Kershaw Injection 3.0 Curiosity

ZuluKilo

ZuluKilo

Joined
Apr 28, 2012
Messages
255
Is there more than one version or were there running updates to this knife?

After reading/viewing numerous online reviews (ie. The Edge Observer...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61QeogqsXyM or Everyday Commentary...http://www.everydaycommentary.com/2013/08/kershaw-injection-30-review.html) singing this knife's praises, I picked one up while grocery shopping at Wal-Mart.....yeah, I know. :o So far, I'm very underwhelmed. My example doesn't have the fancy thumb studs or phosphor bronze washers. Centering is poor. The secondary bevel is also pretty sloppy and, though I can't find my scale at the moment, I'd wager its a fair bit more than the 3.3oz advertised weight. I'm certainly not expecting perfection (after all, I spent less than $31 with tax) but my G10 Drifter and Skyline, for example, are miles better than this Injection as far as fit and finish.

I've now bought two knives from Wal-Mart (this Injection and a blacked out Leek) that were...messed up. Am I missing something?

Thanks guys.
 
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Doesn't sound right to me. I have an Injection 3.0 and it really is a nice knife. Fit and finish exceeds my Skyline. Both are definitely legit copies from BHQ; I'll post some photos in the morning. Would be helpful to see photos of yours.
 
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It was hard to caprtue the edge grind. On the presentation side, the bevel gets abruptly steep right at the tip. Looking at the knife straight on from the tip, there's obvious asymmetry/disparity between the left and right sides.
 
alright, so here's a few photos of mine:

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my notes from comparing ours:
- the grind line on mine is fairly asymmetrical, looks worse at the tip than it is the rest of the way down ... I chalk this one up to the Made in China aspect of the knife
- the centering on mine is slightly off to the right, while yours is waaay off to the right ... could also be the Made in China part, although, this isn't a $15 made in china knife, it's like a $30 made in china knife, so there should be an expectation of better worksmanship. not enough to say that yours is a fake, though
- the thumbstuds are totally different. this to me is a red flag. a big part of the character of the knife is the decorative thumbstuds and the decorative pivot ... but not only that, the way kershaw designed the thumbstuds they have excellent traction when you flick the blade out with your thumbnail. mine flies open when flicked. I don't know enough about the manufacturing history of the knife but I'd be shocked and a little disappointed if Kershaw replaced the stylized thumbstuds with plain ones. this detail alone makes me very suspicious that yours may be a knockoff.
- also, I just noticed, the kershaw logos on mine and yours are different. again, that is a fairly significant red flag to me.

hope the images help!
 
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Yours is different than mine as well.

Mine has the decorative Todd Rexford thumbstud.

On your front view your washers are very visible and silver, Mine barely show and are bronze colored.

The fit and finish overall on mine is outstanding, including centering. Maybe it's possible Walmart has their own exclusive bargain version but the Rexford thumbstud should be a given...

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I don't know what Kershaw's policy is on stores like Walmart, but other companies like CKRT have made cheaper versions of their knives for the store, like the Ripple liner lock vs. the frame lock.
 
tokerblue said:
I don't know what Kershaw's policy is on stores like Walmart, but other companies like CKRT have made cheaper versions of their knives for the store, like the Ripple liner lock vs. the frame lock.
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Problem with that is, Walmart charges the same $30 that everyone else does for this knife... so it would be weird if the quality were reduced but price maintained.
 
tokerblue said:
I don't know what Kershaw's policy is on stores like Walmart, but other companies like CKRT have made cheaper versions of their knives for the store, like the Ripple liner lock vs. the frame lock.
Click to expand...

This seems like the most likely explanation to me. Upon further examination, I've discover further demerits in fit and finish. It is disappointing but...it is what it is. All I can do is return my (not quite an) Injection and order a "real" should the fancy strike. Part of, and arguably the main, motivation for buying it in the first place was the local/instantaneous availability of it (a high value knife).
 
Agree with the above. The thumb-studs are pretty much one of the signature aspects of this knife. Centering on mine banks marginally to the right when viewed from the bottom but not "scissor effect" like yours. Here's hoping some from KAI takes notice and offers an explanation.
 
I know the big box stores will frequently get carded "gift packs" which will include a Kershaw or CRKT knife. They usually come with a knife, a flashlight, a lanyard...something like that. More than once I've seen those gift pack versions come with downgraded steel; 2Cr and 3Cr versions rather than the standard 8CR13MoV. It's not so much the fault of the knife manufacturer but the retailer. The retailer will dictate what they're willing to pay to put the knife in the store, and the manufacturer has to respond with an affordable product. Things like decorative pivots and thumbstuds are easy places to cut cost. These knives aren't victims of counterfeiters, they're victims of economy. I think that's one of the reasons you don't see Spydercos at Wal-Mart; they refuse to compromise design and materials on their knives.

That's why I try to avoid purchasing knives at WalMart or similar places. It seems you never know if you're getting the full version of the knife, or a compromise to meet a targeted manufacturing cost. If you stick with knife vendors, you usually come out good.

To the OP, I have an original full-size Injection and it's a great knife. Maybe try again at one of the Blade Forums retailers?
 
The Kershaw logo thing is normal. They changed up their logo a year or two back.

As for the thumbstuds, I don't know.
 
I guess the question is still: Are there two versions of this knife floating around or not? At least one Member in another thread is firmly convinced there is not. Fit and finish can definitely vary between individual examples of a particular knife. And, even though my Injection displayed very poor centering and a poor grind, I could still accept them as variations between examples, severe as they might be. Different thumbstuds and washers are pretty significant material changes, however. All the retailers websites I've visited still showed the embellish thumbstuds in their product photos, as does Kershaw on their website.

