Kershaw knives , my new addiction and a question

M

Mike-The-Knife

Joined
Dec 6, 2011
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1,301
Yep I'm new to Kershaw knives . I know , shame on me , but better late than never ;)

Anyway recently my daughter lost her long time EDC knife and asked me to find her a new one . The one she had was a little Gerber that had a "flicker" ramp on it and she wanted one like that because with "her nails" :rolleyes: she couldn't open a SAK or certain thumb stud blades without risk of damaging those nails . Yeah , I know .
Anyway I looked to see what I could find and came across the Kershaw Scallion . It looked like a good knife so I started checking for a good deal on one and found a guy in Canada here who was selling two of them together . One pink (for her) and one red that I could keep and try out . So I got them both for the price you'd usually pay for one . Good deal :thumbup: . She loves it and I find the Scallion a great small EDC for certain times when I don't want to carry a big folder .
So now the Kershaw addiction has set in and I'm REALLY looking at their knives to buy more . I'm thinking the Cryo II would be a good place to start .

Now here's my question though . I also saw one called the Swerve . It seems like one of their lower end knives , but I sort of like the style of it . The things is I see them with the 8Cr13Mov marking on the blade , but I see others with just 8Cr13 on them . What's the difference ? Is there a difference ? Is the Swerve a decent knife and worth buying even ?

I know there's plenty of knowledge here , so fill me in guys .
 
The Swerve is one of Kershaw's budget line of knives. Kershaw's budget line is pretty well respected for knives at that price point. Their edge holding and steel quality aren't gonna match up with higher end blades, but they're certainly fine for beater average use(ie, you're not gonna be using them to cut through wire or break down 200 boxes a day or something) knives. I usually carry a budget Kershaw myself, and I have no complaints.
 
The marking is just a difference in marking, 8Cr13MoV is a good Chinese made simple stainless in the 440B-440C range IMO, will sharpen easily and hold-up ok under light to moderate cutting, highly abrasive materials will kill it in not time flat tho. It as about as low a I would ever recommend to someone as a user blade steel, I would stay away from 3/6/7CrMoV, you'll usually see these in Kershaw "Super value" type packs and a lot of current Gerber models.
 
To answer your question, the MoV indicates molybdenum and vanadium

The 8 is the amount of carbon (0.8%), Cr is chromium (13%)

best

mqqn
 
mqqn said:
To answer your question, the MoV indicates molybdenum and vanadium

The 8 is the amount of carbon (0.8%), Cr is chromium (13%)

best

mqqn
Click to expand...

Added to the list of "things I never knew before". Very interesting!
 
"To answer your question, the MoV indicates molybdenum and vanadium

The 8 is the amount of carbon (0.8%), Cr is chromium (13%) "

So you are saying that some of the Kershaw Swerves have the MoV and the ones that are marked only 8Cr13 do NOT have MoV in them ? That seems weird , no ? I mean why would they make the very same model of knife with two different steels ?
 
Mike-The-Knife said:
"To answer your question, the MoV indicates molybdenum and vanadium

The 8 is the amount of carbon (0.8%), Cr is chromium (13%) "

So you are saying that some of the Kershaw Swerves have the MoV and the ones that are marked only 8Cr13 do NOT have MoV in them ? That seems weird , no ? I mean why would they make the very same model of knife with two different steels ?
Click to expand...

Short answer is they dont. Just buy at a reputable dealer and enjoy the knife
 
I have the Swerve. That neat looking bend in the handle that it's named for tends to bunch my fingers up against the flipper with any decent grip on the knife. Uncomfortably so. It's also a bit heavy for its size. The K-texture isn't pretty but it is functional. If you happen to have smaller hands it may be a nice budget entry into a larger (than the scallion) Kershaw.

I'd put my money towards a G-10 Cryo or a Skyline though.
 
Mike-The-Knife said:
"To answer your question, the MoV indicates molybdenum and vanadium

The 8 is the amount of carbon (0.8%), Cr is chromium (13%) "

So you are saying that some of the Kershaw Swerves have the MoV and the ones that are marked only 8Cr13 do NOT have MoV in them ? That seems weird , no ? I mean why would they make the very same model of knife with two different steels ?
Click to expand...

That I cannot say, but I bet you could email Kershaw CS and ask them.

