Stopped by the knife shop today and handled one for the first time, fell in love. I don't know why because i really don't like anything about it.
Dislikes:
1. It's way too thick
2. It's way too heavy
3. The blade is a sharpened door stop. The tip is so thick you could chisel granite with it.
4. The blade is a sharpened door stop. Yeah i said that again, because the thing is so thick i can't see it slicing good at all.
5. It's a hollow grind. Not my favorite, but i guess on a blade this thick it helps to make it somewhat thinner behind the edge.
6. Though i love bolsters, i don't like the 4 way clip holes drilled in them and i though i like adjustable pivots i don't like seeing the screws in the middle of the bolster. They ruin the cleanness of it.
Likes:
1. Love the polished G10 handles. Got in a little dispute with the knife shop guy who insisted that they're carbon fiber. He even got out his magnifying glass to show me the "weave" and i tried to explain to him that's the texture you get when you contour G10 and polish it but he wouldn't listen.
2. Love the size. The length is just about perfect. I was under the impression that this was a very big knife but it's a good bit smaller than the Military i was carrying. I'd say it's Para 2 sized.
3. I love the straight handle/blade. It makes for a slim/compact knife that disappears in your pocket (or it would if it wasn't so thick and heavy).
4. I love the ergonomics. The grip is awesome. I attribute some of this to the thick handle filling up my grip, so that's a double edge sword...don't like it thick in the pocket but like it thick in the hand. I'd call that one a draw.
5. I love how stout the knife feels. You could probably pry a door off the hinges with this knife. It may not slice for crap, but you can do anything else short of food prep and skinning with this knife and it'll laugh back at you and ask for seconds.
So, besides all the reasons i don't like this knife, i must have one. I also don't care for the $190 price tag, but i must have one. I'm thinking this will be my promotion celebration knife, since i still can't seem to find a Yo 2.
I really want a Vollotton
I really want a Vollotton
All SE all the time since 2017
~David
~David
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mikerestivo
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- Location: Indiana
I kinda had the same experience. I wanted to like it because of looks alone, and then I handled one and that sunk me. It felt much better in-hand than I had previously thought. There are some negatives about the knife, as you have pointed out, but it's a really striking piece of work. The polished g-10 is really sharp looking and I like the bolsters. I have only had mine for about a month and I've already gotten more compliments on it than any of my other blades. In fact, I have it in my right front pocket at this moment. I gagged at the $190 as well. I didn't pay that much. I got mine off of the BF forums, sold as used but it looks brand new. It's the only knife that I have that has so many negatives that I love so much, which is weird, but it works.
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DeathBySnooSnoo
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- Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 7:30 pm
- Location: Toronto Canada
The thick blade is (for once) something I dislike about this knife. But I love it overall. And I took the clip off because the clip is @ss ugly on this knife...seriously I have no idea what they were thinking with that clip on this knife. It doesn't suit it at all, and even a blind guy could tell you that it was ugly as sin.
But once hte clip is off...I can mostly live with the rest...the holes in the bolsters...the too thick blade.
But once hte clip is off...I can mostly live with the rest...the holes in the bolsters...the too thick blade.
On the hunt for...
Yeah, even though i'll probably still use the clip, it would be an ideal knife to have a nice leather Spyderco belt sheath for.DeathBySnooSnoo wrote:The thick blade is (for once) something I dislike about this knife. But I love it overall. And I took the clip off because the clip is @ss ugly on this knife...seriously I have no idea what they were thinking with that clip on this knife. It doesn't suit it at all, and even a blind guy could tell you that it was ugly as sin.
But once hte clip is off...I can mostly live with the rest...the holes in the bolsters...the too thick blade.
All SE all the time since 2017
~David
~David
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DeathBySnooSnoo
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- Location: Toronto Canada
That would be nice...I would like to have seen a clip that was similar to something that you might see on a high end pen...thinner across than the usual clip, maybe a bit more rounded, deeper carry. Something that matched the look of the knife.
