Vosteed Mini Nightshade

_Vosteed offered to send me this and asked me to post it on a few subreddits. I got the knife for free, so according to ASA guidelines here in the UK that makes this an \#AD, although no money was exchanged and they didn’t ask me to give it a positive review or endorsement anything like that._

I like small pocket knives, I like interesting looking knives that are still practical, I like designs with clean lines that aren’t too busy or covered in superfluous angles and greebles. This Mini Nightshade ticks all those boxes for me.

The Shilin blade shape, with the decent amount of gradual belly and the downward pointed tip, is incredibly useful and convenient. Especially for draw cuts like opening parcels, as well as cutting fruit and incidental cuts like loose thread, which is all I’ve really used it for so far. It’s just an EDC knife. Unless you’re going to fight the horde or chop down a redwood, I think this able to handle 99% of daily cutting tasks for 99% of us.

The fit and finish is in that elevated zone. Having a crowned spine is such a nice touch, it’s a simple feature but it immediately gives it a quality feel.
There’s a lovely smooth tacky texture in the carbon fibre. I expected it to be plasticky but it’s not, it feels almost like graphite from a mechanical pencil. There’s no liners, this thing is LIGHT.
The adjustable crossbar lock works well out of the box, just don’t try to adjust it. The middle setting has significant up/down blade play, and the loosest setting doesn’t even lock up properly. I assume they put the same plates on all their crossbar locks as a cost saving measure.

Very thin blade, and with it being so broad, it is incredibly slicey. I was having some toast and soup when the parcel arrived, it cut up the toast like it was already cut and I was just separating the pieces. There was almost no resistance, it glid right through. Available in s35vn which is fairly tough, and 14c28n which is very tough, so either one should work great with that kinda geometry

The handle geometry is well thought out, my pinky rests on the rounded butt end quite comfortably.

The clip is alright, I just wish it was just a little bit more deep carry.

This particular model to me looks dead classy, it could easily be your gents knife, or an office-appropriate edc.

It appeals to me (as someone with a collection of about 40 or 50 pocket knives) because it’s interesting and unusual without being gimmicky. Although it might be unique amongst modern blades, it’s based on a Chinese pocket knife design that’s been around since the 19th century. I like designs that look great but also have a practical reason why they are the shape they are, and after using the Vosteed Mini Nightshade for a few days I can confirm that both of those things are true of this knife. It looks neat, it works great, it’s well made, and I would feel comfortable recommending it to anyone.

by HoldenHiscock69