Vosteed Marten 330 Purple Knife Review

The Vosteed Marten 330 purple knife uses 14C28N steel and a top liner lock, which aids in swift, smooth deployment. The purple G10 handles are great for grip!

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Official Specs

Here’s a link to the official page for the Vosteed Marten 330 purple knife.

Versions

At least 12 versions of the Vosteed Marten 330 knife are (or have been) available. They mostly differ in look, with different scales or different blade colors and finishes. This version offers G10, but Micarta, carbon fiber, and likely others are available.

Notable about the Vosteed Marten 330 purple knife is the name – what does the “330” mean? Well, this version has a 3.30″ blade length, up from the ~3″ of the previous Marten! So it’s bigger than the original!

Price

This version of the Vosteed Marten 330 purple knife costs $69.99, but the price ranges from $69 to $129.

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Package and Manual

There is no manual.

What’s Included

• • Vosteed Marten 330 purple knife
  • Cleaning cloth
  • Carry pouch
  • Sticker
  • Card

Look

This version of the Vosteed Marten 330 purple knife has purple G10 handles. The purple G10 handles are matched with blue accent metals and a touch or two of blue.

The combo looks fantastic. But if purple and blue are not your thing, note that there are many other scale options. The most costly version if the carbon fiber. More photos of that one area available here.

I love the lines of the Marten. I typically prefer a “flatter” knife, but the arc of this model is subtle enough.

There’s minimal branding on the Vosteed Marten 330 purple knife.

Open / Close / Lock

The Vosteed Marten 330 purple knife opens primarily by the thumbstud. There are two, so the knife is reasonably ambidextrous.

This Marten (and the other one I recently tested) open so smoothly. The “330” blade (3.30″) apparently has enough weight to swing.

Another way to open the Marten is to depress the top liner lock and fling the blade open. This works, but the thumbstud seems better to me.

The Vosteed Marten 330 purple knife is great in hand, too. The handle is long enough to hold the knife in a couple of ways. Handle only, or choked up onto the blade.

Here’s how the blade swings when you press the lock in this way.

Unlocking the Marten is done by means of the top liner lock button. This button is only on one side, which is understandable if you think about how the knife lock works. (It’s basically a liner lock with this button for unlocking the liner.)

Build and Feel

The build quality is great. This is one of the less expensive Marten 330’s, and it’s still very good. The pivot area, which you can see below, uses caged ceramic ball bearings. Opening this knife is very smooth!

Blade centering is perfect. Also note here something I’ll mention later: the full metal liners. They form part of the accent color (blue) for this purple knife. I think all the models of the Vosteed Marten 330 knife get either black or silver (aka uncoated).

Here you can see the skeletonized liners. These are almost certainly stainless steel.

One side of the pivot can’t be adjusted.

But the other has a TORX driver.

Size

Blade Length: 3.30″ | 83.82 mm
Overall Length: 7.52″ | 191.00 mm
Blade Width: 1.06″ | 27.00mm
Blade Thickness: 0.118″ | 3.00 mm
Handle Length: 4.27″ | 108.45 mm
Handle Width: 1.08″ | 27.40 mm
Handle Thickness: 0.490″ | 12.50 mm
Weight: 3.79 oz | 107.30 g

Above, you can see the Vosteed Marten 330 purple knife with the Civivi Elementum in orange G10. I use that knife so much!

Here’s the knife in hand:

Below you can see the Vosteed Marten 330 purple knife with the venerable Convoy S2+. This is a brass version, which is a good bit heavier than aluminum, but has the same dimensions: 24mm in diameter by 117.5mm in length.

Also in the photo above, my Standard Reference Material (SRM) flashlight is the Hanko Machine Works Trident, an 18350 light. 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 to the inexpensive Convoy S2+, another great SRM.

Steel / Cut / Oats

The Vosteed Marten 330 purple knife uses 14C28N steel and has a drop point blade shape. The other (pricey) Marten 330 uses 154CM, so again, you have options!

I love drop points!

Here’s what everdaycommentary says about 14C28N:

In the budget steel department 14C28N is really great.

The blade offers a flat grind and, in this case, a black DLC finish.

According to coltellimania.com, which produced this image, the Vosteed Marten 330 purple knife does appear to have a drop point blade.

Retention

A pocket clip is included. It has two screws (over/under) and is reversible. It allows only tip-up carry.

It’s a very simple clip. If I had to pick something to complain about, it’d be that the clip doesn’t have a dedicated cutout in the scale. I really prefer to see the clip attachment area recessed!

The clip is reversible. Below you can see the area where the clip slides into the scales. A lanyard loop is built into the scales and goes through the backspacer.

Below you can see Vosteed’s new pouch. This pouch is simpler – just a hook/loop closure, but I prefer it.

Here’s another reason for liking this pouch better: it’s flatter.

Summary and Conclusion

The Vosteed Marten 330 purple knife is a very nice addition to the Marten lineup. This purple G10 adds a less expensive option to the Marten lineup, which is appreciated. Even though the blade is 3.30″ (hence the moniker “330”), the size and shape are just right! Even for a small knife lover like me! Now owning both the least and most expensive versions of this knife, I can say something I do not usually say: the carbon fiber version is way superior. This G10 is still a value at $70, but if you’re inclined to pay more, the carbon fiber will not disappoint at $125. I have a feeling that the Micarta at $70 is also a great value!! Regardless, give the Marten 330 a try!

Notes

• This knife was provided by Vosteed for review. I was not paid to write this review.
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