- Joined
- Jul 12, 2011
- Messages
- 6,299
First time posting a review here, mainly because I guess I had nothing worthwhile reviewing that others already had. However, I got 2 new knives last week that were just released, and one of them was the Kershaw Knockout. I won a contest Thomas W started over in the kershaw sub-forum, and he sent me the first Knockout off the line. I also received a ZT0350ZDP that I ordered as soon as it came out, but it's just like the regular ZT0350 that so many here have, except that it comes with a blade made of ZDP-189 steel. No need to do a review on that one unless its a performance comparison, but I don't have a regular ZT0350 to compare it with. So, this is about the Knockout.
The best way to describe the Knockout is to compare it to 2 popular knives from Kershaw. The Skyline, and ZT0350. Now, those 2 are very different from one another but are among the more popular models from both ends of the lineup. The Skyline is thin, light, an unassisted flipper, and is a great EDC knife. The ZT0350 is probably the smallest and slimmest in the ZT lineup, much greater in heft than the Skyline (as are the other ZT models), and is an assisted-opening flipper. Both are linerlocks with superb G10 scales. Although the 0350 is bigger and heavier, a lot of people also have it as part of their EDC rotation where local laws allow.
The Knockout takes the best of both. It is the same size as the 0350, an assisted-open flipper with thumbstuds that do not function as bladestops, but is much slimmer and lighter due to its linerless design, utilizing a “Sub-Frame Lock®”. It also has nicely-textured G10 on both sides, and its lowrider clip can be mounted in 4 positions. The blade is 3 1/4" Sandvik 14C28N.
Knockout on the bottom, 0350 on top:
Comparo with my Skyline:
The Knockout is barely 0.25mm thicker than the Skyline, but it's blade is 3.1mm thick, vs the Skyline's 2.3mm.
Two things I really like about the Knockout are the lowrider clip:
and the “Sub-Frame Lock®”:
It locks up tight, but since it's not cut from the scale it behaves like a linerlock when you want to close the knife. Having a slim frame, the “Sub-Frame Lock®” makes it much easier and safer to close. It's easier than closing the Shallot, for instance.
As I received it, lockup was tight, blade was centered with no play at all when open.
Time to make a lanyard for this one.
The best way to describe the Knockout is to compare it to 2 popular knives from Kershaw. The Skyline, and ZT0350. Now, those 2 are very different from one another but are among the more popular models from both ends of the lineup. The Skyline is thin, light, an unassisted flipper, and is a great EDC knife. The ZT0350 is probably the smallest and slimmest in the ZT lineup, much greater in heft than the Skyline (as are the other ZT models), and is an assisted-opening flipper. Both are linerlocks with superb G10 scales. Although the 0350 is bigger and heavier, a lot of people also have it as part of their EDC rotation where local laws allow.
The Knockout takes the best of both. It is the same size as the 0350, an assisted-open flipper with thumbstuds that do not function as bladestops, but is much slimmer and lighter due to its linerless design, utilizing a “Sub-Frame Lock®”. It also has nicely-textured G10 on both sides, and its lowrider clip can be mounted in 4 positions. The blade is 3 1/4" Sandvik 14C28N.
Knockout on the bottom, 0350 on top:
Comparo with my Skyline:
The Knockout is barely 0.25mm thicker than the Skyline, but it's blade is 3.1mm thick, vs the Skyline's 2.3mm.
Two things I really like about the Knockout are the lowrider clip:
and the “Sub-Frame Lock®”:
It locks up tight, but since it's not cut from the scale it behaves like a linerlock when you want to close the knife. Having a slim frame, the “Sub-Frame Lock®” makes it much easier and safer to close. It's easier than closing the Shallot, for instance.
As I received it, lockup was tight, blade was centered with no play at all when open.
Time to make a lanyard for this one.
Last edited:
