Kershaw starting Sprint Runs!

Quite pleased I was wrong about the pricing. I have to admit, this seems like an extremely cautious first offering as it's a pretty minor variant of an already popular model, but they've done their job in that I'm now curious rather than cynical about their sprint program.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
Quite pleased I was wrong about the pricing. I have to admit, this seems like an extremely cautious first offering as it's a pretty minor variant of an already popular model, but they've done their job in that I'm now curious rather than cynical about their sprint program.
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Yea, I think they played it safe for the first offering to test the waters, but I'm ok with that! If you change the blade color to blue or red instead of yellow... This becomes the exact knife that I suggested USAMadeBlades make as an exclusive. I'm glad it sold so well. Hopefully this gives Kershaw a little confidence to experiment a bit more with future sprint releases (although I'd still really like to see an Atmos with better steel and handle material regardless of how boring that is). I also hope the pricing stays aggressive and this wasn't just an introductory price to get the masses excited. I wish Kerhsaw would just come back to the forums. I know they got/get a hard time from members sometimes (if they would just stop using 3cr/5cr/7cr/8cr...), but I think overall, being here on the forums is a net gain to most manufacturers, and is definitely a positive for us consumers.
 
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Haven't bought a Kershaw in years but still have several Leeks and it's proably my favorite Kershaw I own. It acually got me introduced to this knife addiction. Wish I would have grabbed one of these. Dang
 
Insipid Moniker said:
Quite pleased I was wrong about the pricing. I have to admit, this seems like an extremely cautious first offering as it's a pretty minor variant of an already popular model, but they've done their job in that I'm now curious rather than cynical about their sprint program.
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That was a nice surprise. They did their usual website-high pricing and listed it as $149.99 but had that crossed out from the gate. The apparent sale price of $69.99 is more in line with what the street price would have been through the usual retailers. Well played, Kershaw.
 
while some of these new designs and offerings are wonderful - I think we need to list the 'hall of kershaw shame' (which means 3cr13 & 4cr13 steel knives) imho - avoid them

diode
rhetoric
lifter
manifold
dune
misdirect
starter
grinder
cathode
camshaft
valve
airlock
portal
spoke

...
wow, that is a LOT of models to be avoided, it makes me sad to say but kershaw seems intent on competing with mtech :( it's just sad imho
 
Kershaw hasn’t put out any models in the last few years that have caught my attention. I do hope they put out some models people enjoy though!
 
dirc said:
while some of these new designs and offerings are wonderful - I think we need to list the 'hall of kershaw shame' (which means 3cr13 & 4cr13 steel knives) imho - avoid them

diode
rhetoric
lifter
manifold
dune
misdirect
starter
grinder
cathode
camshaft
valve
airlock
portal
spoke

...
wow, that is a LOT of models to be avoided, it makes me sad to say but kershaw seems intent on competing with mtech :( it's just sad imho
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Personally, I think people get far too stuck on things like this. The only thing wrong with those steels is that the end user will need to sharpen them more often. And, frankly, given the way most people use $15 knives they could be made of Rex 121 and would still end up butterknife dull and tearing more than cutting whatever they're used on because they never get sharpened. If a friend or relative wanted a cheap, modern folder I would be much happier with them using a 3cr13 Kershaw than an Mtech or Jarbenza.
 
Sprint runs of the knives with poor steel would be nice. Some of those chinese steel knives look nice and then you see the steel and gotta say nope. Maybe use their chinese manufacture as a farm for good designs. Find out what designs people gravitate to and make sprint runs in the us with quality steel.
 
I'm dreaming of a US-made Titanium 20CV Natrix as a future sprint. They are already producing Knockout, Dividend and Bareknuckle variants with upgraded materials, so I hope there is something planned for the Natrix too.
 
dirc said:
while some of these new designs and offerings are wonderful - I think we need to list the 'hall of kershaw shame' (which means 3cr13 & 4cr13 steel knives) imho - avoid them

diode
rhetoric
lifter
manifold
dune
misdirect
starter
grinder
cathode
camshaft
valve
airlock
portal
spoke

...
wow, that is a LOT of models to be avoided, it makes me sad to say but kershaw seems intent on competing with mtech :( it's just sad imho
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Don't forget the Walmart-exclusive Hotwire!

