Vosteed Raccoon Review: Rip Through Boxes on a Budget

Vosteed Cutlery has been making a name for itself in the knife market by making four blades, right out of the gate. It released both a budget and a high-end version of its first knife — a flipper version of the classic Shinlin Cutter design. Then it teamed up with Reylight, maker of some of the most popular enthusiast torches on the market, to make the Rook, an outstanding 1xCR123a flashlight. 

Now, it releases the Raccoon, a budget knife with many hot features.

In short: The Vosteed Raccoon is a value knife that packs a punch and has a surprisingly slicey blade. While it comes up short against the very best pocket knives, it’s an incredible value.

Vosteed Raccoon Button Lock Knife

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Specifications

• Steel: 14C28N
• Grind: Partial flat grind
• Lock: Button lock
• Blade length: 3.25 in.
• OAL: 7.60 in.
• Weight: 3.39 oz.
• Price: Starting at $60
• Country of origin: China

Pros

• Snappy deployment
• Easy-to-use button lock
• Grippy micarta handle

Cons

• Strangely shaped forward finger choil

Anthony Sculimbrene

Vosteed Raccoon Review

Design and Build

The Raccoon is an entry-level knife with excellent 14C28N steel. It is available in a variety of handle materials. The review sample is equipped with micarta scales.

The design uses a button lock that allows for blade closure without having your fingers cross the blade path during closing. The knife comes equipped with a very low-profile, deep carry clip, and it sports a full forward finger choil. Deploy the blade via a thumb stud.

The Raccoon seems like a knife designed by looking at popular features among other knives. The result is a pretty decent knife with a lot to like. 

Function

The thumb stud and pivot work together to make for a snappy knife to open. Combined with the low-profile clip, it works well and stays out of the way during use. 

But the big win here is the grind. I recently processed months of cardboard boxes and the Raccoon shockingly crushed about $2,000 worth of other knives, coming behind only the Caly3 from Spyderco and the TRM Neutron 2. 

The Raccoon was one of the few knives without powder steel in the lineup, and it paced most of the other knives. This is partly due to the knife’s exceptionally thin flat grind.

Box after box, the Raccoon ripped through the recycling like its namesake going through your garbage. It was truly surprising.

Small Gripe

The only thing that strikes me as odd is the shape of the forward finger choil. It is not terrible in use, but it is a bit weird to look at and does kind of push your finger away from the blade (which is a good thing for safety but a bad thing for blade control).

I also think the knife is a bit squared off. It doesn’t bother in hand, but it will print through clothing, even jeans.  

Vosteed Raccoon: Conclusion

Overall, this is a good knife with decent design features, but the star here is a genuinely unexpected blade geometry that results in great slicing action.

Given the super reasonable price and excellent performance, I’d highly recommend the Vosteed Raccoon to anyone in the market for a new folder.