Kershaw Ener-G first impressions (pics)

S

SteelSnob

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Sep 7, 2009
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Hello all. I just recieved my Kershaw Ener-G which costed around $30 shipped and I must say I'm blown away. This knife is incredible! Even at $50 bucks I would consider it a great buy. The handle feels great in the hand, Screaming sharp out of the box, USA made,I love the blade profile, the g10 is great and I love the color, I like the steel and with maintence on extra extra fine stones or a strop I imagine it will stat sharp indefinitely given my experience with AEB-L steel which is supposed to be the same as 13c26, it flips open well, the blade is centered, it's very light which I really like in my knives, has early lockup, dirt cheap so I'm not the least bit concerned about using it, all in all this is hands down the best $30 dollar knife I've seem and as of now I like it better than the persistence even.
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Now for the cons... The blade had some wobble out of the box and when I tightened it the pivot screw stripped but the wobble is mostly gone. It only wobbles when pushed side to side from the tip of the blade using a good amount of force. Second the track tech inserts I could do without and the G10 itself provides a better grip. I think over time the Trackteck inserts could wear out a pocket, given the placement in relation to the pocket clip. The flipper flips most of the time but not as much as did before I tightened it which was pretty much every single time. I'm guessing it will break in over time and not be a issue. Here's some more pics
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This knife is a must have IMO and at $30 you won't be dissapointed.
 
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I picked up one at that price, and when I saw how well put it was I bought too more. Diffidently a hidden gem.
 
Steelsnob , did I read correctly , the pivot screw is stripped ?

Check this link to get a new one. http://www.kershawknives.com/contactus.php?brand=kershaw

Yea I love my Ener-G but ! - I hated the trac tape from the gitgo , thats the only thing that keeps from buying the other Kershaws that use that , I love the knife desings but dont like that stuff at all , however I made new G10 scales for mine ( which I will post soon ) and now it's very much in my EDC rotation.

IMO it is one of the neatest knives for the dollar one can buy , the blade grind is immaculate ( CRKT could do some learning from Kershaw in this respect ! ) , the handle shape is comfortable and well thought out , the liner-lock qualifies as a framelock as thick as it is , I trust my fingers with this knife for sure :D

Nice review !


Tostig
 
Yes I stripped it but I was able to use a larger torx bit that worked.Thanks for the compliments and link. I had just got done emailing them about that. I would love to see those G10 scales you made. From what I understand there is a all G10 handle version but the only one I could find had a black blade which I don't care for. I'm wondering if I could grind down the insert under the picket clip. Has anyone tried that?
 
SteelSnob said:
Yes I stripped it but I was able to use a larger torx bit that worked.Thanks for the compliments and link. I had just got done emailing them about that. I would love to see those G10 scales you made. From what I understand there is a all G10 handle version but the only one I could find had a black blade which I don't care for. I'm wondering if I could grind down the insert under the picket clip. Has anyone tried that?
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Do you mean make the scale thinner so you can ditch the tape ?

I did that first , yes it worked but the scales looked horrible so I made new ones which was no easy feat since the clip side has the six sided 'hole' to hold the bottom part of the pivot in place.
I will post a thread showing my Kershaw mods soon as I'm done with my Zing.


Tostig
 
Tostig said:
Do you mean make the scale thinner so you can ditch the tape ?

I did that first , yes it worked but the scales looked horrible so I made new ones which was no easy feat since the clip side has the six sided 'hole' to hold the bottom part of the pivot in place.
I will post a thread showing my Kershaw mods soon as I'm done with my Zing.


Tostig
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I meant just maybe sand it down so it's flush with the G10 so hopefully it will lose it's bite.

I think I'm going to be buying the black G10 version too.
 
I'm not sure what the stock is.

I was melting down the insert with a butane torch because filing wouldn't work and one side started to unpeel so I just pulled the rest came off. I like it much better now.

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Anyone think it's possible to glue some thin pieces of exotic wood into those inlay spots? That would look cool...
 
Zigosity said:
Anyone think it's possible to glue some thin pieces of exotic wood into those inlay spots? That would look cool...
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Did the insert come out in one piece? If so, it would be easy to use as a template. Just glue it onto the piece of wood and start shaping. If you do it right, it should just slip into place.
 
Great thing about Kershaws, is even though you did just remove the tracktek inserts, I'm pretty sure the warranty is still intact.
 
Glad to see they made a new version of the knife. I had the large model, and I really liked most things about it, but the inserts mangled a pair of jeans of mine. The right front pocket on those is still missing a 1/2 inch chunk :D

It's one of the most comfortable knives Kershaw has put out. Nice blade geometry on it too.
 
Yes it came out in one piece. How it happened was I was burning it with the torch and smoothing out the surface with a semi round object pushing towards the tip of the handle and after a few passes the edge of the insert towards the tip of the handle started to lift, so I pulled it out light and slow and the whole think came out. Here's a pic

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it slides out of the pocket just right now.
 
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Nice. Now all you have to do is superglue that to a thin piece of something cool and shape it with sandpaper.

It works really well to find things that match the inside radii to wrap the sandpaper around (like a coffee cup or a pen). The only tool required is a pack of various sandpaper grits (and maybe a saw). If you don't have any wood laying around, PM me and I'll send you some scraps of mine.

Phillip
 
Phillip Dobson said:
Nice. Now all you have to do is superglue that to a thin piece of something cool and shape it with sandpaper.

It works really well to find things that match the inside radii to wrap the sandpaper around (like a coffee cup or a pen). The only tool required is a pack of various sandpaper grits (and maybe a saw). If you don't have any wood laying around, PM me and I'll send you some scraps of mine.

Phillip
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Heh, look what I started.

You should definitely try this out man, it'll look awesome :D.
 
Thanks Phil.I've never tried anything like that before. Maybe one of these days when I'm feeling ambitious I'll try it.
 
I had the idea to do just that when I decided I didnt not like the inserts.

The pieces come out easy enough and in one solid piece , just lift a corner with another thin tipped knife and peel off , you can even reapply them.

You would not need superglue to put them on a clean piece of something else to use as a template , they will self stick.

Getting wood that thin and perfect by hand though would be quite a chore , I think a person with a good shop of tools could do it easier.

Anyways.. nice knife :D

Tostig
 
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