My Skyline problems

N

ncbcymtechie

Joined
Apr 17, 2011
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82
I really want to love the Skyline. I really do!

I've already bought a Clash and a Chill and I love both of them, and Kershaw as well. Quality products, great customer service... you know the drill. About a week ago I decided I wanted to purchase the venerable Skyline—two, in fact; one for myself and one for a friend for her birthday. Upon receiving them I was quite excited because they seemed to live up to every glowing review posted here on the forums. On closer inspection, however, I noticed a few major issues. On one of the knives, the blade rubbed significantly against the G10 liner. Not only was it annoying, I was pretty sure it slowed down deployment and made achieving lockup more difficult. The only thing I could do was send it to Kershaw for repair or replacement.

On the second knife, the blade stops hit the G10 liner so early that the liner lock barely engaged. I'm talking a fraction of a millimeter. I could disengage the lock by pushing against the spine with my palm or the top of my leg. Since I really didn't have time to send this one in and risk not having it for my friend's birthday, I decided to solve the problem myself by sanding down the G10 at the point where the blade stop hits the scale (the scuff marks on the G10 scale's divot are where I had to use sandpaper to make the divot deeper):
p1030413m.jpg


Thus allowing the blade to move further before being stopped, giving more time for the liner lock to engage. The knife works perfectly well now and I will give it to my friend tomorrow.

Here's the thing: even though the Skyline I will give to my friend is now functionally perfect, I'm slightly disillusioned by the fact that I received two knives not up to par immediately out of the box. By the time my own Skyline comes back from the factory, I'll have spent quite a bit of time and effort (and money for shipping) trying to acquire a good specimen. Of course, I understand that not every single knife that comes out of production will be perfect, but the odds of receiving two lemons seem astronomical. Kershaw, I still love you, but I am a bit bummed out by this...

Thomas W, if you read this and you've got a spare regular Skyline sitting around, sending me a perfect Skyline with no need for modification or invoking the warranty might restore my faith in the Skyline. :D (Not to mention I'm thinking of snagging one of those red ones from Dave.)

Counting the days until my Skyline comes back from the factory. I want to love the Skyline. I really do!
 
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Mine has a few issues the biggest being that the liner lock will fail under just the force my thumb can put on it so it locks up just well enough for EDC tasks but still scary IMO. The factory edge was crap and still trying to work out one bad spot that was way off even after EDCing it for almost a year and a half now. The last is that the holes in the pocket clip seem to be far larger than needed allowing for it to shift back and forth. The only one that truly bothers me is the lock and I've debated sending it in but I would miss the little knife too much need to buy a spare then maybe I would send it in.

Even with all of my nit picking the Skyline is my favorite EDC hands down I'm sure you will come to love yours as well.

Would love to see a version with a frame lock and elmax hint hint ;-).
 
@ono724: You bet I'm incredibly unlucky. Two lemons in a single shipment. Sheesh. :grumpy:

@Hacked: I had the very same problem. I could use my thumb, or any gentle push to the spine, to disengage the lock. For me, it was because the liner lock didn't engage—it only kicked in a fraction of a millimeter. This happened because the blade was being stopped too early by the blade stop hitting the G10 scale, so the liner lock didn't have enough time to kick in and spring into action. Here's what I suggest: flick open the knife as usual. Pull the spine backward (that is, opposite the direction it needs to go to be closed; this simulates a situation where the liner lock has more time/distance to engage). If the liner lock kicks in more than usual, one of the blade stops is kicking in too early. You'll also know if this is the case because one of the blade stops might not even be touching the scales. (On mine, the one against the G10-only scale was doing all the work. The blade stop for the metal liner+G10 wasn't even touching it at all.) Then if you feel up to it, you can sand a deeper groove for the blade stop.

Or you can just send it in and trust Kershaw's stellar CS. ;)
 
My issue is very different, Flipper knives are my preference since thumb studs and me don’t get along. So I have become very familiar with thumb stud stops and liner locks as they tend to go hand in hand. My lock when new did not quite fully engage the blade which is perfect since it will wear / break in. Now that it has broken in it sits just past the edge of the blade so the lock up should be solid. But if any decent amount of force is applied to the spine of the blade the lock will start to slip off of the ramp of the blade where it engages. Enough force and it fails completely. The issue is not spring tension on the lock either since it has so much tension it will stop the blade from opening if you don’t get a good flip on it as in a lot of tension. I have never seen a liner lock act like this it’s almost like it has Teflon coating where it engages.
That being said I’m not too bothered since I don’t carry for SD I don’t buy knives for tactical purposes or to collect I buy them to use and as an EDC I’ve never had an issue with the lock failing under use. The blade also takes an amazing edge has a great tip for piercing and a good amount of belly to slice with. It performs EDC tasks extremely well and is easy to maintain. You should be very happy with it can’t complain too much with the price we pay for them I got mine for $27 shipped new in the box so I’m more than happy.
 
In a sense, you're right. Of course I'm not expecting the fit and finish of a Chris Reeve on the Skyline when the price difference is at a ratio of some 10:1. On the other hand, there are certain criteria that every knife should pass before distribution—for a liner lock, these might include the blade not rubbing against the liner and solid lockup. Cosmetic "shortcomings," you could call them, I can live with. Functional shortcomings, on the other hand, I think are a responsibility of the manufacturer and that is why I am expressing my disappointment, dismay, and frustration with spending my time to fix one knife and my money to ship another over functional issues.
 
I just have a feeling with the materials involved, the Skyline could have a varying degree of tolerances(Hence a good choice for wally world). But there is always a hope they release a higher end version of the Skyline with SS or Titanium frame.

Hint Hint Kershaw reps.
 
Haha! Hope you find what you're looking for, Tim. Me, I just want a Skyline that I've never had to fix or send in for repair. If anybody's got one lying around they'd like to send to me... :p
 
My regular EDC is a Skyline, and the only complaints I have are the wobbly pocket clip and a scuff on the finish of the blade. Still, came sharp, no lock up issues, and I love it.
 
Sounds like you need to tighten your pocket clip EagleScouter. Mine is tight as heck.
 
ncbcymtechie


I do EDC my Skyline, none of mine have the issues you are experiencing. But I'm sure Kershaw warranty can take care of it for you.
 
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