Fabrizio Silvestrelli

Viper Rhino Review

The Rhino is a large folder from Tecnocut’s Viper brand. Honoring its namesake, it features an oversized frame, robust build and armored appearance. Created by long time collaborator and custom knife maker Fabrizio Silvestrelli, it has flowing considered lines and a distinct appearance.

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General Dimensions and Blade Details

The Rhino has an over-all length of 9.96”, a 4.25″ blade, weighs between 8.6 and 9.9 oz depending on the choice of scales, and is made in Italy. Don’t kid yourself, “Rhino” was not a misnomer. This is a big knife and is designed for those seeking something, well, built like a Rhinoceros.

The blade has an unusual shape that sits in between a sheep’s foot and a harpoon pattern. At 4.25” and with a maximum width of 1.375” it offers a long cutting surface along with resistance against lateral stresses. The nature of the sloping spine also provides excellent tip strength.

While a typical sheep’s foot blade is designed to avoid penetrating cuts, the combination of an elongated radius meeting a sloping belly results in an aggressive point. This is augmented by a swedge, improving the Rhino’s ability to perform thrust cuts. A dip after the nose-like tip adds visual interest as well as a practical place for your free hand for reinforced push cuts. The grind is a full flat with a secondary bevel. Because of the large width, the edge geometry is shallow, producing a fine edge despite the generous .157” stock.

The steel used depends on the finish. Satin blades are stainless Böhler N690 while the charcoal blades are D2 achieving their corrosion resistance through the applied PVD coating.

Both blade steels are good options and provide solid value for money. N690 in particular offers an excellent combination of stain resistance, ease of sharpening, and edge retention. D2 has a reputation for being more finicky, as it’s a tough semi-stainless steel that can be more challenging to sharpen, but it’s a good choice for harder use applications.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

The handle is substantial in both length and width. At 5.5” it will easily accommodate medium and large sized hands with or without gloves. The construction is closed with scaled, full stainless liners. You have your choice of carbon fiber or cocobolo handle scales.

Designed for maximum retention, there are three distinct finger grooves that lock your hand in place. A slight flare on both sides of the inside edge prevent slipping in either direction. The back side is convex and nests in the palm comfortably. The back spacer is rounded adding style and avoiding hot spots while an adequately jimped thumb ramp provides extra control and feedback. Another run of aggressive, file-like jimping can be found on the lock release leaver for easy disengagement.

Over-all the ergonomics are excellent. While several people don’t like finger groves I personally think they work well here. The grip is very secure. A full, natural feeling in hand is partly achieved by a palm swell equally .83” (21mm) at its apex. This could be somewhat of a downside when considering pocket carry as the knife tends to hog space. Even though the clip is deep riding, the ornate appearance along with the handles bulge might generate some unwanted attention. Is that a Rhino in your pocket….?

As an additional carry option there is a recessed lanyard slot in the pommel. I’m a fan of these as it keeps everything clean looking and orients your lanyard in a sensible direction. It would be nice if Viper also included a MOLLE compatible belt sheath. I could see a folder this size benefiting from the ability to carry it on a bag, vest or belt straight out of the box.

Deployment and Lockup

Deployment is achieved via ambidextrous thumb studs. Phosphor Bronze washers and a finely dialed in spring tension make opening very fluid and easy. The thumb studs are large and easy to access. One downside is that the pivot is not adjustable unless you remove the handle scales. That said, I have not needed to adjust the pivot on this knife.

Back locking knives aren’t often associated with smooth operation however Viper has, on a number of models, achieved a perfect balance between ease of use and a reliable, tough play free lock-up. The lock is easy to disengage when you are ready to close the knife. Blade centering is perfect on these knives.

Viper Rhino Review – Final Thoughts

Everything considered the Rhino is an unusual yet attractive knife. Unapologetically oversized, it will probably appeal to a very niche market of collectors and users. If massive appeals to you, it will surely impress in the over all fit, finish and value. With a maximum price of $200.00 for the the PVD D2 and Carbon fiber model, you are getting a ton of premium materials and craftsmanship for your money. I could easily see this knife in any collection, in the bag of an outdoorsman or on the vest of a serviceman.

7Regardless of its quirks it is undeniable that the Rhino is extremely well made and functional. It’s also great that Viper, as with many of their other models, offer the Rhino in a variety of handle and blade materials accommodating a variety of tastes. To further this, it might be good for the company to consider a scaled down version as an EDC for a wider audience.