Sadly I rarely carry mine...it is a bit too big for pocket carry, and for where I live, would attract too much attention clipped I think.
But that doesn't make me love it less...I carry it around the house a lot.
Sadly I rarely carry mine...it is a bit too big for pocket carry, and for where I live, would attract too much attention clipped I think.
But that doesn't make me love it less...I carry it around the house a lot.
On the hunt for...
Love mine. Don't mind the weight myself....I do carry a C95 or Chinook mostly so weight isn't a problem. I like how it is a brute of a knife but still looks sexy. A gentleman's Tactical knife if you will. As far as slicing ability .....meh not as good as others , but I don't believe that is what it is intended to do. I'm betting it was intended to penetrate and not break the tip off in the process. If you want a slicing Tactical knife a Yo II would be a better bet.
V8R
Opinions are like belly buttons most people have one:p
Opinions are like belly buttons most people have one:p
It is a great looking knife! Would like to have one.
:spyder: Laci Szabo, Military (digital camo), Navaja,Centofante 3 , Persian 2,Lum Chinese, Ladybug ZDP, Tasman Salt, Native,Viele, Spin, Persistance, Dragonfly, Manix 2, Pingo, Impala, T-mag
"A knifeless man is a lifeless man" - old Nordic proverb
"A knifeless man is a lifeless man" - old Nordic proverb
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jgleasonraptor350
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- Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2012 7:40 am
a friend of mine just recently bought one because it looks like a stiletto (hes italian) but it is on the heavy side. good tactical edc with jeans or something but if your going to buy the valloton do it, amazing lockup and looks pretty sweet
:spyder:Raptor350:spyder:
:spyder:Delica 4, Manix 2 XL
-too many spydercos, not enough money
:spyder:Delica 4, Manix 2 XL
-too many spydercos, not enough money
Yeah, i think with this knife it wouldn't have been a crime to only offer it with tip up carry options, but i guess with it being a fighter type knife you have to give the buyer all 4 carry options.Enkidude wrote:I agree about the clip holes drilled into the bolsters. I wish Spyderco wouldn't do that to bolstered knives.
Well, this one didn't take long to decide on...just got back from buying it. I got a killer deal on it because it was "used". He said another guy bought it and had second thoughts and returned it but he can't sell it as new even though the guy never took it out of the box (shocker). I looked it over for a solid half hour and couldn't find one blemish on the whole knife. I got it for $150 out the door, which i thought was pretty awesome for a NIB condition knife.
Stay tuned for a pic whoring thread in the pic section later :cool:
All SE all the time since 2017
~David
~David
Well i'm coming up on a month of EDC'ing this knife. It has basically ruined my taste in all other knives. I still wish it weighed less, but then at the same time there's something confidence inspiring about the heft that it has...it really feels like you have something in your hand that can do some damage, sort of like the feeling you get when holding a really nice carpenter hammer. It's the knife world version of a sheep in wolves clothing. It looks fancy and high class, but this thing is far from snobby. It's like a shined up and chrome plated AK-47. The thing that i'm most surprised with is how i've come to like how thick the handle is. It's been so long since i EDC'ed anything with a full thickness handle that i forgot how great they feel in hand. I've been carrying "as thin as i can find" knives because they carry so nice, but after a month of carrying the Vallotton, honestly most other Spydies just aren't near as comfortable in hand and feel like i'm holding a thick cardboard cutout of a knife. Even my Military which was the last knife i bought and was most carried before this one feels strange in hand.
