Two point three six ounces, 0.28 inches thick, a 2.90-inch S35VN tanto, and a titanium handle. The Vosteed Parallel A3523 is a full-size carry knife that weighs less than most keychains, and it costs $169.
The specification: 2.90-inch tanto in CPM S35VN, flat ground, titanium handle with an etched spiderweb pattern, crossbar lock, caged bearings, 2.36 ounces. Vosteed's copy is unusually specific about the profile — an ultra-thin slab that keeps the whole knife under three-tenths of an inch — and that is the engineering claim worth testing. Thin handles are hard because the lock and the pivot both need real estate, and shaving the frame means either dropping the liner or dropping the lock.
The crossbar lock is what makes the thinness possible. A crossbar mechanism sits behind the blade tang rather than beside it, so the frame does not need thickness for a liner spring, and it can be operated with either hand and closed without crossing the blade path. The reinforced tanto tip is the counterweight to all this lightness: a thick, straight-edged point for piercing and scraping, which is what a tanto is for.
Compared with the Naga at $139, you pay $30 more for titanium and crossbar instead of bamboo micarta and a top liner lock, and you drop more than two ounces. Against the Shilin Cutter at $149, the Parallel gives up Elmax and the Vanchor lock for a thinner, lighter frame. Against the Xeno at $385, you are paying $216 less and losing Vanax, timascus and the limited run — for daily carry the Parallel is the better buy.
Verdict: one of the best lightweight titanium knives at the price, and a good answer for anyone who has stopped carrying a knife because it pulled their trousers down. Skip it if you use your knife hard — 2.36 ounces means thin everything, and no amount of S35VN makes a 0.28-inch frame a pry bar.
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