Viper Rhino – From $175.00
From: BladeHQ

Viper Rhino PAU Wood

Crafted from the highest quality materials
Built for performance and durability
Made in Italy

Editor: I recommend purchasing the Viper Rhino at BladeHQ or Amazon. Thanks for reading.

Viper Start Review

by Dan Jackson 3 Comments

Last Updated: September 9, 2019
I got my first introduction to Viper at the 2013 Blade Show in Atlanta this past summer. A couple of my favorite reviewers, the EdgeObserver and Stefan Schmalhaus, have sampled Viper’s offerings quite extensively. It has taken me a little while longer to warm up to this interesting Italian brand.

Buy the Viper Start at BladeHQ

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I really enjoyed the blend of rugged utility and flowing lines in the last Viper model I reviewed, the Carnera, and the Start has caught my eye for the same reasons. Fabrizio Silvestrelli is the designer of Start, and he knows how to capture my attention while Viper knows how to take the designs’ muscular lines and pair it with a blend of modern manufacturing and old world charm. The result is an offering unlike anything else in the marketplace.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The Start has an overall length of 9.25″, features a 4″ blade, and weighs 6.4 ounces. Any knife with a 4″ blade is going to be big, and the Viper is no exception. This is a serious departure from what I would consider an EDC knife. Viper has crafted a full on tactical folder, and the result is a suitably large offering.

The blade is a modified drop point design that excels at piercing and slicing. The deep belly has a slight recurve. It’s not impossible to sharpen like a serious recurve, yet it still feeds material into the edge. Given its size the Viper is still ground thinly. I found that it slices cardboard and other soft materials with ease yet it still has enough beef behind the edge to hold up under harder use. One thing to note about the blade is that the tip is extremely acute. It is great for stabbing things and detail work, but the the user needs to be careful not to damage it.

The Start is offered in 2 blade steels, PVD coated D2 and N690. I opted for the version with N690. This is steel I have heard a lot of nice things about, but haven’t had a ton of experience with. So far I am a big fan. I found that the N690 on my knife sharpens easily, takes a very nice edge, and holds onto it for a decent amount of time. I might consider it a beefed up 154CM. Certainly the thin grind has also done the knife a lot of favors. It’s a terrific slicer and is very fun to use. N690 is also a stainless steel, and despite the knife coming with a bead blasted finish (which is notorious for attracting rust) I have had zero issues with rust or staining.

Handle, Ergonomics and Pocket Clip

My Start came with black canvas micarta handle scales. I should point out that the knife is available with cocobolo or carbon fiber scales as well. Relief cuts have been placed by the finger choil, which lends itself to being held in a pinch style grip, although in practice I prefer a more conventional hold. Underneath the micarta you have thin stainless steel liners and a full stainless steel backspacer and lockbar. The pivot is hidden and the handles are put together with a series of small torx screws. I love how the edges of the spine, the lockbar, the backspacer, and even the liners have all been rounded. It’s such a nice little detail. The scales themselves are gently contoured and all the parts and pieces line up well. All in all the handle is sturdy and well executed.

In terms of ergonomics, Viper provides you with plenty of handle, and it affords a wide variety of grips. There is a finger choil, but there is also plenty of room left to choke back on the knife, providing reach that may even give some Cold Steel offerings a run for their money. The flared pommel does have a bit of a sharp corner, but overall this is a comfortable knife to use. The canvas micarta affords a sure grip in both wet and dry conditions, while a short run of jimping provides enough feedback to index the thumb without making the thumb ramp uncomfortable under hard cutting conditions.

The pocket clip of the Start is a straight forward stamped out piece of steel. It offers reasonably low right side tip up carry with no other options for placement. The clip is very secure and the knife rides well given its size and weight. Given the polarizing nature of pocket clip designs, Viper went with a safe route. I think they could have done way worse with the clip.

Deployment and Lockup

The Start makes use of stylized ambidextrous thumb studs pressed close to the back of the blade. I find them easy enough to open at my desk, but acknowledge that the knife takes some work to get open. I don’t mean to detract from the action, as it is very smooth and very purposeful, but this is not a knife I can flick open with my thumb, and it may provide some challenges if you are operating it under duress. It is also worth noting that the pivot is hidden, and you need to take off the handle scales to service it. So far I have had no need to do that, as the blade is well centered and the lock is free of play.

