Kershaw Spec Bump - a couple of questions for users

W

Wicked Youghurt

Joined
Aug 5, 2005
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Interested in that knife, but a number of innovations in it has caused some questions to arise.

First - what do you think about the new 154 CPM performance, how it holds the edge and how easy it gets sharp?

Second - is the DLC coating as tough as titanium-nitride coating or it is closer to teflon coating? How easily it can be removed?


Third - what about the cutting abilities of the knife? It seems, that the belly allows to make powerful cuts while the straight "near-edge" part allows precious and accurate cut.

Fourth and probably main - a question about the lock. It is said, that dust, juice, water, mud and so on can easily get in it and make it fail.

The other very important question is the "lasting" of this lock - it is said, that on Kershaws with SpeedSafe springs wear off very quickly and knife opens less easily, cause springs don`t have enough power to open it.

Sorry for my spelling, I`m not a native speaker and tried to make everything most clear and easy to understand. :)
 
Wicked Youghurt said:
Interested in that knife, but a number of innovations in it has caused some questions to arise.

First - what do you think about the new 154 CPM performance, how it holds the edge and how easy it gets sharp?

Second - is the DLC coating as tough as titanium-nitride coating or it is closer to teflon coating? How easily it can be removed?


Third - what about the cutting abilities of the knife? It seems, that the belly allows to make powerful cuts while the straight "near-edge" part allows precious and accurate cut.

Fourth and probably main - a question about the lock. It is said, that dust, juice, water, mud and so on can easily get in it and make it fail.

The other very important question is the "lasting" of this lock - it is said, that on Kershaws with SpeedSafe springs wear off very quickly and knife opens less easily, cause springs don`t have enough power to open it.

Sorry for my spelling, I`m not a native speaker and tried to make everything most clear and easy to understand. :)
Click to expand...

1. I'm not a fan of steel type vs. steel type, as I think it's simply used as a selling tool or hype. The Spec holds a good edge in line w/it's price point.

2. The coating seems good, and is pretty scratch resistant.

3. Cuts GREAT.

4. No problems with the stud lock. Unlocking can be a bit tricky, though, so always be careful.

-dan
 
Haven't used the steel, but it doesn't matter since you can't buy those anymore. They're S30V from here on out.

I don't like matte black finishes in general. I think TiNi is superior to all of them. But then, I haven't used this one.

I have a blue bump with an almost identical blade and it cuts fine. Not very sharp OTB though. I love recurves, and really, this one does everything it promises.

Stuff getting stuck in the lock of a studlock can not make it fail. It might make it hard, maybe even impossible to CLOSE, but that's not nearly so big a problem as closing on your hand.

I have two Speedsafe knives and no sign of spring wear. They're supposed to be good for 10,000 openings, I believe. Either way, Kershaw replaces them for free.

If it troubles you though, I think the offset has two torsion springs instead of just the one for ridiculous kick. I've been dying to see what that feels like.
 
The spec-bump I looked at in one local store already had a few very noticeable scratches on the blade. Unfortunately, the store didn't have another one in stock.
 
Wicked, thanks for your post. To answer a few of your questions:

CPM 154 is a very performance oriented steel that I think most (even the steel freaks) would be happy to own. The Spec Bump is the first production knife utilizing this steel, and I think over time it (CPM 154) will prove itself on the market.
An S30V Spec Bump is now being delivered, so there are choices for you.
Pricing between the two are the same. FYI, only 1000 pieces of a CPM 154 Spec Bump were produced.

A DLC coat is tough, but like all, it is still just a coating and can be removed over time. Many production companies use DLC coatings.

The recurve blade on the SB takes some getting used to, but over a period of using that shape, it will be appreciated for its multiple cutting abilities.

The Stud Lock has gone through rigorous testing by both Kershaw and Ken Onion. Like any lock, debris can cause issues (ever get that annoying lint build up in a lock back?). The Stud Lock is easily cleaned, and we have not an issue with failure (Art is correct is his earlier discription). I think opening it can be tricky to some, but only because it is new and people are having to re-train themselves.

Our torsion bar springs do not wear out quickly (not sure where that is being reported), and like some of my earlier commentary, I believe the Stud Lock will prove over time that it is a new viable locking mechanism all can enjoy.

Thomas
Kershaw Knives
 
Hm, so, as I have understood, only S30V Bumps are available now? 154 CPM was just smth. like "limited edition on first production run"? :)
About the lock - my friend said on his 2 Kershaws the spring lost most part of its power after 4 months of intensive usage. I live in Russia, so I can`t use the Kershaw support and replace the spring anyway, so I need it to be reliable and long-lasting.
What is the nature of DLC coating?
 
I started using a Spec Bump not too long ago. There is a pretty comprehensive review of this knife here:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=387892

I am deployed to Iraq, and use the knife in a pretty harsh environment. It's gotten a good work out, and hasn't slowwed down a lick.

First - what do you think about the new 154 CPM performance, how it holds the edge and how easy it gets sharp?

I use an Edgepro, ceramics, and a leather strop to sharpen knives. The steel in the Spec Bump behave much the same as 154CM, but seems to take a better polish. I've also had to spend a bit more time "chasing the bur" than with other 154CM knives. The end result, however, is very similar to 154CM. It takes and holds an edge that will serve you well.

Second - is the DLC coating as tough as titanium-nitride coating or it is closer to teflon coating? How easily it can be removed?

I have to tell you, I abhor coated and serrated blades. I much prefere a simple, clean polished or satin blade. The root of this loathing can likely be traced to the BT2 coating emplyed by benchmade. Being in the military, I see a fair number of BM 9053 and 9100s. They are great knives, but they all look like crap because the coating is forever comming off in great patches.

