Sharp by Designs Void Review
EDITOR’S NOTE: Yes, I have dry hands. I took this on a hike where I pulled down some icicles for the boys. If you watch my YouTube channel, you will notice a long running commentary about my hand care.
Midtechs are dead. Thank God. Midtechs were a knife buyer’s nightmare. They were hard to get, expensive, of inconsistent quality, and they lacked the transparency necessary to justify large purchases. Who did what? How many are there? What is the country of origin? Midtechs, time and again, suffered from these problems and one other major one—they were pretty terrible knives. I owned a few and I was repeatedly struck by just how bland and slabby they were. Why was I paying so much money for such a basic design. I didn’t get it then and I don’t get it now.
Fortunately, we have moved beyond midtechs. Instead we are in a really enjoyable space where designers are producing knives. This idea came from Liong Mah who made his name by doing design collabs with production companies. Instead of seeing his designs translated into reality via detour into crappy steel land, by doing designer-produced knives, he could choose both the manufacturer and the materials. This was a huge innovation and one, frankly, knife knuts should applaud.
Here is how it works. Designer-produced blades are drawn up by someone that usually makes customs, the specs are sent off to a well known manufacturer, usually Reate or WE Knives, and the knives are made over a period of months. Then the designer sells them directly.
Designer-produced blades offer a number of huge benefits over the slabby bland midtechs of yesteryear. First, because they are usually made by top-flight companies, the fit and finish is significantly improved. They also have, generally, better steel choices, for the same reason. Finally, because it is large companies making them they can also include nicer materials (WE Knives, in case you missed it, has released the Incite in shred carbon fiber and damascus for around $100). Designer-produced blades also offer a huge upgrade in transparency.
The Void is my second designer-produced blade from Sharp by Design (a.k.a. Brian Nadeau of the Knife Knuts podcast). The knife is designed by Brian and produced by Reate. It has all of the traits of its two parents. It has the amazing ramped detent from Brian, the excellent handle finishing of Reate, and the overly thick blade that is common to Reate. This knife is a bit of a challenge to review as it does not match my tastes and it is bit off from where the production knife market is headed (smaller, slimmer, lighter blades seem to be all the rage thus far in 2020), but it is clearly a superior knife. Let’s get into the review.
Here is the product page for the Void on Blade HQ (Brian took down his product page). There were ten variants: a Ti version with M390, a bronze PVD coated version with M390, a black PVD coated version with M390, a CF version with M390, and a very fancy Knife Knuts version with mokuti handles. All four came with damasteel blades as an upgrade (for ten separate models). There is also the option for a handrubbed satin finish. There are no written reviews. Here is a video review. Here is my overview of the Void. Here is my Void (purchased with my own money for review):
Twitter Summary: A good but anachronistic knife.
Design: 1
The knife is heavier than it needs to be. It has a blade that is too thick. And the lockbar is a chore to disengage given the thin, sharp edges and the small raised disengagement point. All of these could have been points taken off elsewhere, but I think they were part of the design and not a misinterpretation or mismade portion of the design. I am not thrilled with any of these design choices and when the exist in the same market as knives like the thoughtlessly great Massdrop Gent, and the Boos Blades Mini Smoke they come across as out of step with trends.
But there is a hardcore fanbase for the titanium framelock flipper and for the folks in that niche, this is a winner. I am decidely not in that niche and so I am trying to ride the line in this review between disavowing a good knife because it is not what I personally prefer and the classic review crutch of “its good for an X.” I think the market is largely left the TFF niche behind (production companies like WE, Benchmade, Spyderco, and Drop are offering fewer TFFs), as we get treated to better and better knives that are focused on cutting and not fidgeting, but if you are looking for the apotheosis of the TFF this is probably it. It looks bold, it has strong lines, and it flips like a dream, with one small cavaet.
The performance ratios aren’t what this knife is about, but here they are anyway. The b:w is .87, which is a bit under par. The b:h is .78 which is over par and about equal to something like the SOG Flash 1. The big takeaway for me here is that Nadeau can do a spec beast if he wants to, but this design is focused on something else—a luxe experience.
Fit and Finish: 2
Okay, so on the macro level, this thing is gorgeous. Smooth handles, beautiful symmetry, and wonderful grinds. On a micro level, the detent was a bit rough when I first got it as you can see in the video. After a discussion with Nick, I realized the knife has some serious break-in. I find that hard to swallow when the Gent can come off the line at less than 1/3 the price with no break-in. However, once broken in, the Void was a dream. I can’t ding the knife a full point because the problems go away about a month in, but it seems silly that this knife, unlike dozens of other TFFs I have reviewed, needed that break in period.
Grip: 1
I am not a fan. All of the blasted curved surfaces are a bit too smooth for me. There is no real grip at all during the opening process, as only the spine of the blade has jimping. The grip, once the knife is opened, is small, somehow smaller than the Dragonfly II (maybe not smaller, just more cramped). I also strongly dislike the very thin, almost sharp edges to the handle, especially near where you disengage the lock bar. The clip, ironically, is an absolute dream in terms of grip and more on it below, but overall knife is sharp, slippery, and cramped.
Carry: 2
The knife is a solid chunk, but it is still under 4 ounces. That’s not bad, but the acceptable lower limit keeps falling when knives like the Mini Smoke have the same material and blade size and come in under 2 ounces. The knife is okay in slacks, good in jeans, and good in everything in between.