Here is a shot of the Viper Start next to my Spyderco Paramilitary 2:

The Start features a back lock, but this is not like your traditional back locks. It is extremely smooth and refined, and the blade falls into place with the softest click. Upon further examination you will notice that the tang of the blade and the lock face are both given a satin finish, and the two pieces of steel fit together extremely well. The result is effortless play free lockup, and a really satisfying knife to open and close. This is a durable lock design and it has held up well in all my testing.

Viper Start Review – Final Thoughts

If you are in the market for a high end large folding knife, the Viper Start could be an excellent option. The knife is beautifully executed, and that enhances the sumptuous curves of Silvestrelli’s design. But the Start isn’t a creampuff either. It is definitely built to be carried and used. The end result is an elegant knife that performs as good as it looks. The high performance blade and generous handle offer the end user plenty of performance, with the added bonus of this knife being thoughtful and unique.

I also like how Viper offers the Start in several flavors, including satin, beadblasted, and PVD coated blades, and handle materials varying from classic choices like micarta and wood, to hand-laid carbon fiber. Finally, the price is also very reasonable considering what you get. You can get into a Start for well south of $150 shipped, while the highest end versions can be currently had for $175. Not bad for a European made knife of this size with these materials.

The only potential cons I can really think of are that the knife isn’t the absolute easiest and fastest to open, and that the pocket clip is right side only. For some these gripes will matter, for many they will not. This is all assuming you are in the mood (or have the need) to carry a 6.5 ounce knife. By and large this is a very nice offering from Viper and I do recommend it if you are in the market for a unique large folding knife.

Viper Knives 5840CB Viper Start Lockback with Brown Cocobolo Wood Handles

Viper Start – From $133.00
From: BladeHQ

I recommend purchasing the Viper Start at BladeHQ or Amazon. Thanks for reading.

Viper Carnera Review

by Dan Jackson 2 Comments

Last Updated: September 16, 2019
Viper Knives is a relative newcomer to the US cutlery scene, and is a division of the Italian manufacturer Tecnocut, a company that I am frankly not that familiar with. I was first acquainted with Viper at Blade Show 2013 it was there that I had the opportunity to handle most of their line. Like many of the knives coming out of Maniago Italy I was impressed with the sophisticated designs coupled with tight fit and finish. One blade that especially caught my eye is the Carnera – a long lean chopper named after Italian pugilist Primo Carnera.

Buy the Viper Carnera at BladeHQ

The knife’s sleek lines remind me somewhat of an Italian sports car, which certainly doesn’t hurt a first impression, but what I found most intriguing was how balanced and comfortable the knife felt in hand. This was something that had the potential to be a serious tool: light, balanced, comfortable, and featuring well finished high end materials. I couldn’t resist, so the Carnera ended up traveling back with me from the show.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The Carnera has an overall length of 15.25″, features a 9.5″ blade, and weighs in at 17.5 ounces. The knife is approximately the same length as the ESEE Junglas, but in hand they are radically different knives. The Junglas is an absolute tank. If I needed something to survive the end of days and didn’t mind some extra weight I would put the Junglas on my short list. It was and continues to be one of my all time favorite heavy duty choppers. The Carnera, on the other hand, is much more efficient and refined. Its sweeping handle flows into a broad and confident clip point blade. It has a slight forward bias lending it towards chopping, but it still feels fast and fluid. The stock is thick but the wide blade coupled with a full flat grind lightens the knife significantly. Where the Junglas could be considered an all out survival knife, I feel like the Carnera is more suited for work as a camp knife or heavy machete.

I should mention that the knife comes in 2 main flavors; the stonewashed version with wood handles and leather sheath shown here, and a more military inspired version with a black PVD coated blade, micarta scales, and a cordura molle compatible sheath. Both versions can be examined on the Viper wesbite.

Viper selected D2 for the Carnera. D2 is a semi stainless, which on paper seems like a good compromise given that the blade is naked but still needs to be tough enough to resist chipping under heavy use. Done right D2 provides a good mix of toughness, edge retention, and resistance to corrosion. I’ve had good experiences with D2 and I’ve had OK experiences with D2 – it depends entirely on the heat treat. Done right it can be a great steel (as evidenced by master knifemakers like Bob Dozier using D2 exclusively).

