Kershaw Kershaw Link 1776BLK in M390

Should I send it back for sharpening or just get my perfect angle from my lanksy?

  • Send it back for sharpening

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Hit it up on the Lansky

    Votes: 9 69.2%

  • Give up on knives and hide under a blanket while sobbing

    Votes: 4 30.8%
  • Total voters
    13
W

whatbuttondoipush

Joined
Feb 12, 2018
Messages
10
Hey guys, this is my first thread here on BF.
Today I'm doing a short review on the underwhelming Kershaw Link 1776BLK in Bohler M390.

It's well put together and fits nice in the hand. It is 1.435 inches wide, 4.391 inches long and 0.659 inches thick when closed.
It is about 7.5 inches long, 1.437 inches wide at the flipper/ finger guard and the blade is about 1.166 wide.

I'd like to give you my feelings about how it cuts and how long it stays sharp for and all that jazz, but right out of the box it is about as sharp as a $15 gas station knife. It can barely cut paper and won't shave a single hair.
I'll get back to you guys when I hit it up on my lansky. I heard how well M390 sharpens up, I guess now I'll know first hand.

I don't know why I keep buying Kershaw... First a Leek with a burnt tip(which they replaced after trying to fix by resharpening the same knife so many times to get rid of the burn mark that the lock doesn't work anymore.. They ended up giving me a new one. There's a lot more to this story I'll tell it another time.) and now another dud that I'm going to have to spend a lot time on just to be able to use. Look at me squeezing the blade on the last pic, my finger tip is turning white! /rant

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whatbuttondoipush said:
Hey guys, this is my first thread here on BF.
Today I'm doing a short review on the underwhelming Kershaw Link 1776BLK in Bohler M390.

It's well put together and fits nice in the hand. It is 1.435 inches wide, 4.391 inches long and 0.659 inches thick when closed.
It is about 7.5 inches long, 1.437 inches wide at the flipper/ finger guard and the blade is about 1.166 wide.

I'd like to give you my feelings about how it cuts and how long it stays sharp for and all that jazz, but right out of the box it is about as sharp as a $15 gas station knife. It can barely cut paper and won't shave a single hair.
I'll get back to you guys when I hit it up on my lansky. I heard how well M390 sharpens up, I guess now I'll know first hand.

I don't know why I keep buying Kershaw... First a Leek with a burnt tip(which they replaced after trying to fix by resharpening the same knife so many times to get rid of the burn mark that the lock doesn't work anymore.. They ended up giving me a new one. There's a lot more to this story I'll tell it another time.) and now another dud that I'm going to have to spend a lot time on just to be able to use. Look at me squeezing the blade on the last pic, my finger tip is turning white! /rant

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Wow that stinks my link came razor sharp and is one of my favorite knives. Do you not get to handle the knives you buy? With Kershaw I’m lucky enough to have a shop near me I can handle the ones I’d like to own. Hope it dosent take you to long to put a edge on it. And welcome to the forums let us know what you think of the link after you sharpen it.
 
It
gonebad395 said:
Wow that stinks my link came razor sharp and is one of my favorite knives. Do you not get to handle the knives you buy? With Kershaw I’m lucky enough to have a shop near me I can handle the ones I’d like to own. Hope it dosent take you to long to put a edge on it. And welcome to the forums let us know what you think of the link after you sharpen it.
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It was a preorder from knifecenter. I ordered it then had to wait 2-3 months.
 
made n merica? (can't help myself, this is funny). Maybe Kershaw did not sharpen this one, or... pre-dulled it for safe shipping or boarder crossings... Are you in Canada? ;)
Enough jabs as we have 4 perfectly good Kershaw's in hand.
Had to log in just to look at that bevel n vote.
Thinking of getting the slicey 0.90 thick m390 Dividend or saving more for higher quality build somewhere else.
The Dividend has one of my favorite steels, and I expect your sharpening results will provide a data point on heat treat. Kershaw's will give good service if not molested during their build. At least the Link's screws go into blind end barrel bolts, instead of directly into tapped aluminum handles like the Dividend? Awaiting sharpening results.
 
I brought it to work today just to see how well it'll handle some cardboard and stuff. Keep in mind I was waiting for more votes before I did anything so it's still "factory sharp" lol. I had to cut a gaylord that was quad-wall cardboard... SUUUUUCKS! I have already contacted KC and let them know so they can tell Kershaw. I will be sharpening it tonight up to 2000 grit on my sapphire stone and strop. I'll post pics when I'm done

Edit: it does have the blind posts. I live in Washington. I was just 5 miles away from their factory in Tualatin 3 weeks ago.lol
 
scottc3 said:
Good idea letting the store know, so maybe they could check a couple. That bevel looks great, now how does that Link slice? What angle?
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From the factory the angle was varied widely and I had to reset the tip and base by the chole to match the belly which was about 25 degrees. The tip was about 40-45 degrees and the base was 25 on one side and had a divet of a out 40 degrees. The instruction booklet said to sharpen from 18 to 22 degrees ptttffff yeah freaking right! I like my edges at 20 degrees with a micro bevel(on a 2000 grit sapphire) of 25 but this time I just matched what was there.

It's scary sharp right now but it doesn't bite pine wood like my LAPG TBFK in S35VN or custom Elmax. When 3 finger testing it, it feels sticky, like anything but the lightest pressure and I'll need to go to the ER... Very scary!

I hope that answered your questions
 
Quick update: i just broke down the rest of that quad wall gaylord and rolled the edge.
Either I got mis-stamped steel, the heat treat is bad, or they burned the edge while sharpening it. Maybe i should try a 400 grit edge and just strop it. I'm going search the forums for m390 advice, because this is ridiculous.
 
hmmm, I think trusting Kershaw's manufacturing workflow is perfectly okay regarding their use of real Bohler M390. So, rereading your sharpening post gives me the impression that you're at about 50° inclusive from straightening out the failed factory bevel (an industry standard that has more to do with lawyers and accidents of history than capability, technologically speaking. Think about it powered belts used by hands in 2018... worldwide).
At this point, I would re-set to your preferred 40° inclusive because the blade is only 0.11 thick, and maybe your re-profile will be enough to get through any abuse it suffered before going out the door.
And yes this is ridiculous, with the only mitigating circumstances being that Kershaw may have underestimated the streets overwhelmingly positive response to the idea of a slicy $80 made in the USA liner lock with m390, and the suits playing catch-up did not invest in quality control on the floor in their in a hurrY. Not that this has ever happened before...:poop:
 
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