Is it safe to say that kershaw is leading benchmade and spyderco now?

I'm a spyderco fan. Started that way own more than any other brand. Hate to admit it but........yep kershaw/zt is leading the pack.

Used to be kershaw made almost no knives that appealed to me in designs......today.........all I see is stuff I like and want.

Still like the spyderco mules and sprint runs with interesting steels.

Benchmade....new designs appeal little to me. Don't know if they lost their way or if I have and got left behind? Probably me though. That said axis lock I like allot and so they will continue to get some of my money.....but kershaw/zt is gonna get the bulk of it. Until something changes.
 
I believe that Kershaw is still a pretty young brand...so I see the most potential in Kershaw.
Yes, I think Spyderco and BM have more models, steels, designs, lock types, etc.
But I think in 10 years, Kershaw and ZT will have surpassed BM and Spyderco in almost every department.

I personally Like KAI's designs significantly more than any BM or Spydie. I don't think either of those companies has a single model that I would rather own then the Kershaw Tilt.
The Tilt uses more integration and technology then any Spydie or BM I know of.

Another thing to look at is composite technology.
Is there another company that welds two different steels together to make a knife blade? I love the composite technology and it is a selling point for any Kershaw that uses a CB blade.

I think given a few years, KAI will have blasted ahead of it's competition with better designs and better use of technology in their designs.
As of today, KAI is on par with any offerings from BM or Spyderco, and they are producing some incredible designs with extensive use of exotic steels and different designs both in-house and collaborations.

-orangish ducktape
 
I've been going around telling everyone that'll listen that kershaw is the best knife company out there ever since i got my hands on a leek. That's the knife that did it for me. I know now the leek seems kind of common and boring but do you remember when you first held it? Different knife companies have different strengths and ranges but i'd say kershaw is the best overall in my book. I'm excited to see where they end up. I feel like spyderco makes incredible knives but they really only stick to one thing: very good slicers with similar aesthetics. The only innovation i see is in the use of varied and exotic steels. I love spyderco but kershaw gets the nod because of their wider range of knives: something for everybody.
 
I would say spyderco is# 1 and kershaw #2 benchmade seems to be falling behind more and more. I use to love benchmade but the 2012 line up just seems dull. I wish they would bring back some of the old models like the 705,806 and a flipper axis lock plus bring back M2 steel.
 
I wouldn't say "leading Spyderco" since I like quite a few of their models and they have the sprint runs and all.

It seems like most Kershaws are SpeedSafe now, I'd prefer non-assisted flippers.
 
ukknifer said:
Hi guys.
When I first started into the knife world I used to view kershaw like I view Gerber and CRKT now. Judging by the way they appeared in blade the last few years, it seems to me that they are the leader of the pack now.
How do you rate these 3 in terms of innovation, quality and being fun.
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Spyderco will continue to be the king of innovation, they just can't not do great things.
For the last decade Kershaw has been right on Spyderco's heels as far as pushing the limits of knife design (I don't know too much about their stuff from the 90's though), and they've really been pushing all the right buttons lately. I don't expect them to slow down either, but this is a sort of popularity contest and you'll never win all of those (though it seems they have been lately).
Benchmade is right with the other two as far as quality and design, though I would say they are a little less "adventurous" and they don't interact with the consumer base nearly as much.
 
FlaMtnBkr said:
I still prefer Spyderco and Benchmade. I don't really care about lower end knives and I don't really like liner and frame locks. Kershaw/ ZT needs a different lock. They also need to put out some slicers and not just heavy duty knives. I have the 0551 and 0560 and they are darn nice knives. But they are frame locks and they have thick blades that just aren't good cutters. If they made something similar that was slimmed down with a thin blade made for slicing I would have one in my pocket. As is, they just sit in their box for now. Except for those two ZT knives, it has been a long time since I have bought a Kershaw.

For now Spyderco and Benchmade still reign supreme IMO.
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But that is what ZTs are, heavy duty knives not for the everyday joe that carries a knife once a week while fishin'. Thomas has stated this time and again. The slicers are the Kershaws and Shun knives. While the ZT might not be scalpels, they can cut extremely well if sharpened correctly. The 0560 for example, has a really solid design, the ergos are right on, and the flipper is icing.
I too like Spyderco, more than Benchmade. Seems like Benchmade is spreading themselves all over the place with the HK, HD, Bone Collector, etc. Their best last knives were the Adamas and Contego. Oher than that, LEs of discontinued models in M390.
 
