Vosteed Raccoon Review

Vosteed boasts that its blade length to width geometry is 3:1, which is something to ponder over. It makes the blade well-proportioned and beefy with enough belly and without being too cumbersome.

The drop point blade tip is also quite pointy with good edge retention. The 14C28N blade is also quite tough, easy to sharpen and has a comfortable finger choil. The tip starts at the center of the blade where it starts to thin with a flat section at the top along the spine. The full-flat grind lines are diagonal from flats down to the choil that rounds toward the front end and angles towards the rear to create half a finger choil. However, some users do say that the finger choil is not well-placed. But we found it pretty comfortable.

However, when it comes to finishing, we are not a fan of satin finish. This is because satin finish can still show signs of wear and tear and visible scratches and grind lines after some use. The stonewash finish, on the other hand, gives a better look to the blade. The grind lines are however, symmetrical and crip.

The handle of Vosteed Raccoon is made from Linen Micarta, which is a nice touch at this price point. Knife manufacturers usually use G10 at this price as it is synthetic and easy to wound around knife handles, although it is mostly a manual process. The scales are also well-chamfered, which gives it a nice texture. It is produced in black, green and light blue. But the black one on this model serves best as it shows minimal wear and absorbs hand oils, sweat and dirt. Therefore, it is a better material than standard G10.

The skeletonized stainless steel liners rest entirely inside the Micarta scales, which is an excellent design construction, as it reduces rust likeliness and is easy to clean. The size of the handle is 4.36”, and with a 3.25” blade length, it provides a good blade-to-handle ratio. It also offers a decent and comfortable grip with reversible pocket clip for a secure carry.

It also comes with a lanyard hole for extended carry when needed. Although some users may find the lanyard hole ill-placed and small. It depends on your usage.

The handle construction is pretty standard, with rounded edges and contoured scales and a decorative pivot pin on the front side and adjustable on the back side. The entire knife is screwed together with Torx T8, same as those on the backspacer. However, the screws on the front body of the knife are Torx T6. The pocket clip is held together by vertical screws.

It is configured for right hand tip-up carry position. However, you can also configure it for the left hand by removing blanking plate from the lock side of the knife and switching the hardware around, if you can. The knife is held together remarkably and is assembled immaculately. Just like the Corgi, Yue Dong payed special attention to details on this knife as well.

The Raccoon opens up via dual ambidextrous thumb studs that pivot on caged ceramic ball bearings. Its lock system is that of a button lock located by the external stop pin. The ceramic ball bearing comes with a ceramic detent ball on the inner corner of the lock that acts as detent and interfaces with the blade tang.

The button lock is one of the simplest locking mechanisms in which you just need to press the button to open and close the blade. It comes with a coiled spring action that fires the blade open. The blade also won’t disengage on its own and does not press the button accidently. You really have to make a conscious effort to press down the button to open or close the blade. That is also a positive thing about this lockup.

The deployment and lockup are both smooth on the Raccoon. The deployment offers sufficient detent strength. The button lock comes with zero blade play without any friction. There is also enough space between the thumb studs and the scales to place your thumb on the blade against the stud to open up the blade. The same is equally essential when closing the blade. It makes the lockup more reliable.

It also comes with a lanyard hole for extended carry when needed. Although some users may find the lanyard hole ill-placed and small. It depends on your usage.

The first thing we noticed when carrying the Vosteed Raccoon was its hold and ease of carry. The pocket clip is deep pocket carry and easily slides in. It also weighs less and doesn’t feel like you are carrying anything. The finish of the clip is also fine.

The ergonomics of the handle are also quite good, especially the forward finger choil. It is very comfortable and smooth.

The button lock however, makes the blade come in contact with the hand. Our initial survey of the lock and blade revealed no blade play, but we experienced it in the field. The deployment however, does not show this issue. It works smoothly as expected. Moreover, the blade disengages after tapping it on the table. Now this can be either good or bad sign depending on how you look at it and how you use it. It takes the pivot position and stays like that until you fully open or close it.

The first test included cutting a synthetic strap. The Raccoon cut through it halfway in a single strike. We then cut all through it with another strike.

