I just received a new folder by Kershaw, the Scamp. This is a China-made frame lock that sells for around $22 in stores. While I have had mine for barely an hour, I've done paper and cardboard cutting with it and I feel that this would make an ideal EDC (my cutting tasks usually consist of cardboard). The model number on this one is 2710.
Images will be added as I get a camera again, but this is a stock one from KnifeCenter...
The Handle: The Scamp measures 4-5/8" long closed and is 7/16" thick (not counting the pocket clip). The handle is constructed as follows, starting from the locking side:
410 stainless steel, 1/8" thick. This is the frame lock.
Black Zytel spacer, just under 3/16" thick.
410 stainless steel liner, just under 1/16" thick.
Black G-10 scale, just over 1/16" thick.
The frame lock and liner are smooth and have a slightly grey tint to them, perhaps titanium-nitride coated? The G-10 is nicely textured with a checkerboard pattern, and has some neat linear machining as well. There's a lanyard hole in the butt of the handle, and it will accomodate cordage up to 3/16" in diameter.
The knife is well-built, and stainless Torx screws hold it together. Two T-6 screws hold the knife together at the backspacer, and one T-8 screw acts as the adjustable blade pivot. The back of the knife is open, which is good; no need to take it apart to get debris out. The blade stop pin is stainless steel as well, and it's 1/8" in diameter. The stop pin is sandwiched between the liner and the frame, and sits in holes drilled into each; it's not screwed in.
The blade rides on several bushings, starting from the frame side: white nylon bushing, phosphor bronze bushing, blade, phosphor bronze bushing, phosphor bronze bushing. The nylon bushing is good, but I'm afraid to say that all of the phosphor bronze ones are thinner than paper and remind me of the bushings used on the Spyderco Tenacious: they're too thin and they take a permanent bend just by pressing them between your fingers. So I replaced them with some left-over washers from a different knife. It's an easy enough fix and I didn't feel it was absolutely necessary, but I wish the Scamp came with more sturdy bushings.
The Scamp is a frame lock, and it locks open solidly with no blade play in any direction. Unlocking the blade is easy, as the frame sticks out just a little bit farther than the liner; no need to stick your finger inside the handle to get to the lock.
The Scamp comes with a stainless steel pocket clip, which has the Kershaw logo stamped in. It's adjustable for right-hand carry, tip up or down, and is held on with three T-6 screws. Retention is great; the clip isn't too loose nor too tight, and the smooth clip coupled with the smooth frame side of the handle makes it easy to take out of a pocket. Tip down will let the knife sit deeper in your pocket, with 1/2" of the handle exposed. Tip up will leave you with 1" exposed.
Using the Scamp was very nice. The handle is shaped for comfort and has a good finger groove. I really like the feel of the Scamp, and it will probably kick the RAM out of my pocket as an EDC for a while.
The Blade: The Scamp has a blade made of 8Cr13MoV stainless steel with a grey finish. The left side of the blade has the Kershaw logo lasered on, while the right side has 2710 next to the KAI logo, and these are above 8Cr13MoV. The right side tang also has CHINA lasered on. All of the lasering is in white.
The blade is hollow ground from 3/4 way up. There's a swedge, and the point is pretty acute. Not as needle-like as a Leek's tip, but it will definitely make piercing easy. The blade is 3-1/2" long with a 3-3/8" cutting edge, and it's 1/8" thick. It came razor sharp right out of the box. The back of the blade is smooth; there's no ramp or jimping.
The last thing to talk about is the Scamp's biggest flaw: the thumb studs. With any frame lock, I love having the option of getting my thumb under the stud and letting it "load" pressure until I can flick the blade open with no wrist movement. Can't do that with the Scamp. This is because of three things...
1. The thumb studs are too close to the handle. There's just not enough room to get my thumb between them and give it a good push. I have large hands so this might just be me, but I can't do it.
2. The detent that holds the knife closed is too strong. Even when doing a normal thumb opening, I have to push very hard to get the blade past the detent.
3. The thumb studs are too sharp. Whether I'm doing the pressure-loading technique or a conventional thumb opening method, the stud digs into my thumb and just plain hurts. I would file them down, but that would make opening even harder because of #1 above.
Now, ignoring those three points, the studs are very good. There's a stud on each side of the blade, and they're both ramped. Left-handed opening is the same level of ease (for me, difficulty) as right-handed. The studs are each just under 3/16" in diameter, so they're a good size, just a little too close to the handle for me. Once the hard detent is overcome, opening is smooth.
Everything considered, especially the price, the Scamp is a great knife. I'm not going to be using it as a "tactical" knife so I don't need fast deployment, and for an EDC, it's good enough for me. The knife's edge-holding is about that of Kershaw's 440A (which has a great heat treat) and only needed a light stropping after cutting about 50 slices of 1/8" thick cardboard (16" long cuts). You really would be hard-pressed to find a better frame lock for $25 than the Scamp. The Boker Trance is a great framelock and has ridden with me many times, and I'll be comparing it directly to the Scamp in terms of the best $25 frame lock. For now, the Scamp is my EDC. Let's see what it's got :thumbup:
Images will be added as I get a camera again, but this is a stock one from KnifeCenter...
