- Joined
- Apr 16, 2002
- Messages
- 175
At first sight of Kershaw’s ET 1900 in the catalogs, I was determined to have this curious wonder of articulated engineering. Who knows why all critical factors and determinants went by the wayside, the normal thought process I labor through before committing to purchase. This was pure impulse. So, I ordered one.
On arrival, I marveled at this convergence of axis and jointery. And at the utter impracticality for my typical uses. Still, I love the knife. Maybe my collection needed some wonderful absurdity like this curious knife. After all, the knife didn’t cost an arm and a leg, at a comfortable purchase price of $59.
OK. Out of the box it is wicked sharp, no surprise since it is a Kershaw. The Sandvik 13C26 steel blade sports an attractive bead blast matt finish, with all cutouts and corners meticulously finished. Likewise, all the aluminum handle pieces, joints, are anodized matt black and perfectly machined and finished. Axis points appear to have stainless steel aircraft style nuts holding the pivot pins in place, and are seated in recesses machined into the handle. A very neat presentation.
The blade lock (to lock the blade closed), located along the spine of the handle is simple, well placed, and effective, adding to the high-tech appeal of the knife. The pant clip appears to be movable to either side of the knife, but not to either end of the knife. Furthermore, the clip is integral to opening and closing the knife. After a while owners can develop the perfect thumb stroke, to tickle the blade open (or closed), by depressing the clip and end of the handle. A fun exercise, since the real entertainment is in opening and closing the knife. Wearing the knife in my pocket I realize that the clip grips my jeans pocket very tight, and even the small knob on the clip doesn’t help in drawing out the knife. This means reaching down into my pocket and gripping the handle to draw the knife. No big deal, I can get used to that.
Oddly, the most significant advanced feature in this knife (in my opinion) is the allen key stop screw in the spine of the handle, which is the rest stop for the blade in the full open position. Incredible! Why aren’t more knife makers using this?! I wish every frame-lock and liner lock knife I owned had an adjustable set screw like this, particularly as liners get closer and closer to popping off the blade tangs with time and wear. The allen key stop screw looks like a stock trigger screw found in gunsmith supply houses. Hmm, I may be drilling and tapping some stop pins on my liner locks.
The carabineer feature on the blade is clever, but a drawback, in my opinion. Using the carabineer to clip the knife to a belt loop or daypack is inviting the now-exposed pant clip to catch on everything it brushes against. And, the amount of blade steel sacrificed to make the carabineer significantly reduces the cross-section in a critical breaking area (the blade area just outside the blade pivot and handle). I don’t mind cute and useless, but not at the expense of blade strength. I hope to see future iterations of the knife without the carabineer. I’d buy that one too.
Lastly, according to the instructions opening this folding knife is a two-handed proposition. You tip-up aficionados accustomed to a smooth one hand draw and flick motion will go nuts. This is an awkward transition in the ET, since I’m accustomed to drawing my Griptilian and engaging the blade in a one-handed flowing motion. Furthermore, my left hand is usually holding the object or article to be cut while my right hand draws the knife and engages the blade.
Still, I’m glad I bought the ET, and for now at least it has high novelty value.
If there are any other ET owners out there that have figured out how to open the blade one handed please post a how-to.
Enjoy.
TT2Toes
On arrival, I marveled at this convergence of axis and jointery. And at the utter impracticality for my typical uses. Still, I love the knife. Maybe my collection needed some wonderful absurdity like this curious knife. After all, the knife didn’t cost an arm and a leg, at a comfortable purchase price of $59.
OK. Out of the box it is wicked sharp, no surprise since it is a Kershaw. The Sandvik 13C26 steel blade sports an attractive bead blast matt finish, with all cutouts and corners meticulously finished. Likewise, all the aluminum handle pieces, joints, are anodized matt black and perfectly machined and finished. Axis points appear to have stainless steel aircraft style nuts holding the pivot pins in place, and are seated in recesses machined into the handle. A very neat presentation.
The blade lock (to lock the blade closed), located along the spine of the handle is simple, well placed, and effective, adding to the high-tech appeal of the knife. The pant clip appears to be movable to either side of the knife, but not to either end of the knife. Furthermore, the clip is integral to opening and closing the knife. After a while owners can develop the perfect thumb stroke, to tickle the blade open (or closed), by depressing the clip and end of the handle. A fun exercise, since the real entertainment is in opening and closing the knife. Wearing the knife in my pocket I realize that the clip grips my jeans pocket very tight, and even the small knob on the clip doesn’t help in drawing out the knife. This means reaching down into my pocket and gripping the handle to draw the knife. No big deal, I can get used to that.
Oddly, the most significant advanced feature in this knife (in my opinion) is the allen key stop screw in the spine of the handle, which is the rest stop for the blade in the full open position. Incredible! Why aren’t more knife makers using this?! I wish every frame-lock and liner lock knife I owned had an adjustable set screw like this, particularly as liners get closer and closer to popping off the blade tangs with time and wear. The allen key stop screw looks like a stock trigger screw found in gunsmith supply houses. Hmm, I may be drilling and tapping some stop pins on my liner locks.
The carabineer feature on the blade is clever, but a drawback, in my opinion. Using the carabineer to clip the knife to a belt loop or daypack is inviting the now-exposed pant clip to catch on everything it brushes against. And, the amount of blade steel sacrificed to make the carabineer significantly reduces the cross-section in a critical breaking area (the blade area just outside the blade pivot and handle). I don’t mind cute and useless, but not at the expense of blade strength. I hope to see future iterations of the knife without the carabineer. I’d buy that one too.
Lastly, according to the instructions opening this folding knife is a two-handed proposition. You tip-up aficionados accustomed to a smooth one hand draw and flick motion will go nuts. This is an awkward transition in the ET, since I’m accustomed to drawing my Griptilian and engaging the blade in a one-handed flowing motion. Furthermore, my left hand is usually holding the object or article to be cut while my right hand draws the knife and engages the blade.
Still, I’m glad I bought the ET, and for now at least it has high novelty value.
If there are any other ET owners out there that have figured out how to open the blade one handed please post a how-to.
Enjoy.
TT2Toes
