SG2 Blur Arrived Today

H

Hamon

Joined
Jun 19, 2004
Messages
377
Whooeee!

I was so excited when that parcel slip arrived yesterday, I could barely sleep last night. Picked up the Blur from the ol' post office this afternoon, and have barely put it down since.

This will be a simple first impressions post, since I really haven't put it through its paces yet.

I've handled a fair number of the Kershaw A/O knives since I work in a knife shop on weekends, so I kind of knew what to expect when it came to the mechanism. It opens very firmly and authoritatively (if that's a word). I've never been too much a fan of the thumb studs on the Blur model, but it seems to work just dandy on this one with the type of opener it has.

Overall fit and finish was very good. I would use excellent except for the fact that the pivot seems fairly grainy, especially when I'm used to handling Cyclones and JYDs. Ah well, nothing a little lubricant and compressed air can't fix.

The blade is very aesthetically pleasing. I'm very impressed with the overall look of this knife, from the laminated blade to the earth brown anodized handles. I love the look of this knife. The edge came very sharp, able to catch hairs above the skin, thus from my experiences, I believe I'd be able to whittle hairs with it fairly easily, especially with a quick strop.

There was one thing that stood out as a bit of a weakness on this knife, and one that I've seen on several other Kershaw liner locks that I've handled. The lock bar is fairly polished and rounded at the end, which seems to be a quirk of most of the Kershaws I've seen. This rounded edge led to a failure when it came to a spine whack test. That being said, I'm not too worried about it, as with the use this knife will see, pressure or jolts will not often be put on the spine of the blade when open. Still, it would be nice to see Kershaw amend this problem in the future on their liner locks.

Aside from that, this knife rocks. Not only is it a well-built tool, but it ranks WAY up on the cool-factor meter, at least in my opinion. I can't wait for this weekend when the House of Knives folks in BC get together for a company social event and I can show off my SG2 Blur... I'm sure it will steal the show.

One more thing: this Blur was won through a contest that Thomas put on this forum. I'd like to give a huge thank-you to Thomas and the folks at Kershaw for being so generous and obviously excited to display and give out new product. Kershaw is quickly rising to the top of companies that I will support.

In conclusion, a fantastic knife from a company that is setting the pace for new innovations.

Travis
 
Hamon said:
In conclusion, a fantastic knife from a company that is setting the pace for new innovations. Travis
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This seems to be the theme Kershaw is shooting for, with all there knives.

Gratz on you knew knife.
 
Congratulations on the new knife. Let us know how it goes over at the social.

Thanks again to Thomas and Kershaw for the opportunities to win the knives!
 
Travis

Glad to hear your knife arrived safe and sound. Thanks very much for the compliments on the Blur.

I did feel the need to address this part of your knife, but want you to know I appreciate your open dialog with this concern.
Hamon said:
There was one thing that stood out as a bit of a weakness on this knife, and one that I've seen on several other Kershaw liner locks that I've handled. The lock bar is fairly polished and rounded at the end, which seems to be a quirk of most of the Kershaws I've seen. This rounded edge led to a failure when it came to a spine whack test. ...the use this knife will see, pressure or jolts will not often be put on the spine of the blade when open. Still, it would be nice to see Kershaw amend this problem in the future on their liner locks.
Click to expand...
Personally, I'm not a big advocate of spine whack testing.

With mass/volume production there are going to be some variances and failures concerning such tests. With our assembly lines, knives go through 4-5 sets of hands prior to being signed off on as a knife that is acceptable for public consumption. Assembly does spine whack the knives pretty hard, but not to the point where it is going to damage the lock or possibly even the blade itself. I'm not a believer in using a spine whack test to determine lock strength, but there are a lot of threads on this subject should one want further opinions.

The rounded edge of the liner lock IMO, was not the reason that you encountered a spine whack failure, nor is it a problem with our liner locks in general.
There are many variables that can lead to this type of failure. We have produced over a million liner locks over the years, and multiple reasons have shown why this can happen. It can be as simple as the 410 liner not being HT'd to a level that is "hard enough", manufacturer's struggle with lock positioning, and lock pressure, so to keep the intended buyer satisfied that the liner is not "too far over", or "it's too sticky when trying to unlock", bad geometry can also play a roll. The elu wants them smooth, strong, and positioned just to their liking. More than a dicey and challenging combination for any manufacturer.

