Kershaw whiplash? any thoughts?

[3Guardsmen]

Please, no more Nosses!

Stop the growth of little Nosstolites!

Seriously! This thread isn't about Noss, so why do you want to drag him into it? This thread is about a perceived weakness, based on a visual rendering of a new knife which, as of yet, has not been handled and tested by the membership. If you want to bag on Noss in a manner akin to the people you seem to be upset at for bagging on the new Kershaw, why don't you put on a hockey mask, duplicate his tests, and prove he's a fraud or has it all wrong, or maybe just leave him out of it?

Regards,
3G

 

[Josh K]

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.

Regards,
3G

I would be very interested in seeing how those two stack up to the whiplash in both vertical and horizontal stress.

Good point, I hadn't realized the choils on those were so large.

 

[2brothers]

I would be very interested in seeing how those two stack up to the whiplash in both vertical and horizontal stress.

Good point, I hadn't realized the choils on those were so large.

You've been meaning to pick one up. Or you stated that.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=659775

mike

 

[Condition 1]

We all have.:yawn:

 

[theonew]

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.

Off the top of my head ...

We constantly test our blades as we want to know exactly how our knives will respond to nearly every possible situation. Trust me, concrete, rock, and cinder block cutting are daily fare around here.

Everything that Noss did in his test were expected results since Shon does flex and break tests on every batch of knives that he heat treats.

 

[J_Curd]

And the failures consist of...??

Saying you test, and publishing results, are not the same thing.

 

[SOLEIL]

I really don't understand all the fussing. There are a multitude of knives out there in that price range made for every aspect of use that have a tang the same size or smaller. They have been around and in use for decades and have been accepted as good quality hard use knives. If that gap was filled in with wood, plastic or leather this discussion would have never occurred. Judging by the looks of something is not always best recourse. The reviews will be interesting regardless. Kudos to Thomas for stepping up for offering a knife for what we hope will be an unbiased review:thumbup:.

 

[Josh K]

You've been meaning to pick one up. Or you stated that.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=659775

mike

Yes, I have. You're point?

 

[J.Davey]

The Kershaw Whiplash, for some reason, sure does remind me alot of this old United Cutlery UZI knife:

http://www.midnightpark.com/swordsource/UZI/ZF0013BKNB.htm

I love Kershaw knives, but those 'thumb notches' look like hand rippers to me (just like they were on the UZI, and yes, I did have the chance to try out a friends...garbage).

 

[A_Blade_Afficionado]

Yes, I have. You're point?

I personally am curious that if both knives have very similar tangs, what makes the Spyderco more reliable and what makes the Whiplash "that bad?" I am confused as to why two similar tangs can make one be weak, unreliable, and the other be in the "looking to buy" list from the same person who bashed the other tang design.

 

[Josh K]

I personally am curious that if both knives have very similar tangs, what makes the Spyderco more reliable and what makes the Whiplash "that bad?" I am confused as to why two similar tangs can make one be weak, unreliable, and the other be in the "looking to buy" list from the same person who bashed the other tang design.

First off I don't think they have very similar tangs. The Whiplash has a large choil preceding a narrow notch that I find (visually) both dysfunctional and week. Both of those Spyderco's have a large radius finger choil, rather then a sharp notch.

 

[A_Blade_Afficionado]

So the fact that both have very similar thickness at the thinnest point of the tang is irrelevant because of the looks?

 

[Josh K]

So the fact that both have very similar thickness at the thinnest point of the tang is irrelevant because of the looks?

Has anyone measured the thickness?

And looks aren't everything. A notch is weaker then a large radius. There is a reason they didn't build bridges shaped like a V.

 

[A_Blade_Afficionado]

Has anyone measured the thickness?

And looks aren't everything. A notch is weaker then a large radius. There is a reason they didn't build bridges shaped like a V.

Support beams are built out of triangles, which are V shapes interlocked, and the half circle is used to create an efficient top truss to which the triangles interlock efficiently.

 

[Josh K]

Support beams are built out of triangles, which are V shapes interlocked, and the half circle is used to create an efficient top truss to which the triangles interlock efficiently.

Sure you can use triangle trusses, but one of the key element to nonsuspension bridges is a circle. It supports stress better.

Look at serrations, why aren't they V shaped?

I'm not saying the Street Beat is as strong as it would be if you didn't have the choil, I'm saying it's stronger then it would be if that were a V shaped notch instead of a circle.

 

[hunter s thompson]

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!

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

I don't think I am going too far out on a limb here by saying that the companies that are doing the testing are probably using some type of equipment to measure the stresses being put on the knife being tested. This would give an ideal of the stresses being put on the knife before it breaks, and I would also guess that all the knives they test are subjected to the same stresses. The biggest knock on the noss and the nosstolites, most people (including myself) is that the stresses he places on the knives he "tests" varies from knife to knife, sometimes they vary during the same test (for example hitting the knife with a sledge hammer, every blow is a different amount of force simply because noss is a human). I am willing to bet $1,000 that any knife anyone on here wants to send me I can break. If anyone here doubts that please take me up on this offer I will make a video and post it here of exactly how easy it was to break.

 

[A_Blade_Afficionado]

Be careful Hunter, somebody is going to make a "custom" fixed blade that is a pry bar, I don't what you losing money by trying to break it.

 

[SOLEIL]

I don't think I am going too far out on a limb here by saying that the companies that are doing the testing are probably using some type of equipment to measure the stresses being put on the knife being tested. This would give an ideal of the stresses being put on the knife before it breaks, and I would also guess that all the knives they test are subjected to the same stresses. The biggest knock on the noss and the nosstolites, most people (including myself) is that the stresses he places on the knives he "tests" varies from knife to knife, sometimes they vary during the same test (for example hitting the knife with a sledge hammer, every blow is a different amount of force simply because noss is a human). I am willing to bet $1,000 that any knife anyone on here wants to send me I can break. If anyone here doubts that please take me up on this offer I will make a video and post it here of exactly how easy it was to break.

Absolutely true. Any large manufacturer of any hand tool or knife will not risk the legal liabilities or the loss of sales by not testing their products to failure. Kershaw has always shown very high QC standards for all of their products and services. Why would they suddenly put out a product that was so poorly engineered as to easily fail? Some of you are just arguing because you can. It is all irrelevant as none of the detractors have even used the product. All of the Kershaw supporters have decades of very high quality products and service to vindicate their views.

 

[hardheart]

define knife, and we can see what can be worked out

 

[hardheart]

All of the Kershaw supporters have decades of very high quality products and service to vindicate their views.

none of those products being the Whiplash, the supporters have just as much knowledge of this knife as the detractors do - nil.

as I said, some people are going to be surprised. I invite anyone with slab handled fixed blade where the scales can be removed easily to do so and tell us how much steel is left in the full tang after the lightening and balancing was done. it seems a good a place as any to actually start thinking about the tangs of our knives and not just judging them by looks and/or name.