer was noticeably smaller than the ones in my Spyderco Compression Lock knives.

I have not tried Kizer's version of the compression lock yet. But I need to get one. I'm a big fan of Kizer's stuff in general. They are probably my 2nd favorite knife brand. And they absolutely killed it with their Clutch Lock (Kizer version of the axis lock, and far far superior to the original BM version), so I have high hopes for their compression lock too.

[zhyla]

I briefly owned a Vosteed Nightshade (might have been the mini version). Sent it back because they sent the right one. I was really impressed with that knife. The design did it for me for sure. Reminded me a little of the Spyderco Lum Chinese.

I’ll take everyone’s word that this is a compression lock, but this just looks like a button lock to a user. Is it that big a deal?

[Guts]

I briefly owned a Vosteed Nightshade (might have been the mini version). Sent it back because they sent the right one. I was really impressed with that knife. The design did it for me for sure. Reminded me a little of the Spyderco Lum Chinese.

I’ll take everyone’s word that this is a compression lock, but this just looks like a button lock to a user. Is it that big a deal?

The previous most popular style of button locks out there use a spring loaded plunger with an angled face that interfaces with an angled face on the tang of the blade. It isn't nearly as robust as a compression lock. On some badly manufactured examples with the plunger button lock, either from bad lock face geometry or maybe too light of a spring, you could easily get the blade to unlock by smacking it on the spine. Sometimes not even that hard of a smack would unlock it.

So the compression button lock that Smock pioneered and other mfg like Vosteed are now using is much safer for the end user. Haven't personally had the unlocking issue on any of the plunger button locks I own, but it's always been a concern and I never trusted them for anything other than light duty. Just looking at the plunger design you can see how it could fail like that. Cool to see Spyderco finally using the compression button lock on other designs like the Sage 6 though.