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Review: Vosteed Raccoon Cross-Bar Lock

By on December 11, 2023 in EDC, Knives, Reviews

I’ll just spoil this review up front. Vosteed provided me a Raccoon with cross-bar lock for review and I think it is an exemplary knife. It isn’t just great for it’s price. It’s great at any price. It’s great, period. The Raccoon shows what a knife company can do when they design for simplicity and get everything just about right.

Stats

Overall Length: 7.60″ | 193.12 mm

Blade Length: 3.25″ | 82.55 mm

Blade Width: 1.07″ | 27.27 mm 

Blade Thickness: 0.125″ | 3.20 mm

Blade Material: 14C28N

Grind: Flat 

Blade Style: Drop Point 

Hardness: HRC 60±2

Handle Length: 4.36″ | 110.75 mm

Handle Width: 1.10″ | 27.95 mm

Handle Thickness: 0.49″ | 12.4 mm

Weight: 3.06 oz | 86.8 g

Opener: Thumb Stud

Lock Type: Crossbar Lock

Pivot Assembly: Caged Ceramic Ball Bearing

Pocket Clip: Reversible | Stainless Steel

Carry Position: Tip-up 

There are other finishes and handle materials available but my review sample has a satin-finished blade and black micarta handles.

Observations from Use

The Raccoon goes hard out of the gate with its first impression. It comes in a nylon knife pouch which itself is inside of a tin. There are stickers and two patches included in the tin along with a set of spare omega springs for the cross-bar lock which is GREAT. The inclusion of spare springs is a great way to show attention to detail. These springs don’t break as commonly as internet goobers would have you think but having spares is nice.

I would say that, if the Raccoon was a sports team, the blade would be the MVP. Vosteed ticked every box. 14C28N steel is perhaps the best budget steel of all time with its balance of edge resistance, toughness, stain resistance, and sharpenability. The .125″ stock and nearly full-height flat grind means the blade is slicy but also plenty stout. The drop point (almost spear point) shape is versatile with both plenty of point and lots of straight edge near the handle for high leverage cuts. It’s topped off with a crowned spine and perfect jimping. This is the kind of blade that should appeal to everyone. It cuts so well… very, very well.

The handle shows just as much attention to what the knife users want as the blade. The canvas micarta they have sourced for these knives is great – attractive and almost velvety to the touch (in a grippy way). A peek underneath those micarta slabs reveals fully nested, skeletonized steel liners. The matching micarta backspacer is another surprising and welcome touch for a knife at this price. This handle has very little flex while keeping the weight of the knife to right at 3 ounces.

The details and commitment to simplicity continue with the hardware. The clips is reversible and nested into the handle with flush screws. The Raccoon comes with a clip plate for the non-clip side. The pivot has machined flourishes and there is just a single body screw to make disassembly easy.

The handle feels very warm and comfortable in the hands thanks to heavily rounded edges. In fact, every touch point is comfortable on the Raccoon – even the thumb studs which are grippy (but not sharp) and very easy to access…

And you will want to access those thumb studs because Vosteed did some real magic with the action of this knife. It flicks very well and makes satisfying chunky noises while doing it. If you have tried to flick open some cross-bar lock knives, you know the action can be mushy since the lock itself provides the detent action. The Raccoon flicks up and swings shut very well in spite of this which is a testament to how Vosteed tuned the tang of the blade to interact with the lock.

My impressions of this knife are overwhelmingly positive but I think it could be even better. Admittedly, the following items are my own personal preferences but there are changes (or maybe just a different version) I would like to see, nonetheless. If I had my druthers, this knife would be available with bronze washers instead of ball bearings in the pivot since I tend to use my knives in dirty, dusty jobs around hour property. This design lends itself to that kind of work and it would be nice to seal more of that grit out of the pivot. Additionally, the current shape of the grip allows the user to choke up behind the edge but it would be nice if the transition from grip to choil was more flush to make this even more usable.

