Is Kershaw cooling?

[tony281sc2]

When I first started getting into knives Kershaw still had some cool stuff like the Rake, the Camber, the Shallot etc., then I realized most of the really good stuff is sold by ZT lol I still like some of them like the Links, the Leeks are classics, the Barenuckle is ok too, and of course the Knockout.

 

[Boattale]

Kershaw was a gateway brand for me. The Clash got me excited about knives, and kicked off my hoardi....errrr....collecting of knives.

They play with new designs, different alloys, and locks.

Nowadays it seems like they are cooling, and promoting inexpensive folders made from baseline materials.

I could be way off here, I'm sorta shooting from my gut feeling.

Are they losing us as knife enthusiasts?

Lost me a long time ago.

 

[Chronovore]

actually - Chronovore kershaw using 8cr13mov isn't a problem... that is a decent steel when they heat treat it well,

the real let down, imho, is how they've embraced using 3cr13 and 4cr13 on many models
you really need to watch out... example - this 'rhetoric' model looks interesting, almost got one before realizing it was 3cr13

It sure is a problem when so many competitors are offering better steels for the same price or less. Kershaw isn't the only company stuck in this trap. The Chinese-made Spyderco models probably get the best heat treatment you'll find for 8Cr but it still doesn't compete with the 9Cr, 10Cr, N690, or 14C28N that you can find at those prices (or less). While 8Cr13Mov might be a little tougher, all of those steels have reliably better edge retention and corrosion resistance.

Another part of that is just how long Kershaw, CRKT, or Spyderco have been using 8Cr13Mov on their Chinese budget lines. They've been using it since before we'd ever heard of brands like Civivi, Kizer, Petrified Fish, etc. I remember welcoming it back when I was rocking a Kershaw in AUS-6, but that was a very long time ago. In other words, failure to innovate or adapt is the reason that Kershaw has been "cooling off".

That said, 3Cr13 is laughably bad as blade steel. No joke, that steel is often used to make the liners in other knives and the bodies of steel frame locks.

 

[MolokaiRider]

I appreciate all the replies.

I see a reoccurring trend that they were a more exciting brand years ago.

I will say the customer service experiences have been stellar, with only one exception.

 

[Vlade]

Not much in their line holds my attention. I think it’s because much of it is assisted opening. At least it was last time I looked. Combine the AO feature and sub par steels and you have something I could care less about.

Sure, they do have some items I like but, not enough to spend money on them.

I was pretty excited when they came out with the skyline XL. Until I found out it was made in China. What a blunder

 

[MolokaiRider]

I have several of these Links. They are quite heavy duty and robust. I even bought one in S35VN and had my name engraved after spending some time using and bonding with it. It left a great impression.

I think the FRN model is even better and more ergonomic. It would have been awesome to see them offered in different colors and alloys.


This Blur in S30V is not only a good knife, it is arguably beautiful. Which is weird when applying that term to a inexpensive production knife, but not weird after knowing Ken Onion designed it.

I am not a Tanto guy, but this one spoke to me. Even better after an aftermarket clip was added.

 

[MolokaiRider]

I was pretty excited when they came out with the skyline XL. Until I found out it was made in China. What a blunder

Yeah, that was swing and a miss.

The Skyline was designed in-house by a regular Kershaw employee, and a winner for them overall. It didn't flip with a darn, but was so easy to carry, light, and had a fantastic blade shape.

The one-sided liner is neat too.

Might have been better received if offered in different color, a performance alloy, and made in US, like the rest of the lineage.

 

[Billy The Hungry]

Kershaw was a gateway brand for me. The Clash got me excited about knives, and kicked off my hoardi....errrr....collecting of knives.

They play with new designs, different alloys, and locks.

Nowadays it seems like they are cooling, and promoting inexpensive folders made from baseline materials.

I could be way off here, I'm sorta shooting from my gut feeling.

Are they losing us as knife enthusiasts?

Kershaw was my true gateway, also.

Also, I feel the same way. They really are cooling. Their fit and finish is declining, but their prices are increasing.

Because of Kershaw, you uses to get a  lot of knife for the money.
Now a days? Not so much.

