First Chinese made Kershaw for me - 1555TI Cryo

jprime84

jprime84

Joined
Jul 7, 2014
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The short story is I think I will be buying more Chinese Kershaws when I am looking for a new knife fix but cant afford anything significant for the month.

I got this Cryo on the forums for $24.99 shipped. It looks good, has frame lock, feels good in the hand, carries so deeply that it looks like i just have a pen in my pocket, blade is centered, only blade play noticeable is very slight and only when the blade is closed, speedsafe deployment, shaves arm hair out of the box. If only this thing had something besides 8Cr13MoV, but for the price its hard to beat. I dont mind swipping it over the sharpmaker once a week for 5 minutes if thats what it takes.

The noticeable fit/finish shortcomings are visible below. The inner edge of the liner is not very smooth (2nd pic), and some of the jimping could be smoother(3rd pic). Thats about all I saw.
Is it fair to expect this level of value in all Kershaw China made knives these days? What are the other standouts?







 
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Good choice. My cryo served me well. Ended up giving it to a bladeless coworker, so it's serving how well now.
 
The Cryo is one of the best cheap knives around.

I am a big fan of the Kershaw Chill as well. Thin, super light, and less than 20 bucks.
 
As far as China-made Kershaws, I've had many and they all had awesome fit and finish for the price.

You may want to look into the Kershaw/Emerson collaborations. I've heard plenty of good things about them.
 
jprime84 said:
The short story is I think I will be buying more Chinese Kershaws when I am looking for a new knife fix but cant afford anything significant for the month.

I got this Cryo on the forums for $24.99 shipped. It looks good, has frame lock, feels good in the hand, carries so deeply that it looks like i just have a pen in my pocket, blade is centered, only blade play noticeable is very slight and only when the blade is closed, speedsafe deployment, shaves arm hair out of the box. If only this thing had something besides 8Cr13MoV, but for the price its hard to beat. I dont mind swipping it over the sharpmaker once a week for 5 minutes if thats what it takes.
Click to expand...

Yeah man, the China Kershaws really do have a lot of bang for the buck, they have a lot of options and all are very nice budget blades-the Oso Sweet, Tremor, Clash,, Compound, Kuro...not to mention the new Emerson collaborations now as well.

I just got me a Cryo not too long ago, the new blackwashed version:
10308249_10203181378190589_1347883768802327468_n.jpg
 
I have the blackwashed Cryo II, which is a bigger knife, but at $40, I'm quite pleased with it. Sometimes, I just like having a bigger knife.

Recently, I picked up a black Cryo with a combo blade. Haven't carried it yet, but I expect it will be as good a knife as the regular Cryo (which I have in my back pocket right this second--odd, that).

It's not much of a slicer, for sure, but it's death on cardboard! :)
 
I had the Cryo, just couldn't open it with the tumbstuds ???
It didn't open the knife fully, strange...
 
kershawguy13 said:
When the knife is fully opened they touch the handle.
Click to expand...

Mine don't. I believe the Cryo has an internal blade stop. The thumb studs are exactly that. And I agree, it difficult for a rightie to open the knife cleanly using just the thumb studs. I think it's because my fingers tend to rest on the lock bar.
 
IIRC, the Cryo has a blade stop. I could be remembering wrong though and I dont have mine with me. The posted pics show the blade open and the one pictured isnt touching the handles. Honestly I never tried opening mine with the thumbstuds. When I get a knife with a flipper I use that to open it. Then again I tend to prefer flipping to thumbstuds. :D

To the OP: I have and have owned quite a few of the China made Kershaw blades. Every one has impressed me. The fit/finish isnt always completely perfect on them but for the price they are very hard to beat. I just got in my CQC-6K and I love it. It is smooth, solid, and well built. The only thing wrong I see (just looked it over super close since I read this thread about 5 minutes ago) is the jimping on the back of the scales near the pivot. It has some marks similar to the ones you have pictured. It doesnt bother me in the least though.
 
I'm kinda regretting selling mine now. Great knife, it was my gateway to zt's. Bought it and liked it so much my next purchase was a 0566, then 0550.
 
oxman198 said:
I'm kinda regretting selling mine now. Great knife, it was my gateway to zt's. Bought it and liked it so much my next purchase was a 0566, then 0550.
Click to expand...

Same kinda thing happened with me. Now most of my cash goes to ZT :D
 
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