Kershaw Storm II...Great Knife for the money!

R

RickyB

Joined
Dec 30, 2006
Messages
19
I am new to this forum. I have always had an affinity for knives and have owned several over the years, starting in my childhood to the present. I have been looking for a good folding knife for defense and EDC but had not seriously sought one. I received a gift card for Wal-Mart and decided to just go buy something. I was looking at many items when I decided to look at their knives. I had them pull everything they had so I could handle all of them including Spyderco,CRKT,Gerbers and Bucks. I decided on the Kershaw Storm II over everything else. I actually like the partial serrations in the blade and have found them useful in certain situations. I know I could spend much more money on a "high end" knife but the quality to dollar ratio of this knife is very high. A very nice American made knife for $30.00 :thumbup:
 
I recently purchased one of these knives myself. Incredible value for a ken onion designed knife. I swear Walmart has to be losing money on these. lol
 
Whenever someone asks for a good knife at a reasonable price, I always recommend the Storm II. I bought mine this past spring and compared to knives I own costing twice the price , the quality is amazing for a knife in this price range.

I feel the same about the entry level stainless Leek, amazing quality for the price.
 
How do those rounded serrations cut? How hard are they to sharpen? It looks kind of weird to see almost a "reverse" pattern for the serrations on that knife when I am usen to seeing the standard scallops with a pointy tip to initiate the cut. I haven't seen mass complaints about them, but they just struck me as odd when I handled the knife. Do you plan on reprofiling this knife to a thinner angle or keeping it at the stock profile?
 
Well, I am here to tell you the knife is very sharp and will be fine for flesh human or otherwise. I just cut a canyon size gash in my hand with my new Storm II. I just christened it with my own blood!!:eek: Never wield a knife around if you are not focused on what you are doing with it.:rolleyes:



I probably will not change the profile of the blade. I think it will be adequate for my use. I use the serrations to cut nastier things such as hard plastic and fibrous materials. They are great for that type of cutting which preserves the edge on the rest of the blade.
 
The rounded serrations are very sharp and work very well. They can be sharpened from the back or front without problems. A ceramic rod works for me.
 
Hello All,
New to forum, glad to be here to read up on all the knives out there. Great info, great stie. Oh, I just bought three of these Kershaw StormII...one for each hand and the remiander in my work boot... never know when one of my patients might go apes**t, and have to defend myself!! Paranoid...who ME??!!! ;)
 
RickyB said:
Well, I am here to tell you the knife is very sharp and will be fine for flesh human or otherwise. I just cut a canyon size gash in my hand with my new Storm II. I just christened it with my own blood!!:eek: Never wield a knife around if you are not focused on what you are doing with it.:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Yes mine feels rock solid, and I also feel that it gives great value for little cash outlay. There is nothing loose, sloppy or cheap feeling about it at all. I love that swoopy blade that is incredibly sharp as youve noticed. The guy that was showing one of these to me at Walmart sliced his finger but good, as he opened one to show me.
 
Can't remember if it was a Storm or Storm II I handled, but I thought the thin metal handle with those rough inserts and the unusual thumb studs were very uncomfortable and abrasive on my hand. A case of too much grippiness and traction for my taste, though if you were going to be wearing leather gloves it might be a real advantage. I suspect it'd be hell on pockets.
 
I've been saying for a long time the same thing you guys have said here about the Storm II. Well, since I bought my own Storm II way back when I wrote this review. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=396104&highlight=STR+storm Well the first one. I have three now. Have sent several over to soldiers in Iraq as gifts and also carry a plain edge I got from a good friend in the industry. I use and carry a lot of knives in my line of work. Get to handle some of the best and some of the worst out there pretty much everyday actually. I get up in the morning and many times don't know what I'll carry that day until I get to the safe but some are what I'd term 'steady users' and the Storm II is one of them.

I have ZT knives from Kai/Kershaw and some really nice more expensive Kershaw models too and ironic as it seems to even Thomas Welk I think, I often times find myself preferring the ones he'd call the base line models over the much more expensive ones. MY Storm II in 13C26 keeps a good stable edge as well as anything else I have ever compared it to. Here lately I got turned on to another that has taken over my attention from Kershaw. Its a bit more money than the Storm II but same blades steel, and just what I call a super duty user high value find in the folder market. So once again Kershaw comes through and makes it tough for companies making knives three times the cost to justify even taking them seriously when you can have all they offer and more many times for far less investment. I'm talking about the Tim Galyean designed JunkYardDogII in case you are wondering. I love this thing as much as my Storm II!

STR
 
yup, that knife rocks. those reverse serrations are the best. frame lock, the awesome 13c26 sandvik steel, and made in the USA. the skate board tape was a little rough on my second one, i ground it down with another wal mart knife (m16edc) and it's fine. that flipper is great. poor/cheap man's sebenza.
 
I gave one to my father. I could not tell if he was impressed with it or not. I think he was putting the whole knife in his pocket. He made a comment about money getting hung in the clip. He carried slippies all his life, I had to explain how it was supposed to be carried. I tried to emphasize the importance of being able to draw and open a knife with one hand!

I think he now understands that I gave him more than just a pocket knife.
 
I find it very difficult to open my Storm II with 1 hand i.e. using my thumb on the thumb stud. So far, I couldn't do it. Also I find that the skin on my thumb seems abraided by the stud. What am I doing wrong?
 
It's hard to say what you are doing wrong without being able to see what you are doing.

How are you pushing on the stud -- away from the handle or towards the front of the knife? The second way is better.
 
BillL said:
I find it very difficult to open my Storm II with 1 hand i.e. using my thumb on the thumb stud. So far, I couldn't do it. Also I find that the skin on my thumb seems abraided by the stud. What am I doing wrong?
Click to expand...

You're doing little wrong. A new Storm I had was very difficult to open at first, and took a lot of manipulation and some hard flicking to loosen up. The other part of the equation is the simply atrocious thumbstuds Kershaw has chosen to use.:barf: I had to smooth them down on the edges with sandpaper to make them even useable. I suggest opening and closing the knife many times to "break it in." You may want to add some sort of lubricant, but the factory stuff ought to be sufficient. Further, try pushing the thumbstud at a 45-degree angle upward when holding the knife perpendicular to the ground(blade point down). This seems to be the angle of least resistance.

I hope you can get past this obstacle and enjoy what is otherwise a great knife!
 
Doesn't this knife have the assisted opening lever that you hit with your index finger on the back of the knife?
 
Yes, it has a small lever that works fine. With a wrist flick, it snaps the blade out pretty hard. But some people like thumbstuds, and these work on the Storm also.
 
Kewl, i am gonna pick up this knife tonight on my way home. Does it also have a lock so it won't open in your pocket?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top