Viper Fortis

Great value

The world seems to be awash in framelock ball bearing flippers, but this one has a feature set and execution that distinguishes it. The flipper and the blade opening hole both function well. Good blade-to-handle efficiency. The lock, with a steel insert, engages solidly when the blade is flipped aggressively and when eased open. Beautifully rounded spine and choil on the blade.… read more All sharp corners are relieved; this knife is slim and smooth for its size. Almost too smooth; the handle could use a little more grip. My only criticism is that the design requires the stop pin to be mounted fairly deep in the handle, giving up some strength geometry, but I think it’s still more than strong enough. Thankfully there is no massive groove hogged out of the blade tang for an unconventionally positioned stop pin. Very pleased with it.

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Solid, but not perfect

I've been a fan of Viper Knives for a long time, and when it was time to buy another folder, I spotted the Fortis and ordered it. I only gave this 4 stars, and I'll tell you why. I'll compare it to another knife at about the same price point, the We Knives 608, which is slightly larger but not by much.

For starters, the Viper is very solidly built. I absolutely love the… read more blade. But there are some areas where the knife could be--and for this price SHOULD be--improved. The opening isn't particularly fluid at all, and unlocking it is a bit on the stiff side. To compare it to the WE Knives 608 is like night and day. On the 608, the blade opens with almost NO effort, and is silky smooth through the entire arc. Not so on the Fortis, so I knocked off a point for that. I really expected a smoother action, and for over 200 bucks, that's exactly what you should get. Still a great knife and I do love it.

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Big hands rejoice

I have had this blade for awhile and it ticks all the boxes for me. It's chunky, hefty, and comfortable. I have larger hands so it is a perfect carry for me. Flips great with a useful thumbhole as well. Absolutely worth the money.

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A little tinkering goes a LONG way!!!

When I got this knife, I was very impressed. The fit and finish were excellent. The ergonomics, outstanding. The blade steel and design, phenomenal. The detent was strong, and provided an excellent flipping action, but made using the thumb hole very hard (for both thumb and middle finger deployment). The pivot was also just a little bit rough. I took the knife apart, filed down… read more the detent about halfway, put one drop of the grease that comes with the Sebenza on each bearing along with one drop of KPL. The knife now feels like it's gliding on ice, both thumb and middle deployment are a breeze, and the flipping action is still outstanding. It took 5 minutes to make this thing PERFECT!

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Dayum

So smooth, amazing steel, and super nice CF. Very nice blade shape but what surprised me was how wonderfully thin the knife is, it carries beautifully. It's like a lionsteel, pm2, and an xm18 had a baby with a reeve. Price is incredible for what you get. Jesper is kinda my new man crush. Did need to adjust pivot, was way too tight, still has near perfect centering.

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Jackpot!!!

Cha-ching! I just hit the jackpot with this knife. $165? Are you kidding? I know that it's not a custom knife, and that it's not a fancy one, but it's everything I want or need in a knife. My knife, unlike the first reviewer's knife, works very well, both flipping and locking and unlocking. Fit and finish are excellent. M390 is a premium steel; can't go wrong there, and the blade… read more is nicely formed and sharp as hell out of the box. The handle is very comfortable, and is chamfered in all the right places to help with that comfort.

It has the best flipper tab I've ever seen, because it's jimped and because it sticks out a little horizontally at the top of the tab and makes it so that it just grabs your finger and creates a no-miss pull on the tab. That tab is a little bit of design genius. I'm amazed that no one has come up with that before now. I wish the G-10 were a little bit more heavily milled, but it doesn't slip, so that's ok. The clip is tight and solid but doesn't rip your pocket when you pull the knife out.

I do wish the lockup was a little later, as mine might be about 20% and I prefer closer to 40%. Overall, though, a really fine and functional choice, worth well more than the price, and I can tell already that it will be one of my go-to knives. It's such a great price for such quality that I won't be afraid to use it at all, which I am a little afraid of with my $450 knife.

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Very nice!

This knife is really beautiful and uses quality materials. M390 blade steel is fantastic, and the blue-gray titanium spacer and clip make for a nice contrast with the carbon fiber and stonewashed titanium scales. The action broke in fairly quickly, and while it's not a complete "free dropper", it's close. I am sure it would become so if I opened it up and re-lubed the bearings.

The… read more only quibble I have with this knife is that the lockbar is extremely stiff. I suspect this was a change that Viper made to partially address the complaints that the detent was too light, leading to the knife only partially opening when the flipper was engaged. I do feel like it mostly solved that problem (if I work at it, I can still get it to only partially open on flip, but it's not likely to be an issue using the knife normally), but at the expense of making the knife a lot less comfortable to use.

I really like this knife, and I will be keeping it. I think the beautiful design and the premium materials outweigh the minor flaw with the lockbar stiffness, and I'm hoping that it will loosen up a bit with use.

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Awesome knife!!

I bought two of these and love them. So smooth and silky and the carbon fiber is flawless. My last 3 Vipers have been CF and flawless so
Viper has fixed the shoddy CF problem of the past. Can't wait until bladehq gets more because I am buying a third CF fortis for sure!!!!

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Thin

Does not open very fast, better off using the hole in the blade. Not so much of a lock stick but clicks when closing like the lock bar is too long and it looks like about 10% lockup if that.

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