Kershaw Whirlwind Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

O

oldmanron

Joined
Jun 19, 2012
Messages
195
Hi guys,

Earlier today I made a (very satisfying) impulse purchase of a Kershaw Whirllwind 1560RMEF (Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation) Speedsafe folder.

Nice knife for $75. I bought it at a well-stocked hardware store in The Crowsnest Pass here in SW Alberta

When I got home, I started researching it. A few hours on the Internet seems to have revealed three different steels used in the blade ... two Sandviks and 440 ... and the fact that some of them are supposedly for sale for $250 on eBay. What?

There is no "birthdate" on the blade. The left side has the RMEF logo and (yes) an elk ... in black nitride. The right side says 1560RMEF.

It is not on the Kershaw or RMEF website, and appears to have been discontinued. Can anybody (please) tell me what kind of steel is in my new knife? Perhaps a bit of its history? Length and dates of production run? And why somebody thinks they can sell one for $250?

Many thanks.

Captain Ron
 
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I can find references to this knife having 440A and 13C26 steel. I suppose it could have been released in two versions (though if so, there should have been a model# change, but Kershaw has been known...). Most sites refer to it as 440A, so I would expect that is correct. It is difficult to put a value on it (about $40-$80 when it came out), since it is discontinued and I can't find any for sale other than one on eBay, though I think that price is overly high and I'd say the seller is very high on his prices of all the rare Kershaws that he has. There is also a 1560RM version with a black blade and green handles. I'll have to add these to the list!
 
RevDevil said:
Pictures really would be helpful.
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Hi RevDev,

No kidding, but that's just not possible. All that's available out here is dial-up, and I can't even connect with any photo-hosting website.

Thanks for responding.
 
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rsngfrce said:
I can find references to this knife having 440A and 13C26 steel. I suppose it could have been released in two versions (though if so, there should have been a model# change, but Kershaw has been known...). Most sites refer to it as 440A, so I would expect that is correct. It is difficult to put a value on it (about $40-$80 when it came out), since it is discontinued and I can't find any for sale other than one on eBay, though I think that price is overly high and I'd say the seller is very high on his prices of all the rare Kershaws that he has. There is also a 1560RM version with a black blade and green handles. I'll have to add these to the list!
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Hey Rsngfrce,

I think that we've both looked at the same eBay page:)

Very confusing.

I'm quite pleased with my new knife, and don't care a bit about the type of steel in the blade. Right now it seems just fine, but I was just curious about the mystery of it. Thanks for responding.

Ron
 
Pretty sure this would have the 13c26n. I think they were made around 2010. They made up a few RMEF iterations. Green handled blizzard, black handle satin blade whirlwind , and lastly a camo handled whirlwind all with the RMEF logo. Not sure if they did the blackout in one. I believe the earlier versions of the whirlwind family had 440 steel (before and up to about 2009). A lot of the time if they start using new steel in the same knife the retailers don't bother getting around to switching it in their specs. Thats the reason for finding 3 different steels. Hope that helps.
 
bad_juju said:
Pretty sure this would have the 13c26n. I think they were made around 2010. They made up a few RMEF iterations. Green handled blizzard, black handle satin blade whirlwind , and lastly a camo handled whirlwind all with the RMEF logo. Not sure if they did the blackout in one. I believe the earlier versions of the whirlwind family had 440 steel (before and up to about 2009). A lot of the time if they start using new steel in the same knife the retailers don't bother getting around to switching it in their specs. Thats the reason for finding 3 different steels. Hope that helps.
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Hey BJ,

Thanks for the info. That's kinda what I was figuring hoping.

One internet dealer (with "Kershaw in its name) is selling (what must be very old-stock) 440A $50 Whirlwinds, and the big Canadian online retailer (Warriors and Wonders) has them with Sandvik 14C28N for $72 CAN.
 
The steel is confusing... the current Whirlwind is 14C28N, so I believe 13C26 would be a slight downgrade from that, but an upgrade from 440A. 14C28N was introduced in 2012 and the Whirlwind as far as I can tell was first introduced in 2009, but I am not sure what steel it had at that time. Something I did find out that I didn't realize, there are A LOT of different Kershaw RMEF model knives... Goggle "Kershaw RMEF"... which I find somewhat strange since they (RMEF) have no Kershaws on their site, but I guess they are all discontinued.

