Viper Hug: Dark Bronze Star Review
Published: 1 year ago
One thing this isn't; a Bugout competitor.
This is a really nice piece, and the handles are quite attractive, but this variant is using solid bronze, so it's almost like holding a particle of a black hole in your hand. And, of course, bronze will also make your hand smell like metal for a bit after use.
They make a lot of variants of this with Titanium that are much lighter, some of them also have Micarta or CF inlays with them, so if you're looking for a lighter knife, that's the way to go.
This thing feels incredibly solid in the hand. Probably about as dense as the classic Buck 110, if not a touch more. You can choke up on the blade as well due to how the ricasso and the handle come together.
Blade has a nice sharpening choil, and the plunge grind coincides with it, so no problems there. The nail nick may look to be inadequate, but there's enough blade exposed when closed that you get a good amount of purchase, and the nick acts as a decent friction point.
Back spring is quite strong on this one. I'd say an 8/10. It's not difficult to open or close, but you do have to put a good amount of effort into either of those. That's probably good for most of us who're used to locking knives anyway. Walk and talk is crisp as well.
Last couple things about the blade. It's M390 and Italian made. While Lionsteel got the brunt of the blame for Italian companies running M390 too soft years ago, I think a lot of that is improving. When I was reprofiling it to 15 degrees, it felt the same as most M390 I've dealt with from many other companies. That doesn't give the whole story, but a good indicator that it's probably accurate to their target of 59-61 HRC.
Specs:
3.14" (79.7mm) M390 blade with 3 mm stock thickness
5.26 oz / 149 gram weight
0.41" (10.5 mm) handle thickness (Bronze)
Slip Joint
Bronze Washers
Link Where Purchased: https://whitemountainknives.com/viper-knives-hug-folding-knife-dark-stonewash-bronze-stars-handle-m390-plain-edge-satin-finish-v5990dbrs/
This is a really nice piece, and the handles are quite attractive, but this variant is using solid bronze, so it's almost like holding a particle of a black hole in your hand. And, of course, bronze will also make your hand smell like metal for a bit after use.
They make a lot of variants of this with Titanium that are much lighter, some of them also have Micarta or CF inlays with them, so if you're looking for a lighter knife, that's the way to go.
This thing feels incredibly solid in the hand. Probably about as dense as the classic Buck 110, if not a touch more. You can choke up on the blade as well due to how the ricasso and the handle come together.
Blade has a nice sharpening choil, and the plunge grind coincides with it, so no problems there. The nail nick may look to be inadequate, but there's enough blade exposed when closed that you get a good amount of purchase, and the nick acts as a decent friction point.
Back spring is quite strong on this one. I'd say an 8/10. It's not difficult to open or close, but you do have to put a good amount of effort into either of those. That's probably good for most of us who're used to locking knives anyway. Walk and talk is crisp as well.
Last couple things about the blade. It's M390 and Italian made. While Lionsteel got the brunt of the blame for Italian companies running M390 too soft years ago, I think a lot of that is improving. When I was reprofiling it to 15 degrees, it felt the same as most M390 I've dealt with from many other companies. That doesn't give the whole story, but a good indicator that it's probably accurate to their target of 59-61 HRC.
Specs:
3.14" (79.7mm) M390 blade with 3 mm stock thickness
5.26 oz / 149 gram weight
0.41" (10.5 mm) handle thickness (Bronze)
Slip Joint
Bronze Washers
Link Where Purchased: https://whitemountainknives.com/viper-knives-hug-folding-knife-dark-stonewash-bronze-stars-handle-m390-plain-edge-satin-finish-v5990dbrs/