Saturday 27 August 2022

Kizlyar Supreme Vector

 Kizlyar Supreme Vector Field Knife





About to start the "coconut bash test"

A  stone wash finish is applied to the 420HC blade.

The Kizlyar Supreme Vector in 420HC performed very well cutting the very fibrous coconut tissue and after all, knives are meant to cut aren't they? If a knife has a lousy heat treatment, a coconut will soon blunt it after several cuts; not so here!

Remember too that by it's very nature 420HC is a fairly tough stainless steel. This is a good choice for such a knife and it's intended applications. 420HC at 57-58 HRC is also easily sharpened with a good ceramic stone.



I used  the tip to "drill"into one of the 3 "eyes" of the coconut.


The kraton grip is very comfortable and if the knife is used to chop, the grip effectively blocks all vibration to the palm of the hand. The grip is also very secure and fits well in the hand. 



At the butt end the tang protrudes just enough to whack something without incurring damage to the Kraton. The butt could also be used to "deliver a blow" or "crack some nuts".

The scabbard



The blade is securely housed within an injection molded polypropylene* scabbard (still under review as early feedback thought that the kydex/type Nylon was blunting the blades; personally I have never thought this was the case, nor have I experienced this over the years). 

The scabbard has a slim profile and can be mounted and or fixed in numerous positions within a molle system of webbing etc. For more traditional carry for the civilian there is an effective belt loop with a strong Velcro closure. The knife can be inserted either left or right handed as the scabbard is symmetrical. So "lefties" will have no problems!


The shape of the guard is interesting as well and was not uncomfortable when using the Vector in a reverse grip (ie it did not dig into my hand and it sits a little proud of index and thumb, very important when it comes to guards on such knives.


Guard material is in the 420* series steels heat treated to HRC 44-48.*


 

The design for Vector by Kizlyar Supreme started back in 2019.


Made from 420HC, Kraton and Nylon


This is one functional military knife.

A super thick spine and full tang housed inside of a extremely comfortable Kraton grip.


Perfect for fishing and some fairly heavy tasks, de-boning, vegetables and even chopping up a coconut if you had to!


Make no mistake about the slim lines, at almost 6mm thick (unconventional for such a knife design-however, with some great pros to it.) it has a very beefy spine with a high sabre grind. The geometry will yield itself to the camp kitchen with easy food preparation.



There is a single bolt holding on the handle (Kraton), not dissimilar to how Extrema Ratio, fix some if not most of their fixed blades handles to the tang. Note the steel guard.


Design rationale behind the the VECTOR

This is an in house design from Kizlyar Supreme and is based upon very old traditional Soviet military knives with a reminiscent blade profile also found in Finnish military knives of old.

According to Kizlyar Supreme, the Vector was originally developed for a wide range of users, including but not limited to  law enforcement. The design was brought about by interaction with security forces acting in the role of consultants.

However, the Vector design is based upon old Soviet knives such as the Vacha Trud knife, NR-40 and the NR 43-Cherry. (see images in a Google search of these old Russian knives). The "roots" of the design are domestic in origin.


The Kizlyar Supreme Vector is at the time of writing difficult to get due to a big popularity as it has just been released into the market.




* Please note there is continuous development on the vector to constantly improve it's characteristics.


BCT