I've been waiting for Kershaw to come out with an automatic for a long time, and now they have two: the Breakout and the Rogue. I got the Rogue today, and for my first Kershaw auto, I'm impressed. It's made in the USA and carries a street price of around $95. The model number is 2001. Let's take a closer look at this fine auto...
The Handle: The Rogue is 4-7/8" long when closed and 1/2" thick not counting the pocket clip. The handles are made of black anodized aluminum with black Trac-Tec inserts. The Trac-Tec inserts aren't like rough sandpaper (skateboard tape) but more like a grippy hard rubber. They're not uncomfortable at all.
The knife is an open back build, something I've never seen before in an automatic. The pillars are Kershaw's typical hourglass shape, and they're black.
The handle is held together with six black T-8 screws - three on each side - and one black T-8 screw as the blade pivot pin screw.
Closed, the blade is centered in the handle.
Since this is an automatic, opening the knife is easy; just press the firing button. It's blackened steel and has a neat safety - a black steel slide. Showing the safety on, which makes the slide go between the button and the handle...
And the safety off, showing the slide in the rearward (off) position...
The button and safety are located where they should be; not on the spine, not low on the handle, right where they can be accessed without switching your grip or making awkward maneuvers. The safety is secure and solid. The firing button is easily accessed and pushed while not being so loose as to cause accidental deployment. I carry the Rogue in my right hip pocket with the safety off, and it's never opened unless I wanted it to.
The firing button also acts as the lock when the knife is open. To unlock it, you simply hold in the button while closing the blade. This is easy one-handed. You can also flick the safety to the "on" position with the blade locked, and this will double-lock the blade open by preventing the firing button (now a lock release) to be pushed down.
The Rogue has a blackened steel pocket clip, which is held on with two T-6 screws. It has Kershaw's logo stamped in, and can be mounted right-hand tip up or down, or left-hand tip up. It's very secure, but not too tight.
In use, the Rogue is hefty and useful. There are no sharp points and I must say, using it has become second nature for me. It's a large knife and fills my hand.
Continued below due to photo upload limitations...
The Handle: The Rogue is 4-7/8" long when closed and 1/2" thick not counting the pocket clip. The handles are made of black anodized aluminum with black Trac-Tec inserts. The Trac-Tec inserts aren't like rough sandpaper (skateboard tape) but more like a grippy hard rubber. They're not uncomfortable at all.
The knife is an open back build, something I've never seen before in an automatic. The pillars are Kershaw's typical hourglass shape, and they're black.
The handle is held together with six black T-8 screws - three on each side - and one black T-8 screw as the blade pivot pin screw.
Closed, the blade is centered in the handle.
Since this is an automatic, opening the knife is easy; just press the firing button. It's blackened steel and has a neat safety - a black steel slide. Showing the safety on, which makes the slide go between the button and the handle...
And the safety off, showing the slide in the rearward (off) position...
The button and safety are located where they should be; not on the spine, not low on the handle, right where they can be accessed without switching your grip or making awkward maneuvers. The safety is secure and solid. The firing button is easily accessed and pushed while not being so loose as to cause accidental deployment. I carry the Rogue in my right hip pocket with the safety off, and it's never opened unless I wanted it to.
The firing button also acts as the lock when the knife is open. To unlock it, you simply hold in the button while closing the blade. This is easy one-handed. You can also flick the safety to the "on" position with the blade locked, and this will double-lock the blade open by preventing the firing button (now a lock release) to be pushed down.
The Rogue has a blackened steel pocket clip, which is held on with two T-6 screws. It has Kershaw's logo stamped in, and can be mounted right-hand tip up or down, or left-hand tip up. It's very secure, but not too tight.
In use, the Rogue is hefty and useful. There are no sharp points and I must say, using it has become second nature for me. It's a large knife and fills my hand.
Continued below due to photo upload limitations...
