- Joined
- Jun 1, 2012
- Messages
- 22
I have a couple knives I'd like to post a review on, but I thought I'd start with this one. Here's a link to a page w/ pics and specs since I don't have a very good camera at the moment. http://www.kershaw-knives.net/Kershaw-Ken-Onion-Mini-Cyclone-KS1635.htm
Here are the specs at a glance:
Blade Length: 3 3/16" (just a hair longer than 3")
Blade Profile: Drop Point, Plain edge
Weight: 5.3 oz
Scales: Black, Annodized Aluminum
Blade Steel: Sandvik 13C26
A/O/SpeedSafe: Yes, with toggle switch
Lockup: Liner Lock
Flipper: Yes
Thumbstuds: Yes, dual
Clip: Tip up or tip down right-carry only
Country of Origin: USA, baby!
Alrighty then. The Mini Cyclone has been discontinued, but I found a couple scattered around online. Most are a little more pricey (60-80$ range), but I found a great deal on mine, and anybody who would like a link to the dealer/site can pm me since I don't know this forum's rules on that kind of thing. This knife has a big brother, the Cyclone, which is significantly larger and heavier, but as many people have pointed out 'theres nothing mini about' the mini version.
Let's start with the blade: The steel is decent, and is the same as all my other Kershaws. It comes razor sharp and seems to hold an edge well in my experience thus far. The blade shape is a slightly modified drop point, maybe something in between a drop point and a spear point. I love that particular blade profile because it's very sturdy. The Mini Cyclone is hollow grind (correct me if I'm wrong, please), and although it tapers in thickness near the point, it's still got a really hefty spine all the way down the knife, with a great cutting surface-area. I haven't sharpened it on a stone or anything yet so I don't know how it sharpens up, but I expect it's of the same quality as most Kershaws. There's a very well-defined choil, dual thumbstuds, and a flipper built into the base of the blade.
One thing to note about the flipper: it's a little on the small side, at least compared it proportionally speaking to my Kershaw Ener-G, Leek, and JYD. It also has zero jimping, which I find to be a bad combo. My finger tends to slip a little and every 5 or so openings with the flipper is actually physically uncomfortable, because the blade is a bit heavy and closes pretty tight, so I have to push pretty hard on what is a relatively small area of flipper. But overall it's not bad, and it walks and talks like a dream. I'm a sucker for a knife that swings open smoothly and really clicks into place, and this one does.
Lockup: This is a liner lock knife, and like every other Kershaw liner lock I own, it's rock solid. Absolutely no blade play in any direction, and it's dead center. Plenty of jimping on the liner, easy to disengage one-handed (and I'm a lefty).
Scales: Black, sleek, annodized aluminum. This is an aesthetically beautiful knife, imo. It has that trademark Kershaw handle shape (I call it a torpedo shape, because of my JYD's airplane decoration, I think) that just fits really well in the hand. There's some minor skeletonization near the bottom, just a few holes in descending sizes, for looks only, because this is a heavy little knife. To put it in perspective, this knife is only a little bigger than the original JYD, which is also all of steel and aluminum, and the JYD weighs about 4oz, give or take; this one weighs 5.3oz. It doesn't feel too heavy, though, but that may just be my preference. It does have a lanyard hole, seems to be standard size. The screws are T6 for the scales/clip and a T8 for the pivot screw. There is decent jimping on the back of the scales as a finger guard, or whatever it's called. It's not hugely grippy, but it does catch your finger somewhat and keep it from slipping.
I think if I were to mod this knife at all, I'd love to see a g-10 textured version of the scales. Not only would it lighten up the knife a smidge, but it would give it some grip which the annodized handles, as slick and lovely as they feel, lack in a situation where your hands are wet or slippery.
Clip: The clip is pretty standard for Kershaw. It isn't funky looking like the JYD, and lets the knife sit pretty low in the pocket (or high, whichever means 'so less of the knife shows
). I noticed this clip is less tight than some of my other knives; it slides easily in and out of my pocket--though as a girl I don't think it's not the most comfortable pocket-carry anyway, because it's so hefty and, well, women's jeans being what they are, ends up sticking the knife at an angle into my uterus. Not the best feeling in the world. I did notice the thumbstuds get a little caught on the lip of my pocket sometimes as I'm putting the knife back. Just a note. Tip up or tip down carry, but only on the right side.
