Cold Steel Voyager 3" Clip Point Review
Its been more than three years since I started this site. In that time one of my goals was to review each of the standard bearer knives for each of the major brands (post forthcoming comparing all of them). Cold Steel's standard bearer is the Voyager line. And this review marks the final standard bearer blade to be evaluated.
The Voyager has a big knife feel and lock with a small blade. It is chunky and awkward in the hand, but it does cut well and is insanely tough. Its hard to say its a bad blade, but it is not as good as the Recon series. In the end, the changes, other than the lock and the thumb stud, are not improvements. I'd love to see the old Voyager handle with a Tri-Ad lock and a threaded thumb stud. The Voyager isn't bad but in this part of the market you can do better. And for a little more money you can do better in the Cold Steel line up.
The Competition
The Voyager has been in production for years and over time, it has changed many times. The handle shape has become more nuanced, less "jelly bean". The lock has been upgraded to the excellent Demko Tri-Ad Lock. The pocket clip has been altered, unforunately for the worst. Has all this change been for the better? Let's find out.
Here is the product page. The 3" Voyager costs $46.95. Here is a written review from some guy named Dan. Here is a video review from some guy probably not really named Nutnfancy. Here is a link to Blade HQ, where you can find the Voyager, and all proceeds benefit the site when you purchase things through this link:
Blade HQ
Here is my review sample (on loan from Everyday Commentary contributor Ben Schwartz):
Design: 1
While the jelly bean handles were bland looking they afforded a wide number of grips. The new design essentially tells you how to hold the knife. That's a design flaw, but one that I will look at in more detail below. The big sin here is the bulk, in particular, the thickness. This knife is positively chubby. Including the clip it is three times as thick as a Cadet. But all of that thickness is really a waste. It was done, undoubtedly to accommodate the aluminum liners, which even Cold Steel has proven are unnecessary (their Recon line has no liners under the G10 handles and is more than strong enough). If there was some trade off, some reason why, I would have less of an issue with the thickness. In the end it makes this knife a true pocket hog. Its virtually impossible to carry anything else in that pocket. Forget about coin pocket carry (but, to be fair, if you are thinking about a Cold Steel knife coin pocket carry ain't your thing).
Here is a good size comparison (or a fun picture, one or the other) between an larval form of the Lithophane Atennata and the Voyager:
The performance ratios are good. The blade:handle is a very respectable .70, just about middle of the pack for the knives I have reviewed. The blade:weight is even better, around .97. The issue with the design isn't its size, its the knife's volume. I am still working on how to measure that (thanks for the suggestions folks).
Fit and Finish: 2
For a company with a remarkably cave man image and advertising, Cold Steel regularly and consistently nails the fit and finish on its knives. The Voyager, like the Mini Tuff Lite, the Recon, and the Mini AK-47 has a very smooth pivot with excellent action, well above average for a lock back. The blade centering is excellent as well and the stonewash is very nice and even, just short of the stonewash found on uber premium production knives like the Strider and the XM-18. Nothing on the Voyager disappointed in terms of its finish. All around excellence.
Grip: 1
Its odd to find a folder this thick. In one sense it makes for an excellent knife in the hand, with a palm-filling feel. Unfortunately all of that material is rounded and cut into a shape that demands you to grip the knife in only one of two ways. The handle is vaguely reminiscent of the handle on the Mini AK-47 and that knife lots points for poor affordance.
That alone is worth probably a full point, but just in case it isn't, the position of the hand, about 3/4 of an inch from the blade gives you well below average control, something unacceptable on a knife this small.
The texturing is, thankfully, tamed down from the insane grippiness of the Recon G10, with a pleasing to the eye and pleasing to the handle, cruciform pattern. The chamfering around the handle is good. There is no jimping to speak of, those grooves are mere decoration, but with the shape of the handle, its not really much of a concern.
In all, the grip on this knife is very complex. In one sense it is good and hand-filling. In another sense it is awful, bossing you around and telling you how to hold it. That's a 1, but I wouldn't object if someone scored this knife as a 0 in terms of grip.
Carry: 1
For a 3 inch blade this thing carries very large. Not only is it very thick, the clip is placed awkwardly and the knife is quite wide. There is a good deal of blade sticking out of the handle, making the Voyager a pocket road block. Its very light, even with the liners, so you can't complain too much, but I think I'd rather have an older model with its slim profile and no liners.
