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Kizer Vanguard Bolt
01 / 05
Kizer Vanguard Bolt
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Product Description
Designed by Kim Ning, who has more than 20 years’ experience in the knife industry, the Kizer Vanguard Bolt has a multi-purpose blade made from VG-10: a high-carbon-content stainless steel manufactured in Japan. Midway up the spine the blade juts slightly upward, almost like a harpoon or an arrowhead Read More
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keyboard_arrow_downSwayne
53
Apr 7, 2018
For a minority report: Kizer knives can be defective and only feature a 30 day warranty (I was lazy in contacting, hence out of warranty) .... Replacement parts can be obtained (maybe? They wanted me to send money to Hong Kong through PayPal), but at nearly the price of a new knife. I point this out on Kizer drops so people know as people usually only sing their praises. However, I usually get met by Kizer crusaders who can't stand dissent, so let me remind you that this is only what might happen. 😀
Notsurewhyibother
1200
Apr 12, 2018
I'm with you on not being a huge fan of speed safe. Have you seen the bare knuckle that Kershaw has coming out soon? 3.5 in 14c28n aluminum scale bearing flipper, US made. Knifecenter has it for preorder at $70. Same basic design as the ZT0777/kershaw natrix. I hope it is successful enough to encourage more non-assisted knives from Kershaw.
namhod
1991
Apr 12, 2018
NotsurewhyibotherYup, it looks great. I think Kershaw is kicking their budget line up a notch these last few years!
Hackenslash
346
Sep 6, 2017
I have 24 different Kizer knives. I've been on board with buying Kizers since they first came on the scene in 2014. They are a new brand but have grown quickly into one of the best value knives available. They offer three price point levels of knives. This knife from the Vanguard series is part of their value line. Any of the Vanguard knives is a great choice for an EDC knife. My only caution would be that the VG10 steel will need some maintenance. Compared to some higher grade steels, VG10 will need more care to maintain the edge. Fortunately VG10 is forgiving and easy to sharpen.
Kizer uses good quality G10 on the Vanguards and their fit and finish is generally excellent. Their action is smooth and lock up is secure. There have been some complaints about Kizer QC of late, I think mostly due to a very aggressive schedule of knife releases. Kizer may have tried to grow too rapidly. Fortunately, they've proven to be responsive to criticism and are eager to make right on any mistakes. They now maintain a service center in the USA. For most service or warranty work, they can take care of you without having to ship your knife overseas.
This Vanguard Bolt is a great knife at a great price. If you're on the fence, I encourage you to give one a try.
I don't own this particular model but I have 5 other Kizer knives from the Vanguard line. If you have any other questions, I'll do my best to try and answer them.
Kizer uses good quality G10 on the Vanguards and their fit and finish is generally excellent. Their action is smooth and lock up is secure. There have been some complaints about Kizer QC of late, I think mostly due to a very aggressive schedule of knife releases. Kizer may have tried to grow too rapidly. Fortunately, they've proven to be responsive to criticism and are eager to make right on any mistakes. They now maintain a service center in the USA. For most service or warranty work, they can take care of you without having to ship your knife overseas.
This Vanguard Bolt is a great knife at a great price. If you're on the fence, I encourage you to give one a try.
I don't own this particular model but I have 5 other Kizer knives from the Vanguard line. If you have any other questions, I'll do my best to try and answer them.
Jgwiz
18
Sep 5, 2017
It should be noted that Kizer is a Chinese brand and has been making knives with VG-10 at cheaper prices than comparible japanese knives. I have not tested them or used them so cannot comment on the overall quality.
storrycity
78
Sep 5, 2017
JgwizIve gotten 2 from massdrop and the quality is excellent, can't say for the edge retention but the fit and finish is extremely good. I haven't had any problems at all with them.
Wolfent
92
Sep 5, 2017
JgwizKizer is a pretty respectable brand.
Plus it's not that much cheaper than some VG10 folders. It's a good deal.
I bought one from a previous drop for a similar price. They're well made, action is smooth (at least mine).