As for my previous fear that it wouldn't be much of a slicer...well that's proven true and false. It just depends on what you're slicing. You can't argue against physics, and the thickness of the blade plus the short height of the blade don't offer enough transition in the grind to allow it to wedge through things smoothly, but if you stay at the base of the blade it can slice cardboard about as easily as my Para 2 does, which was a surprise. The closer you get to the tip, the more it starts to bind up. Also that thick tip, while being awesome for strength, doesn't penetrate into boxes nearly as easy as a Para 2 does, but you have to sacrifice something for all that extra tip strength. My favorite thing about this knife is the ergonomics. This thing just feels fantastic in my hand, better than any Spyderco i've ever handled (short of a Bushcraft or Streetbeat etc). It's something that'll be different for everybody, but the length of the handle and the placement of the finger contours fits my hand like a custom knife. It's the first knife i've handled that didn't have a 50/50 choil, that i really don't feel needs one either. It's also the first knife i've handled that feels just as "right" in a full grip as it does a saber grip...and i think that's nothing short of amazing since the contours of the handle are generally very different for those two grip methods. I haven't used it with wet or greasy hands yet but i'm pretty confident the ergos are good enough that despite the polished G10, the grip will be solid. My biggest fear about the grip was if the protruding lock tab would be an issue or not. You can definitely feel it, and you're always aware that it's there, but it doesn't bother me or create a hot spot in the grip at all. In fact i actually love that it's there because it makes unlocking it SO much easier than something like a Gayle Bradley. The only part of the grip that isn't perfect is the pocket clip. I think the more perfect the ergos of a knife handle become, the more obvious the clip becomes in your grip.
Lastly, aesthetically i think it's one of the best looking knives i've ever owned, if not THE best looking. I still don't care for the clip holes in the bolsters, and even though i'm all about having an adjustable pivot, i really wish this knife had totally smooth pivots. I'd rather have to send this knife back to Golden to have the pivot tightened after use than look at the pivot screw in the middle of such a beautifully designed bolster. This knife has a lot of custom feel to it especially after you've carried plain G10 knives for so many years. It's nice to carry a knife that looks as expensive as it was for a change lol.
I know it probably won't ever happen, but a sprint of this knife would be awesome. I'd love to see something flashy like lightning strike carbon fiber and a steel that would really excel with a blade like this, like 3V or some other really tough steel. I don't think S90V/20CP etc would be right for a knife like this.
Lastly, some pic whoring. I reprofiled it down to 42 inclusive on my Edge Pro, though the tip is rather convexed. The bevle is so wide at the tip because of how the blade transitions into being so much thicker. I rather like how it looks. I'm thinking about going ahead and taking it down to 30 inclusive, but i think if i do it's going to completely hone out the double grind that they put at the tip. I made a thread a long time ago about the idea of running two bevels on the same knife...I might leave the tip at 42 and make from the belly to the tang 30 and transition the two as smoothly as i can..
As for my previous fear that it wouldn't be much of a slicer...well that's proven true and false. It just depends on what you're slicing. You can't argue against physics, and the thickness of the blade plus the short height of the blade don't offer enough transition in the grind to allow it to wedge through things smoothly, but if you stay at the base of the blade it can slice cardboard about as easily as my Para 2 does, which was a surprise. The closer you get to the tip, the more it starts to bind up. Also that thick tip, while being awesome for strength, doesn't penetrate into boxes nearly as easy as a Para 2 does, but you have to sacrifice something for all that extra tip strength. My favorite thing about this knife is the ergonomics. This thing just feels fantastic in my hand, better than any Spyderco i've ever handled (short of a Bushcraft or Streetbeat etc). It's something that'll be different for everybody, but the length of the handle and the placement of the finger contours fits my hand like a custom knife. It's the first knife i've handled that didn't have a 50/50 choil, that i really don't feel needs one either. It's also the first knife i've handled that feels just as "right" in a full grip as it does a saber grip...and i think that's nothing short of amazing since the contours of the handle are generally very different for those two grip methods. I haven't used it with wet or greasy hands yet but i'm pretty confident the ergos are good enough that despite the polished G10, the grip will be solid. My biggest fear about the grip was if the protruding lock tab would be an issue or not. You can definitely feel it, and you're always aware that it's there, but it doesn't bother me or create a hot spot in the grip at all. In fact i actually love that it's there because it makes unlocking it SO much easier than something like a Gayle Bradley. The only part of the grip that isn't perfect is the pocket clip. I think the more perfect the ergos of a knife handle become, the more obvious the clip becomes in your grip.
