Kizer Vanguard Bolt Discussions | Drop

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Oct 6, 2017

I've had this knife for about a week. At the end of the day I'm happy that I own it, but it is definitely a bang-for-your-buck type knife. For the price you get a great steel combined with very nice construction. The G10 scales feel great in the hand, and the contouring on them makes for a very tight and comfortable hold in all manner of grips. The liner lock is also well done and feels very solid - I have no worry that this knife is ever going to snap shut on me, even in very hard use scenarios. Blade shape is nothing too special, definitely more of a chopper than a slicer, has just a bit of a bulge/re-curve behind the tip to make push-cuts easier. The cutaway at the top of the blade serves as a nice thumb ramp or finger rest when your work requires choking up a bit, which the sharpening choil on the blade also allows for.
I do feel like the fuller does more harm than good on this knife. It gets in the way with long slices or deep cuts, and really breaks up the otherwise clean, flat, matte finish of the blade. It also means that the plunge grind only comes about two-thirds of the way up the blade, leaving the relatively thick blade stock to get in the way faster than one might expect. The thumbstuds run very close to the frame, and I have managed to pinch myself a few times while mindlessly playing with the knife. From the factory, the action was okay but definitely not perfect, and took some oil and work to smooth out. The knife also only runs on washers, no bearings so despite the bulky and heavy blade, the knife will under no circumstances drop shut.
My biggest complaint is the detente. It requires so much force to get this knife to do anything. Before I cleaned and oiled the action, it downright HURT to flick this knife open, still does sometimes.