- Joined
- Jan 8, 2005
- Messages
- 597
Just a quick first impression review - I only got the thing two hours ago.
Kershaw Junkyard Dog II, model 1725CB
I'll post a stock picture below - as usual, my crummy little digital is not making pictures I'd care to post. The big difference between the picture and mine is that mine is marked "First Production Run - 1 of 500" on the left side of the blade. It's also marked April 08. I'm very happy to have that little bit of specialness, although my wife told me that it would be worth money someday so I shouldn't ever use it. I then cut my sandwich in half with it.
Unless it's a custom bought as an investment, a knife you can't use isn't a knife, I think.
I was fascinated by the two part blade. The upper half is Sandvik 13C26, known for being very stainless, and the Sandvik site gives this info:
- High hardness
- Good corrosion resistance
- Very good wear resistance
Sandvik 13C26 is used mainly for razor blades, but is also the standard grade for surgical knives and for different types of industrial knives for the food industry.
The actual edge part is made of CPM-D2, which should be a great steel though I couldn't find any specific mention of it on the Crucible site. They do have a D2 listed but I think it's different. There's a CPM D2 Spyderco Military out and the users are reporting very good results. If someone has a comparison chart that includes CPM-D2, with wear resistance, that sort of thing, I'd love to see it.
The CPM-D2 is a dark grey color, the Sandvik is light grey, and there's a very thin copper line between the two. It's very attractive, at least to my eyes.
The G-10 is very grippy, done with that superfine checkering style that makes it almost like sandpaper, but not so harsh on the hand. Very nice, very secure.
The handle shape has really good ergos; feels great in the hand. If you are 6'4" it may be too small for you. I wear a "large" glove size, it fits me fine.
The flipper is excellent, you really don't need to roll your hand or anything; any reasonably crisp pressure and it will pop right open. The flipper is grooved so your finger gets a good grip on it. There's no thumb studs or a hole - it's only a flipper. I prefer this; nothing to catch on material you are cutting or get gunked up with stuff.
The liners beneath the G-10 are really thick compared to most of the liner locks I've seen - take off the G-10 and you'll be holding a fairly skinny frame lock knife. The liner even has that cut out that frame locks have so that the lock part can bend over. Now that's thick. I don't know what the metal is, but I'm betting 410. It's not titanium or the knife would be a lot lighter and it wouldn't cost under a $100. Titanium would have been great, though. It's a a very secure lock up with that thick liner lock/kinda frame lock, in fact it's almost as thick as the blade itself. Right now it's brand new, and the liner moves to halfway across the back of the blade when open. So there's plenty of wear room. I like the way that the liner isn't very exposed exposed beneath the knife when it's open - it's more comfortable and secure. Shouldn't be to hard to close with gloves on though. 5.2 ounces per the ad copy; it's not a light knife.
The blade shape actually put me off at first... until I realized it's shaped a lot like the Japanese food prep knives I love - the Hocho shape. And being a city man and office worker, what do I actually do with my tactical knife collection? Mostly food prep and light cutting work. So it's actually perfect for my uses. There's a lot of usable edge in that design. There's no recurve, no tanto point, nothing like that. Just a long, wide, flat sharp edge. Specs give it as 3.75" No up down play at all, and no side to side either. Now, most folders, even good ones, have a little - but this one is really solid.
Oh, yeah, the edge. This has the be the sharpest out of the box knife I've ever had. And I've had a lot of pretty good out of the box knives. Maybe they put an extra touch on the "1 of 500" knives? Who knows? But it was "hair leaps off your arm in fear" sharp. Really excellent.
Any issues? Really just two, and one of them minor. I don't think they laid the back of the knife's handle on the sanding belt or whatever they do after it was assembled. The difference in heights of the steel and the G-10 and and the full length backspacer are minimal... you can barely feel them and it makes no difference to use or comfort. But you can feel it if you look for it and I like that perfect smooth blending like you get with like an Al Mar Shrike or other good knife. Well, under a $100, and all that.
The other issue is the pocket clip. One word: Sucks! Too wide, and attached so that way too much of the knife sticks out of your pocket. No big deal for me, I take the clips off all my knives. But if you depend on clips, it's something to think about.
