- Joined
- Jun 1, 2012
- Messages
- 22
I recently posted asking for thoughts on the Kershaw Asset (1930), a Chinese-made speed-safe trailing point folder, since I had ordered one for a scandalously low price. Now I'm here to review it (rave about it, really), because it finally arrived, and I LOVE it.
First, some quick specs, as listed on the KAI site:
http://www.kershawknives.com/productdetails.php?id=601&brand=kershaw
Steel: 8CR13MOV stainless steel
Handle: Glass-filled nylon
Blade Length: 3 1/4-in. (8.3 cm)
Closed Length: 4 5/8 in. (14.3 cm)
Overall Length: 7 7/8 in. (20 cm)
Weight: 3.8 oz.
To add to those specs: This is a flipper knife, with speedsafe tech, and a liner lock; bead-blasted finish on the tang.
I'll get my only two complaints about this knife out of the way first. 1. The handle is really long, so for a girl who wears, uh, girl's jeans and pants, which tend to have shallower pocket depth, this isnt the most comfortable knife to actually carry. 2. You can't remove the torsion bar to make the knife a dedicated flipper. I have a flipper fetish, and the speedsafe, while convenient, often freaks me out a little, so I like to remove the torsion bar. I tried with the Asset and the knife just isn't designed to be a flipper. It doesn't flip open all the way, even with a good hard wrist-flick. So, I put the torsion bar back in.
Alright, now. The things I love.
The handle:
The handle is super comfortable. Some have said it's a weird construction/shape, and it is I suppose (it tapers oddly at the end), but it fits my hand in any and all grips perfectly and comfortably. It is a little long, as I mentioned, but that's only in terms of pocket carry. It's made of 'glass-filled nylon', which seems to be a cheaper choice of material--straight up plastic, so far as I can tell-- but it is somewhat textured (it's no g-10, like on the Ener-G or a spyderco).
The blade:
This is a trailing point blade, which seems to be uncommon. I've seen very few knives with this blade profile in modern production, and having played with the Asset, I'm not sure why. The one I got was a combo-edge. I had some trepidation about that, but was pleasantly surprised. Because of the sweeping profile of the front half of the blade, there's still a significant amount of plain-edged slicing belly to balance out what is often an annoyingly disproportionate amount of serration on the back half. Furthermore, the tip of this blade! Wow! I have a bunch of Kershaws, including a Leek, which has a paper-thin tip that I'm afraid to use, and a mini-Cyclone, which has a thick tip that I find very ergonomic. The Asset is like the best of both worlds. It's tip is thick, but, again because of the trailling-point sweep, like a laser pointer in terms of precision. Aka, a fantastic piercing blade that both preserves a good amount of slicing belly *and* contains some serration (which does come in handy for me, esp when I'm pruning my rose-bushes). I've seen and used a decent amount of Kershaw's 8CR steel, and it holds up well, so definitely decent steel for the pricepoint (MSRP is about 30$, but I got mine for about 10$). This one came shaving sharp (as per usual with Kershaw), and I've already chopped up some cardboard boxes (I've had the knife about...an hour.)
Locks and Flippers:
The liner lock is decent. I won't say its the best one I've owned, because it seems a teeny bit off center when the knife is deployed--and that worries me a little--but the lockup is rock solid as I've come to expect from Kershaw. It's easy to close one-handed, and I'm a lefty, so that's a plus. As I said, I love flippers, and this specific flipper is nice. It doesn't rub your finger raw, like my JYD does sometime, or get lost in the knife, like the mini Cyclone. It's probably my second favorite shape and design for a flipper after that cool detached one on the Ener-G. As I mentioned, Id love if this were a non-A/O flipper knife, but as it is one, the speed-safe functions well and there's enough tension for the flipper to be useful but not for the knife to be too easy to deploy (to a point where it's unsafe, I mean).
Size and weight;
This knife is about midway in terms of my knives for weight. I would not complain if it were lighter, but it isnt remotely bad as heavy as it is. The blade is long enough to be useful to me, but not so long as to scare sheeple or be ungainly, and I think the proportions are just right.
Final thoughts, re: China-made:
I know alot of people kick up a fit about a knife that isn't made in the US. I try to buy US as well, and the Asset is one of the first Chinese knives I've owned. But what's interesting to me, and I'd love to hear if anybody has had a similar experience, is that I also bought a Spyderco Persistence recently--also China made. When comparing the two, I have to say the Asset blends in flawlessly with my American Kershaws. If nobody told me it was made in China, I wouldn't have guessed. Every feature's quality is on par with the rest of the brand. Now, I don't own any other Spyderco's, and certainly none of the pricier ones (the Persistence is roughly 40$), so maybe I'm way off base with this statement, but it seems to me like the quality of the Chinese Spydie doesnt even begin to compare to my Chinese Kershaw, much less my US ones. The Spyderco's blade is way off-center when closed, for one thing. The knife was really gritty and stiff when I got it, and still is a little gritty, even after I opened it up and oiled up the guts, loosened the pivot screw, etc. My Kershaws, without exception, open like butter. I was excited to finally get my hands on a Spydie, but this has just, left a bad taste in my mouth for them. Maybe that's not fair, I don't know. The Asset, on the other hand, has only increased my love for Kershaw.
Anyway, to close, I'd recommend the Asset to pretty much anyone as a fantastic EDC. It's amazing for the price, and yet another example of Kershaw quality.