Cabella's lists a discontinued Whirlwind as 13C26, but all the major knife retailers I checked list it as 14C28N (the current version per Kershaw's website).
 
rsngfrce said:
The steel is confusing... the current Whirlwind is 14C28N, so I believe 13C26 would be a slight downgrade from that, but an upgrade from 440A. 14C28N was introduced in 2012 and the Whirlwind as far as I can tell was first introduced in 2009, but I am not sure what steel it had at that time. Something I did find out that I didn't realize, there are A LOT of different Kershaw RMEF model knives... Goggle "Kershaw RMEF"... which I find somewhat strange since they (RMEF) have no Kershaws on their site, but I guess they are all discontinued.

Cabella's lists a discontinued Whirlwind as 13C26, but all the major knife retailers I checked list it as 14C28N (the current version per Kershaw's website).
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Hey RSNGFRCE,

Thanks for digging around. I too have been in Full Google and think I have a definitive answer. Knifeworks.com has a new discontinued one for sale for $51, and it is made with 13C26. That's a good knife for the money.

Ron
 
oldmanron said:
...And why somebody thinks they can sell one for $250?
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Same reason a dude is selling a supposed "ZT-engraved" 0560 for over $600 on the exchange...they're counting on people to see these as uber-rare, limited edition pieces.
 
grownstar said:
Same reason a dude is selling a supposed "ZT-engraved" 0560 for over $600 on the exchange...they're counting on people to see these as uber-rare, limited edition pieces.
Click to expand...

As I was reading that exchange listing, I could hear other BF members laughing in my head... My first thought was "dude, this is NOT the 'bay!"
 
Well, you may not find this good news... on second thought, I think it IS good news...

13C26 Changeover Born On Dates

From this post, apparently the 1560RMEF was originally produced in 440A, and was changed over to 13C26 in Jul 07. Any 1560RMEF with a blade date before Jul 07 would be 440A. Since your blade does not have a date, that would indicate to me that it was produced after Kershaw stopped dating their blades, making it a newer version with 13C26...

Amazing how many answer turn out to be here already, if you can find them!
 
* 12C27 A grade with high hardness and good wear resistance. Takes very keen edge with ok edge holding.

* 13C26 Also known as a Swedish stainless razor steel. Generally the same properties as Sandvik 12C27, but with slightly higher hardness but less corrosion resistant. The Swedish steel maker Uddeholm AB also makes a virtually identical razor steel composition known as AEB-L, which they patented in 1928. Swedish razor steel is a very pure, fine grained alloy which positively affects edge holding, edge stability and toughness.

* 14C28N was designed by Sandvik at Kershaw's behest to have the edge properties of 13C26 but with increased corrosion resistance by adding nitrogen and chromium. Only available in Kershaw knives (as of 2012).
 
You know, these things get very confusing... because your blade has no date on it, that would make me think it has 14C28N steel, because I THINK Kershaw stopped dating blades when they switched to 14C28N, but the strange thing about that would be that I don't remember seeing anyone selling what they were calling a 14C28N version... :confused:
 
rsngfrce said:
I can find references to this knife having 440A and 13C26 steel. I suppose it could have been released in two versions (though if so, there should have been a model# change, but Kershaw has been known...). Most sites refer to it as 440A, so I would expect that is correct. It is difficult to put a value on it (about $40-$80 when it came out), since it is discontinued and I can't find any for sale other than one on eBay, though I think that price is overly high and I'd say the seller is very high on his prices of all the rare Kershaws that he has. There is also a 1560RM version with a black blade and green handles. I'll have to add these to the list!
Click to expand...

You aren't kidding. $45 for a Needs Work?! What??
 
Thales of Miletus said:
I can't supply pictures of oldmanron's knife, but for those interested, here is my Whirlwind 1560RMEF.

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Hi Thales of Miletus,

Thanks for posting the photo. Mine is physically identical, but with a more elaborate (probably newer) graphic on the blade ... a full shot of an elk (facing the tip) with its front right forefoot in the air, three distant mountain peaks in the background, with Rocky Mountain in small font "stacked vertically" beneath the left-most mountain and ELK FOUNDATION (in larger font) running horizontally starting beneath the right-most mountain ... with the whole graphic underlined in black. No date or mention of steel. I'm guessing that it's 13C26, as mentioned earlier. I don't think that any of the RMEF Whirlwinds were made with 14C28N ... introduced after (I think) the last of the various RMEF versions were produced.

Folks sure were helpful and accommodating on this thread ... a fine example of what these kinds of forums do so well. Thanks.
 
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