They used to sell the Link for $45. Made in USA, amazingly heat treated 420 HC. They have made it ugly now and ask for the better part of $100 for it.

I refuse to pay above $20 for 8cr13mov. The last two times I did, I was greatly disappointed (both times from Spyderco, funny enough. Their heat treat on 8cr13mov is horrid).
Now, many of Kershaw's Chinese 8cr13mov knives are approaching or above $40.

I wanted to buy their Xcom, after not buying a Kershaw for a very long time (years, minus a beater I bought from Wal Mart about 7 months ago) but dug into a bunch of reviews for it. Horrible reviews including locking failures.

Definitely not the Kershaw of the early 2000's, in my opinion.

 

[Billy The Hungry]

I have several of these Links. They are quite heavy duty and robust. I even bought one in S35VN and had my name engraved after spending some time using and bonding with it. It left a great impression.

I think the FRN model is even better and more ergonomic. It would have been awesome to see them offered in different colors and alloys.

View attachment 1900062
This Blur in S30V is not only a good knife, it is arguably beautiful. Which is weird when applying that term to a inexpensive production knife, but not weird after knowing Ken Onion designed it.
View attachment 1900061
I am not a Tanto guy, but this one spoke to me. Even better after an aftermarket clip was added.
View attachment 1900060View attachment 1900059

That gray Link you have is what I had. To this day, it is one of my favorite folders.

 

[tony281sc2]

I have several of these Links. They are quite heavy duty and robust. I even bought one in S35VN and had my name engraved after spending some time using and bonding with it. It left a great impression.

I think the FRN model is even better and more ergonomic. It would have been awesome to see them offered in different colors and alloys.


This Blur in S30V is not only a good knife, it is arguably beautiful. Which is weird when applying that term to a inexpensive production knife, but not weird after knowing Ken Onion designed it.
View attachment 1900061
I am not a Tanto guy, but this one spoke to me. Even better after an aftermarket clip was added.
View attachment 1900060View attachment 1900059

Nice Kershaws! Those are the classics I was talking about…. Over the years they have offered several versions of the Link. HOB had blue and red versions (of the Dividend also) in S35VN, USA made blade did some blue M390 Knockouts and there’s been more Blurs/Leeks than I can count lol the latest I think was the blue factory special M4 Blur.

 

[tony281sc2]

Yeah, that was swing and a miss.

The Skyline was designed in-house by a regular Kershaw employee, and a winner for them overall. It didn't flip with a darn, but was so easy to carry, light, and had a fantastic blade shape.

The one-sided liner is neat too.

Might have been better received if offered in different color, a performance alloy, and made in US, like the rest of the lineage.

BHQ did a Skyline exclusive a few weeks ago, jade G10 and 20CV. They went Quick!
I was thinking about getting one but I have so many KAI products in 20CV and similar size/shape, unfortunately I can’t collect them all haha

 

[MolokaiRider]

Nice Kershaws! Those are the classics I was talking about…. Over the years they have offered several versions of the Link. HOB had blue and red versions (of the Dividend also) in S35VN, USA made blade did some blue M390 Knockouts and there’s been more Blurs/Leeks than I can count lol the latest I think was the blue factory special M4 Blur.

I was an idiot for not grabbing an M4 Blur. That steel is amazing on my Spydercos. It would have been a great testing out Kershaw's.

 

[MolokaiRider]

That gray Link you have is what I had. To this day, it is one of my favorite folders.

Despite the lukewarm excitement of Speedsafe from most, the overall knife is tough, and a great work knife. I don't even mind the 420hc.

 

[tony281sc2]

I was an idiot for not grabbing an M4 Blur. That steel is amazing on my Spydercos. It would have been a great testing out Kershaw's.

Shouldn’t be long before we start seeing Magnacut on some of the USA Kershaws and maybe some ZTs too… I would imagine? I’ll take mine on a 0452ti in all blackwash.

