Kershaw Piston vs Knockout for EDC

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wivo9

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Sep 28, 2013
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I'm looking to buy either the pistol or the knockout as my new EDC, is there anybody with experience with either knives that can help me with my decision?

Thanks very much
 
I have a Knockout and I can say that it is a well built knife. The aluminum handles give the knife some heft. It also has a black pocket clip which makes it less noticeable. The blade fires hard and locks up tight. The knife is also fairly thin. I do not know how it compares to the Piston but I am guessing that the Knockout is more compact because knives with G-10 (plastic) handles are usually thicker. It also has a sub-frame lock which is stronger than the liner lock of the Piston.
 
Well I don't have much to say about the Piston as I only briefly fondled one at a knife show but then I fondled the Knockout and well I own a Knockout now. :) What would you like to know? What are your wants and/or concerns about either blade? They are both nice but for me I liked the blade shape of the Knockout better and I like the all aluminum frame with the frame lock design and the blade comes out super fast with a reassuring thunk noise when the lock engages. It's super slim and carries very nicely in the pocket. Blade steel isn't as good as say S30v but it is still an excellent steel that sharpens easily & gets razor sharp. Won't hold the edge as long as some others but it sharpens easier so I don't mind it.

To add another knife to your list that I would rate higher than the Piston is look at the Kershaw R.A.M. It is sadly discontinued now but you can find them still on the big auction site. I absolutely love that knife! It's not assisted opening but it's butter smooth and flicks open very easily. Just an all around great knife and the lock system on it is great and very strong. I would have a very hard time choosing between the R.A.M. and the Knockout if I had to. Just get all 3 and jump right into the knife addiction lol.
 
Thanks, I'm looking for something for light use at work but can be used for medium task like when I'm out camping/hunting. Easy to sharpen, tight lock up, good assisted opening, thin and just quality overall. I recently got a delica 4 ffg and I really like it but its profile is just a bit bigger with the spydie hole and I'm not having much luck with the VG-10.
 
I really like the looks of the knockout, does it carry well? Is it on the heavy side?
 
I gave my Delica 4 ffg to my brother or I'd take pictures of my Knockout alongside the Delica to give you an idea of size comparison. I still could do that this Sunday when I go to visit him if you'd like and are willing to wait that long. Or somebody else that has both might be along shortly to do the same for you. The Knockout off the top of my head is about the same thickness as the Delica if not a tad thinner but it is a little bigger as far as height goes from the cutting edge to the top of the blade. It disappears in my pocket but then again so did the Delica so I'm probably just used to carrying a little bit larger knives. Everything about the Knockout seems to meet your criteria other than the size may be a tad large if you feel like the Delica is a little big. Maybe check out the Leek as well?
 
I like how thin the delica is, just the width when closed feels a bit bigger to accommodate the spydie hole. A size comparison would be nice jkulysses :D
 
I have the Knockout and I love it. It's very thin and light so it carries very well. The blade is the perfect length and has a really nice amount of belly. The pocket clip is a really nice deep carry clip. You really can't go wrong with the Knockout, but I'm sure the Piston is awesome as well because most Kershaws are.
 
I really like both designs and I wish I could get both ha ha, but I am on a college life budget :P
I like the looks of the Knockout but I heard that the piston wad a bit lighter and it's priced a bit cheaper.
 
Between the Knockout and Piston, I like the Knockout a little more. Both are significantly larger than the Delica, if you're using that as a reference.

Piston_Knockout_Delica_open_800x476.jpg


Piston_Knockout_Delica_closed_800x498.jpg


Knockout & Delica measure about 3/8" thick (me eye-balling against a ruler). Piston is about 7/16".
Piston_Knockout_Delica_thickness_800x531.jpg
 
wivo9 said:
Are the blade lengths similar?
Click to expand...

On the cutting board, the grid is 0.5". The knives are aligned at the tip (right) in the first pic and by the pivot end (left) in the second pic. In the third pic, they're aligned near the pivot (top). Grid in the 3rd pic is 0.2". The Piston's blade is about 3.5", and the Knockout is 3.25". Delica is 2.5".
 
thanks very much, that really helped :D
I'm going to go with the Knockout; 1 last question, how is it to sharpen?
 
I owned both at one point. The poison is the bigger if the two easily but it's not a really huge difference. I liked both of them a lot.

What it comes down to its deep carry clip vs standard and aluminum handles vs g10. Those are the biggest differences, everything else is pretty much a wash.
 
Scurvy092 said:
I owned both at one point. The poison is the bigger if the two easily but it's not a really huge difference. I liked both of them a lot.

What it comes down to its deep carry clip vs standard and aluminum handles vs g10. Those are the biggest differences, everything else is pretty much a wash.
Click to expand...

So which one did you keep?
 
Both very good knives. I have to go against the grain here and recommend the Piston. Just fits my large sized hand much better.
 
The knives are pretty similar when you think about it. So do you prefer a shorter blade with a subframelock or would you prefer a longer knife with a liner lock. This decision shouldn't bee too hard considering we have identicle materials, blade shape, & manufacturer.
 
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