Vosteed Porcupine ModSwap Crossbar Lock Knife Review
The Vosteed Porcupine ModSwap Crossbar lock knife features the “Swappable Adjustable Scale (SAS) System” and a 154CM clip point blade. Read on for photos!
Official Specs
Here’s a link to the Vosteed Porcupine ModSwap Crossbar lock knife.
Versions
There are quite a few versions of the Vosteed Porcupine. Of the ModSwap specifically, there seem to be five knives. Then there are the scale options – there are six of those!
Price
The Vosteed Porcupine ModSwap Crossbar lock knife itself ranges from $85 to $90. The swappable scales are available separately from $45 to $85.
Package and Manual
There is no manual.
What’s Included
- Vosteed Porcupine ModSwap Crossbar lock knife
- Spare spring bars
- Cleaning cloth
- Sticker
- Warranty card, etc.
Look
Just the base model of Vosteed Porcupine ModSwap Crossbar lock knife is quite nice looking. The stock scales are G10 (also available in Micarta) and I find them to be nice and grippy.
The default look of this blue/black stonewash is very nice!
The Vosteed Porcupine ModSwap Crossbar lock knife has very minimal branding.
Open / Close / Lock
The Vosteed Porcupine ModSwap Crossbar lock knife can be considered ambidextrous – the thumbstud is on both sides of the blade.
You can also release the crossbar lock and swing the knife open, too.
The crossbar is very accessible, and again, the G10 scales provide great grip for this opening mechanism.
Build and Feel
The build quality of the Vosteed Porcupine ModSwap Crossbar lock knife is good. Below you can see the perfect blade centering and also get a good look at the metal liners.
The pivot assembly is a caged ceramic ball bearing, providing good action.
The pivot is accessible from both sides of the knife and can be adjusted by using a TORX driver.
Both the G10 scales and metal liners have a big of jimping.
The metal liners are skeletonized, too, which helps reduce weight a bit.
There’s just a bit of jimping on the bottom of the knife, too. It’s sort of in the grip area, but only if you really choke up on the knife. I don’t usually use a knife with my hand in a position this far forward.
Scale Options
Vosteed was kind enough to send a spare set of scales for the Vosteed Porcupine ModSwap Crossbar lock knife. These are the Copper Raindrop Micarta, and sell for $45.
According to the product page, all spare scale kits come with all the parts you see here. It’s quite a list!
- 1 pair of handle scales (Copper Raindrop Micarta)
- 2 crossbars – 1 Black, 1 Gray
- 1 pair of springs
- 4 pivot screws – 2 Black T8, 2 Gray T8
- 2 pocket clip & clip plate sets – 1 Black set, 1 Gray set
- 4 T8 T-head screws – 2 Black, 2 Gray
- 8 T6 countersunk screws – 4 Black, 4 Gray
I am pleased the kit offers both color hardware (black and gray) but I’m most pleased that there are two types of clips on offer. One is the paperclip-style that ships with the knife itself. The other is a more standard metal clip.
Of course the Micarta looks fantastic on the knife! Swapping is perfectly easy but just a touch tedious.
One thing to note about ordering and swapping. There are two parts that don’t swap. It’s these color accent pieces! Bear that in mind when you select the knife! Each of the five knives had different accent colors, so essentially you should pick the accent color you like best, then the handles you like best, if you intend to swap. There are other original parts that stay, but their color is less of an accent and more part of the whole knife. The blade, crossbar lock and metal liners, for example.
I wouldn’t say the green accents match the Micarta scales at all! But if you’d started with the blue Porcupine, you’d be just fine.
Size
Blade Length: 3.08″ | 78.20 mm
Overall Length: 7.24″ | 183.90 mm
Blade Width: 1.20″ | 30.52 mm
Blade Thickness: 0.118″ | 3.00 mm
Handle Length: 4.16″ | 105.70 mm
Handle Width: 1.22″ | 31.08 mm
Handle Thickness: 0.488″ | 12.40 mm
Weight: 3.55 oz | 100.80 g
Above, you can see the Vosteed Porcupine ModSwap Crossbar lock knife with the Civivi Elementum in orange G10. I use that knife so much! I haven’t talked about it much yet, but that Spyderco Lil Native is going to be my “nicer” knife size standard (in the same way that I use a Convoy S2+ and Hanko Machine Works Trident as flashlight size references).
Here’s the knife in hand:
Below you can see the Kansept Valk fixed blade knife with the venerable Convoy S2+. The version below is a brass Convoy S2+.
In the photo above, you may note that the SRM (standard reference material) flashlight for comparison has changed! I used a TorchLAB BOSS 35 for ages. Now, what you can see as the 18350 SRM is the Hanko Machine Works Trident. While I have not reviewed or tested the Gunner Grip version seen here, I have tested a Hanko Machine Works Trident Total Tesseract in brass. I love the Trident, and it’s a striking contrast next to the inexpensive Convoy S2+, which also makes a great standard reference material.
Steel / Cut / Oats
The Vosteed Porcupine ModSwap Crossbar lock knife uses 154CM steel.
This is by no means a new steel, nor is it “cutting edge” (get it? cutting edge). But it’s a solid performer. Here’s an in-depth look by KnifeSteelNerds.com.
The blade shape is “clip point.” From this Coltellimania.com-produced image, that seems to be about the right description of the blade shape.
There’s a fair bit of jimping on the spine.
Retention
As mentioned above, the stock pocket clip is a paperclip style. It does provide a deep carry, though.
It’s a great clip. Just one screw holds it in place. Below you can also see the pop of green – that’s the lanyard hole.
The clip can be moved to the other side, but is always tip-up carry.
As stated above, the scale mod options do provide multiple other clips. They’re solid metal clips (and I strongly prefer those!
Vosteed also provides a Velcro pouch.
Summary and Conclusion
The Vosteed Porcupine ModSwap Crossbar lock knife is a neat knife and provides a very accessible and reasonably-priced way to modify the knife to your tastes. Many combinations are possible with the 5 knives and 6 scale options. Just remember to pay attention to the knife accent pieces (lanyard hole, and a couple of other bits.) All of that said, the base model Porcupine is a great knife, and the Dune version looks great stock!
Notes
- This knife was provided by Vosteed for review. I was not paid to write this review.
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