Kershaw knives sold in big box stores...

K

knife117

Joined
Jan 30, 2014
Messages
175
Are Kershaw knives sold in stores like Walmart and Cabelas the same quality as those sold by knife dealers?

I heard a rumor that perhaps the big stores get factory rejects or knives made on production lines that have lower quality control. Is there any truth to this?
 
No. That would actually be more expensive for them to have two different production line for the same product. They have not gotten a reputation for making good knives and excellent customer service by putting out substandard products to their customer base
 
knife117 said:
Are Kershaw knives sold in stores like Walmart and Cabelas the same quality as those sold by knife dealers?

I heard a rumor that perhaps the big stores get factory rejects or knives made on production lines that have lower quality control. Is there any truth to this?
Click to expand...

Same knives, sometimes different packaging............
 
Well, there may be some truth to this, depending on how exactly you were meaning it.

Kershaw DOES sell some lower quality knives, that are frequently sold by places like walmart. You seem them often around holidays, and they are usually a cheaper versions of other production models (manual instead of speedsafe, etc), and are bundled with like a flashlight, or something else for like $20. However, I doubt the quality control is worse (unless they're made at factories that kershaw normally doesn't use or something like that). The materials (blade steels at the very least) are lower quality (3Cr13Mov, etc).

So, I doubt that for any given model, that there is a significant difference in the build quality whether it is sold by a big box store, or a small shop (assuming of course that the small shop doesn't inspect/return merchandise before they hit the shelves). There is a chance that you will find lower quality models sold at big box stores though, but again, IIRC, they are totally different models, not just "worse" versions of a normal model.

Hopefully that makes sense :).
 
Same quality no matter where you buy them. I bought two Leeks, a Shuffle, and a tanto Blur at Wal-Mart. They are all high quality users.
 
ocnLogan said:
Well, there may be some truth to this, depending on how exactly you were meaning it.

Kershaw DOES sell some lower quality knives, that are frequently sold by places like walmart. You seem them often around holidays, and they are usually a cheaper versions of other production models (manual instead of speedsafe, etc), and are bundled with like a flashlight, or something else for like $20. However, I doubt the quality control is worse (unless they're made at factories that kershaw normally doesn't use or something like that). The materials (blade steels at the very least) are lower quality (3Cr13Mov, etc).

So, I doubt that for any given model, that there is a significant difference in the build quality whether it is sold by a big box store, or a small shop (assuming of course that the small shop doesn't inspect/return merchandise before they hit the shelves). There is a chance that you will find lower quality models sold at big box stores though, but again, IIRC, they are totally different models, not just "worse" versions of a normal model.

Hopefully that makes sense :).
Click to expand...

This is correct. Walmart and every other big box will have "special buy" promos around the holidays, but these are made in the exact same factory as the full production items.
 
Thats as silly as someone telling me a while back the Colt 6920 I bought at Walmart was a factory second made up of parts that didn't pass QC.
 
collim1 said:
Thats as silly as someone telling me a while back the Colt 6920 I bought at Walmart was a factory second made up of parts that didn't pass QC.
Click to expand...


Yeah that's nonsense.

However I will say that as far as TV's go, during black friday manufactures like Vivizo, Samsung, etc mostly all make a "Black Friday model" TV that is lacking some features and possibly even made with lower quality parts. That is why they're so cheap, it's not just a sale, the quality of the TV is also lower. You can tell this is true because certain models released during Black Friday aren't even on the manufactures website, or they're even lacking a model number to begin with! I used to work at Walmart almost a decade ago, although I wasn't aware of this until a couple years ago. That's why I wouldn't buy a Black Friday deal TV for my main TV. For a second room or something? Sure. Or if I knew it was a regular model and not a Black Friday special of course. I'm not saying all of the ones are like that, but it's definitely true!

Slightly off topic, interesting none the less. As for knives I have seen really crappy kershaws sold at Walmart. However the leeks and other main lines are surely just the same as online.
 
I think It is just a common rumor and falsity that knives guns and ammo, sold at big box stores such Walmart. I used to think that all of walmarts shotgun ammo was factory seconds and would not buy it, one day I was going to shoot trap with some friends and forgot my ammo at home 45 miles away so I got a brick of walmart ammo and actually shot my first 100 straight with walmart ammo. So I am convinced that its just a rumor that was started years ago and just changes from product to product.

Besides, the thought of KAI selling something without the same standards as everything else they sell seems kind of wild to me.
 
There is a small kernel of truth to it as well. The Shuffle as sold by WalMart, model 3800, is made with 3Cr13 steel as opposed to the 8Cr13MoV used in the 8700.
 
The only thing I've seen is the Kershaw Tone, which is exclusive to Academy Sports. Cheap as chips, g10 handle. My favorite small fixed blade.
10340618.jpg
 
Kershaw does dealer exclusives with premium blade steels from time to time. The blades are marked accordingly with a unique model number. What is the big deal if they make a dealer exclusive using a different blade steel for a box store with a unique model number. Anyone who is knowledgeable enough about blade steels to care should have done their homework first, or shouldn't have high expectations for an inexpensive knife.
 
This rumor makes the rounds ever year or so . I hear it at my LGS that the Ammo is 2nd grade but my personal research shows it false just as with guns and knives.
 
This rumor is pushed by the peanut gallery on every product sold at wal-mart. If its not on snopes it should. From the televisions to the toilet paper people believe the stuff at wal-mart is intentionally lower quality. Its not true. The ONLY truth to it is that many times special products that are variants of higher cost items are sometimes made specifically for wal-mart to meet a lower price point demand. But if you have a item from wal-mart and it has the same sku as another retail location they are identical.
 
that looks extremely similar to a zt0620. The pommel is different but overall shape is very close.
yepimonfire said:
The only thing I've seen is the Kershaw Tone, which is exclusive to Academy Sports. Cheap as chips, g10 handle. My favorite small fixed blade.
10340618.jpg
Click to expand...
 
It would be disastrous to a company that wanted to stay in business to market lesser quality knives at a store more people shop in. They soon would have the same reputation as Gerber (even though Gerber does have a few good things). However, a lot of these Big Box stores get in the cheap Chinese made Kershaws, mainly, along with the good American made models. So, buyer beware.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top