Just because they're a Chinese company doesn't automatically mean they're bad. Most stuff is made in China these days, even high quality items (and low lol).
They're a good company, only complaints I read are usually QC or design related.
Plus it's not that much cheaper than some VG10 folders. It's a good deal.
I bought one from a previous drop for a similar price. They're well made, action is smooth (at least mine).
Just because they're a Chinese company doesn't automatically mean they're bad. Most stuff is made in China these days, even high quality items (and low lol).
They're a good company, only complaints I read are usually QC or design related.
GoAndDo
49
Sep 5, 2017
Thank you, Storrycity. Do you (or anyone else) have feedback on the particularly detailed negative review on Amazon? It made me hesitant to join this drop, but I love the look! Especially the red one. Based on your response to Jgwiz I may just go ahead and jump in.
storrycity
78
Sep 5, 2017
I know and I wish they would stop with these drops, I only have so much money but it's such a good deal. I dont know what to do.
awk
1600
Sep 5, 2017
GoAndDoI haven't had issues with the steel on Kizers but other people occasionally have. Sometimes they do have QC issues. And yes, they tend to change things on their knives without telling anyone (I own one that I've seen in three different versions).
I have a small piece of sheet rubber in my knife maintenance kit that I use for grabbing free-spinning standoffs, that's not a big deal.
In any case to say they are "Ganzo" quality is just wrong. I don't think I'll be disappointed in this one at $40.
I have a small piece of sheet rubber in my knife maintenance kit that I use for grabbing free-spinning standoffs, that's not a big deal.
In any case to say they are "Ganzo" quality is just wrong. I don't think I'll be disappointed in this one at $40.
Adamantinepiggy
82
Oct 5, 2017
Just got the red handle version of the knife today. Overall an OK knife for the price, but there are a bunch of design problems and a sharpening QC issue though. I have always really liked VG10 steel for the fine polished edge it will take without tons of work. Obviously, being easy to sharpen means it doesn't hold it's edge as long as some of the newer super steels, but since I'm always near a sharpener, it's no biggy. I prefer easier sharpening over hard-to-sharpen super-steel.
So for my complaints:
1. The handles screw heads and clip are bright polished stainless. Well that doesn't match the dull finish of the pivot nor the thumbstuds . Just looks wrong.. I'll hit the studs and pivot with my polishing wheel to make them shiny, or hit the shiny screws and clip with some 1000 grit to dull them down. Haven't figured out which yet though.. Easy fix, but I wish I didn't have too. You can't tell from the pictures on this website since whomever took the pictures of the knives, did a TERRIBLE (or perhaps "great" for Massdrop sales in deceiving the customer) job taking pictures of how it actually looks.
2. The blade came very sharp from the middle of the blade to the tip, and not very sharp from the middle to the handle from a poor sharpening job. Required some work to make it all sharp, but another thing I shouldn't have had to bother with from the box.
3. The blade stop is the thumbstuds against the frame instead of the back-end-of-the-blade against a stop pin. Had I known this, I wouldn't have bought it, but I'm too lazy to return it. I like to take out one side of the thumbstud normally (so only one side has protrusion), but since the thumbstuds also act as the blade stop, I can't do it. Plus opening the blade (even slowly) with the thumb always gives a meatier and satisfying "click" with folders with a blade that stop against a stop pin. Thumbstud stops always sound mushy when opened slowly. With this particular knife, if it stopped against a pin instead of the thumbstuds, I would have taken the thumbstuds off completely as the groove in the blade makes for a nice thumb-catching position by itself and the blade would look sleeker without the ugly thumbstuds.
4. I wish they had not coated the blade. VG 10 is stainless as heck, so a coating isn't really necessary anyways. Plus VG10 polishes beautifully and with the blade polished up it would have been even sexier looking, than the dull Titanium grey. Even a non-polished, but non-coated blade would have looked better since it would match the rest of the bright stainless hardware color better.
