Kershaw knockout M390 thoughts

G

Guitarly

Joined
Sep 25, 2017
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I just came back from a few days on the road to find that the USA made blade Knockout in M390 I ordered arrived. Of course I took it out right away and went to fondling it. It’s a nice knife, but I was surprised at how dull it came... the grind is good, nice and even, but it’s one of the duller knives I’ve ever purchased new. All of the less expensive kershaw I’ve purchased have been razor sharp. Anybody else buy one of these? How sharp was yours out of the box?
 
Got the backwash for 95.00, couldn't pass it up for that price. I imagine these will be worth quite a bit a while from now at only a 1000 pieces.
 
I have carried a single Kershaw. A S30V blur. I liked it. Not enough to keep it, but, I liked it.

I love M390. It's a great steel.

I am almost certain you will enjoy your knife. Don't overthink it. You can ALWAYS sharpen them.

In fact, I find that sharpening your blade is a bonding experience....I am corny.
 
I never received any KAI that wasn't very sharp . Maybe you got a KnockOff ? :confused:

Seriously , return it unless you got a great deal .
 
Sounds like you got a lemon. I’d just return it and ask for a replacement. One of the reasons to opt for a premium steel is to enjoy the wear resistance upgrade, which is notably sullied if you need to sharpen it immediately anyway.
 
I've had a few Kershaw knives that arrived dull by my standards but still usable. First thing I do with virtually every knife is sharpen it, though, so factory edge doesn't matter to me unless it's butchered.

As for opinions on the M390 Knockout, I love the feel of the Knockout platform and Kershaw is killing it with their M390 HT. My Link is fantastic, if it wasn't assisted I'd have already bought custom scales and kicked most other knives out of my pocket.
 
Guitarly said:
I just came back from a few days on the road to find that the USA made blade Knockout in M390 I ordered arrived. Of course I took it out right away and went to fondling it. It’s a nice knife, but I was surprised at how dull it came... the grind is good, nice and even, but it’s one of the duller knives I’ve ever purchased new. All of the less expensive kershaw I’ve purchased have been razor sharp. Anybody else buy one of these? How sharp was yours out of the box?
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The knockout in M390 is our first ever big production exclusive. We are a small shop and do everything we can to check out every knife that we ship out. While I have personally checked a ton of these, I will tell you there has been no way to check them all with the increased volume of shipping we are doing. I apologize that you got a dull lemon. Please email me and we will make it 100% right. If you are who I think you are then you have already emailed me.

If anyone else has a problem with theirs please let me know via email at scott@usamadeblade.com. I promise we will take very good care of you!
 
whitty said:
The knockout in M390 is our first ever big production exclusive. We are a small shop and do everything we can to check out every knife that we ship out. While I have personally checked a ton of these, I will tell you there has been no way to check them all with the increased volume of shipping we are doing. I apologize that you got a dull lemon. Please email me and we will make it 100% right. If you are who I think you are then you have already emailed me.

If anyone else has a problem with theirs please let me know via email at scott@usamadeblade.com. I promise we will take very good care of you!
Click to expand...
This is what CS should always be like but very rarely is !
 
Well I got her in, man is she sweet. Blade sharpness was not bad, for a factory grind that is.
20180623_140856_zpsbqxtpatl.jpg
 
I really like the Knockout design. The tall blade and belly make it a great slicer and camp knife.

I’m budgeting to get one of these while they are still available, and can’t wait to use it!
 
If I got one dull I'd strop it or touch it up and see how the edge responds.

This knife is a great tool but I'm not a fan of speed safe. It's 2018 and all. Hopefully they can bring bearings to the USA lineup instead. But yea, KAI doesn't care about enthusiasts since speedsafe sells so well so not gonna hold my breath. My most affordable m390 knife currently is the real Steel Megalodon 2017 and 2018 versions for around 150 each. I think it's worth the extra cost for what I received.

But it's great that Kershaw has brought m390 to the market for the lowest prices I've ever seen for m390. It wasn't too long ago that the trend happened with s35vn in less costly knives and s30v before that.

Generally I'm after more than just the steel type. But this is great for the market as a whole. I have heard that the knockout is one of Kershaws better knives in the lineup and have had many people tell me I should get one.
 
Mo2 said:
It's 2018 and all. Hopefully they can bring bearings to the USA lineup instead. But yea, KAI doesn't care about enthusiasts since speedsafe sells so well so not gonna hold my breath.
Click to expand...

Yikes! You sound a bit salty,... Check out the Natrix line if you haven't already... Kershaw is doing exactly what you’re taking about by retroactively getting rid of the Speedsafe and moving to a KVT bearing. The Natrix Bareknuckle is even made in the US.

To get back in topic... I’m having a really hard time not ordering this Knockout! I don’t usually like knives with blades this long, but the very limited amount made and the rugged good looks is really tempting me (to say nothing of the m390). If it didn’t have the thumbstud I’d be ALL over it.
 
Well you just found out you purchased from one of the best dealers and people that you possibly could have ... :thumbsup: to Whitty again.

I don't have the new M390 but my Olive Knockout came with a great edge as have the few Kershaws I've owned.

this is how customer service should be and is by most all of the forum supporting dealers ... but Whitty's one of the best.
 
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