Kizer Vagnino Zipslip Heinnie® Exclusive Folding Knife 18

Love all the heinnie collabs , bit of a collecting obsession for me. And this one is no exception. Great ergo's solidly built. My one minor gripe is that it wasn't as sharp as most of my other factory edges and there was a slight abrasion on the cutting edge nothing that couldn't be sharpened out. All in all for the price still a great product.

I've had this just over a week, here are my thoughts. It's a nice handle, and blade shape. The finger cut out does allow for a nice 4 fingerer grip. It's quite heavy, but not horribly so. As plenty of reviewers have said, this does close easily, which for me is not a problem, as my use for a slipjoint is for light duties, and this is perfect for that. So what's the issue?? The thumb studs for opening are HORRIBLE! I find it almost impossible to get enough grip with a thumb to open it. I have to push so hard that it honestly leaves an indent on my thumb. It's a ridiculous feature, so bad that I don't think anyone checked before the prototype went to manufacture. This is, for me, a two handed opening blade, that opens easily. I've no problem with a two handed opener, and this knife would be amazing without either a thumbhole, or thumbstuds to ruin the blade contours.

The Kizer knife is very well made and feels good in the hand. Excellent!

Absolute quality for the money solid well built knife

Understated, elegant, and simple design is readily apparent. It is one-handed left and right-friendly opening and closing, with two intermediate stops which is an important safety feature. It has barely left my hands since I got it and the fidget factor is perfect.

First up, the packaging. I do already have a couple of Kizers (WPK, Pinch, ukl Sheepdog, Escort and I did have a Rogue till I traded it away) so I knew the packaging would be decent; the usual polishing cloth, sticker and warranty card not a surprise, but the extra full set of screws that came did throw me a little, though quite welcome. Onto the knife itself, and it's chunkier than I expected, with a real chunky feel to it. I immediately think of the Boker XS, which is a physically larger knife overall, but when I compare them on the scales that only comes out at 107g while the Kizer weighs in at 115g. So what's the reason for the extra mass? Well, the blade on the Kizer is the same thickness, and not far off in profile to the XS, however the grind on the Boker is much deeper, almost the full depth of the blade whereas the Zipslip has a grind reminiscant of a kukhri point, without the large belly and pronounced recurve. Also, the scales are slightly thicker than those of the XS and where the liners are nested on the XS, the Kizers are solid. All in all this means that although not the largest physically, the Zipslip is one of the heaviest of the HH exclusives. Whether this is a good or bad thing depends on your preference. The main difference of this knife compared to the regular non HH Zipslip is the thumb hole has been replaced with ambidextrous thumbstuds. Again, preference is key as some people hate thumbstuds. I don't mind them, though they can get in the way sometimes, but they certainly provide adequate purchase to open the blade one handed. And this knife has a strong enough backspring to need something adequate. Not the absolute strongest, but certainly good enough for me. Opening the blade, there are a couple of mid-stops before it clicks fully open. The blade cam profile is reasonably crisp and snappy. The shape of the handle is comfortable and reasonably ergonomic with the finger choil sitting in more or less the right place; this is a knife that i think will actually suit those with larger hands as there is plenty of room on the handle to accommodate a full grip. Bladesteel of 154CM is a slightly more budget option compared to the N690 on the regular model but is adequate and fits with the price point of the HH version. Blade edge is good and sharp out of the box and the bevel looks evenly ground. Ar the other end of the knife, the pocket clip is a large, functional but not overly stylish affair, deep carry and slips into a pocket nicely. At over half the length of the handle, the knife ain't going anywhere once its in. The g10 scales are nicely shaped, smooth textured with but with a slight grain to give decent enough grip. All over the knife there are no sharp edges and everything is nicely finished, which for a knife at this price point is often not the case. All in all, this is a pretty nice knife. I've largely ignored the regular Zipslip till now, but that could have been a mistake. This is a decent knife, and will be a great uk legal carry. I can't speak for whether the thumbstuds make it work better than the regular version, but I personally like the look more than the thumbhole

I am a big fan of Kizer's Zipslip and have two previous incarnations, so jumped at the chance to purchase this Heinnie Haynes exclusive. However, I'm disappointed with this version. The thumb stud is set too far back for me and this makes it uncomfortable and a little awkward, to open. The blade is also dull. It won't take much to sharpen it, but I feel it should be sharper, out of the box. This one is a miss, for me.

Decent knife but the original is better. The thumb holes make the knife much easier to open than the small and sharp thumb studs on the HH version.

I haven't had the chance to put it to work but first impressions the thumb stud is in wrong place. Have difficulty opening it with 1 hand also doesn't come with torque toll to tighten .looks quality extremely sharp out of the box