Initial impressions.
I just got my hands on this little beauty, and I have to say it's a lot bigger in person than I expected. Comparing it with the Spyderco Military, it's not quite as long but much thicker and wider, it also feels a lot heftier even though it's only a little over an ounce heavier. If I had only one word to describe this knife, it would be "solid". That applies to the lock as well, the liner-lock here is the same thickness as the frame-lock on it's little brother the JYD. I have a hard time imagining this thing ever moving. As usual with Kershaw, the lock bar fits flush with the blade tang from front to back, and at a nice shallow angle. Slippage is highly unlikely and with maximum metal on metal contact it would probably take a lifetime of use to wear the lock bar all the way over.
The flipper is nice and big, not something your finger is going to slip off of. After the first few hours it still opens a little slow, but if the this knife is anything like it's little bro it'll be opening like lightning after a little break in time.
The biggest issue of contention with this knife is normally the pocket clip. I don't think it looks too bad, but that's probably because it's currently sitting beside my freshly made custom sheath holding the Spyderco Rock Salt, which overshadows pretty much anything I could clip onto myself. Personally I think it would be a little better if it were black, as it would be a lot less noticeable, though sometimes a shiny gray clip looks better than a scratched up black one. Looks aside, this clip feels much better than most. Compared to the average knife (of the three dozen that I've owned) this clip fits very well with the profile of the handle. I haven't done any heavy work so I can't say if it will or won't have any hot spots, but I'm pretty sure it will do better than most.
One more thing, this is the Composite blade version. At around $70 retail, it's one of the least expensive knives you could possibly get with CPM D-2.
CPM D-2 is one of my all time favorite steel types. Why? well, D-2 is a great classic steel, it's great at holding an edge, and is a little tougher than any stainless equivalent because it isn't over stuffed with chromium (which is how you make steel stainless). The only problem D-2 usually had was that it would form huge carbides, so big that if you sharpened it too thin the edge would just fall apart (in a microscopic sense). With CPM D-2, you have the carbide size determined by the CPM process, keeping everything nice and small. Not only does this mean that the steel will now take a thin, highly polished edge, but it can get even harder and tougher that it would otherwise.
CPM D-2 is a pretty well rounded upgrade from standard D-2, making it very competitive when compared with almost any other premium steel type.
The downside is that it's not terribly corrosion resistant, however, being a composite blade everything but the edge is stainless steel, so the usual trouble spots around the pivot will be much less of a worry than it would have been with a solid CPM D-2 blade.
Now for the part you've all skipped to already, lots of pics. Enjoy.
I just got my hands on this little beauty, and I have to say it's a lot bigger in person than I expected. Comparing it with the Spyderco Military, it's not quite as long but much thicker and wider, it also feels a lot heftier even though it's only a little over an ounce heavier. If I had only one word to describe this knife, it would be "solid". That applies to the lock as well, the liner-lock here is the same thickness as the frame-lock on it's little brother the JYD. I have a hard time imagining this thing ever moving. As usual with Kershaw, the lock bar fits flush with the blade tang from front to back, and at a nice shallow angle. Slippage is highly unlikely and with maximum metal on metal contact it would probably take a lifetime of use to wear the lock bar all the way over.
The flipper is nice and big, not something your finger is going to slip off of. After the first few hours it still opens a little slow, but if the this knife is anything like it's little bro it'll be opening like lightning after a little break in time.
The biggest issue of contention with this knife is normally the pocket clip. I don't think it looks too bad, but that's probably because it's currently sitting beside my freshly made custom sheath holding the Spyderco Rock Salt, which overshadows pretty much anything I could clip onto myself. Personally I think it would be a little better if it were black, as it would be a lot less noticeable, though sometimes a shiny gray clip looks better than a scratched up black one. Looks aside, this clip feels much better than most. Compared to the average knife (of the three dozen that I've owned) this clip fits very well with the profile of the handle. I haven't done any heavy work so I can't say if it will or won't have any hot spots, but I'm pretty sure it will do better than most.
One more thing, this is the Composite blade version. At around $70 retail, it's one of the least expensive knives you could possibly get with CPM D-2.
CPM D-2 is one of my all time favorite steel types. Why? well, D-2 is a great classic steel, it's great at holding an edge, and is a little tougher than any stainless equivalent because it isn't over stuffed with chromium (which is how you make steel stainless). The only problem D-2 usually had was that it would form huge carbides, so big that if you sharpened it too thin the edge would just fall apart (in a microscopic sense). With CPM D-2, you have the carbide size determined by the CPM process, keeping everything nice and small. Not only does this mean that the steel will now take a thin, highly polished edge, but it can get even harder and tougher that it would otherwise.
CPM D-2 is a pretty well rounded upgrade from standard D-2, making it very competitive when compared with almost any other premium steel type.
The downside is that it's not terribly corrosion resistant, however, being a composite blade everything but the edge is stainless steel, so the usual trouble spots around the pivot will be much less of a worry than it would have been with a solid CPM D-2 blade.
Now for the part you've all skipped to already, lots of pics. Enjoy.
Thanks for the pics. 