A/O and switch: Now, one of my favorite parts of this knife. This is a Ken Onion speedsafe knife, which means it has the torsion bar w/ assisted opening. Being a heavier knife, the mini Cyclone is not as fast as, say, the Leek, but it's still pretty darn fast. I had a little trouble with the speedsafe at first (see my other thread in the maintainence forum) but I fixed it and it is flawless now.
What's unique about the Cyclone series is the A/O toggle switch. To some, it's probably useless or annoying (but you could disable it, if you removed the torsion bar and/or switch), but I think it's a neat feature. On the back spine of the scales, there's a little roll-bar that says 'on/off'. Roll it to 'on', and you've got speedsafe tech flipping that blade open super quick for you. Roll it to 'off', and you've got a fantastic manual Kershaw flipper/thumbstud opener, still smooth as butter. The placement of the switch is a little weird to me, because it's rather easy to accidentally toggle it when you're holding the knife or opening/closing it, but it hasnt interefered with using it, thus far. You also have to toggle the switch when the blade is open. If you toggle it when the knife is closed, it will take a full opening/closing cycle for it to switch over to A/O or manual.
I had to open my knife up to fix the aforementioned problem with the speedsafe, so I saw that the switch is a little half-circular piece that fits up against the torsion bar, with the flat end of the half-circle against the bar. It seems that when it's in the 'off' position, the torsion bar rests back against the spine of the scales and doesnt interfere with the blade, and when the switch is 'on', it pushes the bar into position to give tension. That's speculation though, based on what I saw.
When the A/O is on, I just wanted to note that it is still really easy to close the knife one-handed. As I said, I'm a southpaw, and with my Leek I sometimes struggle to get it closed without cutting myself, since I have to push a little against the resistance provided by the torsion bar and one or more fingers end up in the way. The mini Cyclone does provide a little resistance when the speedsafe is on, but it's not enough to make it difficult or dangerous for me to close this knife with one hand.
When the A/O is off, this is a great flipper. So far the Kershaw Ener-G is the best/easiest Kershaw flipper I've handled, but this one is a close second. It does require a good flick of the wrist, again because of the weight, but it's not at all strenuous.
Hmm. I think that's about it. I like this knife a lot. Well worth the money I paid for it, and definitely a very sturdy EDC. It is a little heavier than I'm used to, so I'll have to check back in and let you know how that pans out in EDC capacity, but overall a great little knife. I think it's lovely to look at and can be depended upon to get the job done, which for me makes a winning combination.
This is my first review, so let me know if you spot any problems or major omissions!
Here are the specs at a glance:
Blade Length: 3 3/16" (just a hair longer than 3")
Blade Profile: Drop Point, Plain edge
Weight: 5.3 oz
Scales: Black, Annodized Aluminum
Blade Steel: Sandvik 13C26
A/O/SpeedSafe: Yes, with toggle switch
Lockup: Liner Lock
Flipper: Yes
Thumbstuds: Yes, dual
Clip: Tip up or tip down right-carry only
Country of Origin: USA, baby!
Alrighty then. The Mini Cyclone has been discontinued, but I found a couple scattered around online. Most are a little more pricey (60-80$ range), but I found a great deal on mine, and anybody who would like a link to the dealer/site can pm me since I don't know this forum's rules on that kind of thing. This knife has a big brother, the Cyclone, which is significantly larger and heavier, but as many people have pointed out 'theres nothing mini about' the mini version.
Let's start with the blade: The steel is decent, and is the same as all my other Kershaws. It comes razor sharp and seems to hold an edge well in my experience thus far. The blade shape is a slightly modified drop point, maybe something in between a drop point and a spear point. I love that particular blade profile because it's very sturdy. The Mini Cyclone is hollow grind (correct me if I'm wrong, please), and although it tapers in thickness near the point, it's still got a really hefty spine all the way down the knife, with a great cutting surface-area. I haven't sharpened it on a stone or anything yet so I don't know how it sharpens up, but I expect it's of the same quality as most Kershaws. There's a very well-defined choil, dual thumbstuds, and a flipper built into the base of the blade.
One thing to note about the flipper: it's a little on the small side, at least compared it proportionally speaking to my Kershaw Ener-G, Leek, and JYD. It also has zero jimping, which I find to be a bad combo. My finger tends to slip a little and every 5 or so openings with the flipper is actually physically uncomfortable, because the blade is a bit heavy and closes pretty tight, so I have to push pretty hard on what is a relatively small area of flipper. But overall it's not bad, and it walks and talks like a dream. I'm a sucker for a knife that swings open smoothly and really clicks into place, and this one does.