Thankfully my experience with the Viper and it’s D2 blade has been nothing short of excellent.

As usual, I wish I could have taken this guy up into the Rocky mountains, or better yet, the Italian countryside for some extended use and testing. I had to settle on the less exotic location of my back yard. The good news is that I had a dead ficus tree that was in desperate need of an ass kicking, so I can at least assure you that this knife saw a good amount of use.

I mostly chopped with this knife. I chopped through thick tree limbs (anywhere from 4-7″ in diameter) and did quite a bit of limbing, light chopping, and clearing as well. It’s a great chopper. The full flat grind gets reasonable thin and comes to a nice traditional V edge. The knife bites deeply into wood and the D2 holds a nice aggressive edge, even after extended chopping sessions. There is enough weight behind the blade to get some good work done without the knife being overly heavy. A practiced hand should be able to get a lot of work done with it. My technique leaves something to be desired, but I was still pleased with the end result.

I will say that the full flat grind does not lend itself to batoning, which was not a big issue for me. If I really needed to split with this knife I’d use the Carnera to carve up a wood wedge and use that instead.

With a retail price of over $200, it’s worth talking about the fit and finish of the blade. The grinds on my knife were even and the edge was perfectly applied. The spine is capped (rounded) which is a very nice detail on a production knife. My version of the Carnera came with a lightly tumbled finish. This is a good choice for a semi stainless steel like D2. That said, I did notice a light patina form on my knife, and generally found it more difficult to keep clean. An application of [easyazon-link asin=”B000V72992″ locale=”us”]Bar Keeper’s Friend[/easyazon-link] or a similar cleaning agent will brighten it back up instantly. Alternatively, you could always opt for the PVD coated variant.

Handle and Ergonomics

One thing I immediately liked about the Carnera was the traditional wood handle scales. I think the wood is a very handsome option, although their micarta offering would probably be a little more practical. Viper selected Pau Santo wood for the handles, a wood I was previously unfamiliar with, but it has a pleasing and tight symmetry to the grain and strikes me as a great choice. The handle slabs have been bolted on, and were left with a smooth semi-glossy finish. There are 2 lanyard holes although I always used the knife without any lanyards and found that the grip was still secure.

The secure grip is thanks in large part to the elegant flowing handle design. The handle has these seductive curves t that are visually appealing but also highly functional. The knife felt very controllable in my hand, even when I was tired and sweaty after an extended chopping session. Not once did the knife slip of feel insecure, and it was extremely comfortable as well. I am very pleased with the handle design. It’s beautiful, comfortable, and entirely functional.

Sheath

The Carnera comes with 2 options for the sheath: the leather sheath (shown here) or a cordura molle compatible military style sheath. Generally speaking, I like the leather sheath. They used thick pieces of leather and it compliments the traditional wood handles, although I would have loved it if Viper made this with a brown leather sheath – I think that would have looked especially handsome. The wide blade profile means they had to get creative with the sheath design, but the end result looks good and works well.

Practically speaking, the knife is securely held in place with a single snap, and the sheath features a generous belt loop with an easy to remove snap. It is adjustable and comes with a piece of cord that could be used as a thigh rig. I can see how the wide clip point blade provides a challenge for designing the sheath (much like a kukri style blade does), and given that limitation Viper came up with a sturdy and functional sheath. That said, this is a knife that I could justify having a custom kydex sheath made for – and I may eventually decide to do just that.

Viper Carnera Review – Final Thoughts

The Carnera is my first extended experience with a Viper product, and I was left very impressed. For a guy that likes capable choppers the Carnera is a lot of fun, but it is a serious tool that benefits from a very practical, very functional lightweight and balanced design. The sleek Italian lines, tasteful material selection, and excellent fit and finish make it a very well rounded package that should appeal to both collectors and enthusiasts.

As for potential downsides, this is a premium offering from Viper and the price reflects that, but you get what you pay for and I don’t think their retail price is entirely out of line. Perhaps the biggest problem is that these knives are still somewhat difficult to acquire here in the States. Thankfully, BladeHQ has recently picked them up (at least the stone washed version of it), so I expect we will be seeing more and more of this knife in the days to come.

Viper Carnera – $239.95
From: BladeHQ

I recommend purchasing the Viper Carnera at BladeHQ. Purchasing anything through any of the links on this website helps support BladeReviews. As always, any and all support is greatly appreciated! Thank you very much.