Somebody Educate Me : R.J. Martin & Kershaw Chill

Wowbagger

Wowbagger

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Did R. J. Martin ever make the original Chill ? In other words a very high quality Chill ?

Or something very similar ?

In this Blade Forums thread Tostig said :
I want to get one not only to use but to mod , that knife is screaming to be modded.
Click to expand...

Tostig,
Did you ever Mod one ?
Does anyone know of a link to a modded one ?

The more I look at the Chill the more intrigued I am. I find that it is similar to my Grail which is a highly modded Brad Zinker Urban Trapper.
 
A friend of mine got a Kershaw Chill as a gift. He wasn't entirely happy with it. He knew I had experience with pocket knives so he asked me to take a look.

The scales had a lot of sharp edges and didn't have the best fit. So we took the knife apart for a good cleaning. We touched up the scales with a pair of emery boards and rounded off the hard edges. We lubed it up with some Lubriplate. It was a decent little knife after that. I honestly liked it better than the popular Skyline, minus the steel.

This is yet another Kershaw that would benefit from better steel and a better pocket clip design. The stock clip on the Chill is by no means the worst in Kershaw's catalog. It just isn't great. With the diagonal orientation of the screw holes, I can't think of an existing loop-over clip that will easily fit. If there is a better version of this knife out there, I'd be glad to see it.
 
Cosmodragoon,
Thanks for the reply.
My coworker has one is why it came to my attention. He has had it for a year or two. There seems to be nothing wrong with his; I have handled it a couple of times. Dull as it could possibly be. Aparently he's afraid to have me sharpen it or to use a sharp knife. He could care less about knives / doesn't even carry this his only pocket knife most days. He said he bought it because he had a gift card at a place his friend worked and didn't want to leave without buying something.

. . . now I'm deeeeeeeepressed . . . . :( . . . not about the knife but about the state of America's youth . . . :( . . .

The thought of getting this knife and maybe putting some thicker scales on it or spacers behind the scales has perked me right up again though :eek::D:thumbsup:

Anybody else know about this little Gem ?
 
There is also the kershaw volt and volt ss. Zt did a sprint run on his design. His designs have his style all over them.
 
Wowbagger said:
Did R. J. Martin ever make the original Chill ? In other words a very high quality Chill ?

Or something very similar ?
Click to expand...

Don't know about the Chill but he did make an earlier version of the Zing which had a concave fluted blade. I luckily bought one off of the Exchange. It's concave and fluted on both sides BTW.

0f5037127355ed1e4ce6d80297f508cb--folding-knives-pocket-knives.jpg


Beats the heck out of the current production version that I also have, which still has the same concave shape but no fluting and just looks like a cheap imitation in comparison:

knifework-1730ss2.jpg
 
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sgt1372 said:
an earlier version of the Zing which had a concave fluted blade. I luckily bought one off of the Exchange. It's concave and fluted on both sides BTW.
Click to expand...
Wow !
Also looks like a very similar clip on yours as the Chill.
Do you like the clip ?
 
Wowbagger said:
Oh yeah, that Volt is a bit larger version of the Chill with real blade steel.
Nice !


. . . now that right there . . . that wasn't playing fair . . .
Don't tell me what that costs; I might find myself selling something vital to get the knife.
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If you habe 2 good kidneys you only need one.
 
Wowbagger said:
... There seems to be nothing wrong with his; I have handled it a couple of times... The thought of getting this knife and maybe putting some thicker scales on it or spacers...
Click to expand...

I suspect that the scales on the Chill we "fixed" might have been a little out of spec. Even so, I've seen this with other budget knives. Even in spec, thin plastic or G-10 that comes to a hard angle can feel sharp in hand. Even if you don't notice it right away, you might notice it during fondling or regular use. It's amazing what can be accomplished by carefully chamfering those angles with emery boards (coarse followed by fine). Just breaking the right angle along the edge of a scale can make a big difference in how a knife feels in hand.

Speaking of feel, being thin was a hallmark of the Chill. If you want a thicker knife, there are lots of options.

I've been carrying a Tangram Amarillo since Christmas. It's been remarkably handy. It's in the same ballpark as the Chill but might check a few more boxes for you. The blade shape is different but the steel is a lot better. It came with nicely chamfered scales.

If you really like the blade shape of the Chill and don't love the SS version of the Volt, there is always the Volt 2. The GFN scales have a nice texture and are fairly ergonomic, minus the pocket clip. The Volt 2 has one of my least favorite of the Kershaw clips. It's the same clip that they use on the Zing.

Speaking of the Zing, there is a full G-10 version that I've only seen in-store at Dick's. (I can't find it on their website.) It's surprisingly comfortable in hand. The clip somehow lays flatter on this one and doesn't produce a hot spot. If you like this knife and live near a Dick's, check it out.
 
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You might want to consider the Three Rivers Manufacturing (TRM) R.J. Martin Machine.

23734594_503544146680295_5299872682714595328_n.jpg
 
I have a few RJ Martin knives because I really like his style. You might consider the ZT 0609. Similar in some ways to the Chill, Zing and Volt but a significant step up in quality.
Zero-Tolerance-RJ-Martin-Flipper-Bronze-Satin-0609-BHQ-80574-jr.jpg
 
Speaking of feel, being thin was a hallmark of the Chill. If you want a thicker knife, there are lots of options.
Click to expand...
Geeee . . . I thought everyone around here was aware of my abhorrent behavior by now.

I can't hardly pass a thin handled knife with a blade that I like with out going all Frankenstein on it's arse.
Here's a LINK>>>> to how I defiled a couple of Brad Zinker Urban Trappers.
I've found another victim in the Chill . . . just a matter of time . . .

First off I think I'm going for a new personal best record of blade grinding thinness. My best so far is a four inch blade at 1.9mm . . . for the Chill I'm thinking 1mm . . .
dare I go sub mm ?
WhoaHaHaHa (he said in his best evil scientist voice)
PS : I always have one or two thicker hard use knives on me. I want a little, thin, high performance, slitter / slicer . . . I promise to be careful and gentle. Right now that roll is filled by my almost zero ground SAK Bantam. Why should the Bantam have all the fun ? ! ? !

Cosmodragoon said:
Tangram Amarillo
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Yes not bad. I do want the 3" plus blade length or even more. (not less). I like the longer skinnier handle on the Chill also.

Yes I was scoping out the others as well. I guess I'm kind of stuck on the Chill . . .
we'll see . . .
THANK YOU for the info.
 
Wowbagger said:
Wow !
Also looks like a very similar clip on yours as the Chill.
Do you like the clip ?
Click to expand...

I don't carry the vintage Zing, so can't personally comment on the use of the clip but, based on its appearance which I find attractive, I think it should function fine.

FWIW, the clip on the vintage Zing is like the flared clips you find on other earlier designed knives; just smaller in proportion w/the knife. Those who have used larger Kershaws w/similarly styled clips on it, like the Kershaw Offset 1597 and Kershaw Junkyard Dog 1725CB, have often said that they hate it. So much so that many owners have actually ground it down to make it thinner in width in order to make it easier to insert/remove into/from the pocket.

However, since the Zing and the clip is so much smaller than those knives, I really don't think it matters.

vintage-kershaw-1735-rj-martin-fluted_1_adeb112fed5ff4ef921c858e9fe2e7b8.jpg
 
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