Lastly, aesthetically i think it's one of the best looking knives i've ever owned, if not THE best looking. I still don't care for the clip holes in the bolsters, and even though i'm all about having an adjustable pivot, i really wish this knife had totally smooth pivots. I'd rather have to send this knife back to Golden to have the pivot tightened after use than look at the pivot screw in the middle of such a beautifully designed bolster. This knife has a lot of custom feel to it especially after you've carried plain G10 knives for so many years. It's nice to carry a knife that looks as expensive as it was for a change lol.
I know it probably won't ever happen, but a sprint of this knife would be awesome. I'd love to see something flashy like lightning strike carbon fiber and a steel that would really excel with a blade like this, like 3V or some other really tough steel. I don't think S90V/20CP etc would be right for a knife like this.
Lastly, some pic whoring. I reprofiled it down to 42 inclusive on my Edge Pro, though the tip is rather convexed. The bevle is so wide at the tip because of how the blade transitions into being so much thicker. I rather like how it looks. I'm thinking about going ahead and taking it down to 30 inclusive, but i think if i do it's going to completely hone out the double grind that they put at the tip. I made a thread a long time ago about the idea of running two bevels on the same knife...I might leave the tip at 42 and make from the belly to the tang 30 and transition the two as smoothly as i can..
All SE all the time since 2017
~David
~David
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mcjhrobinson
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- Location: Wheat Ridge, CO
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DeathBySnooSnoo
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- Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 7:30 pm
- Location: Toronto Canada
I agree with you about just about everything, except that it is easier to unlock than a GB...my GB is a breeze to unlock and the lock bar on my Vallotton has quite a lot of resistance to it. And the flush GB causes me no issue at all.
But totally agree about the ergos and the beauty of the knife. I wish that Spyderco made more "less" ergonomic knives. That long straight but wide handle is so good in the hand. Some kind of hidden pivot adjustment would be cool.
I really wish that I carried mine more...and I might have to start.
Oh, and I really have no issue at all with the weight. I like a heavy knife.
But totally agree about the ergos and the beauty of the knife. I wish that Spyderco made more "less" ergonomic knives. That long straight but wide handle is so good in the hand. Some kind of hidden pivot adjustment would be cool.
I really wish that I carried mine more...and I might have to start.
Oh, and I really have no issue at all with the weight. I like a heavy knife.
On the hunt for...
I carry mine clipped in the RFP of a pair of these at work everyday, and so far the weight hasn't been an annoyance. If anything, this is the one area that i prefer the thinner profile of my Military, because the thickness is what makes it most noticeable to me. As for the lock tab thing, i have huge sausage fingers, so getting my thumb in a GB to unlock it was an exercise of patience for me. I'd probably own a GB by now if not for that one thing.
All SE all the time since 2017
~David
~David
would also like to know this :)eneyman wrote:Excellent review David, the Vallotton is a model I have wanted since it was announced but never seemed to try to obtain. Definitely a knife I want to pick up before they're discontinued. Does that glossy polished finish of the g10 seem to wear off at all?
-Spencer
Rotation:
Gayle Bradley 2 | Mantra 1 | Watu | Chaparral 1 | Dragonfly 2 Salt SE
Rotation:
Gayle Bradley 2 | Mantra 1 | Watu | Chaparral 1 | Dragonfly 2 Salt SE
It hasn't in a month of EDC and use. If anything I would expect it to dull from excessive scratches and not just wear off.eneyman wrote:Excellent review David, the Vallotton is a model I have wanted since it was announced but never seemed to try to obtain. Definitely a knife I want to pick up before they're discontinued. Does that glossy polished finish of the g10 seem to wear off at all?
In other news I saw a video on you tube of a guy who did away with the bolsters and made solid G10 scales for one. Not a bad idea but I love my bolsters.
All SE all the time since 2017
~David
~David
