Kershaw Black Gulch 3320 Japanese Folder

[wdvogel]

I found a very well kept Kershaw Black Gulch in an antique shop in Astoria, Oregon and decided to buy it even though I thought it was a little overpriced. After looking it over more carefully I noticed that the blade markings are quite specifically "Kershaw Black Gulch" on one side (mind you not Black Gulch II) and "KAI 3320 Japan" on the other. I looked through all of the forums and all of the brochures that Kershaw has available on their website and I cannot find a single reference to a Black Gulch that is a 3320 without being a Balck Gulch II. There are of course no markings for date of manufacture on this knife, so I am curious to know if anyone on this forum would have any clue as to what I have found here. I have a couple of options to choose from and they are all similarly plausible, with some of them potentially making this worth more than I spent on it.

Option 1: The knife is not a real Kershaw and instead a knockoff. It's very possible, but I will say that the quality of the knife would seem to point to it being genuine.

Option 2: This was a knife that was made with a 3320 blade in possibly in the gap year in the catalogues which would be 1994.

Option 3: This is a Black Gulch II that had the stamping incorrect.

Option 4: This was a one off model of some kind, or a prototype for the Black Gulch II.

There are probably more possibilities than these, but these all seem relatively possible and not too farfetched. Hope to see some good information in your responses.

 

[bladesmith3]

this one is not marked Black Gulch II

https://www.ebay.com/itm/364888335728?itmmeta=01J2T792MST0CW0953WFVZPK0M&hash=item54f50a2570:g:Q38AAOSwxJFmP9zi&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAABABhLderPCnl36bMVve1azLEucq4ECvD4s8vhG2wJsR15eKbKXwv7x%2Bw6mzj40xyc33gt5Xvz7szmhtCRS9NyRf9i5kJPTYScNh7uw%2FtyxKXy1skA%2F0iTx2FlTxc%2F0Moo9bmtL1KxBu8u1zZMqPQ0sZU%2B7m89lI8hTNrKk4%2B3LbSjHhheBn6mejof4lfaG6%2B9lgSkfmZrSei2qFnfUPnRy%2Fz%2B2szZUjixKOtD0Nm4ma64tbnwNUw5tKhzDUuLQ60vfwSefIWVwJrPc1jpES50U91k6kfIpjboJTWAPXVKkDzQn46JzO60kEtC3YCKMJS%2BwSaVXc7CqIyS3ilRS3NnI3Q%3D%7Ctkp%3ABFBMvKqkx5Zk

 

[knarfeng]

Kai is the current parent company of Kershaw.
If I remember correctly, at it's startup Kershaw had knives made for them in Japan by Kai. Over time the relationship reversed and Kai purchased Kershaw.

If you have a Black Gulch marked "made in Japan", it's not a recent knife. And you may not find records of it on the Kershaw web site.

I'm struggling to remember if the Kai numbering system meshed with that of Kershaw.

 

[sgt1372]

After looking it over more carefully I noticed that the blade markings are quite specifically "Kershaw Black Gulch" on one side (mind you not Black Gulch II) and "KAI 3320 Japan" on the other.

Photos?

 

[sgt1372]

I doubt anyone ever made a clone of a Black Gulch II (3320) because there wouldn't have been enough profit potential in it to bother doing that.

Kershaw/KAI made all kinds of variations of its knives, many of which were undocumented.

See: (in)complete List of Kershaw Knives

You'll note from the list mentioned above that many variations of Kershaw knives numbered 3000-5200 are referenced as having been made in Japan.

Also note that there is a 3120BS (Black Gulch Officer Ranch set) that is said to have been made in Japan and a 3320ST (serrated Black Gulch II) that is only marked "3320."

My guess is that your Black Gulch II is just an undocumented variation of the knife & you'll just have to accept the fact that you may never be able to establish its provenance.

 

[sgt1372]

PS: I don't have a Black Gluch (3120 or 3220) but I've got a Wildcat Ridge (3140) which was made around the same time as they were, as indicated by the model #, which is marked as made in Japan.