Kershaw Avalanche in 440V...Initial Impressions

misque · Apr 27, 2000

As I picked this knife up at Ruff's, the first thing that struck me was the handle's texture. This is the roughest textured G-10 I've ever felt. It is almost to the point of sharp, but just shy of it. The result is a handle that has grippablity like no other I've held. It almost sticks to your hand. This is the reason I went ahead and bought the knife. Normally, I won't buy a knife without an adequate guard or finger choil as my grip has been compromised by an earlier knife injury, but, this texture grips the hand so well that it inspires confidence in the user that the hand will stay put. For some, however, it may be uncomfortable. If this is the case with you, you may want to knock down the texture with a little sandpaper.
The blade is CPM440V @ Rc 55-57 and is a drop point profile. Blade thickness is about 1/8". The edge on this knife is astoundingly sharp due to the really thin edge. This little beasty is a cutter! It has one of the sharpest OOB edges I've ever seen. Easily comparable with the OOB sharpness on most Spydercos. The tip is a virtual needle point and will excel at splinter picking. My only complaint with the blade is that damned Bead Blast finish. ENOUGH with the Bead Blast finishes already!!!!

The Titanium liner lock (dual Titanium liners BTW), locks tightly into place and readily passes a Spine Whack test. The liner actually sticks a little once it's opened making it a bit tight when closing the blade.
The Speed Safe mechanism is a little slower than on my Whirlwind but is, seemingly, equally as strong in the opening. Go figure.
Another positive and thoughtful feature is the location of the thumbstud. It is back far enough that it does not get in the way when the knife is being used. Very nice, Kershaw!

Overall, I like this knife. It is a nice little "do-all" kind of utility knife that will be quite handy to have around. And with a 440V blade it should stay sharp for a good long while. And, for those of you who want double duty, utility/defense, the thin edge on this knife looks like it will bite all the way down to the bone with relative ease and the lock feels like it will stay in place, come hell or high water.
A good buy for under $80.00, IMHO.

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The individualist without strategy who takes opponents lightly will inevitably become the captive of others.
Sun Tzu

KenOnion · Apr 27, 2000

Thanks! for the great review .
Aloha!!! Ken Onion

Barry H · Apr 29, 2000

I bought two Avalanches a few weeks ago and promptly sold one to a friend at work. He always seems to want what I have! And I had really wanted to keep the second one, but I'm not sure I like how high up the knife rides up in the pocket when used with the pocket clip. I wore it around the house a few times. It has almost come out of my pocket a few times while bending over (front pocket carry). Other than that, the blade came from the factory razor sharp. I initially compared the two knives in how they opened. One seemed to open faster than the other. Any adjustment here? I especially love the texture of the G-10 scales. Any way, the knive has been temporarily put back in its box--have not had the heart to cut anything yet, so still new. Any chance of seeing the Avalanche in ATS-34 soon?
Barry H.

anthony cheeseboro · Apr 30, 2000

I have to add my two cents. The Avalanche is simply the best speed safe Kershaw to date. I can understand the criticism of the bead blast but remember that bead blasting helps keep the cost down. It also goes well with the workaday nature of the Avalanche. It is a great no frills tool

KenOnion · May 1, 2000

Thanks again for the support guys ,
Any suggestions for future offerings?

You guys really make my day !

cut finger · May 1, 2000

Ken, you could design an Avalanche with a blade under 3", and you could redesign the handle with a lanyard hole.

David1967 · May 2, 2000

Yes, the lanyard hole would be a nice feature. And I would be willing to pay more for satin finish.

Avalanche II: satin finish and other than black handle (+ 25% price increase??) - would that be possible??

For good price check here

David

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DIVERTI NESCIO

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My Photopoint pictures

Mikov Knives

[This message has been edited by David1967 (edited 05-02-2000).]

Ryan Meyering · May 2, 2000

misque,

Are you sure about the liner beint Ti? According to GP Knives, they're 410 stainless. Either way, it looks like a great knife for the price; I'll have to pick one up!

