Bradley (Kershaw) Kimura, Balisong

F

felix7

Joined
Dec 24, 2007
Messages
159
Hy guys, I reviewed for the Italian community, the new Bradley (made by Kershaw for Bradley) Kimura, here:
http://www.coltelleriacollini.it/community4/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=8364

In the review there are several photos & videos.

I thought that you would like to see it, I 'll do my best for making here an express (writting in a foreign language is always hard, you can even try to translate my full Italian review, using a program) review of the Kimura.

The edge out of the box, is good, particularly oriented to slicing fibrous material, like cord; but the steel 13C26 (first time I used this steel, i found it to be similar to N690 or 154CM) is capable of being sharpen on really fine abrasives, I bought 2 Kimura (in the terror of not finding anymore in the future:( ... but I hope that Kershaw & Bradley will maintain the Kimura in production for a long time, I would also like to see new models by Kershaw, they are awesome in making balis:thumbup:) and on one of the Kimura I have tried to sharpen it on my Norton 8000 (water stone) with also stropping (the cheap way, with cardboard and car polish:D) and the steel reacted really well, it takes a toothy edge & a polish edge no problem, with a good sharpening feeling.
I am a balisong user, not a tricker, so I really like that my bali is sharp & the Kimura is sharp, with excellent blade geometries for slicing & draw cuts.

Fit & finish are really good, not on par with Benchmade (I have a Morpho), but awesome for the price (better than the Spyderfly, that also has problem taking a good edge, at least mine), the grip on the handles is good, with the texture well done.
On the blade & handles there is good dehorning:thumbup: (but the dehorning on the blade of the Morpho is better).
I don' t like too much the sand-blasted blade because it holds water & fluids (great help for rust), but the finish on the blade is smooth & well done, with regular cleaning & oiling, rust should not be a problem.

Ergonomics are fantastic, my thumb rest on the back of the blade really comfortably (better than the Morpho) and the Kimura is also comfortable in icepick grip.
The weight of the handles is good & gives a good feeling, during manipulations, with a good inertia.
The lacht is great is really big & sturdy (read tough & reliable:thumbup:), with a shape that offer tactile identification of edge position, when the Kimura is open; it is really fast to open (when a manual lacht is so good, you don't feel the absence of the spring lacth IMO), it is batangas style out of the box, but you can position it Manila style, if you prefer this configuration (I prefer Batangas).

Toughness is really good, the Kimura is a sandwich bali, with solid steel handles, big pivot pins (torx screws so bladeplay is not feared), the lacth is tough, without fragile springs (like Spyderfly, my spring get broken, after about 2 years & it is also type of spring difficult to find)

PRO
-excellent ergonomics
-good smoothness on pivot pins, with really small bladeplay (all balisong have at least a tiny bladeplay & the Kimura is amazingly rigid) out of the box
-handles have good weight & inertia
-good toughness
-state of the art manual latch
-good steel for the blade & I really love the bladeshape of the Kimura, IMO better than the Benchmade 42, it is also similar to my loved Morpho.
-good value, it is the long awaited option beetween crappy balisong & Benchmade, that are "state of the art" balisongs (especially on fit & finish & materials for the Morpho), but also expensive (IMO Benchmade needs also a new bali, as an entry level).

CONS
-no clip, but for someone this can be a PRO
-sand blasted blade needs regular maintenance (cleaning oiling, nothing too hard)

Votes
steel: 7 (good, but a Kimura with a D2 will be...:eek: ; the 13C26 it is a lot better than my Spyderfly in 440C)
fit & finish: 8 (not as high as BM, but really good)
toughness: 10
ergonomics: 9 (the only bali, that seems more comfortable, seems to be the Mayem, but I have not tried it)
look: 9 (my Morpho is the best looking production bali that I know, but the Kimura is the second, on par with the Mayem
Cost-effective: 9

Conclusion:
Awesome!:thumbup:;)
FINALY a new model, a solid option at an affordable price (not an other "dream bali", especialy here in Europe, where prices are a lot higher than USA).
This is more than a bali, is a great help to the the balisong community, for keep the balisong: alive & flipping!:D
I highly recommend the Kimura, MANY MANY THANKS to Bradley & Kershaw for this new model; I also hope that Kershaw will make new models (the Kimura is the evidence that you can be a great constant balisong manufacture).

