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Viper Knives Takes a Turn with New Silvestrelli Design

September 22, 2020

Viper Knives has a new blade on the way out, a blend of old and new knife trends called the Turn. The Turn is the latest design from custom knife veteran Fabrizio Silvestrelli.

Viper offers cutlery in all of the major folding and fixed categories; if they have a house style across all those knives, it would be a harmonious merging of classical style with current gen materials. And although the Turn is a collaboration piece it fully embraces this “Old but New” philosoph. Its clip point blade is for the most part classically styled, but modernized with a big angled swedge and an unusual downward cant. The blade length is 3.25 inches, and the steel M390; so it’s safe to describe the Turn’s role as “flexible EDC,” tackling both big and little chores. The knife does have a ball bearing pivot, but opens solely with ambidextrous thumb studs.

The handle adopts a sort of modified bracket shape, with raised finger grooves for both the pointer and pinky fingers, and a shallow dip in between for the middle and forefingers. The 2/3 scales on both sides are offered in several materials including Micarta, carbon fiber, and multiple flavors of wood. The Turn is clipless, and weighs 4.5 oz.

Like its fellow knife companies in Maniago, Italy, Viper is well-known for its attention to detailing and finishing. Sometimes this attention pays off in big, flashy ways, but it manifests more subtly on the Turn. The bolsters and liner on each side are cut from the same, single piece of titanium, reducing the number of components on the knife. The blade spine is crowned behind the swedge, and the lock back is textured with very fine jimping for a sure grip during disengagement.

A member of the Italian Knifemaker’s Guild, Silvestrelli’s custom knives are clean in their lines and luxurious in their materials. His previous production work includes the Ten, another Viper collaboration that was a bit bigger and more tactical than the Turn.

The Turn itself should be available soon.

Knife in Featured Image: Viper Knives Turn

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