New Kershaws look intriguing

V-1 said:
$230 retail for a made in the USA OTF doesn't seem like a horrible deal to me. Seems highly competitive for a USA made OTF.
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It actually sounds like a really good deal. I'm ok with my dollars going towards US based manufacturing, and I'm well aware it comes at a premium.

Imagine paying almost $300 for that stupid little Exocet. Not to mention some of the horror stories regarding the MT warranty.

KAI has always stood by their products and I'll gladly pick as many of these up as I can afford.
 
I have always been amazed at the mechanism of two way autos.
They are interesting.
I will be excited to see how the Kershaw compares.
My Deadlock has been the standard bearer for me.
Best
mqqn
 
BTW, here is that Axis-style Bestech in G10 and 14C28N that was just recently released as part of their "Bestechman" budget brand. The street price is $52, which is just a few bucks less than these Kershaws in FRN and Chinese D2.

While I haven't handled any of these, I somehow feel confident that the Bestech product is going to be better quality than the Chinese-made Kershaws here.

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BJE said:
How are the heretics?
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My Heretic Manticore E is my favorite of my small collection of OTFs. It's just as snappy as my Ultratech and Combat Troodon, with a smoother action and less blade play than both. My Infidel might have marginally less blade play, but the action isn't as snappy. The Manticore blows all of them out of the water when it comes to ergonomics too.

It'll be interestng to see how this Kershaw does, size wise it seems to be very similar to the Manticore E, and the handle looks pretty comfortable. If they treat it like the Launch line, it'll probably be available in every color of the ranbow, and then some, by the end of the year, so I'll probably wait for a color I like to pick one up.
 
mqqn said:
I am happy that Americans are designing knives and trying to make a living selling them.
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This is my thought when it comes to Kershaw. A lot of their knives may not be made here, but at least some of my money is going to Americans. That means they have more overhead and can't offer the same screaming deals that other companies with minimal overhead in the States can.
 
I honestly am not so excited by these new kershaws.... the vast majority of them are d2 or 8cr13mov.... which, isn't bad of course, just nothing to really excite me

of all of them, the federalist slipjoint is the most intriguing ... the only slight downside is cpm-154
(its good stainless, but not much edge retention... would have loved to see this in 14c28n or magnacut ideally)
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dirc said:
...the vast majority of them are d2 or 8cr13mov.... which, isn't bad of course...
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Bad here is relative. In 2023, I'd say 8Cr13Mov is bad in any knife costing more than $25. Even then, customers with access to the internet will often be within the cost of a cup of coffee or a fast-food lunch of getting something with much better performance.

I don't know what kind of heat treatment Kershaw gets on their Chinese D2 but that's been a problematic steel across the board. It almost never matches the edge-retention ratings you'll see for "D2" on charts from Larrin and others. Edge retention varies quite a lot for Chinese D2 and in reasonably controlled testing, a lot of it falls short of humble steels like 9Cr18Mov and 14C28N.

Where I see value in Chinese D2 is as a replacement for 8Cr13Mov in the $25-50 range. Probably the best example of that is in the Petrified Fish knives. They offer a variety of models in Chinese D2 for less than some of the new Kershaw knives in 8Cr13Mov, and they do it with great manual action and better handle materials. Coincidentally, they also seem to get one of the better budget heat treatments on their D2.
 
I think their OTF looks even nicer after watching the Knifecenter video. It appears to be even more ergonomic and well machined then I thought from the pictures. Looking forward to checking one out.
 
300 bones for a Kershaw OTF?! No thanks. The Shoreline looks like they took the Oso Sweet blade and put it on a Method handle. The rest are really underwhelming and uninspiring. Bad time to be a Kershaw fan:(
 
V-1 said:
I just saw it listed at $210 for a preorder. I also saw it at $237.
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That's the lowest I've seen it - MSRP is north of 300. If I'm going to drop that kind of money it wouldn't be on a Kershaw. That said, I'm glad to see Kai venturing into areas they haven't been or only have a small footprint. Autos have been something Kershaw has had limited success - the Launch series is good, but with prices going up and availability dropping I don't think they'll be around long.
 
How's the action on the flipper? That's probably the one I'm going to get once they're available at my preferred dealer.
 
Silent H said:
How's the action on the flipper? That's probably the one I'm going to get once they're available at my preferred dealer.
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Very smooth.
This is my first flipper with a barrel lock, so at first I was noticing rhe movement of the bolt back when I flipped the knife open.
It does not interfere with the action, just something I noticed.

I also noticed that the blade will stay partially deployed if you are pulling back on the bolt while fidgeting with the knife or wristing it closed. You just have to release the bolt as the blade flips closed. The bolt will pull the blade closed when you release it, so for me, it is just a difference between my Benchmade non-flipper axis locks and this knife.

All of that wall of text aside ( my apologies to Chronovore Chronovore , on my second pot today), I think they are both winners.
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Best
mqqn
 
mqqn said:
Very smooth.
This is my first flipper with a barrel lock, so at first I was noticing rhe movement of the bolt back when I flipped the knife open.
It does not interfere with the action, just something I noticed.

I also noticed that the blade will stay partially deployed if you are pulling back on the bolt while fidgeting with the knife or wristing it closed. You just have to release the bolt as the blade flips closed. The bolt will pull the blade closed when you release it, so for me, it is just a difference between my Benchmade non-flipper axis locks and this knife.

All of that wall of text aside ( my apologies to Chronovore Chronovore , on my second pot today), I think they are both winners.
View attachment 2049649
Best
mqqn
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At least they look cool. (I like the top one more than the bottom.)

It's good to hear some feedback on the mechanism. At the end of the day, these still feel like missed opportunities to me. They join the already enormous pile of knives that I wish I had better materials for the price. Even keeping the FRN, I might have been excited if these were 14C28N.

Another plus, at least they aren't assisted?
 
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