First, some quick specs, as listed on the KAI site:
http://www.kershawknives.com/productdetails.php?id=601&brand=kershaw
Steel: 8CR13MOV stainless steel
Handle: Glass-filled nylon
Blade Length: 3 1/4-in. (8.3 cm)
Closed Length: 4 5/8 in. (14.3 cm)
Overall Length: 7 7/8 in. (20 cm)
Weight: 3.8 oz.
To add to those specs: This is a flipper knife, with speedsafe tech, and a liner lock; bead-blasted finish on the tang.
I'll get my only two complaints about this knife out of the way first. 1. The handle is really long, so for a girl who wears, uh, girl's jeans and pants, which tend to have shallower pocket depth, this isnt the most comfortable knife to actually carry. 2. You can't remove the torsion bar to make the knife a dedicated flipper. I have a flipper fetish, and the speedsafe, while convenient, often freaks me out a little, so I like to remove the torsion bar. I tried with the Asset and the knife just isn't designed to be a flipper. It doesn't flip open all the way, even with a good hard wrist-flick. So, I put the torsion bar back in.
Alright, now. The things I love.
The handle:
The handle is super comfortable. Some have said it's a weird construction/shape, and it is I suppose (it tapers oddly at the end), but it fits my hand in any and all grips perfectly and comfortably. It is a little long, as I mentioned, but that's only in terms of pocket carry. It's made of 'glass-filled nylon', which seems to be a cheaper choice of material--straight up plastic, so far as I can tell-- but it is somewhat textured (it's no g-10, like on the Ener-G or a spyderco).
The blade:
This is a trailing point blade, which seems to be uncommon. I've seen very few knives with this blade profile in modern production, and having played with the Asset, I'm not sure why. The one I got was a combo-edge. I had some trepidation about that, but was pleasantly surprised. Because of the sweeping profile of the front half of the blade, there's still a significant amount of plain-edged slicing belly to balance out what is often an annoyingly disproportionate amount of serration on the back half. Furthermore, the tip of this blade! Wow! I have a bunch of Kershaws, including a Leek, which has a paper-thin tip that I'm afraid to use, and a mini-Cyclone, which has a thick tip that I find very ergonomic. The Asset is like the best of both worlds. It's tip is thick, but, again because of the trailling-point sweep, like a laser pointer in terms of precision. Aka, a fantastic piercing blade that both preserves a good amount of slicing belly *and* contains some serration (which does come in handy for me, esp when I'm pruning my rose-bushes). I've seen and used a decent amount of Kershaw's 8CR steel, and it holds up well, so definitely decent steel for the pricepoint (MSRP is about 30$, but I got mine for about 10$). This one came shaving sharp (as per usual with Kershaw), and I've already chopped up some cardboard boxes (I've had the knife about...an hour.)
Locks and Flippers:
The liner lock is decent. I won't say its the best one I've owned, because it seems a teeny bit off center when the knife is deployed--and that worries me a little--but the lockup is rock solid as I've come to expect from Kershaw. It's easy to close one-handed, and I'm a lefty, so that's a plus. As I said, I love flippers, and this specific flipper is nice. It doesn't rub your finger raw, like my JYD does sometime, or get lost in the knife, like the mini Cyclone. It's probably my second favorite shape and design for a flipper after that cool detached one on the Ener-G. As I mentioned, Id love if this were a non-A/O flipper knife, but as it is one, the speed-safe functions well and there's enough tension for the flipper to be useful but not for the knife to be too easy to deploy (to a point where it's unsafe, I mean).
Size and weight;
This knife is about midway in terms of my knives for weight. I would not complain if it were lighter, but it isnt remotely bad as heavy as it is. The blade is long enough to be useful to me, but not so long as to scare sheeple or be ungainly, and I think the proportions are just right.
Final thoughts, re: China-made:
I know alot of people kick up a fit about a knife that isn't made in the US. I try to buy US as well, and the Asset is one of the first Chinese knives I've owned. But what's interesting to me, and I'd love to hear if anybody has had a similar experience, is that I also bought a Spyderco Persistence recently--also China made. When comparing the two, I have to say the Asset blends in flawlessly with my American Kershaws. If nobody told me it was made in China, I wouldn't have guessed. Every feature's quality is on par with the rest of the brand. Now, I don't own any other Spyderco's, and certainly none of the pricier ones (the Persistence is roughly 40$), so maybe I'm way off base with this statement, but it seems to me like the quality of the Chinese Spydie doesnt even begin to compare to my Chinese Kershaw, much less my US ones. The Spyderco's blade is way off-center when closed, for one thing. The knife was really gritty and stiff when I got it, and still is a little gritty, even after I opened it up and oiled up the guts, loosened the pivot screw, etc. My Kershaws, without exception, open like butter. I was excited to finally get my hands on a Spydie, but this has just, left a bad taste in my mouth for them. Maybe that's not fair, I don't know. The Asset, on the other hand, has only increased my love for Kershaw.
Anyway, to close, I'd recommend the Asset to pretty much anyone as a fantastic EDC. It's amazing for the price, and yet another example of Kershaw quality.
I agree, the handle isn't of the same quality as a more expensive knife, but it's a nice change (for me) from the anodized aluminum most of my Kershaw's have. Nice, but not very grippy and awfully weighty. The plastic may be cheap, but it's got a nice texture and it's a bit lighter.