Note, however, that many models from many manufacturers are made in a variety of steels over time sometimes as production changes and sometimes as specific models to showcase a higher end steel.

best

mqqn
 
The scallion was my first ever Kershaw as well. Great little knife. I ended up with a Skyline next after reading the reviews/recommendations here on the site. It's an awesome knife, and my main EDC. My next will probably be a Strobe, but I'm on sort of a ZT kick now.
 
A Cryo 2 is about twice the size of a Scallion. Both great knives though. If you like large, solid feeling frame lock knives, which I do, then the Cryo 2 will fit nicely.

The leek and Shallot are both in the "Onion" like of Kershaw knives. The leek is my favorite knife by far, while it might not be the biggest or baddest thing out there is a great size, weight, quality and value. The Shallot will be around the size of the Cryo 2.

All of these Kershaw knives can be purchased from Kershawguy.com including "blem" models that don't carry a factory warranty. You will get a pretty good deal on them.

As far as the Swerve goes there are two versions out there. The one with the black blade is a manual opener with a 3cr blade, it came in the Christmas pack one year. The Swerve that is sold in the clam pack by it self is an assisted opener with an 8cr blade.
 
/\ That there is what I was looking for ! /\ What I had seem was the uncoated blade with the 8Cr13MoV on it and the black blade with what I "thought" was just 8Cr13 on it , but it was actually 3Cr13 . So it IS a different steel .

Maybe the best bet is to save my pennies for a Cryo , Cryo II or go all out for an entry level ZT :eek: I can see where this is going to be expensive lol . Like every other part of the knife addiction .
 
Mike-The-Knife said:
/\ That there is what I was looking for ! /\ What I had seem was the uncoated blade with the 8Cr13MoV on it and the black blade with what I "thought" was just 8Cr13 on it , but it was actually 3Cr13 . So it IS a different steel .

Maybe the best bet is to save my pennies for a Cryo , Cryo II or go all out for an entry level ZT :eek: I can see where this is going to be expensive lol . Like every other part of the knife addiction .
Click to expand...

If you get a Swerve, get the 8Cr version. Better steel, and IMO, looks better uncoated too. It's really not a bad knife(I have small hands, it's perfectly fine in my grip) if you're just using it for opening boxes/packages, cutting those cable zip tie things, and or breaking down an occasional box. And at $20 or less, if you lose it you're not out much.
 
The Kershaw skyline is a great flipper. It's fairly light weight, has decent grip, flips easily, holds and edge well, and is priced well also. My only minor complaint is that pocket clip is kind of smallish.
 
The Blur, Leek, and Skyline are my favorite Kershaw models.

The Cryo is a nice smaller knife. The more recent Emerson collaborations have turned up some great designs too. The CQC-5K and CQC-6K are great knives. The upcoming Link and Shield also looks pretty interesting.
 
Thanks everyone . As usual the wealth of information here has answered my question AND given me some other Kershaw knives to consider :thumbup:

Kershaw seems to have a strong following on the forum and I guess with good reason if my Scallion is any indication .
 
As a follow up. My local Wally World sells a Kershaw Freefall with an 8cr satin blade that is a modified Tanto design (I dislike tanto blades) and a black injection bolder handle for $18 plus tax. If you are set on a budget Kershaw I would give that a try, it's a great knife for the money. I will echo the other comments also though. The Leek, Blur and Skyline are all excellent US made knives. You can't go wrong with any of them.
 
My 2c is that you can't go wrong these days with KAI. If you have the money for the ZT line you definitely should hit the button. But, even with the budget lines with 8Cr13MoV, you will get good enough performance for everyday utility. I have the Scamp, Crown and Injection in that steel and have had no cause for complaint. For a little more money you could step up to the 12c27 series knives and genuinely upgrade your performance a la the Leek.
 
I have a budget Kershaw in my pocket more often than not. It's usually a One Ton, Vapor III or RJI, but a Cryo or Shuffle works its way in every once in a while. Most lead a pretty uneventful existence, opening packages and similar tasks, but the One Ton in particular has actually served quite well as a somewhat "hard use" knife, cutting quite a few zip ties and cables. It is 8Cr13MoV like the others, but hasn't required sharpening yet, which is quite surprising. While its blade is pretty big, the knife overall is so slim that it rides in a pocket with my cell phone and occasionally other items without hassle.
 
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