Thanks for the review,

Ryan

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For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:23

misque · May 2, 2000

Ryan,
I'm going by the info in the flyer given to me by my local dealer.
I've not been able to confirm by going to the Kershaw website as they don't even have any info on this knife on their site yet.
I'll call Frank tommorrow and confirm with him.

Okay,
I just read a press release by Doug Flagg over at the other Forum that says the liners and pocket clip are 410 stainless.
My apologies for the error.

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The individualist without strategy who takes opponents lightly will inevitably become the captive of others.
Sun Tzu

[This message has been edited by misque (edited 05-02-2000).]

Sergiusz Mitin · May 3, 2000

Misque, nice work, thanks

But I'm stubborn as a mule, I like to quarrel and I'm partial to non-glare blades including bead blasted

They look much better on my photos

misque · May 3, 2000

I'm just getting tired of the Black handles and bead blast look. I was looking through my folder collection the other day and it is 90+% black handles and about 30-40% is black handles and bead blast or black coated blades. GAAAAACCCKKKK!!!!

I sincerely hope that this growing trend of colored handles continues and maybe we'll start seeing some more subdued satin finishes on blades instead of the BB blade. I think a subdued satin finish would give the non-reflectiveness of bead blast and give a better appearance too. What do you think?

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The individualist without strategy who takes opponents lightly will inevitably become the captive of others.
Sun Tzu

[This message has been edited by misque (edited 05-03-2000).]

Sergiusz Mitin · May 4, 2000

Hmmm, the most of my folders have satin finished blades. However you are completely right about black G-10 handles

KenOnion · May 4, 2000

I will have to agree with you guys and the black handle thing ,We need a broader selection.
However as a custom guy I spent years offering knives in blue ,brown, tan ,red G10and they were alwayse the last to go and even then the guy that bought them almost always said that he wished they had black handles.
As far as the bead blast thing I would prefer a satin finnish also however this knife was stripped down to be as affordable as possable and not compromise materials. I personaly like it I carry one every day now (as well as a Morf ,victorionox ,Bruckman pearl pen knife and a Spyderco centofante .
Just because I like them . I use the Avalanche the most and I use it hard and it's held up well.
The trouble is that I have so many wonderfull knives that it's hard to choose so I guess I gotta get the wife to sew some more pockets on my jeans or design a multi pouch cargo belt.

Speaking of smaller knives we Kershaw and I have four new smaller ones in the works come by the Kershaw and check out one of our ultra new products (no I'm not trying to sell you anything) I havn't seen them yet but am excited to see how there interpretation of my Gate lock comes out. Just think small, solid titanium handles ,new Gate lock,flicker,thumb stud ,safety ,and Speed safe all in a small gentlemanly package.
Come by and have a look.
And thanks for the suggestions
Aloha!!! Ken Onion

misque · May 4, 2000

Ken,
Sounds cool. Can't wait to get my hands on one. I'm getting increasingly fascinated with the locking mechs knifemakers are coming up with these days.
Of course, Ken, your right, to keep cost down the Bead Blast finish is the way to go. CRKT has shown this time and again. It's just I wouldn't mind paying a little more for the more satin finish. But, I understand that to appeal to a broader clientele, cost control is vitally important.

On to black handles.
I think people like the people here on BladeForums are the ones spear-heading this trend away from black handles as I believe this is the place where the "knife afficionados" congregate and share hopes and ideas about the cutlery industry.
If we went out and interviewed every day knife users, not knifeknuts, but every day type people, I think we would find that they prefer the black handles on knives more than the colored variety.
The reason why? I don't know. Perhaps some preconceived notions about how a knife "should" look.
Maybe the everyday person currently thinks colored handles look sissified, not macho enough or something.
They don't have the love and familiarity with knives the way most of us here do.
Anyway, I look at this and the other Forum(to a lesser extent) as burgeoning trend setters in the world of cutlery. Some of the ideas that we kick around in here get taken up by the makers and turned into the "must have" items for the every day, casual knife user. And makers sometimes come here to poll us on a new idea they have to get a handle on whether it will fly in the knife world.
I believe that as more colored handles start showing up on the shelves at knife stores, more people are gonna start saying "COOL! I have got to get this knife"!
I also believe that the dressier tactical folding knife, (like the Boa) is the wave of the future.
It just makes sense to me to have a tactical type folder that can do the tactical type work and not scream:
"Ninja Death Mongerer Killing Knife: For ALL of your sociopathic knife needs!".
I think the colored handles on knives would make it a knife that one can use in public and not have the little sheeple scream and run for cover, but rather, say: "Beautiful knife! Where can I get one?" I really think and hope this will be the case with the Boa.

