Kershaw Crown

J

JNieporte

Joined
Nov 1, 2004
Messages
3,352
It's time to review a knife that I first saw at Wal-Mart for ten bucks. I looked at it and thought that it looked familiar with some catalog descriptions, so I decided to buy it since it's a Kershaw. This is one of the most inexpensive Kershaws that I've ever owned (I think the Ace is the cheapest at $4.50). The Kershaw Crown looks like a nice EDC or a gentleman's folder. There were two colors of micarta handle available; black or blue. I've learned that the blue is a Wal-Mart exclusive, as evidenced by the blade and packaging.
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So, what do I think of it? Read on.

The Handle: The Crown comes in at 4-1/4" closed and weighs 3.7 ounces. The handles are stainless steel with micarta insets. The stainless bolsters on mine came pretty dull, but polished up readily with some simichrome polish.
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The micarta came perfectly matched to the handle; no overlaying or underlaying spots, no rough patches. The grain in mine looks really nice, and most of those at the store looked nice as well. I'm thinking about roughing them up with some fine-grit sandpaper and then sealing it to bring out the grain, but it looks pretty darn good as is. There's a small swell near the butt of the handle so your can get a good fit to your hand. A lined lanyard hole is provided.
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The Crown locks via linerlock, which sports some jimping. Lock-up on mine is great, with no play in any direction.
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The linerlock is easy to get to, even with gloves on. The knife has an open back; good for blowing out pocket lint or other debris.
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The Crown comes with a removable pocket clip. It's stonewashed, and has a contrast to the rest of the polished knife that says "thrown on" to me.
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The clip itself is right-hand tip-up and can be taken off via two Torx (T-6) screws, but cannot be positioned in any other way on the knife. Retention, for me, is a bit loose. Even bending the clip a bit didn't help. The problem is that the metal used in the clip material is just too "bendy". Still, it's never left my pocket without me wanting it to.
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This view is from the back, showing the stop pin and phosphor bronze bushing that the blade rides on. The other side of the blade has a white nylon bushing.
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In use, the Crown handles like most other gentleman's knives; it's not aggressive and cuts what needs to be cut. I like how it feels in my hand during use.
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The Blade: The Crown sports a 3-1/4" blade made of hollow-ground 8Cr13MoV stainless steel. Mine tested at 57 on the Rockwell scale. The blade is a clip point with a smooth belly. It came out of the package pretty sharp, and needed only a light stropping to shave hair. A little polishing really brought out the "niceness" of the blade.
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The model number...
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The blade is deployed with thumb studs, one on each side of the blade. I've found no real issues with them, but some might not like the flared shape.
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Mine opens really fast, with only a "loaded" thumb flick. No wrist action required. The blade is just long enough for most EDC tasks, while still being short enough to not intimidate non-knife people. Oh, if you want to adjust the tension in yours, it takes a Torx (T-8) bit. Like I said, lock-up on mine is solid.
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To wrap this up, the Crown is another home run from Kershaw. Being able to bring a quality knife like this for ten dollars isn't something a lot of companies can do, and I applaud Kershaw for the effort. This is definitely not one of those $10 knives you'd pick up at a gas station; this is a knife you'd gift to friends.

With a Kabar Dozier for size reference...
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EDIT: I see the price of the Crown has gone up to $15 at most Wal-Mart stores. That's still a good price for this knife.
 
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I bought the blk one. Gave it to my son...he loves it. Good knife, easy to sharpen.
 
Beware if you are buying these for Christmas gifts. This doesn't have Kershaw's normal fit and finish, but for $10 it is an absolute steal.

Feels good in the hand, good steel, and actually a very useful shape.

However, I bought two, and one will have to go back. One is fine, and the other won't lock up. Not saying won't lock up tight, or it wiggles; the lock bar is too long and won't slip behind the back of the blade to lock. It won't lock up at all! So back it goes. I like the knife well enough that I will be buying an extra when I return this one, but will open both the next one in the parking lot to check them out.

I wouldn't have found out about this problem if I hadn't opened the clamshell to check for just such problems.

When gifting a knife, I always check it out first, and simply tell the recipient that I wanted to sharpen and oil the knife properly before giving it.

I don't think you will find a better $10 knife anywhere.

Robert
 
That blue micarta's nice... I bought one of the black ones for ten bucks a week BEFORE the blue ones came in... :grumpy: So I bought a blue SelectFire instead, which is a nice beefy little work knife with the added bonus of a bit driver.
 
We have a couple of these at my place. I think they are a really good knife for $10. My issue is with the quality control. One of the knives is perfect and is more like a $40+ knife, on the others each one has parts where stuff just doesn't quite fit together right. Still, a great deal at $10. I just wish they didn't come in the plastic clam shell so I could go through a few of them and flip them, check blade centering and lock up. If I buy more (I prefer the slightly more expensive Skyline as a run it til it's trashed EDC but it's not a good gift knife) I'll check the fit from the outside as the centering and lock up on all of mine are pretty good but the scales don't all quite fit together properly.

A good knife at a great price. It's good to see Kershaw bringing in more customers with the cheaper Chinese stuff and I hope that it helps establish a strong customer base so they can expand and look toward making everything in the US. I know Thomas has posted his immediate aim was 90% US but haven't heard how close they are to that goal.
 
