Kershaw 440A

[Buck268]

I was wondering how have people's expereinces with Kershaw's 440A blades have been? I got my Gerber Paraframe out for warrenty (suprise suprise! piece of crap...), but I'd like ot get something as tough and sharp as my old Junglee Sahara jr (AUS8, chisle edge, tanto, extremely heavy duty), with maybe a little less bulk and weight. I do like how the Blur looks, but I don't want to go with AO (not legal in MI) plus I'm not really a big fan of recurve blades (hard to sharpen in my stones). I do like the combo edge Storm as wekk as the leek, though. Of course, there are many other options, but I'm comfortable with the steels used in those.

So basically, how does the Kershaw 440A steel hold up , edgewise? This will be a general EDC/work knife and will see mostly light cutting, but won't be uncommon to see rope, rad hose, and the like.

 

[drano]

kershaw's is pretty good.

should probabbly hold off for a little while though. KAI is planning to start phasing out the 440a with that 13C26 steel i think.

 

[JSR]

What drano said. Kershaw's 440A seems to be a bit better than normal/typical according to most users' experiences. Kershaw will be upgrading all existing 440A blades to 13C26 tho early next year (conversion should be done around 3/07).

BTW, the Storm is a heavy recurve (much more so than the Blur), so if you don't like the Blur's recurve, you won't like the Storm's.

Have you considered the Kershaw Avalanche? It's similar size (but less bulky) as the Blur, has an easier to sharpen blade shape, and comes with S30V and full G10 scales.

 

[Buck268]

Yeah, there is no rush, I just miss having a decent one hand opening folder in my pocket. Been carrying this paraframe mini for months now.

At least it holds its edge better than the paraframe II, and I did get the para II and para mini in a 2-pack for $20


Looking at the Storm, I don't think I'll have much trouble if I went with the combo edge (which works good for me), the straight edge doesn't pick up until almost the belly. The serrations on the Blur are so small and short there is no point, and then i'd need to get some rods or something to get that little curve at the base sharp.

Thse Manix look nice too, I just don't like thumbholes. I dunno, I might just hold out for a Kershaw in the updated steel; I like how they feel in my hand.