The Handle: The Scamp measures 4-5/8" long closed and is 7/16" thick (not counting the pocket clip). The handle is constructed as follows, starting from the locking side:
410 stainless steel, 1/8" thick. This is the frame lock.
Black Zytel spacer, just under 3/16" thick.
410 stainless steel liner, just under 1/16" thick.
Black G-10 scale, just over 1/16" thick.
The frame lock and liner are smooth and have a slightly grey tint to them, perhaps titanium-nitride coated? The G-10 is nicely textured with a checkerboard pattern, and has some neat linear machining as well. There's a lanyard hole in the butt of the handle, and it will accomodate cordage up to 3/16" in diameter.
The knife is well-built, and stainless Torx screws hold it together. Two T-6 screws hold the knife together at the backspacer, and one T-8 screw acts as the adjustable blade pivot. The back of the knife is open, which is good; no need to take it apart to get debris out. The blade stop pin is stainless steel as well, and it's 1/8" in diameter. The stop pin is sandwiched between the liner and the frame, and sits in holes drilled into each; it's not screwed in.
The blade rides on several bushings, starting from the frame side: white nylon bushing, phosphor bronze bushing, blade, phosphor bronze bushing, phosphor bronze bushing. The nylon bushing is good, but I'm afraid to say that all of the phosphor bronze ones are thinner than paper and remind me of the bushings used on the Spyderco Tenacious: they're too thin and they take a permanent bend just by pressing them between your fingers. So I replaced them with some left-over washers from a different knife. It's an easy enough fix and I didn't feel it was absolutely necessary, but I wish the Scamp came with more sturdy bushings.
The Scamp is a frame lock, and it locks open solidly with no blade play in any direction. Unlocking the blade is easy, as the frame sticks out just a little bit farther than the liner; no need to stick your finger inside the handle to get to the lock.
The Scamp comes with a stainless steel pocket clip, which has the Kershaw logo stamped in. It's adjustable for right-hand carry, tip up or down, and is held on with three T-6 screws. Retention is great; the clip isn't too loose nor too tight, and the smooth clip coupled with the smooth frame side of the handle makes it easy to take out of a pocket. Tip down will let the knife sit deeper in your pocket, with 1/2" of the handle exposed. Tip up will leave you with 1" exposed.
Using the Scamp was very nice. The handle is shaped for comfort and has a good finger groove. I really like the feel of the Scamp, and it will probably kick the RAM out of my pocket as an EDC for a while.
The Blade: The Scamp has a blade made of 8Cr13MoV stainless steel with a grey finish. The left side of the blade has the Kershaw logo lasered on, while the right side has 2710 next to the KAI logo, and these are above 8Cr13MoV. The right side tang also has CHINA lasered on. All of the lasering is in white.
The blade is hollow ground from 3/4 way up. There's a swedge, and the point is pretty acute. Not as needle-like as a Leek's tip, but it will definitely make piercing easy. The blade is 3-1/2" long with a 3-3/8" cutting edge, and it's 1/8" thick. It came razor sharp right out of the box. The back of the blade is smooth; there's no ramp or jimping.
The last thing to talk about is the Scamp's biggest flaw: the thumb studs. With any frame lock, I love having the option of getting my thumb under the stud and letting it "load" pressure until I can flick the blade open with no wrist movement. Can't do that with the Scamp. This is because of three things...
1. The thumb studs are too close to the handle. There's just not enough room to get my thumb between them and give it a good push. I have large hands so this might just be me, but I can't do it.
2. The detent that holds the knife closed is too strong. Even when doing a normal thumb opening, I have to push very hard to get the blade past the detent.
3. The thumb studs are too sharp. Whether I'm doing the pressure-loading technique or a conventional thumb opening method, the stud digs into my thumb and just plain hurts. I would file them down, but that would make opening even harder because of #1 above.
Now, ignoring those three points, the studs are very good. There's a stud on each side of the blade, and they're both ramped. Left-handed opening is the same level of ease (for me, difficulty) as right-handed. The studs are each just under 3/16" in diameter, so they're a good size, just a little too close to the handle for me. Once the hard detent is overcome, opening is smooth.
Everything considered, especially the price, the Scamp is a great knife. I'm not going to be using it as a "tactical" knife so I don't need fast deployment, and for an EDC, it's good enough for me. The knife's edge-holding is about that of Kershaw's 440A (which has a great heat treat) and only needed a light stropping after cutting about 50 slices of 1/8" thick cardboard (16" long cuts). You really would be hard-pressed to find a better frame lock for $25 than the Scamp. The Boker Trance is a great framelock and has ridden with me many times, and I'll be comparing it directly to the Scamp in terms of the best $25 frame lock. For now, the Scamp is my EDC. Let's see what it's got :thumbup:
