Customer Reviews

Smith & Wesson SWVIP Viper Serrated Knife

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Once you've used a knife that opens one-handed, there's no turning back. And this knife is remarkable in that respect. Slide the catch, flick your wrist ever so slightly, and it's locked open and ready to use. (Mine took a few times to break in. Before that, it might not fully lock open without pressing the side of the blade against something.) So efficiency and ease of use gets it the 3 stars.

Why not 5?

First, because only one side of the blade is honed, if that's the right word. Thus, all the sharpeners I have that consist of a V-shaped arrangement of, say, ceramic rods or steel edges, are useless. I'd like to have known that. Gotta go buy a sharpener I don't already own.

Second, because the serrations *seem* to cut much better when pushing rather than when pulling. Opening a package entails pushing the knife into the box under pressure. (Not good if there is something inside you'd rather not puncture.) I'd appreciate hearing if others have different experience with this.

Third, because unlike just about every other knife that closes one-handed, this one has no spring to force the blade closed. I admit that I had become accustomed to closing my other knives without actually looking at them. The sound of the blade snapping into place was evidence that it could safely be slipped into a pocket. Not so this one. It can bounce back out of the handle before you release the catch. The blade can then be pressed closed, but it may be partially open until then. If you buy it, I urge you to *see* that it is securely closed before you put it away, at least until the locking mechanism is thoroughly broken in. Otherwise you may be sliding a 2/3 closed knife into your pocket. It has a very sharp point. I'm not saying we shouldn't always verify visually that every knife is closed. I'm just saying that it's a habit you may need to relearn.

It seems to me that much of the functionality depends on the weight of the blade. This knife's little brother might (and I emphasize "might") not have the weight to open and close as securely as the large one. So I'd be even more cautious with it.

This is a fairly compact folding knife with a unique mechanism great for light cutting tasks like opening boxes and letters. Folded this knife is very flat. The blade was reasonable sharp, the serrations are OK, but I prefer a plain edge. The back of the blade (top) is ground to a flat edge.

The knife is easily opened with one hand, it can be closed with one hand, but you have to be careful.

I have always taught my daughters and my son (who is now out of the Marines) how to protct themselves and a knife is always a very handy tool. I have given these knives to all my children and my brother, all of whom have been delighted with the action and the smooth operation. I oiled each and made sure the action was quick and efficient prior to finish sharpening and honing each blade. This knife is small enough to fit nicely in a pocket or a purse, the action is quick enough to enable you to deploy it with little un-needed attention, and the handle is wide enough to hold onto in most situations. Most females feel more comfortable with the smaller blade while my brother and son handle the larger knives best.
Since I teach hand-to-hand combat techniques I have always suggested that all my students have additional tools that may be needed. Besides, they can open a box in no time...

It's a sharp, well-made, relatively inexpensive knife that is just the right size for your back pocket. It opens easily with one hand, and due to it's design, never opens by accident. Great product.

I ordered this knife with concerns about the blades ability to remain in the locked position. Having received this item and having used it for two weeks, I find the locking mechanism to be very robust. The blade is of good quality material and the handle is of some unknown non-magnetic cast metal that I suspect is aluminum with a durable black coating applied.

I like pocket clip as it easily clips onto your jeans pocket or your belt and retains a firm grip. The blade extension and retraction is at first a little awkward but with a little practice becomes quite easy and very quick one handed. After two weeks of daily use, the edge still retains a good edge.

What I don't like is the build quality of the handle. It is made of two pieces of some cast metal. These two pieces are joined with small screws containing the pivot point for the blade and the locking mechanism. While they seem firmly attached together, the two haves don't line up well with each other and really degrade the look of the knife. After two weeks of use the screws holding the handle together have begun to loosen. You really should get some thread lock from your local auto parts store and lock the handle screws into place.

This is a unique knife but is not intended for either daily use or for the serious collector based solely on the build quality of the handle.

warning! RIGHT HANDED KNIFE

so i bought this knife mostly out of novelty because it was the first i'd ever seen with its unique method of opening and closing.
honestly, i'd buy it again.
the blade is thick and incredibly sturdy, and was /the/ sharpest knife i've ever known out of the box!
interestingly it's only sharpened on one side, but still sharp as sin and honestly that makes it easy to sharpen if you have a steel or whetstone.
wouldn't recommend adding an edge to the other side.
also this thing snaps open and closed very quickly and very easily!

the belt clip is a very important aspect to me and i was glad that it was well screwed in, with symmetrical srews instead of screws in a line (if the bottom screw fails in that configuration, they all fail over time)
the clip in and of itself is also sturdy as heck and is a little hard to clip but still stay there until you take it off, it's going nowhere.

the black plastic of the handle is cheap plastic, granted, but it's actually quite solid and well built. the knife doesn't wiggle much when deployed, fits perfectly in the plastic "sheath" when retracted, and i've dropped it god knows how many times and its perfectly fine, no cracks or anything.

I'm a sucker for innovation in knife design anyway, the only reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5 is that the knife is foreign made-

This knife looks very cool. It is very addicting to play with, however, it will start to loosen up very quickly. I never carry this knife because it is the size of a small brick and it is not a logical knife for protection. Basically, this knife is the perfect novelty knife.

This knife is really useful. Instantly opens and locks in place using pressure. I use it all the time to open packages. Very sharp. The only reason why I gave it 4 stars is because it is a little thick at the handle. They needed enough room to fit the pressurized spring mechanism and also cradle the blade. I am still very happy with this purchase and might buy its smaller brother for snowboarding. Its always good to keep a knife with you in case you need to cut yourself loose from the board.