Again, a search on liner locks vs. strength and safety is all well documented here on BF's. One has plenty of information on whether this locking device works for there intended uses, or if a spine whack test in general has merit. Just plain knife sense will tell you a .060 thick liner lock is not optimal for uses that included, as you say Travis "pressure or jolts on its spine".

Travis you seem to be in the camp where you feel this is a weakness and that it needs improvement and that is perfectly warranted.

I took a SG2 Blur and got it to fail with a spine whack, I then took the knife apart, flexed the liner (now it is positioned a tad over 1/2 way), and put the knife back together. No more spine whack failures, but a slightly sticky lock. No up and down or side to side play. Hmmm....what's a company to do?
When you move the volume we do, there will be a bit of both of the above going out the door. I'm not sure if you all feel that is good or bad, but it is a reality. The line is quite thin, blurry, and gray, in my mind at least, and the user is the one that ultimately decides if a particular knife is acceptable.

We also have never used SG2 steel in a folder, and this was also a bit interesting as it is a laminate, with 410(soft) as its shell. So now we have 410 engaging with 410. We have yet to confirm that this relationship is destined for a rocky road, but just another item to deal with.

In any case, if the spine whack test failure will keep you from enjoying the knife Travis, I will certainly send you another that can handle a sharp spine blow just fine. Seriously, no problem, PM if necessary.
 
I must agree with Thomas with regards to 'spine whack' tests. In my over 40 years of slip joint EDC (never mind liner locks), I have yet to experience an accident with a collapsing blade. The secret is to use the knife as it is intended, downward pressure slice cuts. For the life of me, I just can't imagine a situation where I might need to repeatedly 'whack' the spine of a knife. Just my opinion, but I find spine whack tests to be a non-issue.
 
Thomas, thanks expressing your opinion on liner locks and spine whacks, along with your experiences with manufacturing. I definitely can understand the struggle to find the right balance between what user friendliness and extreme hard use capabilities. Sometimes they don't match up, and the manufacturer in that situation must choose the most appropriate course to take.

Not everybody's going to be happy about the choice 100%, but then again, that never happens in any situation. You folks have done a great job in making a product that the vast majority of buyers will not have a problem with.

Thank you very much for your generosity in allowing me to send back the product if I so desire, but I'll be keeping this one. It's going to work just fine for anything that I will put it through. As I said before, I'm not too worried about it closing on me, as I will be using it as I use other liner locks... If I need to use a knife for something that will cause a lot of stress on the spine, I'll get a fixed blade.

A.P.F., one situation repeated impacts on the spine of a knife could occur in would be while batoning through wood. Theoretically, it could so happen that a relatively unprepared person could get into a situation where it would be most effective to baton with their folding knife as opposed to being exposed to hypothermia or something of the like, but the chances of that are rare, and rarer still are the chances of somebody knowing to baton but not being prepared enough to bring a fixed blade.

Thanks for the replies!

Travis
 
Hi Travis. I have not read all the replies yet and got down to the spine whack test on yours and want to comment while its fresh on my mind. Also I just got a Blur in SG2 myself and did a rather lengthy review of it in the review forum if you are interested in a lot of reading. No joke its so long the system told me to cut 23,000 off before I could post it in one post. :eek: So its two posts for a weekends worth of testing. Just prepare yourself.

Anyway.

Spine whacking liner locks, or integrals in general is something I don't do much anymore. For one you can have a liner lock for years that has never failed any spine whack you have ever given it only to tell someone how well it did and show them and then watch it defeat for no obvious reason. This has happened to me, and I believe I've read of Joe Talmedge saying something similar once or twice.

