In Praise of Kershaw

jill jackson said:
Representative said long ago , no more Tilts. Other than that who knows why they don't do a cheaper version.
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I dont know anything about the Vanax 75 steel. Is it significantly better than commonly seen steels nowadays like m390 and s90v? Reintroducing the Tilt with s90v or cts-204p and cf scales and retail at $240-280 would be sweet. It would be a win-win situation for both KAI and customer. But again, manufacturers discontinue popular models and introduce butt ugly ones from time to time for whatever reasons.
 
Just curious, has anyone tried the Entropy or Strobe? I like the design, etc of both and am thinking of ordering them. The Strobe is the first framelock that I've liked. To me (purely a matter of taste) framelocks look unfinished, like the manufacturer was to lazy to put a scale on the lock side. At least the Strobe has a scale over the framelock.
Thanks in advance.
Rich
 
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My first Kershaw was a Junkyard Dog. That knife introduced me to flippers. Great knife, but ugly pocket clip. I ultimately sent it down the road, but it was a sweet knife for the price.
 
T.L.E. Sharp said:
The Injection 3.0 and 3.5.

They've a lovely utilitarian Rexford design. Both are comfortable in the hand, have a perfectly tensioned pocket clip, flick open quickly, lock open with no play and are almost perfectly centered. A collection of traits that some higher end manufacturers, looking at you Benchmade, often struggle with.


They also have g10 handles and 8cr13mov steel. Not a super steel by any means, but better than anything my granddad had and he used his knives for years at a time. It'll do.

The most astonishing thing I think is that I paid less than $25... for both of them. $25 for either would be a great deal, but for both is simply amazing.

Budget folders from China in 8cr13mov probably won't take over my EDC, but I couldn't be happier with these two and I think they'll get plenty of carry. Well done Kershaw.
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I don't have any "budget" knives.....yet. Due to your post, I ordered a few Kershaws on sale from BladeHQ. You can't beat those prices, and I have some ZT's so I know KAI puts out good stuff. I am looking forward to the 3.5 I ordered. Thanks for the heads up!
 
Rich S said:
Just curious, has anyone tried the Entropy or Strobe? I like the design, etc of both and am thinking of ordering them. The Strobe is the first framelock that I've liked. To me (purely a matter of taste) framelocks look unfinished, like the manufacturer was to lazy to put a scale on the lock side. At least the Strobe has a scale over the framelock.
Thanks in advance.
Rich
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I had a Strobe. It was ok but I much more prefer spring assist flippers.
I've tried many bearing flippers and the one I really liked was the ZT 0450.
 

Now that I got some with a reliable lockup, I love the Kershaw Launch series. I would but my $89 Launch 3 against any Protech or Benchmade $200 auto.
 
The Tilt was a very unique design. Maybe Kai wants that one to go down in their history books..you know, not a whole lot out there as a mass production knife.
Ugh...I dunno :(
 
They should redo it in solid S90V, G-10 and Ti with a steel insert.

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sharp_edge said:
I dont know anything about the Vanax 75 steel. Is it significantly better than commonly seen steels nowadays like m390 and s90v? Reintroducing the Tilt with s90v or cts-204p and cf scales and retail at $240-280 would be sweet. It would be a win-win situation for both KAI and customer. But again, manufacturers discontinue popular models and introduce butt ugly ones from time to time for whatever reasons.
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Vanax 75 sounded like very cool stuff, but I don't think it's made any longer. I could easily be wrong, though.
 
I have and routinely carry several kershaws. Great knives for the money and I love the speed safe spring action.
 
Pilot1 said:
I don't have any "budget" knives.....yet. Due to your post, I ordered a few Kershaws on sale from BladeHQ. You can't beat those prices, and I have some ZT's so I know KAI puts out good stuff. I am looking forward to the 3.5 I ordered. Thanks for the heads up!
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The 3.5 is probably my favorite of the 2. It's a little heavy, but at $13.99 you can't really expect milled liners. The larger handle though and contoured g10 makes it feel like a much more expensive knife.
 
Rich S said:
I wish I knew why Kershaw discontinues some of its best knives. Only their marketing dept knows.
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I don't know either. My favorite ZT's like the 0560/0561, and 0550/0551 have been discontinued for some time now. I wonder if their agreements with collaborators like Hinderer have a certain number of units , or time frame attached.
 
Very smooth action. No play.
Bought this one from local knife store to try free hand sharpening on. Turned out really good because blade shape is easy and grinds were even on both sides to begin with. They stayed even as i widened them and It's a big one for me as i had a share of cosmetic issues with more expensive knives by now. These are before pictures.
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Locks up secure. Had to adjust lockbar tension and Tinker with it a bit after spine whacking and it's still perfect now. Very impressed and enjoy this knife.
 
I carried a Kershaw 1-ton to help gutting a hurricane-damaged house. I carried it because I wanted something I didn't mind getting wet and grimy and possibly lost. That thing cut through maybe 20 meters of old wet carpet and scored a few sections of sheetrock and still had a passable edge. As mentioned several times above, for the price many of the Kershaws are hard to beat.
 
I'm glad the OP posted pictures of his new knives. I've been meaning to post a review of the Injection for weeks, but was too lazy to get the pictures to work. I'd admired the design of the Injection from the time it was introduced. But I was moving up the price/quality ladder, in addition to preferring American made Kershaws and knives in general. But when the price hit $10, I couldn't help myself either. I got the 3.0. What a nice knife. I like the blade/handle ratio and that the handle gets your finger close to the working edge. I'm not a flicker, but the geometry of the thumbstud and pivot allows a nice, controlled, smooth opening. Lots of extra details, like the decorative pivot and thumb studs. The curve of the ricasso even matches the curve on the handle. Mine finds its way into my pocket frequently, bumping out much more expensive knives.

So the good news is that I got a new favorite knife for $10. The bad news is that I determined that I like this Rexford fella's designs, and bought a ZT 0801, too. That one DIDN'T cost $10.
 
I received my Injection 3.5 yesterday, and all I can say is that I am very, very impressed. I bought it as a "beater", and for occasional carry. It is TOO NICE for that. This is going into my regular rotation. I went on a hike in the woods late in the day, and in my pocket was the Kershaw, and in my Maxpedition shoulder pack was a Mora Companion. So for about $28, I was carrying two solid knives, and didn't feel under gunned! LOL! A few days ago it was a ZT in the pocket, and a Bark River in the pack, so...........
 
Just seen they have the Scrambler for $22

Might have to snag one or two of them up quick. My current favorite budget knife.
 
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