For scale:
That's a 1st generation Cold Steel Recon-1 with a 4" blade, and a 2 liter of Coke at the top.
This is a massive knife, which most people are not accustomed to or don't see the need for that much blade. Most folks stick with 3" - 3 1/2" blades for EDC, but I've always preferred a 4" folder. I don't consider folding knives to be weapons; they are convenient utility tools that I put to use every single day for mundane tasks like cutting up boxes or getting rid of irish pennants (Google is your friend). The more blade you have, the more you can get accomplished.
To be honest, the Voyager won't be my EDC unless I'm going to be doing work outside. It's niche is probably in a backpack or clipped to a belt when you go down into the woods. For the moment though, it's in my pocket so that I can get a feel for how it carries. With Grivory grips with aluminum liners, it's not all that heavy for its size. The handles have iron cross-like texturing that provide excellent grip, and the contour is such that you can grab up close to the blade for more control, or down towards the hook at the bottom of the handle for chopping. The Voyager would be great for camping.
Here's another picture for scale:
The 5 1/2" blade is still not in Ka-Bar territory, but it dwarfs the Benchmade Rukus' 4 1/4" blade. The Voyager weighs in at 7.2 oz., which is lighter than the Rukus at 7.7 oz. The S30V steel in the Rukus is also a bitch to sharpen, but the Voyager's AUS-8A should be easy to take care of. Overall I'm impressed with the quality: the lockup is very tight and everything feels very well made. It came shaving sharp, but as always I can do better. It's a good knife to have around, and I'm sure I can find a proper career for it somewhere.
3 comments:
The problem with carrying concealed knives in VA is that the law is vague.
Andy's correct.
To complicate matters, it prohibits the carrying of Bowie knives (without really defining one) without a permit. Such a permit, of course, doesn't exist. The Voyager could be called a folding bowie because of the clip point and thus be illegal; I don't know for sure though.
My present carry knives don't fit in any way the look or definition (even a loose definition) of the prohibited daggers, bowies, stilletos, swords etc .. as seen in the law.
I love my "new model" extra large Voyager and I have about four of the older versions but I won't carry it until they change our handgun permit into a weapons permit.
My main quibble with the new design are finger grooves. They do lock the hand in solidly but make it near impossible to hold the knife a little lower down the handle which I prefer.
I personally consider folding knives to be 1) everyday tools and 2)extreme emergency tools (which includes self defense) and for that last purpose, the Cold Steel Voyager is one of my favorites.
sweetness brother! I love my big Benchmade Ruckus.
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