As soon as they hit my local knife shop I intend on picking one up and starting a little social experiment to gauge people's reaction to it.

Moving away from the black handle syndrome is fast becoming one of my passions because
1. I like a lot of color in my life and,
2. I believe they will begin to quell some people's preconceived notions about black handled knives being the tool of serial killers, deviants, social malcontents and the like. I have no scientific data to back my assumptions, it's just what I believe based on my own reactions to knives that are colorful.

Can't wait to get my hands on a Boa!

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The individualist without strategy who takes opponents lightly will inevitably become the captive of others.
Sun Tzu

Roger Blake · May 4, 2000

I like black G-10. Actually color is not a big concern to me. Lack of lanyard hole is as a lot of the work I do is on grating which is often also over water.

I am looking forward to seeing the new offerings of speedsafes from Kershaw.

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Roger Blake

David1967 · May 5, 2000

Ken,

Thank you for your reply. With your influence do you think you could tell Kershaw to update their web page more often?? Maybe once a year???

David

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DIVERTI NESCIO

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My Photopoint pictures

Mikov Knives

Sergiusz Mitin · May 5, 2000

Originally posted by misque:
The reason why? I don't know. Perhaps some preconceived notions about how a knife "should" look.
Maybe the everyday person currently thinks colored handles look sissified, not macho enough or something.
[...]
It just makes sense to me to have a tactical type folder that can do the tactical type work and not scream:
"Ninja Death Mongerer Killing Knife: For ALL of your sociopathic knife needs!".

Certainly - YES! You are completely right in these matters.
But take attention that these common users are making up the dominating part of the probable buyers. This suggestion also can be discussed because it is based on my subjective impression only. I haven't statistic data in this matter. So I think knife manufacturers are trying to hit this part of market first and are supposing, that knife knuts can buy custom made knives to satisfy their hobbies. For me this assumption is also very disputable

In my opinion Kershaw's intention to make new Boa knife in two versions - colored and "black-white" is the step in very good direction. Each user can satisfy his needs and dreams.
Returning to Avalanche - maybe it wouldn't be the worst idea to add the version with satin finished blade and color handle?

misque · May 12, 2000

Oh man Serguisz,
If you add colored handles and a satin finish to the Avalanche, then I'm gonna end up spending more money on one. Poor house, here I come! I wonder if they'll let me bring my knives?

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The individualist without strategy who takes opponents lightly will inevitably become the captive of others.
Sun Tzu

sing · May 13, 2000

Misque,

I can't agree with you more on offering different colors. When I got into knives several years ago, I was initially enamored with the black handle thing. But the negative reactions get coming up. When I got onto KF and BF, I was screaming for anything but black. Part of my reason for getting into customs was to get a knife that isn't black, e.g. red micarta KFF, blue Crawford Carnivore. I really appreciated when Sal was so obliging in doing the Blue Native.

Then Gigand started to do the color thing with the Spectrum. Other companies seem to be exploring this avenue more.

I really appreciate the various color offerings, though this creates a problem with too many "sku's", as pointed out by Sal. But I find folks who are aversive to knives tend to be less so with some of the newer ones with different color handles and actually are more interested (again, anecdotal and no stat's). This is a good thing for the us knife users and the industry, I think.

Yes, I love the look of that multicolor Boa!

sing

AKTI #A000356

shivey · May 14, 2000

Colored handles would be fine, if they're not of the neon variety (except for dive or rescue). I prefer the more muted or earth tones. But what about colored blades? A black-handled knife with a gold, red, or green-coated blade is very attractive. I prefer a polished blade for my stainless knives, but for my tool steel, coatings are necessary. Years ago, Browning introduced the Double-Automatic shotgun with a choice of colored receivers, gold engraving and black-bluing. I bought a green one, very special.