4 Methods to Open, ‘Double-Protected’ Magnet Lock

Vosteed knives needs to be a family identify primarily based on the standard and number of knives the model continues to place out. However you’d be forgiven for not figuring out — in spite of everything, the corporate solely ended up on my radar by chance. I used to be having myself a Google, researching the Shilin blade fashion, and Vosteed’s Nightshade flipper got here up.

However that was simply the tip of the iceberg. I spent the subsequent 2 hours enthralled, scouring Vosteed’s web site. I used to be impressed by the variety of knives the model provided, the distinctive types, and the supplies it was utilizing. Vosteed centered on premium knife steels and saved costs beneath the trade norm. However behind the scenes, it developed new and revolutionary methods to maintain its knives secure and reliable as properly.

Enter Vosteed’s newest providing: the Ankylo knife with V-Anchor lock system — a button lock mechanism that makes use of a magnet to maintain the blade closed or open, and cleverly designed in order to by no means by accident deploy within the pocket.

However whereas the V-Anchor will be the star of the present, the selection to make use of Elmax metal and aluminum deal with scales makes this $170 knife a severe problem to the knife trade’s typical pricing construction. (In my view, this knife might simply value $250 or extra.)

Briefly: Vosteed assessments the bounds of each kind and performance in its huge lineup of knives. However the Ankylo presents a case research in innovation; particularly, how a magnetic lock mechanism can add to the entire performance of a well-thought-out EDC knife.

Vosteed Ankylo Overview

Even on the comparably modest $170, this distinctive flipper stands as one of many dearer knives in Vosteed’s multipage catalog. The complete-size folding knife launched as a Kickstarter marketing campaign only a few days in the past and already smashed its funding objective.

So in the event you like what you see right here, you’ll be able to seize an Ankylo your self at an early chicken low cost earlier than the marketing campaign ends on Might 6, 2024.

Design & Options

Vosteed’s Ankylo is a full-sized flipper with an Elmax metal reverse tanto blade. Elmax is a premium knife metal identified for its toughness, abrasion resistance, corrosion resistance, and edge retention. Together with M390 and 154CM, the metal may be present in a majority of Vosteed’s knives.

On the deal with scales, the Ankylo makes use of 6061 aerospace-grade aluminum. Actually, I’m not an enormous fan of aluminum as a result of it may well change into slippery when moist, however there’s no denying how sturdy it’s. It’s additionally light-weight, which, like Titanium, provides a bonus when contemplating the stability of the knife.

Moreover, the Ankylo affords 4 deployment strategies: customary flipper, entrance flipper, thumb gap, and button deploy. Vosteed doesn’t point out the button deploy technique, nevertheless it’s quietly one other function that makes this knife straightforward to make use of, in all situations, with or with out gloves. 

Nonetheless, essentially the most distinguished function to deal with with the Ankylo is its V-Anchor lock mechanism. It contains a proprietary lock plate and an N52 neodymium cylindrical magnet that work collectively to carry out two distinct features — holding the knife closed and holding the blade locked open.

And a part of the design of this revolutionary lock mechanism is that the button sits recessed into the deal with scales when closed. This can prevent from having to fret in regards to the knife opening in your pocket, one thing that occurs greater than anybody cares to confess.

First Impressions

The Ankylo is the third Vosteed knife I’ve examined, and it’s simply essentially the most strong. That’s not a knock on the opposite two fashions (the Griffin and the Corgi); it’s a testomony to the construct of the Ankylo — it’s a workhorse. You’re feeling just a little little bit of that within the heft of the knife, nevertheless it’s not cumbersome by any means. Sure, it’s a handful, however at just a little over a half-inch, I wouldn’t name it thick.

Vosteed refers back to the fidget issue of the Ankylo in each its description of the knife each on its web site and Kickstarter marketing campaign. I completely concur. It’s a typical theme with backside lock and flipper knives, so having each in play right here makes it this the king of fidget mountain.

Whenever you throw in a entrance flipper and a thumb gap, it turns into a complete new stage of fidget-friendly that may’t be described throughout the confines of the present human lexicon.

The pattern of the Ankylo that Vosteed despatched me is proudly marked “prototype.” If that’s the case, I’m not certain what extra the model has to enhance upon to make this production-ready. The knife is constructed like a tank.

But when this sucker falls aside on me, I’ll remember to replace this evaluation.

Within the Discipline

Within the 2 weeks that I had the Ankylo out and about, it rapidly turned my job knife. True, you could possibly most likely name each knife you carry with you a “job knife,” however the Ankylo would do equally as properly in your pocket or in a device pouch.

That is due partly to the reverse tanto blade form, which permits the knife to work like a utility knife. Moreover, recent Elmax, when manufacturing unit sharp, might carve calligraphy right into a fallen leaf. It’s insanely sharp and is extremely exact for slicing, carving, and the like.

I liked making fir sticks and tinder bundles with the Ankylo as a result of I used to be capable of get the bits and items of timber so skinny they’d curl up. This makes for environment friendly fire-making supplies.

They mild rapidly and burn lengthy as a result of they let in simply sufficient air to breathe, however not sufficient to eat. (Professional tip: Put a bunch of these little wooden curls right into a cardboard egg holder and blend it with candle wax.)

A number of Deployment Choices

Full disclosure, I’m nonetheless recovering from almost slicing the tip of my index finger off by enjoying silly video games to win silly prizes throughout a Zoom assembly. This has made the flipper mechanisms a little bit of a problem. I’ve been utilizing my center finger with the again flipper, nevertheless it’s not the identical.

That stated, the 4 completely different deployment strategies on the Ankylo have proven their price as I heal up. 

My favourite strategy to open the knife is by utilizing the button. It’s an ASMR addict’s dream. It additionally requires minimal effort; only a press of the button and a flick of the wrist.

General, I feel these backpackers chasing the ultralight dream will hate the Ankylo whereas everybody searching for a robust and reliable EDC will sing its praises. on this means, the Ankylo jogs my memory of some knives that got here out within the early 2000s.

No, 4.76 ounces isn’t heavy, nevertheless it’s heavier than a number of what’s on the market now. Again then, weight was much less of a consideration. Folks have been prepared to hold a knife that was just a little beefier in the event that they knew they may depend on it.

However occasions have modified.

That, or the anodized aluminum brought on me to have just a little journey down reminiscence lane. However I’m not fallacious.

General

I’m depraved impressed with Vosteed. Its designs are each inventive and dangerous, and its worth factors are spot on. The model has a behavior of sticking to steels like M390, Elmax, 154CM, and 14C28N. (Mark my phrases, 14C28N will ultimately dethrone MagnaCut as a result of the typical Joe and Jane will admire its related traits at a fraction of the value.)

So, don’t sleep on Vosteed. Seize one thing from its huge catalog — or seize the Ankylo and bask within the glory of its heady mixture of Elmax and aluminum. Out of the few dozen knives I take a look at annually, I wouldn’t be shocked if this one ended up as one of many Greatest Pocket Knives in our subsequent replace.