Prefacing this post with it's all my opinion, not given as fact

I see Kershaw and Spyderco as innovators from different directions.

Kershaw comes from more an production perspective. You see all these new techniques that other companies aren't using--super thin laser cut lock bar cut outs, 3d machining, sub frame lock, composite blades, etc. They do have a very nice in house design team, but a lot of their big/popular models are collaborations.

I see Spyderco's innovation as coming more from knife design. Their flagship models are in-house designed, mostly Sal/Eric Glessler designs--Endura, Delica, Caly, Stretch, Manix, Military, Para, etc. They don't experiment much with methods of production, but they're constantly tweaking the design of even their popular models.


I don't consider Benchmade on the same level.
 
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I know they are designed as heavy duty knives but that is kind of painting yourself into a corner. It wouldn't hurt to do something a little different. I see Strider as being a heavy duty knife company as well and even they have a smaller slicer. I guess if that is what they want ZT to be, but I think a slimmed down ZT with a thin blade and with similar design styling as current knives would be a big hit.

And hasn't Kershaw been around for over 30 years? I don't think they are young.
 
If I saw correctly over in the Kerhsaw/ZT forum, there's a slimmer, sleeker ZT offering in the works. Will be interesting to see.
 
I'm cool with ZT being the 'tank' brand but i wish there were more practical sized thin grind kershaws in the same quality/F&F bracket as the ZT line. The tilt was basically the only kershaw (i know of) that compared to the good ZT's and it's not that practical a size nor is it really available (for a reasonable price). After the tilt you basically get a junkyard dog which costs way less and is a beast of a knife in its own right. I want to see pocketable kershaws in the $60 - $200 range with the same quality manufacturing as ZT's.

I'm hearing more and more of this in the kershaw forum and since kershaw seems to be really in tune with its customer base maybe that's what we'll see in the future. fingers crossed.
 
ono724 said:
If I saw correctly over in the Kerhsaw/ZT forum, there's a slimmer, sleeker ZT offering in the works. Will be interesting to see.
Click to expand...

you're probably talking about the rj martin collaboration. when i first saw it i thought it was going to be smaller but when i saw pics of it next to other knives it turned out to be a beast. who knows about the mystery knife in thomas's pocket though.
 
Kershaw pretty much dominates the under $80 knives I have. Above that, though, Spyderco takes over up to about the $250 mark, except for the amazing Tilt. I don't own any ZT's, so I won't comment on them, but I will be getting the 0560CBCF. I was also intrigued by Thomas's mystery folder.
 
I like Spyderco the best out of the three. That leaf shaped blade just seems to cut like a lazer for me. The handles were made with the human hand in mind.


Benchmades I don't have enough experience with yet. I like my 53 and there's a few other models I'm interested in, but not as many as Spydercos.


Besides ZT, most Kershaws aren't for me. They most definitely work extremely well, just seem too bland or awkward for my tastes. But oddly enough Kershaws are what I gift out the most and almost awlays suggest to someone if they're wanting to buy a knife.
 
ZT yes, Kershaw no. But then it seems that most Kershaw models are targeting a different market from Benchmade and Spyderco.
 
I would say that the OP is wrong. KERSHAW is not leading Spyderco and Benchmade at all. Now Zero Tolerance? Thats another story. Most of the Zero Tolerance line that I am thinking of (030X, 055X, 056X) are higher quality knives than most BMs and Spydies. That said though, they are in a higher price bracket than most BMs or Spydies. So you cant technically compare them.

Kershaw doesnt currently produce anything that remotely interests me or compares at all to any BM or Spyderco. All of the nice Kershaws I have seen have been limited editions, and are simply unobtainable now. But that said, most Kershaws are at a lower price point than most BMs or Spydies...

So if we separated the companies into tiers, starting at the lowest... Kershaw, Spyderco, BM (maybe tied), then ZT.
 
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