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Viper and Jesper Voxnaes Unlock Options with the Key

February 4, 2019

Viper’s first big project of 2019 is the Key, a slipjoint collaboration with Jesper Voxnaes. The new Key prioritizes luxurious materials and finishing, and comes in an impressive number of variations.

It’s hard to pin down Jesper Voxnaes’s style. The Danish maker’s designs range in look, size, and application. Lately we’ve seen him work with stouter, wider knives like the CRKT Pilar and the Fox Knives TUR, but the Key looks super sleek, almost aerodynamic. In terms of past projects it looks somewhat like the GiantMouse GM3, and certainly shares some commonalities with 2018’s Viper Belone. Its elegant drop point blade is just a tad over 3 inches long, and the knife as a whole weighs 2.65 oz. With these carry-friendly numbers, EDC roles would seem to be the Key’s calling, and given its readily apparent good looks it could just as easily be a collector’s piece – especially given the amount of varieties on offer. It should hold up to use well, with its blade steel being high-performance M390 from Böhler-Uddeholm. The two-hand-opening Key is closed or opened with a classic nail mark. The mark is only cut on the show side.

Like other Maniago-based makers, Viper lavishes much attention on their fit and finish. The Key is marketed as a premium offering from the company so they went all out on the detail work here. The Key’s backspring has been crowned all the way down, and terminates in a twisting, wrought iron fence-like section. Viper tells us that these details have been achieved through good old fashioned filework, which means that yes, each Key has been extensively worked on by hand.

One of the premier features of the Key is the almost bewildering array of configurations it comes in. The variations can be grouped into three major categories: there are six 3D-contoured models, four 3D-milled versions with striated scales, and four with bolsters and a material inlay. Viper worked with four different materials among the three groups: titanium, G-10, carbon fiber and Micarta; and each of those materials comes in multiple flavors. In total, the Key debuts in fourteen different configurations. Although designer for and ready to work, it’s easy to imagine that some customers will simply enjoy seeking out and collecting their favorite Key variations.

Knife in Featured image: Viper Key

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