5. More complaining about the thumbstuds as a stop instead of the back of the blade against a stop pin because if you look at the jimping on the back of the blade, it serves ZERO purpose since when the knife is opened, the spine jimping is recessed BELOW the handle's jimping! WTF!! If they had raised the back jimping area of the spine so that it matched level with the jimping of the handle, it would serve a grip-area purpose, AND it could have also been used as a blade stop. Get rid of the thumbstuds, get rid of the divots at the forward edge of the handle, and it would have been MUCH sleeker. Just poor design thought by Mr Kim Ning..
If you search the reviews on this knife, some dude pops up in a bunch of places with the same negative review complaining about the VG10 heat treatment on the Bolt. Maybe he got a dud, because the VG10 on this one seemed hardened just fine from the feel I got when I sharpened it up and it didn't roll the edges like butter as he claimed.
Later Edit for some Positives:
1. I very much like how the handle metal is recessed into the back of the G10 for a slimmer profile for a more-pocketable build, while still having full metal-support on both sides.
2. I like the shape of the blade (which is what attracted it to me in the first place) as it has an interesting profile along with the looks of the groove. Too bad the ugly generic thumbstuds. Like I mentioned earlier, the groove would have made a decent thumb catching opener by itself.
3. For the complicated patterns on both G10 scales, they match perfectly in contours.
If they fixed my complaints, this knife would be friggin awesome.. unfortunately, it's merely OK..
Another edit from a few days later.. The lock on this knife is crap.. Serious QC issue. The linerlock only engages with a tiny portion of the knife rear at the bottom visible corner. The rest of the liner does not even make contact. This knife's lock fails even a "light" spine whack on a soft surface. Now I am not a proponent that spine whacks are a good indicator of a liner lock's holding ability in normal usage, but it should not fail a very light one on a padded surface (foam mouse pad on my wood desk in this case). Since the lock is the heart and soul of a folder, this knife is dead to me as I value my fingers much more than anything else about this knife.
So for my complaints:
1. The handles screw heads and clip are bright polished stainless. Well that doesn't match the dull finish of the pivot nor the thumbstuds . Just looks wrong.. I'll hit the studs and pivot with my polishing wheel to make them shiny, or hit the shiny screws and clip with some 1000 grit to dull them down. Haven't figured out which yet though.. Easy fix, but I wish I didn't have too. You can't tell from the pictures on this website since whomever took the pictures of the knives, did a TERRIBLE (or perhaps "great" for Massdrop sales in deceiving the customer) job taking pictures of how it actually looks.
2. The blade came very sharp from the middle of the blade to the tip, and not very sharp from the middle to the handle from a poor sharpening job. Required some work to make it all sharp, but another thing I shouldn't have had to bother with from the box.
3. The blade stop is the thumbstuds against the frame instead of the back-end-of-the-blade against a stop pin. Had I known this, I wouldn't have bought it, but I'm too lazy to return it. I like to take out one side of the thumbstud normally (so only one side has protrusion), but since the thumbstuds also act as the blade stop, I can't do it. Plus opening the blade (even slowly) with the thumb always gives a meatier and satisfying "click" with folders with a blade that stop against a stop pin. Thumbstud stops always sound mushy when opened slowly. With this particular knife, if it stopped against a pin instead of the thumbstuds, I would have taken the thumbstuds off completely as the groove in the blade makes for a nice thumb-catching position by itself and the blade would look sleeker without the ugly thumbstuds.
4. I wish they had not coated the blade. VG 10 is stainless as heck, so a coating isn't really necessary anyways. Plus VG10 polishes beautifully and with the blade polished up it would have been even sexier looking, than the dull Titanium grey. Even a non-polished, but non-coated blade would have looked better since it would match the rest of the bright stainless hardware color better.
5. More complaining about the thumbstuds as a stop instead of the back of the blade against a stop pin because if you look at the jimping on the back of the blade, it serves ZERO purpose since when the knife is opened, the spine jimping is recessed BELOW the handle's jimping! WTF!! If they had raised the back jimping area of the spine so that it matched level with the jimping of the handle, it would serve a grip-area purpose, AND it could have also been used as a blade stop. Get rid of the thumbstuds, get rid of the divots at the forward edge of the handle, and it would have been MUCH sleeker. Just poor design thought by Mr Kim Ning..
