Kershaw whiplash? any thoughts?

dawsonbob said:
I think you guys misunderstand. This still isn't a knife that I would depend on. Not until it proves itself to be stronger than I think it is. On the other hand, people pointed out to me that I shouldn't bad mouth the knife if I haven't tried it. That certainly seems fair to me, so I'm willing to give it a try, and write an honest review. It would be rather hypocritical of me to do otherwise. Once I've tested the knife and written a review, I'll send the knife back to hardheart. I had to agree with those who called me on bad mouthing a knife I hadn't used, so I'm trying to do the right thing. It's just simple decency.
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Yeah, but would you honestly even bother if it were coming from your own pocket? I noticed you changed your attitude when Thomas offered a knife for testing, and then again when HH offered you one.

Can you honestly say you were going to test the knife before freebies were being handed out? No, because your opinion on the knife was clearly stated before the knives were being offered. You cannot deny it, your subconscious mind got the better of you.
 
AKnife said:
Yeah, but would you honestly even bother if it were coming from your own pocket? I noticed you changed your attitude when Thomas offered a knife for testing, and then again when HH offered you one.

Can you honestly say you were going to test the knife before freebies were being handed out? No, because your opinion on the knife was clearly stated before the knives were being offered. You cannot deny it, your subconscious mind got the better of you.
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First of all, no freebies are being handed out, at least not to me. hardheart generously offered to send me the knife for testing, and I took him up on it. When the testing is done, he gets the knife back: no freebies there.

As far as your question of whether or not I would have purchased the knife myself for testing, the answer is no, I wouldn't have. I live on a whopping $635 per month Social Security pension: when I want to buy a knife -- even an inexpensive one -- I have to save up for it. The price of this knife, even if it's only $35 - $40 is beyond me. As far as your assertion that it was my subconscious mind that got the better of me, you are in error: it was my conscience that got the better of me. When it was pointed out that I was denigrating a knife I hadn't even touched, I had to agree. The only way to rectify that is to actually give the knife a fair test.

You're right: my opinion of this knife hasn't changed ... yet. The only way that it could change would be to test it ... and that's what I intend to do. I have admitted that my earlier opinions were unwarranted, since I hadn't used the knife. Now I'm trying to do the honest and honorable thing, yet you guys are pinging me for it: you might want to take a look at that.
 
blademaker said:
Although this thread seems to be going down a new path of holes. . . Here's something that my dad wrote up today. . .We both are looking forward to some reviews from people that have had a chance handle the knife.

"Hi folks,
Grant Hawk here, I'm the guilty party responsible for the design of the Whiplash fixed blade. I've been reviewing the various comments regarding the Whiplash and especially the apparent weakness of the narrow tang section at the finger groove. I have to agree that a full tang knife will have a higher ultimate breaking strength than that of a narrow tang knife. Narrow tang knives, such as those fighting knife designs, that were in common use during World War II are not new, so we do have some history to draw from. I don't know what percentage of those knives came home from that war with broken handles, but whatever that percentage is, the same percentage probably applies to the Whiplash as well. The narrow tang knives of that era were not made stronger by a handle covering of stacked leather washers, but because the narrow tang couldn't be seen it was probably less of an issue.
The first objective of the Whiplash design was to provide for a simple, quick and easy method of storing the lanyard when the knife is in the sheath or the lanyard is otherwise not needed. Lanyards are sometimes very important. Such as when working over water or high above the ground, other times, when dangling from the handle of the sheathed knife they can be a major hassle. The Whiplash design is intended to resolve that dilemma for the user who often finds a lanyard useful but more often finds it objectionable. As to the unusually deep grooves of the thumb rest, the thinking was that by extending the reach of the grooves along the plane of the blades' flat side, some additional purchase and therefore some additional control, would be available to the thumb when in contact with the flat. That feature would only be most useful in those cases where precision control is important.
I never expected the overall look of the Whiplash to inspire such a level of controversy. I just hope the mall ninjas come out of this alive."