Wrap Up

If you get a chance to handle a Vosteed Raccoon in person, don’t miss it. It makes a great first impression. I almost can’t believe what this knife offers for the price and I don’t mean the blingy things other companies try to pass off as value. The Raccoon doesn’t try to justify its price with flashy colors or the veneer of luxury. It just gives you exactly what you want as a knife user – good steel, good geometry, comfortable touch points, rugged materials, and some style at a very attractive price.

You can learn more at Vosteed.com

Or check out the Raccoon Cross-Bar Lock (on sale for 10% off at the time of this writing) at Amazon.com.

Lightning Review: Hewlett Two-Side Diamond Sharpener Medium/Fine

By on November 20, 2023 in EDC, Knives, Outdoor Gear, Preparedness, Reviews, Survival

There are many, many overdone field knife sharpeners on the market but very few that I would consider carrying regularly. That is why I love my USA-made, easy-to-carry Hewlett Two-Sided Diamond Sharpeners with medium (600) and fine (1800) grits. I have had a couple of these knocking around for years now. It might be the most versatile, easiest-to-carry, field sharpener I own.

These diamond plates are the right size – small enough to carry in their included sleeve and large enough to actually work. They are just under 4″ long, 1.25″ wide, and just about 1/16″ thick. They weigh just over 1 ounce.

I rarely use the medium side but it is coarse enough to get some mild reprofiling done in the field should you take some chips out of an edge. The fine side is all I usually need to touch up an edge before finishing with a quick strop.

I have even used mine to strike a ferro rod and scrape tinder like fat wood thanks to the crisp edges on the plate. It isn’t meant for that and I am sure it isn’t good for it… but it works.

I bought mine on Amazon: Hewlett Diamond Sharpener Medium/Fine

Review: SOG Tellus FLK

By on October 6, 2023 in EDC, Knives, Outdoor Gear, Reviews

I purchased a SOG Tellus FLK a while back because I couldn’t resist what appeared to be a very good deal for a large folding knife. I was also intrigued by its surprisingly lightweight given its size and the way SOG executed the frame-lock (more on this later).

Specs

  • Blade Length: 3.65″
  • Closed Length: 4.80″
  • Overall Length: 8.40″
  • Blade Steel: CRYO 440C
  • Blade Finish: Stonewash
  • Pocket Clip: Stainless Steel (Tip-Up, Right/Left Carry)
  • Weight: 5.8 oz.
  • Pivot: Ball Bearings
  • Made in China

Observations from Use

SOG states that the Tellus FLK is an “outdoor workhorse,” which is certainly the vibe I get from this knife. The blade shape, size, and overall feel in the hand remind me a lot of past Zero Tolerance/Rick Hinderer collaboration knives and that is a complement. The knife feels like it is ready to work thanks to SOG’s design choices.

The first thing I noticed about the Tellus FLK is its weight. Now, I am not saying this is a lightweight knife but it one of those knives that messes with your head a bit. When you pick this up, you expect it to feel much heavier than it does. It feels very light for its size. This is thanks to SOG’s choice to mill out very large voids in the liners and likely the use of polymer for several parts of the knife including the scales, backspacer, and even the thumb studs.

Those polymer thumb studs are actually very comfortable to use and the blade deploys easily when using them. In fact, I greatly prefer them to the flipper tab that this knife also includes.

The scales have diagonal, grooved texture that offers a ton of grip without being aggressive or hard on your pockets. They are relatively thick and well-contoured. The polymer scales are affixed to the steel liners via internal, nested screws. SOG also chose to affix a small section of scale to liner-turned-frame-lock which improves the comfort in this area. This is the kind of innovative thing that can and should be done with polymer handles!

The 440C used in the Tellus FLK’s broad, drop point blade is easy to resharpen and seems relatively tough. The height of the blade, coupled with a nearly full-height flat grind allows the blade to really thin out behind the edge. This knife cuts better than a lot of knives with even thinner stock thanks to this cutting geometry. It is impressive in this regard.

The pocket clip is reversible and offers a ton of clearance for pockets with chunkier fabrics. The position is somewhat low on the knife which, for me at least, allows it to fall in a comfortable part of my grip rather than being way out toward the edge of my hand.

