Recommend me a non speed-safe Kershaw

presz said:
I think most of you are missing his "serrated blade" requirement.

I assume he wants a combo blade so the are only 3 choices that I see that have flipper and are not assisted.

JYD2 without the composite blade. I guess the smaller JYD would also work for you.

Ram

Storm both sizes are nice. The flipper is very small and hard for me to use.
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Thanks for narrowing it down. It definitely is a requirement, I think I use the serrations more than half the time, so I definitely need at least one knife wit a serrated edge. However, if I can get two, I'm certainly open to suggestions of a non serrated one if it's really good as my second knife.

What's special about the composite edge?

jb4gators said:
Sorry to hi-jack the thread but I had the same problem with their speed-safe knives. I had the scallion and returned it 3 times to be repaired before I requested a comparable knife without the speed-safe option.
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Huh, I thought the Scallion might be immune due to the design, guess not. Maybe it's just a little less susceptible.

vwb563 said:
I've had a Leek for about two years now and I would say without a doubt its been opened thousands of times and has never broken a torsion spring. It does seem a little weaker than when it was new but it has never broke.
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I understand it's also something of a frequency over time thing. If you open and close it a lot quickly it's more likely to break. I find I'm using it quite often around people, so I pull it out, open, use, close, put away, pull out again as I realise I'm not finished, close, put away... repeat. That's probably something that puts some extra strain on it.

I just noticed Kershaw's site has RAM and R.A.M. As far as I can tell the R.A.M. is all black, while the RAM has a silver blade. Is that the difference, or is there anything else?
 
The composite blades allow Kershaw to laminate a high-quality steel (usually CPM D2) to a less expensive body. This might help keep costs down, and it looks cool. The edge steel is higher-quality than what is used in most of their other blades.

RAM and R.A.M. are just two spellings for the same knife. It stands for Restraint Actuated Mechanism. The 1910 is bead-blasted and the 1910CKT is DLC coated (black). Aside from the coating, the knives are identical. I like that the RAM can be flicked closed just as fast as it can be opened. It's great for quick cutting tasks.
 
That definitely looks interesting. Seems like I might want to go for the RAM primarily and one of the non serrated ones with nice blade material as secondary. How does the D2 Composite of the JYD2 compare to the VG10 of the Lahar?
 
CPM D2 is one of my favorite steels. It will outperform most other standard cutlery steels.

I compared a couple of my fixed blades a while back (a very un-scientific test). One was CPM D2 and the other CPM 154 (my baseline for high-performance particle steel). Both knives were treated by Paul Bos to 60-61 HRc. Both were easy to take to a highly refined edge, with the edge going to the CPM 154. While cutting, the CPM D2 lost its hair-whittling edge slightly earlier than the CPM 154. After that, the CPM D2 kept its "working edge" for what seemed like forever. Even cutting things like carpet, it just kept going. It was very easy to touch back up on the ultrafine stones (much easier than regular D2). CPM D2 can corrode, but you pretty much have to let it soak in a pool of water for that to happen.

My only CB Kershaw is the G10 Tyrade, and I admit it doesn't get as much attention as it deserves.

Phillip
 
So a Junkyard Dog 2 and RAM would be a good pair of workhorse knives?

I see the Lahar is mentioned as kitchen sharp, would that be more of a food prep type knife, and how easy would it be to clean?
 
migo said:
So a Junkyard Dog 2 and RAM would be a good pair of workhorse knives?

I see the Lahar is mentioned as kitchen sharp, would that be more of a food prep type knife, and how easy would it be to clean?
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I think they would make a good pair. The RAM for quick tasks, and the JYD2 when you need a larger cutting edge.

Strange you mentioned the Lahar in the kitchen. I actually use my JYD2 when I go to someone else's kitchen. I reground it to an extremely thin edge and it slices like no-one's business (it's no longer a hard-use blade). The blade shape lends itself well to kitchen cutting. Cleaning isn't much of a problem (of course a fixed blade would be better).
 
Cool. Thanks.

How is the JYD2 compared to the RAM for opening feel. I like the RAM feel, as well as the Oso Sweet and outside Kershaw the CRKT Summa. Is the JYD in the same category as far as easy flipping without needing the wrist flick?
 
The RAM really has a unique feel due to the lock design. Very quick and "snappy". My JYD2 has a smoother feel. The blade has a lot of mass, and glides smoothly into place with no wrist flick.
 
Nice! That's what I wanted to hear.

I think I'm pretty settled then for now.

I must say it's pretty wicked being able to get an entirely new knife for no or minimal cost. Gotta love Kershaw's customer service!
 
So here's what I get, a total of $214 of credit.

The RAM would cost $129 of that, the JYD2 Composite would cost $155 because it's a special order that HoK doesn't normally get. So after tax I'd be paying $80 for both of them.

Does that sound worth it, or is that pushing the price a bit too high, as essentially I will be paying $155 for the JYD2.
 
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