Kershaw/ZT Blems: How can we spot the blems?

LadyEarth

LadyEarth

Joined
Nov 24, 2012
Messages
882
It really bugs me that I cannot find anything wrong with several of my Kershaw blem as well as ZT blems.

I have a Kershaw Mini Cyclone tanto and I can't even SEE why all of those Tanto knives are blems. It's one solid metal piece of work.

Then a friend of mine had a ZT 0200 blem and I can't find anything wrong with it no matter how hard I looked.

Just drives me nuts because I want to know what to look for be it bad paint job (how do I spot that?) or bad construct or whatever. Or in another word, how do the Kershaw employees check for blems? Just makes me feel like the blem can only be found under a magnifying glass...
 
Like the well known guy who sells KAI blems says, some may have a tiny scratch or discoloration somewhere, but with most you can't tell why they were given the XXXX designation. Just be happy to have an apparently perfect knife at a fantastic discount. :D:thumbup:
 
Another possibility (and this is just speculation on my part) is that perhaps there isn't wrong with some but they were just designated blem bacause issues found with other knives in the batch. Has anyone ever gotten a truely bad blem? I'm thinking perhaps the really bad knives are totally pulled and not offered for sale at all and the knives that were produced immediently before and after said actually bad knife is marked blem just to be on the safe side.
 
Kershaw and Zt will not put out an unsafe overly screwed up knife as a blem. If its not safe and doesn't work its scrapped.
 
ZT has pretty high level of QA, so some pretty meaningless and mostly unnoticeable things can end up as blems.
 
bad_juju said:
Kershaw and Zt will not put out an unsafe overly screwed up knife as a blem. If its not safe and doesn't work its scrapped.
Click to expand...

I'm aware of that but that is not why I made the thread. ;)

mcrow said:
ZT has pretty high level of QA, so some pretty meaningless and mostly unnoticeable things can end up as blems.
Click to expand...

I still want to find it. I dont like not knowing what the blem is. I just want to know what to look for and/or what is already known for certain kershaw knives, etc.
 
I checked on Google about the Mini Cyclone Tanto and apparently the blemish part of the knife is one of the teeth on the blade is not the same as the rest of the others. And I can see the same thing on my own Mini Cyclone tanto. 1 down, more to go. :p
 
At the last Kershaw factory sale I bot a blemish ZT 561 after discussing it with one of the employees. She told that they, employees, had just been guessing what the blems were on the box of 561s on the table in front of them. So when I asked her about the one I chose she quickly pointed to a few of the letters on the blade and said that the were vague at some angles so not distinct enough. That was it. $100 for that blem. I carried for almost a year without issue.

Buy at the factory sale and ask employee(s) until you get an answer that you can live with like I did. With the blem you already own take it to Kershaw & inquire. Or accept the mystery. Only the rejecting employee knows why it got the boot.
 
oregon said:
At the last Kershaw factory sale I bot a blemish ZT 561 after discussing it with one of the employees. She told that they, employees, had just been guessing what the blems were on the box of 561s on the table in front of them. So when I asked her about the one I chose she quickly pointed to a few of the letters on the blade and said that the were vague at some angles so not distinct enough. That was it. $100 for that blem. I carried for almost a year without issue.

Buy at the factory sale and ask employee(s) until you get an answer that you can live with like I did. With the blem you already own take it to Kershaw & inquire. Or accept the mystery. Only the rejecting employee knows why it got the boot.
Click to expand...

Fair answer, Thank you Oregon.
 
You are welcome. My pleasure.

I hope that the long, rich and much enjoyed annual factory sale continues. I have moments of doubt since the Kershaw forum closed again. And, the last time I talked with Thomas face to face he asked if I thought that the sale should continue. It was a serious question. I whole heartedly lobbied for continuing this local event. If I can I will attend when I am 100. I love this stuff: buying knives from the men & women that make them. Fantastic opportunity to interface and acquire cutlery and other goodies plus help fund Marine Xmas toy drive. For me, this puts real flesh on the bones of the statement "it's a good life." Some of the good stuff.
 
Ive bought a fair share of blems. Most nada wrong with them. Even cosmetic youd struggle to find the flaw. That said I got a blem gen 1 0550 with a tag for a lack of a better term that said laser etch too light.....and I am paraphrasing...but ya get the point. The lock bar has been terrible though. Started out good...but started popping backwards toward open when used on more than paper cutting. Felt safe for awhile....but the lock rock got worse. Finally had to take it apart and bend the bar over to make sure it was safe.

Got a kimura blem. Was sharpened to the point where allot of steel was gone and the end edge was so thick you couldn't really use it without regrinding it. So not really cosmetic. Point is most are as good as new with big discount. Some not as good...but they are blems after all. Its what we are buying...lower priced users. So no complaints....just my experiences......
 
If you buy from Kershaw Guy, you will have a hard time finding the actual blem. I understand that he hand picks the blems that he offers for sale. If you buy from "Ole ED" on flea bay, then buyer beware! Still, KAI does not let potentially dangerous knives out the door on purpose. Their QC is very good in the industry.

Blessings,

Omar
 
Like G. Scott H. says in his post..."they were given the XXXX designation." You'll find the X's on the blade, quite prevalent on the three blems that I have...
Great knives, blem or not.
Sonnydaze
 
LadyEarth said:
It really bugs me that I cannot find anything wrong with several of my Kershaw blem as well as ZT blems.

I have a Kershaw Mini Cyclone tanto and I can't even SEE why all of those Tanto knives are blems. It's one solid metal piece of work.

Then a friend of mine had a ZT 0200 blem and I can't find anything wrong with it no matter how hard I looked.

Just drives me nuts because I want to know what to look for be it bad paint job (how do I spot that?) or bad construct or whatever. Or in another word, how do the Kershaw employees check for blems? Just makes me feel like the blem can only be found under a magnifying glass...
Click to expand...

This is probably true in most cases, I have gotten pretty good at finding them after selling thousands of them, but this is why they are such a great value. I will also say if it is ever anything that I think BF guys won't like I don't ship it, so I tend to look at them before I ship. I will never ship anything knowingly that is not purely a cosmetic blem.

Dave
 
OHALLUM said:
If you buy from Kershaw Guy, you will have a hard time finding the actual blem. I understand that he hand picks the blems that he offers for sale. If you buy from "Ole ED" on flea bay, then buyer beware! Still, KAI does not let potentially dangerous knives out the door on purpose. Their QC is very good in the industry.

Blessings,

Omar
Click to expand...

steelhead151 on flea bay is ok , but my website is a better buy.
 
LadyEarth said:
It really bugs me that I cannot find anything wrong with several of my Kershaw blem as well as ZT blems.

I have a Kershaw Mini Cyclone tanto and I can't even SEE why all of those Tanto knives are blems. It's one solid metal piece of work.

Then a friend of mine had a ZT 0200 blem and I can't find anything wrong with it no matter how hard I looked.

Just drives me nuts because I want to know what to look for be it bad paint job (how do I spot that?) or bad construct or whatever. Or in another word, how do the Kershaw employees check for blems? Just makes me feel like the blem can only be found under a magnifying glass...
Click to expand...

The same can be said about most of the spyderco "seconds" I bought 4 blades at the last sale, and only one had an obvious flaw, the others i still have no idea as to why they are flawed...
 
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