Is Kershaw cooling?

Hackenslash said:
I thought the Bareknuckle was full manual, not assisted? I’ve always kicked myself for not grabbing one before they were discontinued, but it was one of those knives “I’d get eventually.”

I have a ZT0770 and a copper Natrix, so was in no hurry to grab a Bareknuckle…and then POOF, they were gone. Seems like they were only around for a year or two.

Someday I’ll find one, but secondary prices are insane now.
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You are right, that is not SpeedSafe. I think it would be pretty cool if Kershaw continued with non-assisted US made folders like those.
Alone said:
Apparently, Kershaw ain't completely cold, 'cuz they bagged them another sucker this week...





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Nice! I wish I could get my hands on one of the Launch series. They look awesome!
 
MolokaiRider said:
You are right, that is not SpeedSafe. I think it would be pretty cool if Kershaw continued with non-assisted US made folders like those.

Nice! I wish I could get my hands on one of the Launch series. They look awesome!
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This one is very snappy. Out the side switchblades never had a lot of appeal to me, but I loved this one enough to get one for my dad and my cousin. My dad grinned like a little boy when I gave it to him. My brother-in-law has it now, not sure if he ever uses it.

I've considered getting a launch 13.

20220708_120834.jpg
 
MolokaiRider said:
...Nice! I wish I could get my hands on one of the Launch series. They look awesome!
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Thanks.

Yeah, after a couple of the guys posted theirs in this thread, the hook was in. I agree with you on the aesthetics and think that's what really got me. I'm pretty leery of autos for the most part. So, we'll see how this goes.
 
K.O.D. said:
This one is very snappy. Out the side switchblades never had a lot of appeal to me, but I loved this one enough to get one for my dad and my cousin. My dad grinned like a little boy when I gave it to him. My brother-in-law has it now, not sure if he ever uses it.

I've considered getting a launch 13.

View attachment 1905906
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Salting my wounds!

Hawaii has weird laws. Like it's illegal to
not have a seatbelt on while in the back seat, but riding in the bed of a pickup is fine.

And don't get caught with a coin in your ear!

🤣
 
Alone said:
Thanks.

Yeah, after a couple of the guys posted theirs in this thread, the hook was in. I agree with you on the aesthetics and think that's what really got me. I'm pretty leery of autos for the most part. So, we'll see how this goes.
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Forgive my ignorance, but I am assuming the Launch series are essentially button-lock Speedsafe?
 
MolokaiRider said:
Forgive my ignorance, but I am assuming the Launch series are essentially button-lock Speedsafe?
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You'll have to pardon my ignorance, as I'm not a Kershaw guy. "Speedsafe" is the assisted deal, right?

The Launch 1 I posted is a button-lock auto...if that helps. 🤷‍♂️



*Dare I ask about the "coin in your ear" thing?
 
The Launch series is similar to a Speedsafe except it uses a coil spring instead of a torsion bar. Which means it's under tension all the time and ready to let loose as soon as the button lock's plunger is released. Instead of having to push the blade open a little bit and then the torsion bar takes over.
 
Alone said:
You'll have to pardon my ignorance, as I'm not a Kershaw guy. "Speedsafe" is the assisted deal, right?

The Launch 1 I posted is a button-lock auto...if that helps. 🤷‍♂️



*Dare I ask about the "coin in your ear" thing?
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During a stretch of mindless internet browsing I stumbled upon the topic of weird laws. It's a lot of funny, silly, and ridiculous. Some of them are rooted in some unique history, so overall pretty interesting.

The coin thing was created a long time ago. Hawaiian coins were banned by the newly occupied US Gov, and locals were trying to hide them.
 
SpeedSafe is Kershaw’s assist mechanism - it requires you to manually start opening, then the spring flips it open the rest of the way. Totally different from their auto mechanism, where you just push a button and the spring does all the work. It would be cool if they offered their flippers both with and without SpeedSafe. I’ve got a Launch 11, a thumb flipper and a finger flipper with assist, and a couple of manual finger flippers. To be honest, my favorite Kershaw of them all is the no-assist Atmos. It’s actually smoother and easier to open than the two with SpeedSafe.
 