If you search the reviews on this knife, some dude pops up in a bunch of places with the same negative review complaining about the VG10 heat treatment on the Bolt. Maybe he got a dud, because the VG10 on this one seemed hardened just fine from the feel I got when I sharpened it up and it didn't roll the edges like butter as he claimed.
Later Edit for some Positives:
1. I very much like how the handle metal is recessed into the back of the G10 for a slimmer profile for a more-pocketable build, while still having full metal-support on both sides.
2. I like the shape of the blade (which is what attracted it to me in the first place) as it has an interesting profile along with the looks of the groove. Too bad the ugly generic thumbstuds. Like I mentioned earlier, the groove would have made a decent thumb catching opener by itself.
3. For the complicated patterns on both G10 scales, they match perfectly in contours.
If they fixed my complaints, this knife would be friggin awesome.. unfortunately, it's merely OK..
Another edit from a few days later.. The lock on this knife is crap.. Serious QC issue. The linerlock only engages with a tiny portion of the knife rear at the bottom visible corner. The rest of the liner does not even make contact. This knife's lock fails even a "light" spine whack on a soft surface. Now I am not a proponent that spine whacks are a good indicator of a liner lock's holding ability in normal usage, but it should not fail a very light one on a padded surface (foam mouse pad on my wood desk in this case). Since the lock is the heart and soul of a folder, this knife is dead to me as I value my fingers much more than anything else about this knife.
MichaelHeartless
128
Feb 12, 2018
AdamantinepiggyGreat review. Definitely made me change my mind about getting one.
Josehigeer
18
Apr 8, 2018
As a south Paw I refuse to give $$ to a right hand only clip option but a tip up & tip down rig option with no south options just rubs me wrong way.
I looke at sevral knives i would have bought but didnt becouse no lefty options.
Ive purchased 4-5 MassDrop knives in the few months I’ve been member.
I looke at sevral knives i would have bought but didnt becouse no lefty options.
Ive purchased 4-5 MassDrop knives in the few months I’ve been member.
Sloblo
409
Apr 11, 2018
JosehigeerFunny I was just complaining about a lefty tip down only drop... guess we all have our problems XD
TheQuietOne75
102
Mar 12, 2018
So, another week has passed and the shipping deadline is here. Still no status on what's happening with this drop. So, should I just cancel my transaction?
Spidey12341
220
Apr 7, 2018
TheQuietOne75I think what happened here was the price was too low for the the sellers and they probably wanted to back out but I guess massdrop did something and made it happen because this drop is $10 more than the drop with the delay.
wirelessness
81
Feb 12, 2018
Can't find any information from the Kizer website but all of the online knife dealers are claiming this model is made in China. This is still a great price compared to said dealers but it should be noted that this knife is seemingly made in China not in Japan as claimed in this drop.
Kavik
5531
Feb 15, 2018
Oh I know, I'm with you man, 100% 😀👍
I just didn't want other people reading that and thinking it was an intentional misrepresentation / false advertisement type thing is all
I just didn't want other people reading that and thinking it was an intentional misrepresentation / false advertisement type thing is all
Sam127
12
Feb 19, 2018
Speaking on the quality . I was quite skeptical before I bought my first Kizer knife but if I’m not mistaken they are all made or
put together as they say in China with the materials usually above average coming from other countries. The workmanship on these knives are quite good and the prices aren’t over inflated. They are compafable to knives twice the price and sometimes 3 times the price in the quality of workmanship.
Mance
3
Mar 13, 2018
Just received an email saying it was delayed. Might be time to cancel and send a message.
TheQuietOne75
102
Mar 16, 2018
ManceSame here. i noticed that they used to post the updates here in the discussion tab, but didn't in this case. Not sure who's overseeing this drop, but the lack of communication is disappointing.
BradThomas
11
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.
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.
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