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

I like my Kershaw Tactical Blur, Spyderco Native, and Benchmade Griptilian, all made in the USA. All three also have a cheap China line also. I see no real difference in the three.
 
I've been seeing more and more Kershaw in various stores, from Cabelas, various gun shops, to Walmart. I myself like both KAI and Spyderco, both companies have excellent customer service, products, and have a great presence on the forums. Pretty much all my benchmades are gone now except for a BM 42. I like the past quote "All Good, just different"
 
Not a big fan of Kershaw's designs as a whole. IMHO they're a little funky looking. That said, I'm in love with the Skyline, my first "real quality" production knife. I have a black and red handled model, the 2012 forum knife on order, and interested in other colors. I do like the Kershaw company though. I readily suggest Kershaws to my peers before Spydercos and Benchmades due to their <$100 knives which offer a hellovalot bang for your buck (I'm sort of a form over function guy, but I'll give praise where praise is due).

Spydercos are funky looking too, but I've grown to love the blades they offer. I do feel like I get suckered into essentially buying the same knife in different forms over and over again.. But whatever, I'm fine with it.

Can't say much in the way of Benchmades. Seen and felt their knives (axis lock is pretty cool), but have never bought one. I feel their models don't stick out to me so much as the other two companies. I guess that's because they seem to "play it safe" with their designs in comparison to the other two.

Not really sure who's leading this race, but I'm glad they're all in the race!
 
To me, Spyderco is where it's at. I have a few Kershaws, and especially love the skyline, but quite a few of the models offered just don't do it for me. A perfect example is the JYD II. I've held it and love the ergos and the blade shape and material, but I absolutely hate the clip. It's like something that should be on a $5 mall-ninja knife - totally kills it for me. I plan on purchasing 3-4 more Kershaws over the next month or so, however, so my opinion might evolve.

To be fair, there are plenty of Spydercos, Benchmades, etc. that look goofy to me, as well. However, I've never seen a Spyderco that I would definitely buy if it didn't have a stupid-looking clip.
 
I'm not rating companies as that's just an argument starter. As far as Kershaw, when they make the Volt's , Speedforms, 0777, etc , they do a great job with everything except 1) making enough, and 2) making them when they say they will ( within a few months is fine. close to a year late isn't). The knives that blew everybody away again at Blade may or may not even be available to someone like me. If you have connections, possibly. It increases your odds. No guarantees for anyone though.

Of all the companies over the last 3 to 5 years it's Kershaw I've had the most trouble getting the knives I want. Sure I check the forums and do everything I need to. That's why I scored on the Volt. It just seems it's getting harder every year.

Top notch products though. If you get them use them with pride. It's world class stuff!

Joe
 
I have nothing against Kershaw, and own some of their knives, but the Leek has got to be the most uninteresting design I've seen.
 
AfghanWarrior said:
I like my Kershaw Tactical Blur, Spyderco Native, and Benchmade Griptilian, all made in the USA. All three also have a cheap China line also. I see no real difference in the three.
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Negative.

You could say they all "had" cheap China lines.

Since 2010, all Red Class production knives have been discontinued, and as such, every Benchmade product is made in the United States.
 
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hank_rearden said:
it's as simple as looking up their respective income statements for the prvious year and seeing who has the biggest sales. that's how you determine overall market leadership. everything else is just argument.
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But the OP asked to judge on the basis of innovation, quality, and being fun; much more subjective criteria.
 
aquaman67 said:
Negative.

You could say they all "had" cheap China lines.

Since 2010, all Red Class production knives have been discontinued, and as such, every Benchmade product is made in the United States.
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Very neat. I did not know that. Thank you for the update:thumbup:
 
aquaman67 said:
Negative.

You could say they all "had" cheap China lines.

Since 2010, all Red Class production knives have been discontinued, and as such, every Benchmade product is made in the United States.
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So the BM HK line doesn't count?
 
Thomas W said:
So the BM HK line doesn't count?
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They don't say "Benchmade" on them, so it could be argued that way. I also see your point, that Benchmade does commission the production of knives overseas and then sells them, but if you're strictly talking about knives that have the brand on them then Benchmade is the only one of the three to use U.S. production exclusively.
 
Joshua J. said:
They don't say "Benchmade" on them, so it could be argued that way. I also see your point, that Benchmade does commission the production of knives overseas and then sells them, but if you're strictly talking about knives that have the brand on them then Benchmade is the only one of the three to use U.S. production exclusively.
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benchmade uses overseas production, doesnt matter if it doesnt say benchmade on them.
 
Joshua J. said:
They don't say "Benchmade" on them, so it could be argued that way. I also see your point, that Benchmade does commission the production of knives overseas and then sells them, but if you're strictly talking about knives that have the brand on them then Benchmade is the only one of the three to use U.S. production exclusively.
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That's what I'm saying.

If it says "Benchmade" on it, (since 2010) it's American made.
 
I only think of Kershaw as WalMart knives. Perhaps that's not fair, but I'm pretty ignorant of Kershaw. I do know ZT, as part of Kershaw, and my model 0550 is very well made; very impressive.
I'm very familiar with Benchmade, and I really love Spyderco and have quite a few of each of those two manufacturer's products.
My son likes his Leek, but that's as close as I've gotten to Kershaw. I enjoy Spyderco imagination and their great models and great blade-steels.
Sonny
 
HKBM45 said:
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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I hear this a lot about ZTs being higher quality, but never really hear how....? What makes a ZT with titanium framelock and S30V higher end than my Military titanium framelock with CPM M4 steel? (A much better steel by just about anyone's standards, or you could compare the normal millie S30v steel) I have only fondled a couple ZTs. They seem like fine knives, not my cup of tea, but don't see their quality rising above(or below) a Millie, Sage, PM2, etc.... Different, yes. Not sure if I see a quality comparison, especially when many cheaper spydercos actually come with higher end materials than ZT, with stellar F&F.
 
AfghanWarrior said:
Looks like Kershaw was the big winner at the 2012 Blade Show

&#8226;Best import - DPX HEST T3
&#8226;Overall Best knife - Zero Tolerance 0888
&#8226;Best collaboration - Zero Tolerance RJ 0600
&#8226;Best Buy - Kershaw Cryo
&#8226;Best Kitchen Knife - Kershaw Shun

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/962680-Blade-Show-2012-Awards
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Wow. Thanks for posting that. It seems that Kershaw is beginning to make more models for us Lefties. That's the main reason I don't carry one.

My son carries a Leek.

I just pre-ordered a Cryo. Not sure how I missed that. I like the thumb stud and flipper. Can't wait to get one.

The ZT 0888 looks pretty sweet as well.
 
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