Kershaw accidentally opens

It seems to me that MOST knives designed with convenience in mind also has a compromise with closed retention. The Spyderco back-lock is a GREAT example of a knife that would be near impossible to open in the pocket. ...great closed retention, and no thumb stud to snag during deployment. I asked a few questions about the retention of the "Blur" in the Kershaw forum... My buddy's has very good closed retention... way more than a liner lock could offer alone. I still don't know exactly how the spring works, but aparently, like the axis on the Benchmade series' the blade tang is a cam of sorts where spring tension is significantly less when the blade is closed, so it naturally want's to be under less stress, and on the least resistance part of the cam. Man, that's a mouthfull!
 
i have had that problem w/ kershaws. One time was w/ the GRYST, cause kershaw uses a plastic safety that one day I cut right through I guess closing the knife. In my pocket it popped open stabbing me in the leg. Goodbye. The other time was with the whirlwind cyclone or whatever, , effing thing has no safety whatsoever, was clipped to my belt, snagged on something, snapped open and poked me right in my side, that thing is gone too. My chive I have not had any problems with, cause I hardly use it. A/O w/ no safety doesn't make any sense to me.
 
Why would you carry an AO loose in your pocket? Doing this with any AO or Auto is asking for trouble. I have never had any AO or Auto open up on me during 20+ years of carry. It is just like a gun, made to be carried in a safe manner. Would you put a loaded hand gun in your pocket to rattle around with your keys and change? Different types of tools may need to be EDC'd in different ways or different places on your person to be safe.
 
I recently bought a Blur, and although I do really like the knife, I am not a big fan of assisted openers. One reason I bought the Blur, over say the BM Griptillian was tip down carry, which to me seems much safer than tip up.

For those who have never heard of this type of thing before, there was a tread a couple weeks ago on the Kershaw forum, that lucky guy cut his hand open causing nerve damage! I would link the thread, but I am not sure how.
 
I have never had a problem with any of my AO Kershaw knives. Most of the AO knives I have don't have a safety and still no problems, so I would give Kershaw a chance to make it better.
 
I've had this problem too with my 0300, wish it could lock closed somehow. Try not putting the knife in the corner of your pocket but straight in the middle that way theres less change of the flipper getting caught up.
 
I carry a chive every day. I use the clip I actually want to take the safety off because it sometimes get put on accidentally and then it won't deploy when i want it to.
 
That has only happened to me with a CRKT Tiny Tighe and it cut a 7 inch slit on the side of my pant leg because I sat down with the knife opened in my pocket unbeknownst to me. Thank God it just go the jeans.

The funny thing is the Autolawks makes it harder to close but it sure opened somewhat too easy in my pocket without me knowing . . .
 
chewbacca said:
I recently bought a Blur, and although I do really like the knife, I am not a big fan of assisted openers. One reason I bought the Blur, over say the BM Griptillian was tip down carry, which to me seems much safer than tip up.

For those who have never heard of this type of thing before, there was a tread a couple weeks ago on the Kershaw forum, that lucky guy cut his hand open causing nerve damage! I would link the thread, but I am not sure how.
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Assuming you carry in the most common position (Right front pocket next to the outside seem) tip up is actually safer for AO's IMO. With tip down the blade can deploy, with tip up it's pressed against the seam and would have a much more difficult time going anywhere. I've never had a manual tip up folder clipped this way open on me. It's pretty tough to do.

Regardless I've had good luck with Kershaws. I even carried a Leek with the safety ripped out clipless in my pocket as a work knife for a few months with no issues.
 
Never had this happen with any of my AO Kershaws (Boa, Chives, Leeks, Scallions) and I've been carrying some of them for years. I don't always have the safeties on, unless they are going in my pocket, and then the safety is definitely engaged, and I seldom clip-carry. I have had to tighten the safety screw on a couple of them as they loosened up over time, I usually make it tight enough so that I can just barely disengage the lock with my pinky while holding the knife.
 
SOLEIL said:
Why would you carry an AO loose in your pocket? Doing this with any AO or Auto is asking for trouble. I have never had any AO or Auto open up on me during 20+ years of carry. It is just like a gun, made to be carried in a safe manner. Would you put a loaded hand gun in your pocket to rattle around with your keys and change? Different types of tools may need to be EDC'd in different ways or different places on your person to be safe.
Click to expand...

clipped on my pocket, sorry

hands down, the designs sucked
i haven't purchased a new kershaw in years though, i think my chive is dated 2002
that was the last
 
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I will keep the knife blade against my pocket edge at all times, which means tip-up for my right pocket, and tip down for my left pocket (cross-draw) That way, I don't need any safety. I have never had a knife open up on me that way, and I own 3 AO knives, 2 of them Kershaws.

Make sure the safety is tightened--otherwise, once it is loose it can come open.

Kershaw's are not junk designs, you just have to carry them correctly.
 
A chive is part of my EDC and I never use the safety and have never had a problem. Before my current Chive/Griptilian edc setup I used to carry a Leek, again with the safety off. Never a problem. As others have said, send it back to Kershaw, they'll make it right.
 
I've carried A/O Kershaws for years...starting with the Blackout, then Blurs and Leeks (without deploying the safety)...there's a Leek clipped in my pocket right now.

None have ever opened on their own...

As has already been pointed out, if this Chive is that sensitive, then the pivot bolt needs tightening, and if it won't stay locked, then the lock screw needs tightening, with judicious application of Loctite as necessary to both...

Or if DIY is not your thing, Kershaw has excellent customer service...

I've never even had an A/O-equipped Kershaw spring open when dropped...

YMMV...

Ray :)
 
I've never understood the combination of the AO and a safety. AO is for quick deployment of the blade, but disengaging the safety takes a lot longer that using a convention one hand opener. Why make a fast to deploy knife that you have to deploy slowly in order to carry it safely?

AO was a cool novelty when I bought my first one (the original Random Task) but I don't see the value in most cases. I can open any of my Spydercos just as fast as my Random Task. In fact, I can actually get my Endura open faster because the thumb stud in the RT is so hard to index with your thumb. Even the flipper on my TI Bump isn't any quicker that my manual knives.
 
with the flipper on the a/o 1620gryst, you better have a safety cause if you carry it in your front pocket, right side against the inside so it can't open 100% and you want to reach into your pocket there's a good chance you can cut yer ---- off

any way A/O is nice if you don't leave the country and get it confiscated (illegal in CANADA) 1st chive lost that way

and you don't live in NY cause you get them confiscated but in nyc you go to jail

they good for some jobs like tree cutting, climbers and stuff where you only have one hand to use at times and LEO, MILITARY, and emergeny workers

i get my SNG out and open real fast
 
I have a Chive. Never had it open accidentally, but I have taken it out of my pocket and the safety be off after I was sure I had it on. Maybe I need to try tightening it.
 
I've carried my kershaw leek for over a year and a half every day pratically and never had anything near that (safty screw comming loose or opening automatically) happen to me. I have ridden horses with it in my pocket and I'm not sure if you can get more rubbing then that while its bouncing around in your pocket like that. Seems some what strange to me. (It's getting changed out though so I may never see this issue.)

That being said... One deep cut would change my mind quick about ever carrying one again.
 
The Chive's a well-made and ingenious knife but I've been a bit suspicious of AO knives in general.I wouldn't trust them with the safety off and when it's on it takes a bit of fiddling around to open it which seems a waste of time.(the Chive is a small knife so a bigger model might not be so fiddly)

But, it is well put together and I use it as a money clip, gives a bit of protection:D
 
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