Gavin
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Gentlemen, you aren't afraid to think outside the box when it comes to knife design. Plus, you actively participate in the discussion of your products and reach out to the end users. I find that very admirable. :thumbup: Keep up the good work. :thumbup:
 
These, to me, look just as prone to breakage as the new Kershaw everyone's bagging on, and I haven't heard many horror stories of these guys 'giving up the ghost' in use.;)
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Regards,
3G
 
I was about to post about the Perrin, but I can't afford to bust a $165 knife right now. It is the best Spyderco candidate I can think of right now. Main difference I see is that the radius is not as tight, but who knows how much that helps. Hope the testing will get some answers and reduce some speculation.
 
hardheart said:
I was about to post about the Perrin, but I can't afford to bust a $165 knife right now. It is the best Spyderco candidate I can think of right now. Main difference I see is that the radius is not as tight, but who knows how much that helps. Hope the testing will get some answers and reduce some speculation.
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I'll send you $20 towards the Perrin if 8 other folks agree to do the same :thumbup:
 
hardheart said:
Make no mistake, I'm not going to 'review' it, I am just interested in seeing at what angle of flex it breaks.
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Do we really want a bunch of little nosses running around?

hardheart said:
Now, I don't want guys breaking all their knives.
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Second best thing I've read.

blademaker said:
Although this thread seems to be going down a new path of holes. . . Here's something that my dad wrote up today. . .We both are looking forward to some reviews from people that have had a chance handle the knife.

"Hi folks,
Grant Hawk here, I'm the guilty party responsible for the design of the Whiplash fixed blade. I've been reviewing the various comments regarding the Whiplash and especially the apparent weakness of the narrow tang section at the finger groove. I have to agree that a full tang knife will have a higher ultimate breaking strength than that of a narrow tang knife. Narrow tang knives, such as those fighting knife designs, that were in common use during World War II are not new, so we do have some history to draw from. I don't know what percentage of those knives came home from that war with broken handles, but whatever that percentage is, the same percentage probably applies to the Whiplash as well. The narrow tang knives of that era were not made stronger by a handle covering of stacked leather washers, but because the narrow tang couldn't be seen it was probably less of an issue.
The first objective of the Whiplash design was to provide for a simple, quick and easy method of storing the lanyard when the knife is in the sheath or the lanyard is otherwise not needed. Lanyards are sometimes very important. Such as when working over water or high above the ground, other times, when dangling from the handle of the sheathed knife they can be a major hassle. The Whiplash design is intended to resolve that dilemma for the user who often finds a lanyard useful but more often finds it objectionable. As to the unusually deep grooves of the thumb rest, the thinking was that by extending the reach of the grooves along the plane of the blades' flat side, some additional purchase and therefore some additional control, would be available to the thumb when in contact with the flat. That feature would only be most useful in those cases where precision control is important.
I never expected the overall look of the Whiplash to inspire such a level of controversy. I just hope the mall ninjas come out of this alive."

Gavin
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THIS is the best thing I've read! Gavin, tell your Dad thanks for the info!

Thomas W said:
I find all this quite interesting...never have I read through a thread where there was such interest in the quality and performance of a $35 import fixed blade. Granted there have been just a few participants posting within the thread, but sheesh, you'd think we were talking about a knife that was here to take the top of the hill from Busse.
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Thomas, Thomas, Thomas! Funny guy! We, the Collective in this thread, do indeed intend on knocking Busse off the top of the hill. With a $ 35 imported knife! Resistance is futile!

Josh K said:
If this is a pure "bend it till it breaks" exercise it shouldn't matter though.
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Please, no more Nosses!

dawsonbob said:
First of all, no freebies are being handed out, at least not to me. hardheart generously offered to send me the knife for testing, and I took him up on it. When the testing is done, he gets the knife back: no freebies there.
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Whether its in 5 pieces or one?


