Vosteed Ankylo – Vanchor Lock Knife review

REVIEW – I’m new to the world of pocket knives, and now I can’t go without one! I’m currently testing the Anylo – Vanchor Lock knife from Vosteed that uses a unique locking mechanism to beef up a design that’s made for flexibility and durability. Let’s go do some work. To the review!

What is it?

The Anylo – Vanchor is a manual-folding pocket knife with a Vosteed’s unique “Vanchor Lock” push button locking mechanism.

What’s included?

This is a fun kit. You’ll get your knife, a carrying case, a Vosteed patch, a Vosteed sticker, a cleaning cloth, and an instruction card. It all comes in a nice aluminum box that’s suitable for gifting.

Tech specs

Design and features

The Vosteed Ankylo – Vanchor Lock Knife packaging & design are full of little bonuses. I mentioned the exceptional packaging up front, which includes a sturdy Cordura padded case for your knife. The inside is done in a high-res orange for visibility, and the external wrapper has a velcro strip so you can attach your own patches. We haven’t even handled the knife yet and we’re seeing great attention to details!

The Volsteed Ankylo is on the larger side for a pocket knife, measuring 7.75″ when fully opened and 4.57″ L by 1.06″ W by 0.563″ thick when closed. Thanks to its aerospace-grade aluminum handle, however, it feels surprisingly light for its size. The total weight is just under 5 ounces.

The aluminum handle is grooved in a waffle pattern to enhance the grip. I chose the sage green/black combo for my knife, but you can choose from an assortment of handle colors and blade finishes. I dig the balance of black & green in this design, with a hint of gold accent here and there.

The machining details are excellent. You’ve also got a belt/pocket clip installed on the knife, which can be reversed for use on the opposite side if you prefer.

This close-up shows some of the finishing details on the opposite side of the clip. See that hole? That’s for a lanyard or loop if you want to add one to your knife. It’s got a collar so that the cord won’t fray inside the knife mechanism. Little details like this are found throughout the build.

Here’s another close up at the opposite end of the knife showing more machining details. I’m still learning about knives and knife construction (bear with me), but the finishing and texturing of the handle parts look to be on point. I haven’t found a flaw or a sharp edge anywhere that it didn’t belong. 

This knife uses something Vosteed calls the “Vanchor System” locking mechanism. The card included in the kit proudly hits on the key points:

Here’s how it works in practice. The knife has a magnetic anchor plate that keeps the knife from accidentally opening in your pocket. The “unlock” button is found within that gold ring we see below at the right side of the knife:

You have multiple options for opening the knife. You can manipulate that textured bit on the front or back of the closed blade (I learned that’s called “jimping”) with your thumb to flip it open, or manipulate that finger hole with your thumb, your pointer finger, or both in a pinch grip. There’s a little resistance from that magnet, but the operation is smooth once you pop it loose.

The knife clicks into place when fully extended, at which time that lock button pops out.

The knife is now locked until you press that button to fold it again. One of the interesting features I discovered is that you can press that button in open or closed mode to free-flip the knife, rather than manipulating it with your thumb or fingers. Just be careful to keep your digits clear if you’re going to start playing with that function. 

And when I say be careful, I mean it! This blade is razor sharp right out of the box. Here’s a top-down look at the shapes when the blade is fully extended. 

The reverse-tanto blade shape is wide at the spine, tapering gently to that razor-sharp edge. The back side of the spine is beveled and smoothed, as is that choil at the base of the blade. 

Coupled with the ergonomic handle and textured spine elements, this design allows for multiple grip styles and handling options for heavy cutting and delicate work as we’ll see below.

You’ll also get instructions for disassembling the knife mechanism for cleaning. I haven’t tried that one yet.

Performance

Full disclosure before we start here: I am relatively new to collecting pocket knives, and I am learning as I go. Based on performance and usability so far, however, this knife is miles ahead of the other blades in my small (but growing) collection.

The Vosteed Ankylo – Vanchor Lock knife is a lot of fun to play around with, especially if you use your knife like a fidget toy. While I think the spine is a little short for thumb-flipping, the action is very smooth and you can get it going just fine with a bit of practice to pop it out.

I think the addition of that finger hole on the blade makes it much easier to flip out, at least for my hands. You can pinch/pull the blade free or use your index finger (or thumb) for smooth one handed operation. 

Free-flipping by pushing that button can be downright dangerous if you’re not paying attention because the action is so smooth. I mean that as a good thing, but watch your digits!

The magnet lock has just enough grab to keep it from accidentally opening in your pocket. It’s a very clever system. I have yet to have the knife open on its own in my bag or in my pocket.

While it is on the bigger side for a pocket knife than I’m used to, that extra length in the handle and the blade comes in handy when you’re doing work and need a solid grip. Couple that with the razor sharp blade and you’ll carve up a mountain of cardboard boxes in no time. 

The ergonomics are great, with a shape that sits naturally in your hand for both stronger and more delicate cutting operations. The grip (including the textured handle) provides confidence for hard cuts like rope cutting, for instance…

… but when I’m pruning peppers the light weight and textured surfaces promote fast, delicate hand work. It’s like a scalpel.

And if you need to do REALLY hard work the rugged, stable build gives you confidence in performance. Here I am sharpening up a stake for my tomato plants. That excellent wedge-shaped blade with that wider spine comes in handy for cutting through the sturdy stuff. I could carve stakes all day with this thing. I’d be afraid to bend some of my other knives doing things like this.

Just for fun, I also attempted to trim some of the lower stems off the bamboo in my back yard. This stuff is notoriously stubborn, and the razor-sharp blade handled even these tasks like a champ.

The only qualifier that I would put on The Vosteed Anylo – Vanchor Lock Knife  is the knife size depending on your intended use case. It’s a bit bigger than what I would typically carry as a front-pocket knife or a daily driver in my bag. The benefit is that the size & ergonomics are well suited for heavy-working tasks in addition to finer cutting, but you’ll need to size it up based on your own intended use.

What I like about the Vosteed Ankylo – Vanchor Lock Knife

• Excellent ergonomics & usability
• Unique opening design is easy to use and very fidgetable
• Beastly tough design made for outdoor activities

What needs to be improved?

• Larger size may not suit all needs

Final thoughts

The Vosteed Ankylo Vanchor Lock knife is not only an excellent knife, but it seems to punch way above it’s price point compared to some of the other high-end competitors. The ergonomics and performance are outstanding, as are the and finish details. I really don’t have any negatives I have seen so far. It’s excellent for outdoor activities, camping, fishing, general yard/shop use, etc. I like a slightly smaller pocket knife for EDC duties, but that’s my personal preference. 

Price: $169.00
Where to buy: Vosteed
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Vosteed. Vosteed did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.