REVIEW – A pocket knife is an indispensable tool for many people. The Vosteed Bellamy is an EDC ready for any cutting task. What’s its best feature: the razor-sharp clip-point blade, the lightweight and balance, the responsive one-handed opening, or the satisfying grip of the scalloped micarta handle? Read on to see what I think!
What is it?
The Vosteed Bellamy is a clip-point pocket knife modeled after a classic hunting knife. The knife is designed to be a capable performer for both EDC chores and more adventurous activities. The flat ground blade is made from 154CM steel and has an attractive stonewash finish. The top of the blade has a flat-topped swedge that blends into a fuller along the center of the blade. The base of the blade has jimping that curls around the pivot pin to act as a front flipper and the blade also has a back flipper. The blade rotation is nimble on ceramic bearings but securely held in place by a liner lock. The handle is an olive drab micarta with groves machined into the sides that curve around the thumb, fingers, and palm when holding the blade. The butt of the blade has a pocket clip for deep pocket carry on either the left or right side.
What’s in the box?
- Vosteed Bellamy knife
- tin Storage case
- cushioned storage pouch
- microfiber cloth
- Vosteed Logo velcro patch
- Bellamy sticker
- guarantee and warranty card
- product information card
Hardware specs
- blade material: 154CM
- blade length: 3.44 inch
- blade style: modified clip point
- blade grind: flat
- blade finish: satin
- handle material: Micarta
- lock type: liner lock
Design and features
Unboxing
The Vosteed Bellamy knife comes in a matte grey steel storage box inside of a grey cardboard sleeve. The Sleeve has the Vosteed logo on the top and the front, and the product code and information on the back and bottom.
The steel box has reinforced top and bottom edges and snaps shut at each of the four corners of the removable lid. The inside is the unfinished steel surface.
Inside the box is the knife packaged inside a padded pouch. Below the pouch are the Vosteed labeled microfiber cloth, Vosteed Logo velcro patch, Bellamy sticker, guarantee and warranty card, and product information card.
Design
The Vosteed Bellamy has a high-quality design but a very minimalist aesthetic. Only the essentials are included in this knife and that makes the Vosteed Bellamy a very useful and efficient tool. I’ll review the knife from tip to clip.
The blade is 3 7/16″ from point to handle and the sharpened portion is about 3 1/8″. Accordingly, there is a 5/16″ choil below the blade, that not only allows the blade to be sharpened on a wheel without nicking the handle but also allows the blade to fold nicely against the spacer along the handle’s back. One note about this knife – there is one version that is a special edition with M390 steel and hollow grinding and there is another version with 154CM steel and flat grinding. The Vosteed Bellamy version reviewed here is the 154CM flat ground version.
The blade is exceptionally sharp. This cuts through paper like it is smoke.
The blade profile is between a straight back and a clip point. That is the edge of the blade curves nearly all the way up to the back of the blade but stops short of a straight back by about a quarter inch. The marginally lower blade allows the handle to be designed to be thinner and cuts down on the overall mass of the knife without much sacrifice. It also allows a longer straight edge on a shorter overall blade.
The back of the blade has a flat-topped swedge that intersects a fuller. The fuller allows for easy opening of the blade with the middle finger. When the knife is closed it looks super with the lines of the clip, handle edge, and fuller all parallel.
The blade is stamped with “Bellamy” at the end of the fuller on the liner lock side and “Vosteed” above the pivot on the other. On the opposite side of “Vosteed” is a stamp of “154CM”. The 154CM is not as chemically resistant as M390, and M390 might be a bit better at keeping an edge, but the results Vosteed has achieved with the 154CM version of the Bellamy are still outstanding.
Behind the fuller is about 3/4″ of effective jumping which is rather deep. There is practically no chance that your index finger can slip on this when slicing something down in this manner.
When the Vosteed Bellamy knife is closed the jumping continues around the pivot, which means that this can be opened with a thumb circling the pivot or an index finger pulling back on it.
The pivot is exceptionally smooth. It is easy to flip the blade open with just a slight flick of the wrist. The nib that slides along the inside of the blade and keeps the blade shut provides very little drag as the blade is opened and closed, yet effectively keeps the blade from accidentally swinging open.
Here’s a video of using the back flipper. If you blink you might miss it.
Opposite the blade is the indentation where the liner lock slides in. When the blade is open and locked, about a third of the blade thickness is held by the liner lock. There is no wiggle in the blade when it is opened or closed. When the blade is closed it is held almost precisely in the center of the handle.
Opposite the jumping is a protrusion which is the back flipper. This is the easiest way to pen the knife. As a lefty, I appreciate this ambidextrous opening method. For me, the liner lock is still on the wrong side, but I’ll manage after years of making do with right-handed scissors. Like the other opening methods, the blade quickly and smoothly opens with a flick and locks into place with a satisfying click.
The micarta handle has scalloped ridges that provide scoops for the thumb and fingers while also incorporating a subtle curvature of the handle so that the sides are slightly thicker than the front or back. The handle is lined along the inside in steel but this only shows around the pivot. The steel along the remainder of each side sits in recesses machined into the inside of each handle.
The base of the handle has a large lanyard hole on each side.
A removable or reversible pocket clip is screwed into the liner with T6 star pattern screws.
On either side of the knife, the top screw is countersunk but the bottom protrudes a bit. The right-handed clip position has a very smooth micarta under the clip but the left-handed side is rough. I think that the clip is fastened to the knife similarly on each side. Note that this is the stonewashed micarta handle. This knife also comes in a satin finish.
Where the screws meet the handle the gap between the clip and the knife is a bit thin. It should fit around most pockets but may get caught up on thick tactical gear. The pocket clip is etched with the Vosteed logo.
What I like
- lightweight
- SHARP!
- high-quality
What I’d change
- pocket clip clearance at screws
Final thoughts
An EDC knife like this shouldn’t be so satisfying to open and close. The Vosteed Bellamy knife is just fun to hold and use. The lightweight design of this knife helps the user to achieve nimble cuts and improves the control of the blade. The Vosteed Bellamy is still razor sharp but I’m guessing that the mostly flat blade will be easy to sharpen when the time comes.
Price: $79.99
Where to buy: Vosteed and Amazon (Save $10 with Amazon code: Bellamy10 )
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Vosteed.