Also a big thanks to this forum, without it I will never know the existence of the Kimura, Bradley needs to put the Kimura on their website.

Keep the balisong alive & flipping, it is a great type of knife, with excellent utility, great safe (not as a liner-lock IMO), easy cleaning, interesting history, a lot of fun and charisma.
You can see the potential of the balisong as normal knife also in this interesting article made by Fred Perrin :
http://spyderco.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9688


P.S:
I hope to not have made too many mistakes in this English review.

Ciao:cool: (do it the Italian way)
 
Damn I must post at least a direct photo on BF:cool:, about my 2 Kimura:D :

BradleyKimura5.jpg


Beautiful, isn't it?...:D:thumbup:
 
Thank you for the review, and your English is great by the way! :thumbup:

I've been intrigued by these bali's and I'd love to buy one sometime. I think they look sweet too.
 
Thanks for the review! Nice pics as well. I don't have one yet but do have the Mayhem.
 
Just so that everything is kept factual, the steel turns out to be 14C28N-kerhsaw's new steel and that's from kershaw. Unfortunately everyone that sells the kimura has the steel listed as 13C26. To bad-very deatiled review and nice pics btw
 
Thanks to everyone;)
For the steel I don't know, I have read that it is 13C26, but it can be 14C28N, it takes a really good edge, polish or toothy no problem:thumbup: & the cutting proprieties of the blade are fantastic (extremely similar to the Morpho:thumbup:), it gives a sharpening feeling similar to N690 or 154CM.

I said again that the Kimura needs a detailed description on the Bradley website, c'mon Bradley you can't hide a piece of art like this!;)
How can customers (especialy europenans) buy the Kimura, if they don't know that it exists?:D (especialy now that the Kershaw forum is RIP:()
 
Thanks for the review Felix. I ordered my Kimura on Sunday and it's on the way so it was reassuring to see a good review. Don't worry about your English either, you write very well.
 
Thanks for this review (BTW, I'm jealous of your english)
I have the kimura since 3 weeks, it's my third real bali after BM42s & morpho 32, and I love it and I agree 100% with all you said.
Just 1 problem, last night I loose the screw of the latch, don't know what happen... I was lucky to find it. So it was the occasion to convert it in Manila style.
Despite this problem, I have a good feeling with bradley/kershaw knife, so I still want the Mayen/Benchmade for my birthday... maybe I'll try to post my first review with this beauty :p
 
You may want to consider blue loc-tite, to lock your screws so you won't have to worry about it.
 
Many thanks for the compliments, on the review & on my English:D

@tsuba

I quote baliguy, if you have problems with loose screws, use the "Blu" (number: 243, It's the medium one) Loctite, do not use the red one, it's too tough.
Before applying the loctite, you need to clean the treads of the screws, than you can apply the blu Loctite, use a really little quantity (...far less than a drop, lightly stain the treads with the Loctite), put the screw back in (be careful to not overtight), than leave the Kimura to rest for 24 hours (without flipping it) so the Loctite can "set in".
 
I like mine very much and carry it frequently. One warning for those of you who flip fast and furious, I've had some nasty issues with the free swinging latch catching the non-latch handle and bringing manipulation to an abrupt halt. Easy fix with a needle file or something but just be aware of the possibility.
Great review felix of a great usin' bali and I too hope Kershaw brings out more balis.
 
felix7 said:
...than leave the Kimura to rest for 24 hours (without flipping it) so the Loctite can "set in".
Click to expand...

Or you could be like me and not be able to resist the urge after 5 min and start
flipping like mad LOL! "Eh, 5 min 24 hours, same difference" haha
 
Update with tutorial for bronze washers fitting

I present you the Kimura 1.5 or the "super Kimura"...

The plastic white washers of my Kimura I get ovalized, with time, so I decided to upgrade my Kim to bronze washers, I bought them from an Italian knife shop, but I think that these washers came from knifekits (that also has a wide variety of them so maybe you can find bronze washers that do not require fitting), the hole in the washers is about 5mm and the thickness is about the same as the original washers (sorry I don't have a caliber, to misure them), the only little problem is that these washers are larger than the original (in general I like the big diameter of these washers, it gives a lot of room for grinding fitting for various knives), but as you will see there is a simple solution for this problem...