Lockup: This is a liner lock knife, and like every other Kershaw liner lock I own, it's rock solid. Absolutely no blade play in any direction, and it's dead center. Plenty of jimping on the liner, easy to disengage one-handed (and I'm a lefty).
Scales: Black, sleek, annodized aluminum. This is an aesthetically beautiful knife, imo. It has that trademark Kershaw handle shape (I call it a torpedo shape, because of my JYD's airplane decoration, I think) that just fits really well in the hand. There's some minor skeletonization near the bottom, just a few holes in descending sizes, for looks only, because this is a heavy little knife. To put it in perspective, this knife is only a little bigger than the original JYD, which is also all of steel and aluminum, and the JYD weighs about 4oz, give or take; this one weighs 5.3oz. It doesn't feel too heavy, though, but that may just be my preference. It does have a lanyard hole, seems to be standard size. The screws are T6 for the scales/clip and a T8 for the pivot screw. There is decent jimping on the back of the scales as a finger guard, or whatever it's called. It's not hugely grippy, but it does catch your finger somewhat and keep it from slipping.
I think if I were to mod this knife at all, I'd love to see a g-10 textured version of the scales. Not only would it lighten up the knife a smidge, but it would give it some grip which the annodized handles, as slick and lovely as they feel, lack in a situation where your hands are wet or slippery.
Clip: The clip is pretty standard for Kershaw. It isn't funky looking like the JYD, and lets the knife sit pretty low in the pocket (or high, whichever means 'so less of the knife shows
). I noticed this clip is less tight than some of my other knives; it slides easily in and out of my pocket--though as a girl I don't think it's not the most comfortable pocket-carry anyway, because it's so hefty and, well, women's jeans being what they are, ends up sticking the knife at an angle into my uterus. Not the best feeling in the world. I did notice the thumbstuds get a little caught on the lip of my pocket sometimes as I'm putting the knife back. Just a note. Tip up or tip down carry, but only on the right side.A/O and switch: Now, one of my favorite parts of this knife. This is a Ken Onion speedsafe knife, which means it has the torsion bar w/ assisted opening. Being a heavier knife, the mini Cyclone is not as fast as, say, the Leek, but it's still pretty darn fast. I had a little trouble with the speedsafe at first (see my other thread in the maintainence forum) but I fixed it and it is flawless now.
What's unique about the Cyclone series is the A/O toggle switch. To some, it's probably useless or annoying (but you could disable it, if you removed the torsion bar and/or switch), but I think it's a neat feature. On the back spine of the scales, there's a little roll-bar that says 'on/off'. Roll it to 'on', and you've got speedsafe tech flipping that blade open super quick for you. Roll it to 'off', and you've got a fantastic manual Kershaw flipper/thumbstud opener, still smooth as butter. The placement of the switch is a little weird to me, because it's rather easy to accidentally toggle it when you're holding the knife or opening/closing it, but it hasnt interefered with using it, thus far. You also have to toggle the switch when the blade is open. If you toggle it when the knife is closed, it will take a full opening/closing cycle for it to switch over to A/O or manual.
I had to open my knife up to fix the aforementioned problem with the speedsafe, so I saw that the switch is a little half-circular piece that fits up against the torsion bar, with the flat end of the half-circle against the bar. It seems that when it's in the 'off' position, the torsion bar rests back against the spine of the scales and doesnt interfere with the blade, and when the switch is 'on', it pushes the bar into position to give tension. That's speculation though, based on what I saw.
When the A/O is on, I just wanted to note that it is still really easy to close the knife one-handed. As I said, I'm a southpaw, and with my Leek I sometimes struggle to get it closed without cutting myself, since I have to push a little against the resistance provided by the torsion bar and one or more fingers end up in the way. The mini Cyclone does provide a little resistance when the speedsafe is on, but it's not enough to make it difficult or dangerous for me to close this knife with one hand.
When the A/O is off, this is a great flipper. So far the Kershaw Ener-G is the best/easiest Kershaw flipper I've handled, but this one is a close second. It does require a good flick of the wrist, again because of the weight, but it's not at all strenuous.
Hmm. I think that's about it. I like this knife a lot. Well worth the money I paid for it, and definitely a very sturdy EDC. It is a little heavier than I'm used to, so I'll have to check back in and let you know how that pans out in EDC capacity, but overall a great little knife. I think it's lovely to look at and can be depended upon to get the job done, which for me makes a winning combination.
This is my first review, so let me know if you spot any problems or major omissions!