Steel: 2
M390 is just a no-brainer choice. If you can’t get steel that is truly insane, like S125V, ZDP-189, or LC 200N, M390 and the steels in that family are very good choices.
Blade Shape: 2
With a giant sweeping belly I found the knife to be surprisingly good in rocking cuts and pull cuts (like through rope). I processed a bunch of old t-shirts into small rags for my woodworking shop and I used the Void the entire time. The strong belly made short work of three or four t-shirts bound together for cutting. One note there is no straight section. If that bothers you this is not the knife for you, but in my food prep, fire prep, recycling, and the aforementioned rag making, I found the blade shape to work incredibly well.
Grind: 2
If the starting blade stock here were 1/16” thinner, this could have been an elite slicer. I really love how it performs, but it is just a bit below that absolute top tier of grinds. The swedge is also good, giving you some real penetrating power without any fear of a tip chip. I am not a fan of the heavy grind aesthetic, but it really works here. In many ways the grind is an analogy for the entire knife—its a very good grind but it is unnecessarily thick.
Deployment: 1
Oh man, get ready. This knife flies open like a valkyrie rising out of hell itself. It is fast, furious, and addictive, but….this is, weirdly, a finger-placement sensitive deployment, but once you train your fingers, its a joy to open the Void. The learning curve is pretty tough. The Spydie-flick option is also a very good opening method, reminding me of the Reate Baby Machine. The deployment on the scale versions of the knife, is, of course, non-placement sensitive.
Retention: 2
The clip here is brilliant, bucking the trend of crappy performance out of sculpted clips. I like it as much as any stamped clip I have used. Not only is the spring tension just right, but the pointed end of the clip has been rounded off to make it as unobtrusive in the hand as possible. Of all the aspects of the Void that are great, this is by far the biggest innovation. If you are doing sculpted Ti clips and you ignore what Brian and Reate did here, you are doing it wrong.
Lock/Blade Safety: 1
This is a stiff lock, even after a month of break in. That’s not my favorite thing, but the full point deduction here is for two other problems. First, the lockbar itself is pretty sharp, as most of the handle is near the edge. A bit more of the buttered edge look and feel would go a long way here. Second, the actual relief area for lock bar disengagement is right next to the flipper tab, meaning that as soon as you disengage the lockbar, the tab hits your finger. Together all three of these things make disegnaging the lock more of a hassle than it needs to be.
There is another issue here that I want to raise and it is something that I have thought about for a while—drop shut action on knives is just stupid. No one brags about “slam shut doors” or “random detach saw blades” for a reason. This is not a feature people, it is a bug. There is no performance benefit to having a knife that can fall closed under its own weight. It is not a sign of superior tolerances or design. It does not mean the knife is a good flipper. It might mean those things, but it might also just be a loose pivot. Either way, it is a liability and the sooner this trend ends the better. And yes, the Void has drop shut action. Perhaps the tiny, up close lock disengagement surface is a “safety” feature. Its a painful one, but less painful than slicing off a finger tip (which I did) because of the “drop shut action.”
Other Considerations
Fidget Factor: Very High
Once you get your finger yoga just right and the break in period ends, nothing flips like the Void. Its a dream for a fidget person.
Fett Effect: Very High
With a blasted finish and pronounced grind lines, this knife will show wear over time in a way that is very appealing to me. Pristine knives are for wussies and IG-only knife owners.
Value: Low
At $350 for the cheapest model the Void is quite expensive and it is not flawless or near flawless. If it is between this and Sebenza, unless you are in the ADHD cohort of knife owners or an avowed TFF fan, the Sebenza wins all day long. And that is not the best value on the planet. Compared to something like the Mini Smoke or the Gent, this knife is a $100 blade plus $250 in bling.
Overall Score: 16 out of 20 (with a cavaet: 17 out of 20 for an inlay model)
Competition
The Void is not a bad knife. In fact it is quite good. But the competition is just better. The Boos Blades Mini Smoke is just as fidget friendly, has the same blade length, and runs virtually identical materials (titanium and 20CV v. titanium and M390), but it is smaller, lighter, and better in the pocket. It also costs at least $130 less. Similarly, the Triple Aught Designed Dauntless is again a Ti framelock with the same materials but a better grip for roughly the same price. The TRM Ti Atom is basically the same price ($350 v. $375) with a much more pocketable profile. Again and again, the Void comes up short in comparison. And all of this does not consider the 600 pound gorilla about to drop from the trees—the Sebenza 31. I like the Void but I can’t justify owning one unless you are a big fan of Nadeau’s work. I’d recommend waiting for the Micro Evos frankly. They look much more competitive in the current market dominated by thin, slicey performance-oriented knives instead of fidget-focused lux TFFs. If we were still locked in the beefy folders arms race of a few years ago where everyone was trying to out-Direware each other, this would be a revelation. In today’s market with $170 TRM Neutrons, the Void looks out of step, a gas guzzler among Teslas.
I am certain that my opinion will be out of step with the knife review intelligensia, much like my opinion of the Para3 (which I stick by). I just can’t shake the fact that other than a small group of knife fans, the absolute undying need for a TFF has waned. The Void is good, but its not great, and its not great because it is largely fan service to those that love Reate and those that love TFFs. One note of caution—this knife has gotten better with time. Out of the box it was stiff, clicky, and awkward. It is a bit less so now. Maybe in a year, this will be a significantly better knife. I doubt it, but it has gotten better.
Amazon Purchase Link
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