- Joined
- Dec 9, 2005
- Messages
- 2,402
My father recently purchased a Kershaw Cyclone in 13C26 for $48 from an online retailer http://www.kershawknives.com/productdetails.php?id=11. Seems like a very good price for a assisted opening folder of good quality steel with aluminum handles. My Dad was looking for a quick opening folder that was easy on his hands, which are deteriorating with age.
My impressions are that the fit and finish are very good. The liner lock engages completely on the far left side of the tang, with plenty of room for wear, and there is no blade play and spine whacks don't bother the knife. The handle is very comfortable in the hand in a multitude of grips. The speed safe mechanism works as advertised: a little flick down on the flipper on the back of the handle opens the blade in a snap. Another nice feature is the on/off switch, which easily disengages the AO mechanism and turns the knife into a standard liner lock. The handles are surprisingly grippy for being all aluminum (it never slipped on me in a couple minutes of handling), I would still prefer a couple inserts of grippy material (my CRKT M18 has small G-10 inserts in the aluminum handle which work well, but overall I like the Cyclone much better), but something like skateboard grip tape may work well if you have an issue.
I should preface this section with the fact I love thin edges, so keep that in mind when you read this. I have had several Spyderco's, including a Calypso Jr., ground much thinner than factory, but I don't think what I am about to say is out of line. The blade is evenly ground, but in my opinion very thick, even for a heavy duty application. The thickness at the top of the edge bevel is .030", and the angle is around 20 degrees per side, which is much thicker and more obtuse than my Spyderco Manix was from the factory. While I prefer to see it at half the thickness and angle, I think it wouldn't be too much to ask to get an edge similar to the Spyderco Endura, in the .022-.024" thick range at 15 degrees per side. Given the properties of 13C26 that would seem to still have VERY good durability for the average Joe at that profile (the Endura does with a much more brittle steel), while greatly increasing the cutting performance. The NIB edge was pretty dull, unable to shave, and able to slice, but not pushcut newsprint (a visible burr would seem to be the culprit). From what I hear Kershaw's factory edges are usually much better than this, but being a sharpening guy that doesn't bother me, but it is nice to get an impressively sharp knife out of the box. I will reprofile the knife significantly to get a more acute edge by adding a relief, but a reprofiling of the whole primary grind is probably in order to get the edge thickness down where I want it (by someone like Tom Krein), as the edge bevel will be very wide once you get under 15 degrees the way the primary is ground on this knife right now. I would like to get the edge angle in the 10-12 degree range (to suit my Dad's cutting needs), and go with a 15 degree microbevel, but I think the bevel width (it will be a LONG bevel) will look odd with the current thickness. I will try some basic cutting after a quick sharpening to get a baseline for performance and then do some reprofiling (in stages, probably to 15, then 12-13, then 10) and see what happens at each stage. I look forward to playing with 13C26, as I have read a lot of good things about it, and it will be nice to try a new to me steel that isn't hugely loaded with carbides.
My impressions are that the fit and finish are very good. The liner lock engages completely on the far left side of the tang, with plenty of room for wear, and there is no blade play and spine whacks don't bother the knife. The handle is very comfortable in the hand in a multitude of grips. The speed safe mechanism works as advertised: a little flick down on the flipper on the back of the handle opens the blade in a snap. Another nice feature is the on/off switch, which easily disengages the AO mechanism and turns the knife into a standard liner lock. The handles are surprisingly grippy for being all aluminum (it never slipped on me in a couple minutes of handling), I would still prefer a couple inserts of grippy material (my CRKT M18 has small G-10 inserts in the aluminum handle which work well, but overall I like the Cyclone much better), but something like skateboard grip tape may work well if you have an issue.
I should preface this section with the fact I love thin edges, so keep that in mind when you read this. I have had several Spyderco's, including a Calypso Jr., ground much thinner than factory, but I don't think what I am about to say is out of line. The blade is evenly ground, but in my opinion very thick, even for a heavy duty application. The thickness at the top of the edge bevel is .030", and the angle is around 20 degrees per side, which is much thicker and more obtuse than my Spyderco Manix was from the factory. While I prefer to see it at half the thickness and angle, I think it wouldn't be too much to ask to get an edge similar to the Spyderco Endura, in the .022-.024" thick range at 15 degrees per side. Given the properties of 13C26 that would seem to still have VERY good durability for the average Joe at that profile (the Endura does with a much more brittle steel), while greatly increasing the cutting performance. The NIB edge was pretty dull, unable to shave, and able to slice, but not pushcut newsprint (a visible burr would seem to be the culprit). From what I hear Kershaw's factory edges are usually much better than this, but being a sharpening guy that doesn't bother me, but it is nice to get an impressively sharp knife out of the box. I will reprofile the knife significantly to get a more acute edge by adding a relief, but a reprofiling of the whole primary grind is probably in order to get the edge thickness down where I want it (by someone like Tom Krein), as the edge bevel will be very wide once you get under 15 degrees the way the primary is ground on this knife right now. I would like to get the edge angle in the 10-12 degree range (to suit my Dad's cutting needs), and go with a 15 degree microbevel, but I think the bevel width (it will be a LONG bevel) will look odd with the current thickness. I will try some basic cutting after a quick sharpening to get a baseline for performance and then do some reprofiling (in stages, probably to 15, then 12-13, then 10) and see what happens at each stage. I look forward to playing with 13C26, as I have read a lot of good things about it, and it will be nice to try a new to me steel that isn't hugely loaded with carbides.
I'd let Kershaw know, and I'm sure they'll take care of it. I don't think Thom, STR and I can all be wrong, this 13C26 is a very nice blade steel, and should sharpen very, very cleanly. I believe Kershaw has made a few adjustments over time to their heat treat with this steel, and it may be possible your dad got one that was some old inventory (just guessing, I really don't know if that could be it.)