The f/fn my Crown were good. The "action" feels sorta stiff but I'm sure rhat will wear in,I'm using it at work so it will/has seen itd share of cardboard. It came pretty sharpand a bit toothy-works great. The Micarta looks and feels good and since I use it bare handed and under dry conditions it really fits the bill. The bolsters are polished enough that just a few days in pocket show very visable scratches; its a user but may bother some people. My clip is very strong and I may have to bend it out a little. I guess that there is a pretty wide range of quality in this offering from Kershaw.Im very happy for the price and think it would be a good christmas gift.
 
I just opened a blue one, and I am blown away.

I, literally, have had much more expensive Kershaws that werent this nice.


Awesome job, Kershaw.
 
It will be a come back from major brands against chinese brands (Sanrenmu, etc) at that price.
From the responses above, it seems the QC is about on par with some chinese brands (Navy, Ganzo) too, although Sanrenmu & Enlan usually have better QC.

Gone is the notion of "high mark up" by major brand to the chinese OEM they contract the knife to. Major thumbs up for Kershaw!
Imagine 10-20 years ago, never seen a comparable folder (440C or AUS8, Micarta handle) for less than 50$!
 
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I bought a black Crown for $15, and I'm totally honest in that it's one of the sturdiest liner locks I've ever had.
The liner will not move any further down, even by pushing it, the tolerances are so tight the lockup has stayed solid even thought I abused it.
What I did with it;
Baton with it.
Brutally spine whack it against wood.
THROW it several times into a wooden target.
Several hard over strikes.
The liner still hasn't moved even a millimeter, no vertical play and the resulting horizontal play was easily tightened away.
The solid stainless steel handles really solidify it, it's made me consider stainless handled knives.
So I'm saying if you see it in a Walmart, BUY IT, they are extremely hot sellers, saw like 6 one day, came the next day and they were all gone.
 
Thanks for the post, I really like that blade shape and now I know what to look for. I bought the wife a Black Leek a few months back and she loves it very much...her only complaint is that it isn't blue lol.
 
Excellent review.
My Wife bought me one of these with Blue scales as an early Christmas gift, and got our 7 year old son a tiny gerber ( yeah.. he is 7).

After he determined the small Gerber was too difficult for him to open and close safely, he grabs my Crown, effortlessly flips it open ( one handed, with a flip of the thumb) examines the blade, pushes the linerlock, and closes the blade.

So next week, I'll be purchasing myself a new Crown, as the little guy has "appropriated" the blue one as his own.


Disclaimer: Yes, I always supervise him around blades, and yes he is very focused on safety around knives. He wants to make knives when he gets older..and be a scientist, and a teacher...lol
 
Just got one of these tonight with the black handle. I'm very impressed with everything about it. I really looks and acts like a $50-$60 knife. Mine is very sharp, and everything locks up tight. Finish on all the parts is very clean. Very nice sweeping plunge line. Very sexy knife.
 
Thanks for the review! I totally agree with everyone one these; it's a fantastic value. Over the course of seeing many of these at many different W-M's (I used to travel extensively for work), I saw a bit of variation in F&F, most very nice, some not so perfect, but for the price, even at the regular $14.99, it's not a deal breaker. I gave two away for Christmas, and bought three for myself, one black in the EDC rotation, and one black and one blue in the collection (the blue is the best one F&F wise). I always tell everyone not to hesitate to get one of these.
 
I agree with the general sentiment; this knife is AWESOME for $10. One note though, I was at wal mart last week and they're going for $15 there now which is still a great price.

The only thing I really dislike is the clip. The thing just digs into my hands and gets very uncomfortable.
 
I'm late to the party, but I was at my local Walmart this morning to pick up a Mother's Day card, and there was an end cap in Sporting Goods FULL of these for only $5 (the model with blue scales). I honestly was tempted to buy all of them, but I walked out with 4 for gifts (after paying for them, of course).
 
I posted my experience with this knife earlier in this thread. I have had it about 5 months now and it has seen a great deal of pocket time and been used a lot at work. This isn't just a knife to buy because it is inexpensive; it is a really great little knife. Some knives should be great work knives and aren't. Blade shape, feel in the hand when doing some hard cutting (some knives have poorly designed clips that bite when gripping really tight), and the ability to clean the knife up are as important as its ability to hold an edge.

This handles all those concerns and it carries easily, holds an edge well, and even using the hell out of it for a few months, it still locks up tight and cleans up well. For just $5, I would buy them all and keep them for myself!

Robert
 
Just picked up the black Crown for my own collection... And I was happy as soon as I opened the box :D It really is a beauty, especially for just a few bucks.
 
Unusual for Kershaw, but as noted by several people, the f&f on these seems to vary quite a bit.
Might be best to handle it first, or buy where an exchange will be fairly painless.
Of course at $10 you're not risking much.

I got a black one for $17 and am totally pleased with it....actually I was surprised at the quality for the price.
 
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I've had a few Crowns. They are really, really nice, IMO. They are a bit heavy for my taste, but if simply bang for buck is your priority, the Crown cannot be beat.
 
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