Comeuppance
Fixed Blade EDC Emisssary
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2013
- Messages
- 4,765
I came across this knife while checking out a well-known Kershaw reseller. I was unimpressed until I noticed that the blade steel was Elmax, with a price consistently under $100.
But, for some reason, this seems to have flown under pretty much everyone's radar, and for reasons entirely beyond me. It's a well-sized, sturdy, lightweight manual folder with a supersteel made by a reputable brand. I searched around, and I could hardly find any reviews or videos - but, all the ones I found were favorable. The only consistent criticisms I saw were about the pocket clip and the thumbstuds - neither of which bothered me when I had the knife in hand.
So, as promised ( http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...edform-2-Is-there-a-reason-nobody-suggests-it ), to add to the pool of reviews for those looking at this knife, here's my review:
It has a beautiful two-tone brushed finish, a high hollow grind, and surprisingly functional thumb studs.
The swedge along the top brings it to an utterly ridiculous point. More on that later.
The handle is pretty plain. I was expecting a polished G10 look, but it's just smooth. Not pretty, not ugly. Plain Jane untextured G10. It's fairly comfortable in the hand, but not extremely so. The shape is pretty unique, however, and there's something indescribably asian about it. I can't put my finger on it...
The lockup is perfect, solid, and early. It locks up like a fixed blade. As I was looking at the lockup, I noticed something interesting…
Is that… It is! It's a two-surface lock! I haven't seen that on a knife other than my Southard!
What this means is that the liner rests not just against one part of the tang, but is in fact nested into an "L" cut into the tang. It makes for a much sturdier and hardier lock.
Pictured below are some other examples of liner/framelocks.
From left to right: Spyderco Tenacious (black), Kershaw Skyline (Brown/Black), Kershaw Speedform II, Spyderco Southard
Notice: The Tenacious has a typical flat single-surface locking surface, and the Skyline next to it looks like it has a two-surface lock, but it does not actually touch the liner when locked.
Now, let's talk blades.
I only have one other knife with Elmax, and that's my 0561. That ran me more than 4 times as much as I had spent on the Speedform. Admittedly, it's more fun to use, but a little too large for me to take into work.
Elmax means I can use this with confidence. I can use it for intense, hard cutting, and still have a fine enough edge to dig out splinters and clean my fingernails. I tested my 0561 by whacking it into a 2x4 and then running the blade along the piece of wood, and it kept a sharp enough edge to trim my cuticles and shave hairs. To have that kind of cutting performance in a more reasonably-sized knife is fantastic.
Speaking of cutting performance, one of the first things I noticed was the grind:
From left to right: Kershaw Speedform II, Spyderco Southard, ZT 0561, Spyderco Tenacious (black)
The grind on this knife is LONG. I was very happy to see that Kershaw decided to go with a longer grind on this knife, because Elmax is a hardy enough steel for that to be reasonable. It's roughly as long as the grind on the 0561, longer than the Tenacious's still-longer-than-average grind, and definitely longer than Southard's ridiculously short grind. Still kinda annoyed by the Southard's grind. I'll probably send it off to be reground.
The Speedform needed zero touching up from the factory edge. Laser sharp. Cuts like a dream.
The Speedform falls into a pretty average length. From left to right: Skyline, Speedform, Tenacious, Southard.
The first three are almost identical in length. The perspective is kinda odd in this shot - the Skyline is about 1/8" shorter than the speedform, the tenacious is about 1/8" longer, and the Southard is about 3/4" longer. (These are overall lengths, not blade lengths.)
Left to right: ZT 0561, Southard, Tenacious, Speedform, Kershaw RAM, Spyderco Endura Wave
The blade stock on this knife is nice and thick, but the swedge along the top allows it to still be good for piercing. It's roughly the same thickness as the Endura, which is a pretty thick knife.
Now, let's talk about that tip.
(0561, Southard, Tenacious, Speedform, RAM. The Endura was excluded from this picture because the tip had been previously chipped off and was reshaped, so it's not a fair comparison.)
Oh my god, that tip.
It's so fine that it makes the other knives look like they've been blunted.
I can say, without a doubt, that is the most acute point I have seen on any knife in person. Bar none. It seriously just falls into things. I can't tell you how many splinters I dig out of my hands (and the hands of other people) at work using my knives, and this is going to do the job fantastically.
--
Overall, I'm not blown away, but I am satisfied. This is going to be a staple of my EDC for a long time. It's sturdy, light, sharp, and pointy as all hell.
It's not an extremely beautiful knife. Nobody is going to be impressed when you take this knife out. It's Plain Jane high-end supersteel EDC at a good price. I'd recommend it.
