REVIEW – Unlike many of my other female girlfriends, I do not carry much with me on a day-to-day basis. I refuse to carry a purse or bag. I have a horrible tendency to leave them behind. Daily, I only carry a small wallet and my car key fob. The one time I carry more with me is when I go day hiking. I have a very old (it has to be 20 years old now) Camelbak Mule that I take with me most time on day hikes. It holds a hydration bladder, a small first aid kit, a small flashlight, and a multi-tool. I have been thinking about adding a small knife to my pack but have not put any real time into looking for one. I have seen several positive reviews on other Vosteed knives on The Gadgeteer, so I raised my hand when the Corgi Pup Trek Lock knife came up for review.
What is it?
The Vosteed Corgi Pup is a smaller version of the Vosteed Corgi knife. It has a 2.37-inch drop-point blade, compared to the original Corgi’s 2.99-inch drop-point blade. The handles and blades are available in multiple finishes, and the blades are available in two different types of steel.
What’s included?
- Carrying case
- Cleaning Cloth
- Warranty cards
- Cute Corgi sticker
- Corgi Pup – Trek Lock knife with S35VN blade and PEI handle
Tech specs
- Model Number: A0723
- Blade Length: 2.37″ | 60.20 mm
- Overall Length: 5.93″ | 150.60 mm
- Blade Width: 0.84″ | 21.30 mm
- Blade Thickness: 0.118″ | 3.00 mm
- Blade Material: S35VN
- Blade Grind: Flat
- Blade Style: Drop Point
- Blade Finish: Satin
- Hardness: HRC 60±2
- Handle Length: 3.56″ | 90.40 mm
- Handle Width: 0.92″ | 23.30 mm
- Handle Thickness: 0.472″ | 12.00 mm
- Handle Material: PEI
- Color: Amber
- Weight: 2.80 oz | 79.40 g
- Opener: Front Flipper | Back Flipper
- Lock Type: Trek Lock
- Pivot Assembly: Caged Ceramic Ball Bearing
- Pocket Clip: Reversible | Stainless Steel
- Carry Position: Tip-up
- Knife Type: Manual Folding
- Backspacer Material: PEI
- Backspacer Color: Amber
- Button Material: Stainless Steel
- Button Color: Silver
- Insert Material: Titanium
- Insert Color: Silver
- Designer: Yue
Design and features
The Corgi Pup comes with a very nice case. It has velcro on the outside and a removable Vosteed patch. Unzipping the soft case exposes a red interior. This case seems to be made for a larger knife. Placing the closed knife inside leaves you at least one and a half inches of extra length.
The knife handle on the version sent to me is made of PEI plastic. It has a finely grooved texture built into it, giving you a good grip on the handle. It is not slippery at all. Googling around, I found the definition of PEI plastic on the Ensinger website. “Polyetherimide or PEI material is an amorphous thermoplastic with high mechanical strength and rigidity. Unfilled PEI thermoplastic is translucent and amber in color with exceptional mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties.” The PEI used on the Vosteed Corgi Pup is the unfilled version, and it is a nice amber, almost see-through color. You can see the titanium plate inserts on the inside. You can see the two ‘Corgi ears’ at the top on one side of the knife pictured below. These ears are the bottom of the blade. Pushing down the side of the knife with your thumb will open the knife. It is locked into place with a pin. Pressing the textured button at the top of the knife will release the pin, allowing the blade to go back into the handle smoothly. At the bottom of the handle, there are two small screws where you can mount the belt clip should you choose to do so by moving it from the other side of the knife.
The belt clip is mounted on the back side of the handle. I like it on this side as it fits easily in my palm when I press the button on the other side to push the blade back into the handle.
The blade style is a “drop blade.” It is polished to a satin finish with Vosteed stamped at the bottom. The version I received is made of S35VN steel. It is very sharp. The other handle styles offered on the Corgi Pup are 14C28n steel. I had to Google those as I had no idea what the difference was. This comparison of the two I found on the BladeOps website was good.
Comparatively, 14C28N still falls slightly behind S35VN regarding edge retention and hardness. However, 14C28N matches up well in corrosion resistance and arguably surpasses S35VN in sharpenability. 14C28N’s softer nature, compared to S35VN, allows for easier re-sharpening without compromising on a keen edge.
So it seems that the S35VN steel is harder and keeps its edge longer but harder to resharpen.
I took a picture of the top of the “Corgi Ears” so you could see the grooving on them. That grooving makes it easy to flip the knife open while holding the handle from either side.
This is a side picture of the knife. You can see more of the PEI plastic inside which is used to make a groove to slide a keychain or lanyard around the bar to carry the knife.
Performance
As I stated in the intro, I am not a knife connoisseur. However, I can certainly recognize a well-built product. This knife has some top-quality steel and great materials in the handle. It is easy to grip, and as you can see in the picture below, it fits my hand well. I wear a large in ladies’ gloves because I have long fingers. The action of the ‘Corgi Ears’ that open the knife is smooth and slick. There is no resistance or any scraping when it opens and closes. The button to unlock the blade works smoothly and locks the blade into place with a solid click. I tried to slice paper and found that the knife was very sharp. It never tore the paper and cut through it easily. This knife may be too small for people with large hands, but it works perfectly for me.
What I like about Vosteed Corgi Pup knife
- Well built out of excellent materials
- smooth buttery knife opening and closing action
- Blade locks into place with a click
- Reversible belt clip
What needs to be improved?
- Nothing
Final thoughts
If you have a partner who has smaller hands and has been looking for an everyday carry knife, the Vosteed Corgi Pup may be the one for you. The version they sent me cost $99, but they have other handles and steel types that cost $59.
Price: $99 as pictured. $59 for other handles and steel blade combos
Where to buy: Vosteed and Amazon
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.