Coincidentally, I might be interested in a Hotwire with better steel. The overall design was interesting. It's just... 3Cr13. :oops:
 
Over past few years it seems to me (my personal opinion! not starting here another war with Kershaw die hard fans!) Kershaw is on the same path as Gerber and Boker shifting production to China and degrading the quality of their knives. Few knife failures I had over the past 5 years were exactly Kershaw related... In my humble opinion, the current production Kershaws don't seem to last more than 2-3 years of active EDC life and this is not acceptable.

Not interested, not buying Kershaw anymore. They could just improve quality control and keep Made in USA!

P.S. Any knifemaker that puts lower than AUS8 or Chinese CR8 quality blade on a knife should be charged with crimes against humanity and his business should cease to exist!
 
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Addicted_to_Knives said:
Over past few years it seems to me (my personal opinion! not starting here another war with Kershaw die hard fans!) Kershaw is on the same path as Gerber and Boker shifting production to China and degrading the quality of their knives. Few knife failures I had over the past 5 years were exactly Kershaw related... In my humble opinion, the current production Kershaws don't seem to last more than 2-3 years of active EDC life and this is not acceptable.

Not interested, not buying Kershaw anymore. They could just improve quality control and keep Made in USA!

P.S. Any knifemaker that puts lower than AUS8 or Chinese CR8 quality blade on a knife should be charged with crimes against humanity and his business should cease to exist!
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I'm glad you're not in charge of the Global Evil Knife and Tool Enforcement Registry (GEKTER for short). You might install lasers on their shark patrols.

This thread is meant to discuss the Kershaw Sprint Run series, not to bring up the usual gripes about the company. Do you have an opinion on this knife or other sprints that may follow it?
 
Mass1632 said:
Sprint runs of the knives with poor steel would be nice. Some of those chinese steel knives look nice and then you see the steel and gotta say nope. Maybe use their chinese manufacture as a farm for good designs. Find out what designs people gravitate to and make sprint runs in the us with quality steel.
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I like this idea, but I think it would be hard to switch designs from Chinese manufacturer to US just for 500-1000 units, though I could be wrong. That said, something like the Deadline upgraded to D2 and with some fancy scales would pique my interest, as would a return of the Skyline, maybe with 20CV.
 
Hackenslash said:
I'm glad you're not in charge of the Global Evil Knife and Tool Enforcement Registry (GEKTER for short). You might install lasers on their shark patrols.

This thread is meant to discuss the Kershaw Sprint Run series, not to bring up the usual gripes about the company. Do you have an opinion on this knife or other sprints that may follow it?
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:D :D:D "my personal opinion! not starting here another war with Kershaw die hard fans!"

Kershaw Sprint Run series - I'd love to see it and hold it just to get a feel for those knives to tell you the truth. However, I'll wait for the disappointed BF user comments here that might start to complain "I can't believe I paid this much for...." The rest we'll see soon. Minute it hits the web sales, we'll see here feedback and the ugly truth won't hide (if any).

Kershaw does make some awesome knives and I do love my Kershaw Leek, Tilt, Offset, Blur and few vintage collectibles I have. I am just not a fan of sacrificing quality and Made in USA brand for the Made in China with god knows what steel. I've had some issues on several of my Kershaws and what I've been also hearing from the veteran EDC'ers Kershaw is no longer the company (with its brand loyalty) it was. And going down this road (lets make everything in China) will only have negative consequences on the brand and American brand in general.