Steel: 1
AUS-8--the very definition of an average steel. Cold Steel's version tends to be soft and tough, never chipping but often in need of sharpening. Its a good choice on a beginner's knife or on a knife you plan on thumping on (which is perhaps, the very best application for Cold Steel blades). Thankfully, this knife does not run Cold Steel's wretched blade paint. Be clear, its not coating, definitely not PVD or TiNitride or ceracote. Its paint and bad, flaky paint at that. None of that here and everyone's better off for it.
Blade Shape: 1
The tip is fine, the belly is fine. In terms of performance, the blade shape is great. But it is so aggressive looking, so antisocial, that its uncomfortable to use the blade in public. This isn't the knife you open your kid's toy with, it will scare the bejesus out of people.
And there is no real reason for the shape. A simple drop point would work just as well or better, as proven by the Recon 1. I'd much, much prefer that shape than this uber-aggro clip point. I'd even prefer a more modest clip, like those found on Case knives, to this Sinbad looking thing. It might be great in tactical applications, but the rest of the time (read: all of the time) something more modest would be better.
Grind: 2
Cold Steel's simple full flat grind is excellent. The cutting bevel is nice and wide and the main grind is consistent and even. I still think SOG does grinds better than everyone else, but Cold Steel is the Tom Petty of grinds--consistently good, but never great (I am a Tom Petty fan, so don't complain).
Deployment Method: 2
Cold Steel's screw thread thumb studs are a rare design masterstroke in the Cold Steel design language. They have a lot of brilliant engineering and tons of overbuilt stuff, but the simple and switchable thumb studs no only provide great traction, they look good and allow for ambidextrous deployment quickly.
Retention Method: 1
I don't like the fact that the clip is not ambidextrous. It just gives you one more part to lose. I am not going to say I hate it, but a little forethought could eliminate this problem.
It works well, is nicely tensioned, and isn't a paint scraper, but it is average if not slightly below.
Lock: 2
Tri-Ad lock rocks. Ambidextrous, easy to use, tough as a rhino. AWESOME.
Overall Score: 14 out of 20
Blade HQ
Here is my review sample (on loan from Everyday Commentary contributor Ben Schwartz):
Twitter Review Summary: Quirky, beefy, and capable, but not great.
Design: 1
While the jelly bean handles were bland looking they afforded a wide number of grips. The new design essentially tells you how to hold the knife. That's a design flaw, but one that I will look at in more detail below. The big sin here is the bulk, in particular, the thickness. This knife is positively chubby. Including the clip it is three times as thick as a Cadet. But all of that thickness is really a waste. It was done, undoubtedly to accommodate the aluminum liners, which even Cold Steel has proven are unnecessary (their Recon line has no liners under the G10 handles and is more than strong enough). If there was some trade off, some reason why, I would have less of an issue with the thickness. In the end it makes this knife a true pocket hog. Its virtually impossible to carry anything else in that pocket. Forget about coin pocket carry (but, to be fair, if you are thinking about a Cold Steel knife coin pocket carry ain't your thing).
Here is a good size comparison (or a fun picture, one or the other) between an larval form of the Lithophane Atennata and the Voyager:
The performance ratios are good. The blade:handle is a very respectable .70, just about middle of the pack for the knives I have reviewed. The blade:weight is even better, around .97. The issue with the design isn't its size, its the knife's volume. I am still working on how to measure that (thanks for the suggestions folks).
Fit and Finish: 2
For a company with a remarkably cave man image and advertising, Cold Steel regularly and consistently nails the fit and finish on its knives. The Voyager, like the Mini Tuff Lite, the Recon, and the Mini AK-47 has a very smooth pivot with excellent action, well above average for a lock back. The blade centering is excellent as well and the stonewash is very nice and even, just short of the stonewash found on uber premium production knives like the Strider and the XM-18. Nothing on the Voyager disappointed in terms of its finish. All around excellence.
Grip: 1
Its odd to find a folder this thick. In one sense it makes for an excellent knife in the hand, with a palm-filling feel. Unfortunately all of that material is rounded and cut into a shape that demands you to grip the knife in only one of two ways. The handle is vaguely reminiscent of the handle on the Mini AK-47 and that knife lots points for poor affordance.