It is important to point out that the DLC coating is less a coating, and more a part of the steel. It is not paint, or baked on epoxy. So to directly answer your question, it is nothing like the teflon coatings that come off from normal pocket wear.

After some convincing from Tim G, I got a Leek 1660CKT with the same DLC coating. I got this knife as a test to see if I could tolorate the coating. Let me tell you... I tried to wear that coating off. it wasn't until I scraped the edge of the blade across a cinder block several times that I was able to wear any of it away. There is no way that this coating is coming off from normal use.

Third - what about the cutting abilities of the knife? It seems, that the belly allows to make powerful cuts while the straight "near-edge" part allows precious and accurate cut.

The Spec Bump is like a whole swiss army knife in one blade. While it is a bit problematic to sharpen on a device like the edgepro, this is easily forgiven when you consider the wide range of aplications for the different aspects of the blade.

Fourth and probably main - a question about the lock. It is said, that dust, juice, water, mud and so on can easily get in it and make it fail.

I have easily adjusted to using this lock mechanism. I can open and close the knife one handed, and my thumb now seeks the stud, rather than the liner. I've yet to see anything come close to fowling the spring mechanism. The spring has very little demand put on it, and is actually under pressure for only a brief period while the blade is actually ipening. The stud itself is also designed to resist wear. If you look at it closely, you will see that it is a hex arrangement. It also is free spinning, so anyone of the six sides of the stud could be the one to contact the liner. In this way, the "wear" is distributed for longer life.
 
Wicked Youghurt said:
Hm, so, as I have understood, only S30V Bumps are available now? 154 CPM was just smth. like "limited edition on first production run"? :)
About the lock - my friend said on his 2 Kershaws the spring lost most part of its power after 4 months of intensive usage. I live in Russia, so I can`t use the Kershaw support and replace the spring anyway, so I need it to be reliable and long-lasting.
What is the nature of DLC coating?
Click to expand...

The "Kershaw Bump", in S30V has been available for some time. These are the ones with the blue or green handles. This is not be confused with the "Spec Bump" in CMP154 which is a relatively new addition to the Kershaw line. I'm holding one in my hand right now, as I type one handed. So no, "154 CPM is not a smth"

On the spring, I think you are confusing the stud lock spring with the torsion bar. The stud lock hasn't been around long enough for one to wear out. Also, why wouldn't kershaw send you replacement torsion bar in Russia? It's small, and would cost only a little postage. They'd have to do a customs declaration form, but I bet they wouldn't mind.

As for the DLC Coating, see my post above (that I posted about the same time as your post.)
 
I want to clear up a few misconceptions here.

First of all, people seem to be looking at the stud lock as if it came out with the spec bump. This is definitely not the case, as it's been out for at least a couple years on the mini mojo, though I can't recall when that came out. If you want to check on the lock reliability, I'd look there, but mine seems to be fine.

Second, the S30V/CPM154 is pretty confusing with the various classes of bumps out there, but it is true that the CPM154 Bump is no longer being made, as best I can tell--a quick look online will show a lot of stores are even out of them.

In its place, the new S30V Spec Bump has arrived, I suppose maybe a week ago. The only differences that I can tell are a different G10 pattern and the steel itself. I'm not quite as big a fan of the new scales, but I'm betting they'll feel even better, so it'll be a tradeoff.

Alas, having grown fond of my blue bump and mini mojo, I do have some minor complaints that involve the Spec Bump.

I really dislike black blade coatings. They have their place, and next to TiNi, I'm betting this stuff is the best. I'm glad Kershaw offers them, although given the choice, I would choose the plain. That said, why not offer a plain blade too? Benchmade and Spyderco both offer both versions on many of their models. If I could do this, I would probably have bought the spec bump over my blue bump, and a random leek over...pretty much anything else.

I'd also like for new Spec Bump owners to evaluate their sharpness, as my mini mojo and blue bump came only moderately sharp, borderline dull (especially the mini mojo). This isn't really a complaint against Kershaw, as even my exalted Benchmade D2 minigrip came with comparable sharpness. As far as I know, it's just mine, but let's examine.
 
In all my posts I meant Kershaw Spec Bump, sorry for incompetence :)
Its good to hear such things about the DLC. If Spec Bump is now available only in S30V how can you characterize it, compared with Benchmade or Spyderco S30V?(I had experience with these steels, for example, on my Chinook II)

About the lock - it`s mechanism is not clear to me, I understand it as a "reversed AXIS" with the "assisted opening". The fact is, that, for example, on my Camillus Heat the spring of the ROBO was just unbeatable, it was similar to a liner - hard to break, and if broken, it could be easily disassembled and the knife became non-automatic. Another fact is the AXIS spring. It is easily broken and weak, but the construction of the lock makes it only to move the stud, so there no critical pressure and force. But on Kershaw the spring opens the knife, so it`s strength, durability and hardness to constant usage is more important.

Hard to say exactly what I mean - I had no practice in English for a long time. :(
 
Well, I might be mistaken, but I believe that if the AO spring breaks, you can still open the knife normally, so this probably won't be too critical an issue in the field. Though the "field" usually constitutes my apartment.

I think I coined the inverted axis lock term, but nonetheless, it really was only a way to help explain the stud lock because people seem to find it so vexing. The more I study locks, the more I see that they're all the same, including liner locks etc. However, if you hold your benchmade open by the blade and unlock it with the axis lock (hard and dangerous to do in this instance), it will work exactly like a stud lock, if that helps you understand.

The stud lock is not perfect, it has advantages and weaknesses like any other genre of lock.
 
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