Agreed with OP, it was also an inexpensive way for me to get into pocket knives years ago. After my first Kershaw spring assist failed, I never bought another with the exception of the recent launch models which I think they did a fairly good job overall for the price point.
 
Danny Linguini said:
SpeedSafe is Kershaw’s assist mechanism - it requires you to manually start opening, then the spring flips it open the rest of the way. Totally different from their auto mechanism, where you just push a button and the spring does all the work. It would be cool if they offered their flippers both with and without SpeedSafe. I’ve got a Launch 11, a thumb flipper and a finger flipper with assist, and a couple of manual finger flippers. To be honest, my favorite Kershaw of them all is the no-assist Atmos. It’s actually smoother and easier to open than the two with SpeedSafe.
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Thanks.

Any idea if the spring is similar to the Speedsafe design, just without any detent? Sorry for all the questions, I really admire the Launch series.
John Phillips said:
Agreed with OP, it was also an inexpensive way for me to get into pocket knives years ago. After my first Kershaw spring assist failed, I never bought another with the exception of the recent launch models which I think they did a fairly good job overall for the price point.
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Yep, I was the same.

It would be cool if Kershaw made all these models capable of de-assisting.

Sorry to hear the spring failed. I am assuming it snapped?

I admire how Kershaw does some amazing things considering the selling price. It's certainly noticeable when you see things in M4 or M390 hovering at 100 bucks.
 
MolokaiRider said:
Thanks.

Any idea if the spring is similar to the Speedsafe design, just without any detent? Sorry for all the questions, I really admire the Launch series.
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Their website says they both use a torsion bar, but it looks like they’re implemented differently. On the autos, the blade is sprung all the way out - there’s resistance as soon as you release the lock and begin folding it closed; on the assisted, it feels like it’s only sprung about half way.

 
Shoot, I might have been wrong about the coil spring if that's what Kershaw's website says. I've never owned a launch series. When the question was asked, I looked it up and Knifeinformer says "Pressing the button next to the pivot screw (which has two concentric red rings like all Launch knives) depresses the blade lock plunger, allowing the spring tension to release counter-clockwise and snap the blade out. It has a coil spring with two 90 degree “elbows” – one slots into the blade and the other into the handle.

So I don't really know who's information is right. Or possibly some of their Launches use torsion bars and some use coil springs. 🐵
 
LimpCroissant said:
Shoot, I might have been wrong about the coil spring if that's what Kershaw's website says. I've never owned a launch series. When the question was asked, I looked it up and Knifeinformer says "Pressing the button next to the pivot screw (which has two concentric red rings like all Launch knives) depresses the blade lock plunger, allowing the spring tension to release counter-clockwise and snap the blade out. It has a coil spring with two 90 degree “elbows” – one slots into the blade and the other into the handle.

So I don't really know who's information is right. Or possibly some of their Launches use torsion bars and some use coil springs. 🐵
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Well, they call it a torsion bar on the autos, but if you look at the pic, it sure looks like a coil to me.
 
000Robert said:
My Kershaw Launch 1 uses a coil spring.
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Philosophical question: is it still considered a coil spring if it’s just a round piece of spring that’s less than a complete coil? That might be the technicality that allows them to call it a torsion bar. Or, the fact that it neither expands or compresses in the sense that we normally associate with coil springs, but more winds and unwinds. Just throwing out guesses here - I’m by no means an expert in the springy sciences. Could be both are correct, depending on the shape of the spring.
 
Danny Linguini said:
Philosophical question: is it still considered a coil spring if it’s just a round piece of spring that’s less than a complete coil? That might be the technicality that allows them to call it a torsion bar. Or, the fact that it neither expands or compresses in the sense that we normally associate with coil springs, but more winds and unwinds. Just throwing out guesses here - I’m by no means an expert in the springy sciences. Could be both are correct, depending on the shape of the spring.
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They can call it whatever they want to, I guess.
 
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