That alone is worth probably a full point, but just in case it isn't, the position of the hand, about 3/4 of an inch from the blade gives you well below average control, something unacceptable on a knife this small.
The texturing is, thankfully, tamed down from the insane grippiness of the Recon G10, with a pleasing to the eye and pleasing to the handle, cruciform pattern. The chamfering around the handle is good. There is no jimping to speak of, those grooves are mere decoration, but with the shape of the handle, its not really much of a concern.
In all, the grip on this knife is very complex. In one sense it is good and hand-filling. In another sense it is awful, bossing you around and telling you how to hold it. That's a 1, but I wouldn't object if someone scored this knife as a 0 in terms of grip.
Carry: 1
For a 3 inch blade this thing carries very large. Not only is it very thick, the clip is placed awkwardly and the knife is quite wide. There is a good deal of blade sticking out of the handle, making the Voyager a pocket road block. Its very light, even with the liners, so you can't complain too much, but I think I'd rather have an older model with its slim profile and no liners.
Steel: 1
AUS-8--the very definition of an average steel. Cold Steel's version tends to be soft and tough, never chipping but often in need of sharpening. Its a good choice on a beginner's knife or on a knife you plan on thumping on (which is perhaps, the very best application for Cold Steel blades). Thankfully, this knife does not run Cold Steel's wretched blade paint. Be clear, its not coating, definitely not PVD or TiNitride or ceracote. Its paint and bad, flaky paint at that. None of that here and everyone's better off for it.
Blade Shape: 1
The tip is fine, the belly is fine. In terms of performance, the blade shape is great. But it is so aggressive looking, so antisocial, that its uncomfortable to use the blade in public. This isn't the knife you open your kid's toy with, it will scare the bejesus out of people.
And there is no real reason for the shape. A simple drop point would work just as well or better, as proven by the Recon 1. I'd much, much prefer that shape than this uber-aggro clip point. I'd even prefer a more modest clip, like those found on Case knives, to this Sinbad looking thing. It might be great in tactical applications, but the rest of the time (read: all of the time) something more modest would be better.
Grind: 2
Cold Steel's simple full flat grind is excellent. The cutting bevel is nice and wide and the main grind is consistent and even. I still think SOG does grinds better than everyone else, but Cold Steel is the Tom Petty of grinds--consistently good, but never great (I am a Tom Petty fan, so don't complain).
Deployment Method: 2
Cold Steel's screw thread thumb studs are a rare design masterstroke in the Cold Steel design language. They have a lot of brilliant engineering and tons of overbuilt stuff, but the simple and switchable thumb studs no only provide great traction, they look good and allow for ambidextrous deployment quickly.
Retention Method: 1
I don't like the fact that the clip is not ambidextrous. It just gives you one more part to lose. I am not going to say I hate it, but a little forethought could eliminate this problem.
It works well, is nicely tensioned, and isn't a paint scraper, but it is average if not slightly below.
Lock: 2
Tri-Ad lock rocks. Ambidextrous, easy to use, tough as a rhino. AWESOME.
Overall Score: 14 out of 20
The Voyager has a big knife feel and lock with a small blade. It is chunky and awkward in the hand, but it does cut well and is insanely tough. Its hard to say its a bad blade, but it is not as good as the Recon series. In the end, the changes, other than the lock and the thumb stud, are not improvements. I'd love to see the old Voyager handle with a Tri-Ad lock and a threaded thumb stud. The Voyager isn't bad but in this part of the market you can do better. And for a little more money you can do better in the Cold Steel line up.
The Competition
The Mini Aegis is one of the very best EDC knives out there, for the money. The comparison here is really interesting. The materials are essentially identical--AUS 8 and FRN. But the designs and the purpose of the two knives are diametrically opposed. The Mini Aegis is fast, convenient, and light. Its big for a 3" blade and the assist can appear to be an auto to the untrained eye, but it is much more people friendly than the clip point Voyager, which just looks Iike a murder weapon from a Dateline "crime" episode. I would almost always opt for the Mini Aegis, but those with lots of heavy duty tasks would almost certainly prefer the beefy Voyager. Can't beat a 2 ounce knife with a 3 inch blade for EDC, but if you are a knife torturer, the Voyager will last much longer before it breaks.