Shallot porn

L

LUW

Joined
Nov 24, 2009
Messages
675
My Shallot has arrived :thumbup:!
It's been almost a week, but I wanted to EDC it for a few days before telling my impressions about it.

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I was lucky enough to find a BNIB plain edge CPM S110V model at a very good price, and best of all it was locally, so no overseas shipping anxiety this time :).

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The guy I bought it from is a Spyderco and Benchmade collector, and bought this Shallot on impulse at the end of 2008. After it arrived he flicked it open a few times but didn't think much of it, so it was kept in a drawer. I got it with a few minute stain dots on the handle and clip, which easily came out with Autosol metal polish.

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The first thing I noticed when I got it out of the box was how fast it is to open the blade. Man, it's as fast as an auto! The AO works very well, and it's easy to open, but I don't fear opening it by accident in my pocket. Because of the AO spring it is a bit tougher to close with just one hand, but nothing that makes it impractical. The second thing I noticed right out of the box was how dull the blade was :mad:. And when I say dull, I mean DULL, to the point it would have trouble cutting a plastic bag
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. Without a doubt this was the worst edge I ever saw on a factory knife.

Hard as S110V is, I wasn't very successful sharpening it with my DMT sharpener, but today I took it over to my dad and he was able to put a keen edge on it, shaving sharp. He has a very narrow belt grinder and with a very smooth grit sandpaper is able to make anything sharp.
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The handle is very soft to the hand, but it has a good enough size that I can firmly grip it. In very cold weather though I think it wouldn't work out, but for around these parts it's terrific. Maybe, though, it could get slippery when wet or greasy, so I have to test that scenario out. The clip is also very nice, keeping the folder tip down and securely in place.

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And here is maybe the only thing I didn't like: the frame lock. It works fine and is strong enough to keep the blade locked open, but the thumb indentation on the opposite side is too shallow, so you have to disengage the lock only with the surface of your thumb. In the beginning I was having some difficulty with it, but now I'm used to applying more force. If the indentation was a bit deeper on the opposing scale, it would have been much simpler to use.

Overall it's a finely crafted blade, and looks very elegant. A bit on the heavy side (125 g / 4.42 oz) but at the right size, with an overall size of 20.1 cm (7.91"). The handle has 11.8 cm (4.65") and the blade has 8.3 cm (3.27"). For my hand at least that is just perfect :cool:.
 
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Nice knife and glad you enjoy it so far.

I bought a few of these, and the issue with the dull blade makes me think this knife has been used or the previous owner tried to sharpen it, with no luck. All of mine came hair popping sharp right out of their boxes.

But you've got it sorted out now, so all is well! Enjoy it, 110V is a wonderful steel!
 
Yeah, all my Kershaws have come scary sharp. If you don't trust yourself sharpening it you can send it to Kershaw and they will take care of you. Note that using a belt sander for sharpening voids the warranty I think.
 
Great score bro! I remember you posting about whether or not you should get it a week or so ago. I'l glad to see that you snatched it up. I was also wondering if the knife was used when you said that it came dull. Every kershaw I have ever owned came hair poppin sharp out of the box, infact I believe that kershaw sharpens their blades at the factory better than any of the other big name production brands. I also scored a one a month or so ago and it is an awesome knife. I have yet to try sharpen it and am a little anxious to do so but we'll see how that goes. You know the shallot is the only production knife to use s110v.
 
I don't have any reason to believe that what the seller told isn't true, that he never sharpened it, and besides, the marks on the edge looked like they were made by a belt grinder. Or at least, after I used the DMT on the edge it looked different, and after my dad passed the blade once on the belt grinder it was looking like it originally looked. So maybe it was a dud, but the fact is that it was dull out of the fact. No biggie, since it's sharp enough now, and that's what matters.

I am VERY impressed with the S110V. At least for everyday use it's fantastic and seems to hold an edge for ever. Does anyone know why the Shallot is the only production knife in S110V? Is it too expensive?

PS: Frame lock, not liner lock, I was thinking about one but wrote the other.
 
Threads like this are the reason it's getting harder to resist buying more knives :p

Thanks for the pics!
 
I think I hate you. Or, at the very least, I am stoopidly envious. Lemme check...
Yep. Stoopidly envious. (More stoopid than envious, truth be told...)


Congrats on a great score!
 
Thanks guys!
It's a beauty of a folder, and handles very nicely. If anyone is thinking about getting one and has the opportunity, do it, you won't regret it :cool:.
 
Congratulations LUW. :)
Looking for one like this for ages. I think I need forget the bills for a while.
(leva esse para nós vermos, no próximo encontro) ;)
 
Mine came sharp enough to push cut paper and shave hair from the back of my arm, but not sharp enough to prevent me from lightly running a finger along the cutting edge.
 
Geraldo Leão;7899622 said:
Congratulations LUW. :)
Looking for one like this for ages. I think I need forget the bills for a while.
(leva esse para nós vermos, no próximo encontro) ;)
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Com certeza! ;)

Sep said:
Mine came sharp enough to push cut paper and shave hair from the back of my arm, but not sharp enough to prevent me from lightly running a finger along the cutting edge.
Click to expand...
No, mine was totally dull. No biggie as I said, since now it's shaving sharp, but I expected it to have come at least sharp, maybe not a razor, but sharp enough to easily cut paper.
 
I have one of those too, it's a very cool knife. It has become my night-time EDC, because it's so flat, it rides great in my pajama pockets. :D

I'm really not looking forward to sharpening the thing though. CPM110V + recurve is a formula for sharpening frustration. Luckily, mine came plenty sharp. I plan on stropping it whenever it threatens to dull even a little bit, because a full-on sharpening job will no doubt be a chore.

The handle on the Shallot is remarkably comfortable for how thin and simple it is. That Ken Onion feller really knows his stuff. :thumbup:
 
Congrats on a great score! As far as sharpness, you must have gotten a dud. All of my Kershaws were shaving sharp out of the box.
 
Good to know I'm not the only one who doesn't look forward to sharpening the thing again...:D
But since the steel is so hard, and it will be used as an EDC blade (= no heavy use), I doubt I'll need to sharpen it in the near future. I guess stropping once in a while will be more then enough.

One thing that I did learn is that a recurve blade is not the most practical of edge designs. I know it's supposedly a better geometry for cutting blades, and that is very good for an EDC blade, but it makes sharpening pretty hard, specially with a hard steel.
 
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