Really. This is getting insane. Any one of us can break any knife we choose. From a Busse to a Peanut. It's not hard if that's your intention. If at some point in my life I am attacked by a bench vise (or vice, both spellings are acceptable!), I hope to be armed with an acetylene torch.

Knives come in different prices, materials and countries of origin. Does it prove anything to anyone that you can break this, or any knife? Hell, if it won't break, I guarantee it will come apart with 180 grains of 300 Win Mag at 100 yards.

Think about what Thomas said. A $ 35 import. Think about what Mr Hawk said. The design is historical and unique. Combine the two and take it for what it is, nothing more.

Stop the growth of little Nosstolites!
 
I'm just interested in the new aspect designed into the knife, and would like to see how much of an issue it could potentially be. A lot of people are going to look at the knife and say it is greatly compromised, and no, they don't all visit BF. But, if that isn't the case, we will go ahead and show that. It's gonna surprise someone. I think I'll get a K-AT as well, uses pretty much the same concept, executed a little differently.
 
Ok, I understand. But if you're going down that road, make sure you get all manufacturers of similar design.

Don't forget the Perrin! ;)
 
When I first saw this knife wanting to baton and pry with it didn't enter my mind at all. I'm surprised that people are even planning to test how well it performs those tasks, as it doesn't seem like they are what the knife was meant to excel at.
 
I have never laughed so hard at a thread, and I really needed this entertainment. Been doing pretty boring work here recently, and had a bad day. Thank you for the laugh guys.

It looks like a fun 35$ knife, and that's all I'm going to say.

Nostelites... ROFLMAO!!!!
 
SPXTrader said:
Really. This is getting insane. Any one of us can break any knife we choose. From a Busse to a Peanut. It's not hard if that's your intention. If at some point in my life I am attacked by a bench vise (or vice, both spellings are acceptable!), I hope to be armed with an acetylene torch.

Knives come in different prices, materials and countries of origin. Does it prove anything to anyone that you can break this, or any knife? Hell, if it won't break, I guarantee it will come apart with 180 grains of 300 Win Mag at 100 yards.!
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It is truly despicable that ignorant knife buyers see fit to perform similar rough approximation destruction tests that manufacturers do on a regular basis. How presumptuous :rolleyes:
 
theonew said:
It is truly despicable that ignorant knife buyers see fit to perform similar rough approximation destruction tests that manufacturers do on a regular basis. How presumptuous :rolleyes:
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His point is that it's a $35 budget fixed blade, not a Busse. At $35, it isn't designed to be the knife that survives the nuclear apacolypse, it's designed to be a fun, unique knife for general tasks. It's funny to him and some of us that people are all going to break and stress test a knife, to determine that's it's, in the end, a budget fixed blade, not a Busse.
 
theonew said:
to perform similar rough approximation destruction tests that manufacturers do on a regular basis
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Which companies do these tests (aside from Lynn and his comedy videos), and where might I find the results?
 
J_Curd said:
Which companies do these tests (aside from Lynn and his comedy videos), and where might I find the results?
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Spyderco is just one, but they do not, for good reason, make the information they obtain in destruction testing public. The Busse family of companies, RAT Cutlery, Crusader Forge, BladeTech, SOG, Buck, and Emerson Knives are other companies I know of who perform destruction testing on their wares, but like Spyderco, most of the information obtained is not made public. My guess would be that Kershaw does too, we just haven't heard about it.;)

Regards,
3G

P.S. In my opinion, if your job is making knives marketed as "hard use" or "tactical," you have no business not testing your wares to destruction!
 
I was asking for some clout to his claim that one should "perform similar tests that manufacturers do on a regular basis"...Im sure they do them as well, but I have ZERO proof of who, what, how, or the results. As I have seen little to no published results, I contend that his comment is devoid of any evidence to contend otherwise. Smoke and mirrors...

How presumptuous indeed.
 
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