The odd thing about this is that you can then whack it somemore and it holds fine. When it defeats its very hard to determine exactly why. Many theories abound but none prove what is actually taking place I don't think. The best way to judge a lock is by how it performs in normal use but I do agree its a bit disconcerting to have one of yours fail. With that said I also want to add that I don't believe its a good idea to spine whack any knife regardless of lock type until you have had it a while, used it normally to be sure its broken in good but this is probably even more true of liner locks than all others and perhaps many frame locks also and some compression locks too for that matter.

As many can testify to, these three types of locks are more often than not shipped by both custom makers and manufacturers with the lock coming out to get behind the blade minimally at best. It is a much better idea and a much better way to actually judge the lock to test them this way once the lock has moved in on its own after breaking in.

STR
 
Figured I'd toss a few pics up, 'cause that's the thing to do when you buy a new knife. I used the knife tonight to cut up some veggies for a stir fry. Obviously, folders are not designated kitchen knives, but I was fairly impressed with how this handled the peppers and carrots that I cut up. It wasn't as easy to julienne the carrots as, say, the Shun Classic 6" utility, but it did the job, that's for sure.

For what I've seen of production folders, especially hollow-ground folders, this thing is ground quite thin, which makes it a very efficient cutter.

When does this guy stop typing stuff out and start posting pics? Right now.

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The aftermath of the veggie cutting with Shuns looking on approvingly... Note: the garlic was minced with an 8" chef knife, not the Blur.

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A shot of the blade that shows the lamination line.

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The knife as a whole. I really like the handle!

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The back side. I switched the clip around from stock. I much prefer a tip up carry on this knife, especially because it does not have a safety. If it tries to open, it hits the seam of my pocket. I've had a Scallion come halfway open in my pocket with the safety disengaged, and, well, my pinkie knuckle didn't like it so much.

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Blur in a hammer grip... I think that's what it's called..

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Saber grip.

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Finally, a shot with a large Sebenza. This new Blur spells the end for the pocket monopoly my Sebenza had for working at the knife shop. I have a feeling they'll be duking it out for quite some time over which gets more pocket time now on the weekends.

Thanks for your time!

Travis
 
Thanks for those great images, Travis. I think the best recommendation I can hear for a knife, is that it was able to bump a Sebenza for EDC!
 
Great pics hamon! And I thought I was the only one using a kershaw folder in the kitchen! Only I use the Boron Leek, and now the Plain Edge Random Leek.
 
Great pix! I wonder how the edge's service life will be when compared with the S30V Blur, which I was about to buy? My old red Blur is about ready for the butter spreading chores. I am somewhat amazed to see the S30V Blur still running more than the SG2 on evil-Bay, is there a reason? I really like my Kershaws... they need a hi-tech bladed sibling!

Stainz
 
I've had 2 440A Blurs, and 2 S30V Blurs and the Liner locks were excellent on every one. The tester SG2 blur had perfect fit and finish and though I didn't try a spine whack on it due to it being brand new and not completely seated yet, I'm pretty sure it would have passed the spine whack test.

The liner lock came positioned perfectly for a new knife.

I don't know what to say. Maybe I've just been lucky with my Kershaws. I've yet to have any trouble with any of them. Blurs, Leeks, Scallions,cyclones, etc., etc. The Frame locks have been done very well also, even the inexpensive steel ones.

BTW Thomas, Do you forsee ever doing any projects with CPM M4 High speed steel? Just curious as usual. Thanks, Joe
 
I kinda like the brown blur better then the black one I have, what is the difference, just the color? or the blade steel?
 
provin1327 said:
I kinda like the brown blur better then the black one I have, what is the difference, just the color? or the blade steel?
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Both.

The blade steel is SG2 steel (a very high quality powdered steel) with an outer layer of 410 steel.
 
I really want a Blur - but without handle inserts.
(A personal preference; just don't like handle inserts.)

I'd buy one right now if I could get it with a single material handle scales.

Ah, I guess I'll go flick my Speed Bump or Cyclone or something...
 
I like my S30V Blur, it's a real winner for the bucks. Not so far I'll get my SG2 Blur and a Lahar, too... Damn knifebug! :)
 
rifon2...I agree with you about the handle material, but if you try the Snap on ones they are only half covered on the front....I perfer that model
 
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