REVIEW – Vosteed has been on a roll lately, releasing new knives (like the Ankylo) as well as variations of existing knives (like the Raccoon with a crossbar lock). In this review, we’ll be looking at the dubiously-named Talarurus, a new pocket knife from Vosteed.
What is it?
The Vosteed Talarurus is a pocket knife with a thumb disk opener and a crossbar lock. It features a modified sheepsfoot blade made of 14C28N steel with a satin finish. Vosteed was founded in 2021, and their motto is “Stay sharp, stay wild.”
What’s included?
The following items are included:
- Vosteed Talarurus knife
- Case
- Cleaning cloth
- Sticker
- Support card
- Mini manual
Tech Specs
These are the specifications for the blue-handled knife that I got:
- Blade Length: 3.03″
- Overall Length: 7.18″
- Blade Material: 14C28N
- Blade Grind: Flat
- Blade Style: Modified Sheepsfoot
- Blade Finish: Satin
- Hardness: HRC 60±2
- Handle Material: Micarta
- Color: Blue
- Weight: 3.42 oz
- Opener: Thumb Disk
- Lock Type: Crossbar Lock
- Pivot Assembly: Caged Ceramic Ball Bearing
- Pocket Clip: Reversible, Stainless Steel
- Carry Position: Tip-up
- Thumb Disk Material: Aluminum
Design and features
Let’s address the elephant in the room first. What the heck is a talarurus? It’s obscure four-footed, plant-eating, armored dinosaur the size of a hippo. The word literally means “basket tail,” as its tail ended in a club that looked like a whicker basket. Wow. I can’t imagine a worse name, one that is hard to pronounce and completely uninspiring. The good news is that this is the only bad thing about this knife.
The Vosteed Talarurus features a lot of straight edges and sharp angles, both on the handle and the blade, though the finger cutout and the edge of the blade are slightly curved. The blue Talarurus has a micarta handle, known for being tough and durable. The blade is 14C28N steel, a good balance of edge retention and hardness as well as resistance to corrosion. The darker blue color of the handle contrasts nicely with the gray satin finish of the blade. Overall, I really like the look and feel of this knife.
Assembly, installation, and setup
The Vosteed Talarurus came in a simple nylon case with a patch on front. Like all Vosteed knives that I’ve tested, it was sharp out of the box and sliced through paper easily. When I opened the blade, I found that the Talarurus had a little too much drag for my personal preferences, so I put a couple of drops of oil around the pivot and ever so slightly loosened the screw on the pivot. Now the action was smooth, but that introduced a slight wiggle in the blade when locked. I had to tighten it back up and deal with the drag.
Vosteed describes the blade as a modified sheepsfoot. A sheepsfoot blade is designed for cutting and slicing tasks; it has a straight blade with a point that not’s very pointy to avoid piercing. They are sometimes used by first responders who may need to cut a seatbelt without accidentally injuring the person; they are also popular as a first knife for kids, as there’s less chance of them poking a hole in themselves. This knife, however, is modified so that the blade is slightly curved up and the tip is pointy. Honestly, it is probably closer to a reverse tanto than it is to a sheepsfoot. The design is good for both slicing and piercing, though it probably shouldn’t be the first knife you give to a young kid.
The spine of the Vosteed Talarurus knife is both dull and wide, allowing me to choke up for precise and delicate cutting. This could be useful if I need to carefully cut open a box without damaging the contents or cut off the top of tube of silicone at just the right place.
At nearly 7.2 inches long, I would consider this to be a medium-size knife, and it fits perfectly in my hand. It’s not large, like the Tekto F3 Charlie, or small, like the Nightshade Mini. It’s exactly the right size for a pocket knife.
The blade is deployed with the thumb disk. I do this by slightly choking up on the handle, inserting my thumb upside down so that my thumbnail is against the disk, and then flicking up. There’s a slight cutout in the handle that allows my thumb to get under the disk, and the jimping on the sides gives me a good grip. I think someone with larger hands might struggle to get their thumb under this opener. I was never able to deploy the blade with a reverse flick. The curve of the cutout is not deep enough when approaching the disk from the opposite side (the top of the knife) with my middle finger. I’m not a huge fan of the thumb disk, but it does work.
The blade can also be deployed by disengaging the cross-bar lock, snapping the blade out with the flick of my wrist, and then reengaging the lock at just the right time. This works surprisingly well.
The thumb disk provides a large surface on top for my thumb to rest, which provides a lot of stability. It does not, however, have any jimping on top, so the smooth surface is slippery. It’s a trade-off.
The Vosteed Talarurus blade is held in place with a cross bar lock. To disengage the knife, I pull back on the cross-bar assembly, and it gently drops down.
I used the Talarurus knife several times to open boxes from Amazon. One time I used it to cut up a couple of boxes — I was combining two smaller boxes into one larger, custom-size box — a task that it handled with surprising ease. Afterwards, however, I noticed that the edge was considerably duller, so I had to sharpen the blade.
The Vosteed Talarurus also comes in black and dark green micarta with a black stonewash blade, both of which look (ahem) sharp to me. It also comes in white G10, but I’m not personally a fan, as that color will tend to get dirty easier.
The Talarurus has about the same overall shape as the Nightshade and feels very similar in the hands; the biggest difference is curves versus angles. It’s a smaller and lighter knife than the Ankylo, whose aluminum handle feels a lot rougher than the micarta.
What I like about the Vosteed Talarurus knife
- Clean, angled design
- Sharp blade
- Comfortable, grippy handle
- Ability to choke up
What needs to be improved
- Nothing
Final thoughts
The Vosteed Talarurus is an EDC folding knife that has a modified sheepsfoot blade, a thumb disk opener, and a cross bar lock. It’s a medium-size knife with a 3-inch blade that is easy to deploy and close. The knife was sharp out of the box and made short work of some boxes I cut up. I like the look of this knife, and it feels good in my hand. If you’re look for an EDC knife and like the modified sheepsfoot design, I recommend picking one up.
Price: $72
Where to buy: Vosteed’s online store
Source: The sample for this review was provided free of charge by Vosteed. Vosteed did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