...it just makes one wonder.

Water under the bridge I suppose...my days of budget Kershaws may be over because, 1)None of their current low cost/high value models appeal to me on paper or to my eye, and 2)because of my negative experiences with a full 66% of the Kershaws I've bought. I think that's pretty sad, no matter where I might decide to purchase from. I always keep my eye open though...to all manufacturers, because there's so much good stuff out there now and forthcoming. I'd try Kershaw again, but they're going to have to work hard to get me.
 
66%... 2 out of 3. Both of those two were bought at Wal-Mart...

I don't think Kershaw is the real problem here.

Wal-Mart doesn't cater to actual knife enthusiasts, they cater to people who would be just as happy with a jarbenza. People who have never heard of Todd Rexford. People who shop a price for a knife and don't give a crap about the features. People who keep Gerber in business.

Unfortunately, those people and store like Wal-Mart are what gives Kershaw/ZT the capital and flexibility to come out with bonkers knives like the 0777, 0454, 0392 etc.

Think of it this way. Bugatti only got to build the Veyron because of all the cheap crappy Golfs and Jettas that VW builds in Mexico. Lexus only gets to make the LFA because of the cheap appliance like Camrys and Corollas Toyota gets to pump out
 
Scurvy092 said:
66%... 2 out of 3. Both of those two were bought at Wal-Mart...

I don't think Kershaw is the real problem here.

Wal-Mart doesn't cater to actual knife enthusiasts, they cater to people who would be just as happy with a jarbenza. People who have never heard of Todd Rexford. People who shop a price for a knife and don't give a crap about the features. People who keep Gerber in business.

Unfortunately, those people and store like Wal-Mart are what gives Kershaw/ZT the capital and flexibility to come out with bonkers knives like the 0777, 0454, 0392 etc.

Think of it this way. Bugatti only got to build the Veyron because of all the cheap crappy Golfs and Jettas that VW builds in Mexico. Lexus only gets to make the LFA because of the cheap appliance like Camrys and Corollas Toyota gets to pump out
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I agree completely. I know for a fact that Kershaw will make special models for big box retailers. I can cite two examples off the top of my head...

Kershaw made a manual version of the 1605ST Clash that was only available through Big 5 Sporting goods...
Kershaw made a blackwash, liner lock G10 1735 Zing that was only available through Dick's Sporting Goods. Previously you could only get a Zing Liner lock in the rare damascus version or the rarer orange handled version with a striated blade (dang, I want one of these some day...).

Both of these are great versions of the knives because they're alternate configurations, not cheapened at the demand of a retailer.

This is all on Wal-Mart and their insistence on price points and profit margin. I guess Kershaw could decline to make the bad knives for them...
 
There are 4655 Wal-Marts in the USA.

Let's say that Wal-Mart only sells 50 Kershaw's a month on average at each store. I doubt Wal-Mart would stock such a low selling item so the number is probably a bit higher but 50 is a nice easy number.

That means Wal-Mart buys 2.8 MILLION Kershaw's a year.

When you have that kind of buying power, it's pretty easy to dictate terms and price points.

Even if Kershaw makes $2 on every one sold at Walmart, that's 5.6 MILLION dollars in sales. In reality they probably make $4-8 on every knife. That's just one chain.

Keep that in mind next time they put out a few hundred limited edition knives. The profit from those likely doesn't even register on their bottom line. I know that might be sour grapes to the people who think KAI is just raking in the dough and screwing the little guy on the LE knives.
 
Not surprised, I handled both of the Injection variants in a store once and was very unimpressed overall. By the way, this model is discontinued as of 2016, just like the Nura which was an equally high potential but low achieving offering.
 
If Kershaw wants to provide a inferior product to cater to Walmart and an audience of folks, admittedly the majority, who know little to nothing about knives, I suppose that's their prerogative. Plenty of other knife manufacturers aren't doing that and are still highly successful. I guess it just depends on what's most important to you as a company, where your passions and integrity lie.
 
ZuluKilo said:
If Kershaw wants to provide a inferior product to cater to Walmart and an audience of folks, admittedly the majority, who know little to nothing about knives, I suppose that's their prerogative. Plenty of other knife manufacturers aren't doing that and are still highly successful. I guess it just depends on what's most important to you as a company, where your passions and integrity lie.
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Define successful because A) I'm sure the companies you are thinking about are no where close to the size of KAI and B) I'm also sure none of them ever do anything as out there as the high end boutique stuff either.

Pretty impressive to sell knives from $20-$500 and everywhere in between.

I could understand if you were talking about a company like Gerber who doesn't reinvest their money in anything related to knife enthusiasts.

Questioning their integrity and passion is as laughable as it is ignorant.
 
ZuluKilo said:
If Kershaw wants to provide a inferior product to cater to Walmart and an audience of folks, admittedly the majority, who know little to nothing about knives, I suppose that's their prerogative. Plenty of other knife manufacturers aren't doing that and are still highly successful. I guess it just depends on what's most important to you as a company, where your passions and integrity lie.
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I see where this is going. This isn't really about a knife...or American merchandising...or the Cost of Business. This is about attacking a decent knife manufacturer based on an admittedly small and biased sample size. There's no real chance for an objective conversation about that. This ends up looking like a bone you had to pick with KAI hidden in the thumbstuds of a pocket knife ;)
 
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