But, for some reason, this seems to have flown under pretty much everyone's radar, and for reasons entirely beyond me. It's a well-sized, sturdy, lightweight manual folder with a supersteel made by a reputable brand. I searched around, and I could hardly find any reviews or videos - but, all the ones I found were favorable. The only consistent criticisms I saw were about the pocket clip and the thumbstuds - neither of which bothered me when I had the knife in hand.
So, as promised ( http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...edform-2-Is-there-a-reason-nobody-suggests-it ), to add to the pool of reviews for those looking at this knife, here's my review:
It has a beautiful two-tone brushed finish, a high hollow grind, and surprisingly functional thumb studs.
The swedge along the top brings it to an utterly ridiculous point. More on that later.
The handle is pretty plain. I was expecting a polished G10 look, but it's just smooth. Not pretty, not ugly. Plain Jane untextured G10. It's fairly comfortable in the hand, but not extremely so. The shape is pretty unique, however, and there's something indescribably asian about it. I can't put my finger on it...
The lockup is perfect, solid, and early. It locks up like a fixed blade. As I was looking at the lockup, I noticed something interesting…
Is that… It is! It's a two-surface lock! I haven't seen that on a knife other than my Southard!
What this means is that the liner rests not just against one part of the tang, but is in fact nested into an "L" cut into the tang. It makes for a much sturdier and hardier lock.
Pictured below are some other examples of liner/framelocks.
From left to right: Spyderco Tenacious (black), Kershaw Skyline (Brown/Black), Kershaw Speedform II, Spyderco Southard
Notice: The Tenacious has a typical flat single-surface locking surface, and the Skyline next to it looks like it has a two-surface lock, but it does not actually touch the liner when locked.
Now, let's talk blades.
I only have one other knife with Elmax, and that's my 0561. That ran me more than 4 times as much as I had spent on the Speedform. Admittedly, it's more fun to use, but a little too large for me to take into work.
Elmax means I can use this with confidence. I can use it for intense, hard cutting, and still have a fine enough edge to dig out splinters and clean my fingernails. I tested my 0561 by whacking it into a 2x4 and then running the blade along the piece of wood, and it kept a sharp enough edge to trim my cuticles and shave hairs. To have that kind of cutting performance in a more reasonably-sized knife is fantastic.
Speaking of cutting performance, one of the first things I noticed was the grind:
From left to right: Kershaw Speedform II, Spyderco Southard, ZT 0561, Spyderco Tenacious (black)
The grind on this knife is LONG. I was very happy to see that Kershaw decided to go with a longer grind on this knife, because Elmax is a hardy enough steel for that to be reasonable. It's roughly as long as the grind on the 0561, longer than the Tenacious's still-longer-than-average grind, and definitely longer than Southard's ridiculously short grind. Still kinda annoyed by the Southard's grind. I'll probably send it off to be reground.
The Speedform needed zero touching up from the factory edge. Laser sharp. Cuts like a dream.
The Speedform falls into a pretty average length. From left to right: Skyline, Speedform, Tenacious, Southard.
The first three are almost identical in length. The perspective is kinda odd in this shot - the Skyline is about 1/8" shorter than the speedform, the tenacious is about 1/8" longer, and the Southard is about 3/4" longer. (These are overall lengths, not blade lengths.)
Left to right: ZT 0561, Southard, Tenacious, Speedform, Kershaw RAM, Spyderco Endura Wave
The blade stock on this knife is nice and thick, but the swedge along the top allows it to still be good for piercing. It's roughly the same thickness as the Endura, which is a pretty thick knife.
Now, let's talk about that tip.
(0561, Southard, Tenacious, Speedform, RAM. The Endura was excluded from this picture because the tip had been previously chipped off and was reshaped, so it's not a fair comparison.)
Oh my god, that tip.
It's so fine that it makes the other knives look like they've been blunted.
I can say, without a doubt, that is the most acute point I have seen on any knife in person. Bar none. It seriously just falls into things. I can't tell you how many splinters I dig out of my hands (and the hands of other people) at work using my knives, and this is going to do the job fantastically.
--
Overall, I'm not blown away, but I am satisfied. This is going to be a staple of my EDC for a long time. It's sturdy, light, sharp, and pointy as all hell.
It's not an extremely beautiful knife. Nobody is going to be impressed when you take this knife out. It's Plain Jane high-end supersteel EDC at a good price. I'd recommend it.
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Sounds like a great knife for the price, but I know I will literally never warm up to it aesthetically.