Kershaw Junkyard Dog II, model 1725CB
I'll post a stock picture below - as usual, my crummy little digital is not making pictures I'd care to post. The big difference between the picture and mine is that mine is marked "First Production Run - 1 of 500" on the left side of the blade. It's also marked April 08. I'm very happy to have that little bit of specialness, although my wife told me that it would be worth money someday so I shouldn't ever use it. I then cut my sandwich in half with it.
Unless it's a custom bought as an investment, a knife you can't use isn't a knife, I think. I was fascinated by the two part blade. The upper half is Sandvik 13C26, known for being very stainless, and the Sandvik site gives this info:
- High hardness
- Good corrosion resistance
- Very good wear resistance
Sandvik 13C26 is used mainly for razor blades, but is also the standard grade for surgical knives and for different types of industrial knives for the food industry.
The actual edge part is made of CPM-D2, which should be a great steel though I couldn't find any specific mention of it on the Crucible site. They do have a D2 listed but I think it's different. There's a CPM D2 Spyderco Military out and the users are reporting very good results. If someone has a comparison chart that includes CPM-D2, with wear resistance, that sort of thing, I'd love to see it.
The CPM-D2 is a dark grey color, the Sandvik is light grey, and there's a very thin copper line between the two. It's very attractive, at least to my eyes.
The G-10 is very grippy, done with that superfine checkering style that makes it almost like sandpaper, but not so harsh on the hand. Very nice, very secure.
The handle shape has really good ergos; feels great in the hand. If you are 6'4" it may be too small for you. I wear a "large" glove size, it fits me fine.
The flipper is excellent, you really don't need to roll your hand or anything; any reasonably crisp pressure and it will pop right open. The flipper is grooved so your finger gets a good grip on it. There's no thumb studs or a hole - it's only a flipper. I prefer this; nothing to catch on material you are cutting or get gunked up with stuff.
The liners beneath the G-10 are really thick compared to most of the liner locks I've seen - take off the G-10 and you'll be holding a fairly skinny frame lock knife. The liner even has that cut out that frame locks have so that the lock part can bend over. Now that's thick. I don't know what the metal is, but I'm betting 410. It's not titanium or the knife would be a lot lighter and it wouldn't cost under a $100. Titanium would have been great, though. It's a a very secure lock up with that thick liner lock/kinda frame lock, in fact it's almost as thick as the blade itself. Right now it's brand new, and the liner moves to halfway across the back of the blade when open. So there's plenty of wear room. I like the way that the liner isn't very exposed exposed beneath the knife when it's open - it's more comfortable and secure. Shouldn't be to hard to close with gloves on though. 5.2 ounces per the ad copy; it's not a light knife.
The blade shape actually put me off at first... until I realized it's shaped a lot like the Japanese food prep knives I love - the Hocho shape. And being a city man and office worker, what do I actually do with my tactical knife collection? Mostly food prep and light cutting work. So it's actually perfect for my uses. There's a lot of usable edge in that design. There's no recurve, no tanto point, nothing like that. Just a long, wide, flat sharp edge. Specs give it as 3.75" No up down play at all, and no side to side either. Now, most folders, even good ones, have a little - but this one is really solid.
Oh, yeah, the edge. This has the be the sharpest out of the box knife I've ever had. And I've had a lot of pretty good out of the box knives. Maybe they put an extra touch on the "1 of 500" knives? Who knows? But it was "hair leaps off your arm in fear" sharp. Really excellent.
Any issues? Really just two, and one of them minor. I don't think they laid the back of the knife's handle on the sanding belt or whatever they do after it was assembled. The difference in heights of the steel and the G-10 and and the full length backspacer are minimal... you can barely feel them and it makes no difference to use or comfort. But you can feel it if you look for it and I like that perfect smooth blending like you get with like an Al Mar Shrike or other good knife. Well, under a $100, and all that.
The other issue is the pocket clip. One word: Sucks! Too wide, and attached so that way too much of the knife sticks out of your pocket. No big deal for me, I take the clips off all my knives. But if you depend on clips, it's something to think about.
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