If I was in charge of GEKTER, I would probably make mandatory FDA type of regulation & testing of bladesteel heat treatments... I would probably also ban any knife for sale with D2 blade that has $500+ price tag. I'd also abolish and punish any knifemaker for using those cheap teflon washers or lower grade blade steels. The knife world would have never been the :eek: same :D:D:D:D

P.S. Lasers on Shark patrols? I say lets add train horns and extreme sirens too :)
 
Addicted_to_Knives said:
:D :D:D "my personal opinion! not starting here another war with Kershaw die hard fans!"

Kershaw Sprint Run series - I'd love to see it and hold it just to get a feel for those knives to tell you the truth. However, I'll wait for the disappointed BF user comments here that might start to complain "I can't believe I paid this much for...." The rest we'll see soon. Minute it hits the web sales, we'll see here feedback and the ugly truth won't hide (if any).

Kershaw does make some awesome knives and I do love my Kershaw Leek, Tilt, Offset, Blur and few vintage collectibles I have. I am just not a fan of sacrificing quality and Made in USA brand for the Made in China with god knows what steel. I've had some issues on several of my Kershaws and what I've been also hearing from the veteran EDC'ers Kershaw is no longer the company (with its brand loyalty) it was. And going down this road (lets make everything in China) will only have negative consequences on the brand and American brand in general.

If I was in charge of GEKTER, I would probably make mandatory FDA type of regulation & testing of bladesteel heat treatments... I would probably also ban any knife for sale with D2 blade that has $500+ price tag. I'd also abolish and punish any knifemaker for using those cheap teflon washers or lower grade blade steels. The knife world would have never been the :eek: same :D:D:D:D

P.S. Lasers on Shark patrols? I say lets add train horns and extreme sirens too :)
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Given your opinions on steel, the knife world wouldn't just 'never be the same' it would be actively much worse. As we've discussed in other threads, there is nothing wrong with lower end steels and they're honestly the best choice in low budget blades that are rarely maintained (the best steel imaginable is no better than 3cr13 if you never sharpen either) and are the foundation on which the enthusiast portion of our hobby is built. You have an extremely narrow view of the knife world and are hyper focused on extremely high end knives. Those blades are great, but they represent a tiny fraction of a percent of the knives that are being sold and companies like Kershaw and Spyderco need knives like the Cryo and Persistence to succeed so they can afford to make knives like the Tilt and Drunken.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
Given your opinions on steel, the knife world wouldn't just 'never be the same' it would be actively much worse. As we've discussed in other threads, there is nothing wrong with lower end steels and they're honestly the best choice in low budget blades that are rarely maintained (the best steel imaginable is no better than 3cr13 if you never sharpen either) and are the foundation on which the enthusiast portion of our hobby is built. You have an extremely narrow view of the knife world and are hyper focused on extremely high end knives. Those blades are great, but they represent a tiny fraction of a percent of the knives that are being sold and companies like Kershaw and Spyderco need knives like the Cryo and Persistence to succeed so they can afford to make knives like the Tilt and Drunken.
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I get where you're coming from and I do accept your view and it might fit your needs the best which is perfect. That's why this is just a matter of personal taste, likes and preferences like anything else in the world. I hate avocado, tofu and broccoli, but there are people who go crazy on these. I am right in my own opinion for hating those, they are right in their own opinion for loving them = personal taste.

But I also tried to easily explain my attitude towards higher end steels that most people might not need: I don't enjoy sharpening the knives (not as fun as much fun for me as cleaning guns) and especially when I am in field or hiking or hunting somewhere for few days (where you don't even get mobile phone reception), last thing on my mind is to be concerned with blade sharpening, knife cleaning, mechanism failure and blade going dull, as I might force it to cut through bones at 90 degrees (does chip those cheap blades like crazy), cut wood, cut ropes or cords, other misc cutting tasks. I don't like carrying fixed blades so folders are the way to go for me as it fits my taste. Since I like simple & hard use designs -> a titanium frame-lock knife (with blade thickness of more than 0.15 inches) that sits on two bronze washers or ceramic bearings is the best choice for my taste. Our taste differ, so our views, opinions and perceptions that derives exactly from our preferences.
 
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