It also cut through the rope easily with a single cut. We did not have to go through it again and again. It showed the blade’s resilience against a tough nylon rope intertwined in layers. However, it did require some strength and skill. You really have to hold on to the knife to make effective cuts. The Raccoon sliced through paper very easily. It required feather light strength to cut paper.

However, it easily lost its edge retention after using it to cut through rope and paper. However, it does have decent cutting geometry. The blade and handle geometry also feels fine when using it. I was able to grip the handle in my entire hand, and the blade length also felt okay – not too small not too big.

It also cut through cardboard with extreme precision and ease, and required minimal strength. We cut the entire cardboard into shreds without much effort and the knife performed really well. I was also able to really choke up the knife and hold it with the finger choil to make precise cuts. It did not cut through my hand and did not feel tight against my skin.

The handle also showed extreme resistance. It did not accumulate dirt, and I was able to hold it with gloves with extreme ease. I was worried that the knife width was too slim for proper grip. But it was quite grippy and moved exactly as my hand wanted it to move.

We also tested the knife to see if it will fail its lock test. We hung very heavy chains from it. It only slightly gave way when we hung too much weight from it. But the lock still did not fail. It still works smoothly and the deployment is as good as it was in the starting.

So the Vosteed Raccoon works fine as an EDC knife, and passed its test. Although the blade disengaging could be considered a design flaw, it does not discredit the knife. Even after heavy use, the knife’s lockup and deployment did not break. The handle is quite well and the blade is sharp enough for your EDC tasks.

Vosteed Raccoon vs Vosteed Corgi

As you can see, the two knives very similar in profile, handle and blade material. They also share the same drop point blade shape, full-flat grind, button lock and deep carry pocket clip. However, the difference in Raccoon is that its blade is longer at 3.25” with overall length of 7.6”. It makes the Raccoon much more proportionate in blade and handle length – something that is missing in Vosteed Corgi.

Another apparent difference is in the knuckle holders in Raccoon. Unlike the Corgi, the Raccoon is easier to grip without letting it slip easily from the hand. Its finger choil is also more apparent and larger than that on Corgi. The jimping is also enhanced on the Raccoon, making it more ergonomically friendly than the Corgi. When it comes to price, Raccoon has the same price as Corgi, but comes with slightly better profile.

Therefore, when it comes down to it, the only area where the Raccoon takes points over the Corgi is its ergonomics, ease of use, and size geometry. Otherwise, Corgi is a perfectly good pocketknife with great handle and blade material and an excellent design.

Vosteed Raccoon vs CJRB Pyrite

The CJRB Pyrite is a lot similar to Raccoon in terms of knife profile, design, blade shape, grind, deployment, pivot type and lock type.

Another apparent difference is in the knuckle holders in Raccoon. Unlike the Corgi, the Raccoon is easier to grip without letting it slip easily from the hand. Its finger choil is also more apparent and larger than that on Corgi. The jimping is also enhanced on the Raccoon, making it more ergonomically friendly than the Corgi. When it comes to price, Raccoon has the same price as Corgi, but comes with slightly better profile.

Therefore, when it comes down to it, the only area where the Raccoon takes points over the Corgi is its ergonomics, ease of use, and size geometry. Otherwise, Corgi is a perfectly good pocketknife with great handle and blade material and an excellent design.

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CJRB Pyrite Prices
		Check Price at Blade HQ
		Check Price at Chicago Knife Works

We found Vosteed Raccoon knife to be a pretty good knife. It costs less, its blade is quite sharp, easy to sharpen, is corrosion resistant and tough. The Micarta handle absorbs hand oils, sweat and dirt, and is easy to carry wearing gloves.

The deployment and lockup are also smooth. We did find some blade play in the button lock on the field and the blade disengages if we tap it too hard on a surface. It could be sign of a weak lock, but it did not break when put under too much pressure. It showed resilience and was able to retain its former balance. The knife profile and geometry was also good. The handle to blade and width proportion was very much in sync, and was quite grippy and comfortable. So, we would recommend this knife.