Kershaw binge.. OD's, Shallot, Skyline, Chill, Zing reviewed

[jthomas]

Well, since I quit smoking I've been saving my smoke money, decided the other day to buy a few of the 'bargain' Kershaws and see how they stack up. Now that I've played with them a little I thought I'd share some initial impressions in case anyone else was wondering about them...

Well, the Kershaw Zing....
Out of all of the recent purchases, this is one of my favorites. The size is great, the ergonomics are good, I like 14C28... There are lots of good things going for it. The handles are finished nicely with the scales being neither too slick or too grippy. It comes drilled for right handed tip up or down carry, or left handed tip up. The blade is certainly attractive with the machined grooves in it, but I was afraid it would affect slicing performance, but they really don't. I don't notice that they are there. Lock up is solid, with the liner lock engaging across it's own width with lots of room for wear / break in. Of all the recent purchases, this was the only knife that wasn't perfectly centered when closed, but it wasn't rubbing either. Made in the US of A.

 

[jthomas]

Next is the Skyline. This is another US made 14C28 knife with g10 scales. They are finished nicely, and perhaps a little grippier than the scales on the Zing. This blade locks up solid, as do all of them, with zero bladeplay. Again the liner lock engages early with lots of room for wear. I love the blade shape on this knife, and the deep finger choil. It is extremely comfortable to use, fits in the hand nicely for a smallish knife, and is darned attractive. There is only one liner, so I was concerned about rigidity of the knife, but in practice it hasn’t been an issue. I wouldn’t classify it as a ‘hard use’ knife anyway, so it is probably fine for most EDC uses.

 

[jthomas]

OD -1 and OD – 2
I Love these knives. LOVE THEM. The OD-1 is a frame lock knife with one G10 scale. It opens via a ‘flipper’ that is mechanical, rather than being part of the blade. It is hard to explain, but in practice it opens quicker than my Kershaw AO knives. Once open, the little flipper ends up in a recess in the spine of the knife, out of contact with your hand. The knife is drilled for tip up or down, right handed only carry. The 14C28 blade was shaving sharp out of the box (that is the case for all of these knives) and was perfectly centered when closed. Closer look under the clip revealed a frame-lock stabilizer, which is a nice touch. My only concern with these knives is that there is no extended tang, flipper, or choil to keep your hand from sliding up onto the blade if you were using this knife in some extreme manner. It won’t be an issue for me as I don’t routinely stab things, but I did notice it. Also, in the frame cut between the lock and pivot, there seems to be precious little metal... I wonder about strength at this point, but we'll see. Not a deal breaker for me.

The OD-2 is the little brother… it is a liner lock with two G-10 scales. Same opening mechanism, drilled for tip up right or left hand carry. It is made in China, and the blade is 8cr13moV, but the knife is put together very well, the liner lock seems good, there is zero bladeplay. I have no issues with it. It is what I would consider a ‘pretty small knife’.

OD-2

OD-1

 

[jthomas]

The Chill….
Another knife made in China of 8Cr13… Blade centered when closed, absolutely rock solid lockup. The liner lock on this one seemed thinner, and engaged about half-way across the tang. Tip up or down right handed carry, nicely finished G-0 scales, nice size and bladeshape… I can’t find anything not to like about this knife. The flipper combines with a nice finger choil to ensure that your hand doesn’t ride up the blade. All in all, it is a nice, comfy little knife. It is a credit to Kershaw that this knife made in China is fairly indistinguishable in terms of fit and finish from those made in the US. (that is meant as a compliment). For $19 or whatever I paid for this one, you cannot go wrong.

 

[jthomas]

The Shallot.
Well, I have a Chive, a Leek, and a Scallion, so I figured I needed a Shallot. I didn’t realize this before I bought it, but it is a fairly large(ish) knife. If anyone ever wished that their Leek was bigger, this may be an option. I bought the 13C26 version, advertised at 58-60 rc. It is a framelock with tip up or down right hand carry options. It is also assisted opening. The knife is very thin, yet very rigid. As always, the lockup is solid with zero bladeplay. The fit and finish are awesome. Stylistically, the blade is a little different for me, but it is attractive, and the handle is very comfortable. Being stainless, I can see the handles being slippery when the hands are sweaty or wet, but there is a small but effective thumb ramp and finger choil for help in this area. The knife opens with authority (but still isn’t as fast as the OD-1 and OD-2)

All of these knives are impressive, especially when one considers their price-points, and all are prime examples of how Kershaw is just doing things right. Regardless of the country that the knives are manufactured in, Kershaw is making sure that they are quality products. I’m impressed. I’ve also bought a JYD II with composite blade, but that is a whole other post.