The blade locks up solidly though there is some slight side-to-side play which is typical for larger bladed folders with ball-bearing pivots.

All of that sounds pretty good (and it is) but there are a few design choices that leave me scratching my head. First, I am little confused by the use of a ball-bearing pivot given the “outdoor workhorse” intentions of the Tellus FLK. Boring old PB washers would like stand up to fouling more readily and might have even been cheaper. Second, the pivot screws on this knife are fairly large but they went with a T6 driver… and that fits kind of loose. Be careful when adjusting the pivot on this knife. Again, different hardware might have made more sense for this design.

Wrap Up

This knife offers a combination of features that make it very attractive at the price: standout ergonomics, tough stainless steel, great cutting geometry, and multiple deployment methods. It is also significantly larger than a lot of knives in this price range and that is worth something if you need a larger knife for your application.

I like the Tellus FLK so much that I could see choosing this over other classic, low-cost work knives like the RAT 1 just based on just how much knife you get for the money. I’m impressed.

I purchased the SOG Tellus FLK with my own money, from Amazon: SOG Tellus FLK

The Survival Knife in your Pocket – Cold Steel Pendleton Mini Hunter

By on November 7, 2022 in Bargain or Just Cheap?, EDC, Knives, Outdoor Gear, Preparedness, Reviews, Survival

I owned a Cold Steel Pendleton Mini Hunter years ago. I never really did much with the one I used to own because I didn’t have a sheath that made it very practical to carry but the knife itself was excellent. I thought of it as a paring knife on steroids which is to say it was an excellent utility knife that was quite stout.

Fast forward to earlier this year when I was looking for a knife with some basic requirements – stainless, large and stout enough to baton sticks of a reasonable diameter for fire making, small enough to EDC, and with a 90-degree spine. The idea was that, when coupled with a Swiss Army Knife (with saw) and a ferro rod/lighter, it would be the foundation of a sort of EDC-able survival kit. Surprisingly, this was difficult to find in a relatively affordable production knife which drove me back to the Pendleton Mini Hunter. It not only fits this niche but I found that it has become extremely affordable. I purchased one for just $35.

The knife itself is excellent. The flat ground AUS-10A blade is 3″ long and .130″ thick at the spine which is quite stout. It features a drop point blade shape that has a distal taper to the tip rendering a strong but useful point. The handle is molded rubber that allows a four-finger grip (though it is narrow) and is comfortable to use even when cold thanks to the lack of exposed tang. It has a small guard that is unobtrusive and the 90-degree spine throws sparks like a champ.

In use, it really does feel like the most useful paring knife if your kitchen but 10X as durable. It may not sound like it initially, but that is supposed to be high praise. It can cut your apple for lunch, trim a thread, dress your deer, or start a fire in challenging conditions which is pretty impressive for a knife that costs $35, weighs 2 ounces, and is exceedingly easy to carry… as long as you spend a bit more money on sheaths.

When it comes to sheaths, there are a ton of options. I can only speak to the two I’ve tried. The first is a KSF (Knives Ship Free) Pocono Pocket Sheath. This leather pouch sits gracefully in your front or back pocket and has room to carry a ferro rod (which I do) in addition to the knife.

The sheath second option, a kydex sheath from RK Kydex, is probably the better option considering the versatility, availability, and affordability. I set mine up with a single snap loop which makes it easy to carry on my belt, as a neck knife, or in the pocket. I had this sheath in days, the quality is excellent, and I only paid $28 for it which is very affordable compared to most of the market. I highly recommend these sheaths.

The combination of the Cold Steel Pendleton Mini Hunter and the RK Custom Kydex Sheath was perfect for fleshing out my pocket survival knife idea. It is on my belt as I type this. I think this knife would make a great addition to anyone’s kit or a great gift.

Links to the products above:

Cold Steel Pendleton Mini Hunter AUS10A

Cold Steel Pendelton Mini Hunter 3V (upgraded steel)

KSF Pocono Pocket Sheath

RK Custom Kydex Sheath

The above URLs may be affiliate links.

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