 

[MolokaiRider]

It sure is a problem when so many competitors are offering better steels for the same price or less. Kershaw isn't the only company stuck in this trap. The Chinese-made Spyderco models probably get the best heat treatment you'll find for 8Cr but it still doesn't compete with the 9Cr, 10Cr, N690, or 14C28N that you can find at those prices (or less). While 8Cr13Mov might be a little tougher, all of those steels have reliably better edge retention and corrosion resistance.

Another part of that is just how long Kershaw, CRKT, or Spyderco have been using 8Cr13Mov on their Chinese budget lines. They've been using it since before we'd ever heard of brands like Civivi, Kizer, Petrified Fish, etc. I remember welcoming it back when I was rocking a Kershaw in AUS-6, but that was a very long time ago. In other words, failure to innovate or adapt is the reason that Kershaw has been "cooling off".

That said, 3Cr13 is laughably bad as blade steel. No joke, that steel is often used to make the liners in other knives and the bodies of steel frame locks.

It seems like they are willing to spend the resources to design new models at the lower price point quite regularly. So that is pretty neat.

But yeah, 3cr13mov is bad. And not the Michael Jackson kind of bad.

 

[MolokaiRider]

I think your right on the money; Kershaw has become a shadow of what they used to be.The days of innovation from them seem to be gone. China ruined the company,because its easier to crank out all these kooky designs buried in 8cr13 w the grey frosted finish for much less than the bumps,grooves, speedforms, and all their other cool and well made knives of the 90s and early 2000's.

Man oh man those knives were cool. The Junkyard Dog too even with that goofy pocket clip.

Man... I miss the glory days of Kershaw so much. I have more personal memories associated with Kershaw than any other knife. When I was first getting serious into learning about knives, they were the first higher quality knives I bought. Honestly my knife collecting/gathering started when I started reading about knives and then went to my first Kershaw warehouse sale. I met Thomas Welk there who used to be the "face of Kershaw" for many years. He showed me all around and took me into his office and showed me his personal collection. We hit it off real quick talking about all the older discontinued models and upcoming models and it was just super fun. Me and my girlfriend used to go there every year after that. He taught my girlfriend how to mess with butterfly knives and hooked her up with a couple nice ones and she was soon flipping in both hands at the same time.

I really wish Kershaw would come back to Bladeforums and make a manufacturer's sub forum again, but I guess it was just a very tiring job. I'd like nothing more than to see Kershaw become active in the knife community online again and start producing more American made folders.

In memory of all of this I will never ever sell my first real quality knife (to me), my S60v Blur. It just brings back way too many good memories.

Time for the Kershaw Mafia to come back to town!

Edit: Spelling.

What an outstanding memory. This is the kinda stuff I love to read.

I miss the days of Kershaw that produced the Ram, the Groove and others. That being said, I really miss the days of Kershaw that made the original Speedform, Tilt and other crazy knives. I still kick myself for getting rid of my Tilt…

The Tilt was amazing, for sure. People talked about how great the ergonomics were even despite your eyeballs thinking it would be uncomfortable. That knife broke some ground in innovation.

 

[tony281sc2]

They used to sell the Link for $45. Made in USA, amazingly heat treated 420 HC. They have made it ugly now and ask for the better part of $100 for it.

The $100 version comes in 20CV, but yeah it just took a $20 price hike recently. Just like everything unfortunately. Their 0357 was $140 when it came out, now they’re like $175, pushing the gap further, making a better case for the Link. Those 2 are direct competitors lol

 

[Billy The Hungry]

Despite the lukewarm excitement of Speedsafe from most, the overall knife is tough, and a great work knife. I don't even mind the 420hc.

I used to get mine so sharp I could cut a potato chip bag open and not feel it, no resistance.
For the most part, stropping brought the edge back.

No complaints here at all.

 

[Billy The Hungry]

The $100 version comes in 20CV, but yeah it just took a $20 price hike recently. Just like everything unfortunately. Their 0357 was $140 when it came out, now they’re like $175, pushing the gap further, making a better case for the Link. Those 2 are direct competitors lol

My friend,

You cannot even buy the regular gray 420HC Link anymore. Which I think sucks because in my personal opinion, the green jobbie is as ugly as my cat's litter box.

 

[Sagandavis]

Wish they weren’t married to assisted open, otherwise I would probably have a couple.