 

[Tostig]

Thanks for the reviews ! those take time and thought , well done.

I have the OD1 , Zing and Skyline , I agree with you on all points. They are all fine knives for the money.

The only thing out of them all that concerns me is the lock engagement on the OD1, the ever so light engagement makes my wary , how do you feel about this ? Otherwise I love my OD1 , it is in my pocket as I type.

Tostig

 

[jthomas]

Well, I'm not sure what you mean about light engagement... the lockbar doesn't fully engage right now, but after a few hundred cycles I think it'll break right in. It does snick into place rather easily, but the absence of any type of bladeplay leaves me thinking that it is really well engineered / executed. Thanks for reading the reviews!!

 

[Dorito Monk]

Thanks for the reviews! I've been looking at the Skyline for a while, and I just pulled the trigger on one.

Now the only question remaining is: Shallot or Blur?

 

[jthomas]

Now the only question remaining is: Shallot or Blur?

The only sensible answer is... Both, of course.

I want to say that I've bought several knives from Kershawguy in the exchange section and he is awesome. Great guy, great service, great prices... can't say enough good about him. He also has great prices on Blurs in his blem thread... composite blades for little capital outlay...

 

[Tostig]

Well, I'm not sure what you mean about light engagement... the lockbar doesn't fully engage right now, but after a few hundred cycles I think it'll break right in. It does snick into place rather easily, but the absence of any type of bladeplay leaves me thinking that it is really well engineered / executed. Thanks for reading the reviews!!

Well my OD1 is rock solid as far as blade play , I did a total mod job it and used loctite on the pivot screw , it is still very solid as far as play is concerned.
As far as engagement , my Groove for instance will break before the lock fails , I have stabbed it into plywood and 2x4's and with no worry about the lock failing because of how solid it engages when open. The OD1 only engages about 3/4 of the width of the lock itself , fine for a good long life but I worry about the stability of the lock because of how lightly it engages and I've read that folks who bent their lock so it engages with more oomph! will affect the flipping action.

See what I mean ?

Once again thanks for the reviews

Tostig

 

[jthomas]

Well my OD1 is rock solid as far as blade play , I did a total mod job it and used loctite on the pivot screw , it is still very solid as far as play is concerned.
As far as engagement , my Groove for instance will break before the lock fails , I have stabbed it into plywood and 2x4's and with no worry about the lock failing because of how solid it engages when open. The OD1 only engages about 3/4 of the width of the lock itself , fine for a good long life but I worry about the stability of the lock because of how lightly it engages and I've read that folks who bent their lock so it engages with more oomph! will affect the flipping action.

See what I mean ?

Once again thanks for the reviews

Tostig

I do indeed see what you mean. I think that mine locks up a little more than that, so I am not too worried about it. I also plan of flipping it quite a bit to wear it in (I actually just like to 'play' with them... what can I say?). Thanks for reading the review and adding your comments!

 

[DennisStrickland]

thanks for the pics, i was getting tired of those boorish jyds.

 

[Surferbruce]

the OD-1 and the OD-2 are great designs. Simple and clean.

 

[JNieporte]

Thanks for the reviews. Kershaws are quite addicting :thumbup:

 

[jonnymac44]

Nice batch of new Kershaws:thumbup: You picked some very nice ones, and now you're just gonna have to go out and get the rest!

Glad you're enjoyin' them

 

[zvir]

thank you, nice comparative review!

 

[jthomas]

Nice batch of new Kershaws:thumbup: You picked some very nice ones, and now you're just gonna have to go out and get the rest!

Glad you're enjoyin' them

Slowly working on getting all getting the rest of them... I think it is a worthy goal. :thumbup:

 

[Smash05]

Kershaw, the quickest way to get a quality knife!!!!

 

[Doc Pringles]

Thank you, that was very helpful.

 

[Dorito Monk]

My skyline just arrived . Come to think of it, this is my first non-Onion (almost a palindrome) Kershaw to date.

Everything's up to usual Kershaw quality...the only thing I'm having trouble with is the pocket clip - it seems abnormally tight. Anyone else find this to be the case? It's really hard to put in/take out of the pocket...