First you need to strip down the Kimura (think before do it you can damage the Kimura or break the warranty, so it is a risky job), this is a little bit difficult as you will need a soldering iron to break the red loctite, you have heat up the screws-pins then unscrewing them while you squeeze the handles togheter to prevent the spinning of the pins (I really like that the pins of the Kimura are not press fit, it makes the disassembly a lot easier).
Be extremely careful to not strip the pivot screws.

Than with the original washers, a handle, the blade and the pins at hand you have to reduce the diameter of the new bronze washers.
First mount the bronze washers on a screw (diameter: 5mm about the same as the Kimura pins), as in the photo:

DSCF0860.jpg


Than using sand paper and a drill you will grind off the metal excess from the bronze washers, check often the diameter with the other original parts of the Kimura.
I used these European grits to do the job:
-P120 to do most of the grinding
-P320 for the final grinding
-P1000 to polish the edges of the washers

All of 3 with some water drops to facilitate the grinding

DSCF0857.jpg


Basic tools to do the job:
DSCF0861.jpg


Before installing the new washers you will have also to clean them with water and dish soap.

Then you have just to install them on the blade, with proper lubrication and blue Loctite.
I put a little well distributed drop of oil only on the face of the washer that is in contact with the blade, an other drop in the pivot hole on the blade (all parts cleaned with acetone before lubing).
To apply the loctite you have to also clean the pivot pin also the female part, use q tips, a brush acetone, the screws have to be clean & for the new loctite.
I like to put a little drop of blue loctite on a toothpick, then with it I distribute the drop directly inside the female part of the pins (a flashlight is also useful), so I minimize the risk of contaminating the washers with the loctite.
After the reassembly I put the Kimura in a plastic bag, and wrap it tightly around the Kimura, so there is minimal oxygen around the Kimura, as the Loctite set in without oxygen, you will have to wait 24 hours for the proper solidification of the loctite.
Don' t worry if you will have to remake several times the reassembly, using the Loctite it's not as easy as it seems, you will need a little bit of trial & error, just be careful to not strip the screws or loose parts.

A comparative photo of the various washers:
DSCF0865.jpg


On the left the bronze washers not grinded, in the center the new washers grinded and on the right the ovalized plastic white original washers.
In the photo there is also a pin of the Kimura to show the thickness of the new washers & the old (identical for the human eye) also the hole for the pin is the same.

And in this photo you can see the new washers installed, in the Kimura on the bottom (the user one), compared with original washers on the top (on the back-up Kimura)
DSCF0867.jpg


The blade centering is perfect and there are no problems.

The new washers are a lot better then the old ones (I have also a good experience with them on my Morpho, Mayhem and several normal folders):
-perfect fit with no blade play
-state of the art smoothness, you can also lightly polish the new washers on a cardboard with polish cream-compound, or just wait for natural wear (a little break in period)
-they will never get oval
-they do not retain lint as the plastic ones, my old washers had the tendency to retain lint on the edges, even after cleaning

In conclusion I largely prefer bronze washers over the plastic ones I also like that Kershaw decided to fit all the new Kimuras with the bronze washers.
With this mini tutorial all the owners of the old Kimura I can decide to upgrade them to bronze washers (be careful that for what I know some of the old Kimuras I had the bronze washers already installed, mine didn't :thumbdn: ... but it was fun to upgrade my loved Kimura I:p).

A big thank to knifekits for making these washers.

P.S:
Long before installing the new washers I also polished the spacers to improve rust resistance:

DSCF0871.jpg


On top rough factory spacer, below polished spacer; to polish the spacers I just removed them from the handles and lightly polish them on my Norton 4000-8000 water stone, then on cardboard with polish cream (car scratch removal product), I decided to not polish them on a mirror level, because I wanted only to improve rust resistance and also with light polish the spacers are well balanced aesthetically with the rest of the handles.
With the polished spacers & a cleaning of the handles (not required often), with window cleaner rust is not a problem.


I hope that you find this tutorial helpful;)

I also have ordered a Kimura IV clip point, so I will upgrade this review with it & make a nice comparison with the old loved "Super Kimura 1.5".

Kerhaw keep up the good work, these balis really rock, for me you can continue even to Kimura 50:D
 
Niceone. Wow, how many Kimuras are there coming out? Last I heard was the Kimura 2.
 
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