tenacious or cyclone

[2brothers]

Kershaw makes a great knife and I would own more of them if they are not assisted opening.

That part caught my attention, so.....

Kershaw is widely known for their A/O models because they are so popular. So, I looked through my lists
and was wondering how many are actually assisted and how many are not.

Unassisted VS. Assisted Offerings
I'm not including variations of models, because like many manufactures they offer different colors or serrated vs. plain blades etc.
I'm not going to include slippies or lockbacks either, it would be unfair to the A/O list.
I'm also going to only include products that are readily available. Will also try to keep out discontinued items.

Unassisted Offerings
1. 1470 Storm
2. 1475 Storm II
3. 1640 Vapor
4. 1650 Vapor II
5. 1720 JYD
6. 1725 JYD II
7. 1725CB JYD II Composite Blade
8. 1730 Groove
9. 1735 Zing
10. 1740 NRG
11. 1745 NRG II
12. 1750 Lahar
13. 1760 Skyline
14. 1770 OD-2 Flipper
15. 1775 OD-1 Flipper
16. 1900 E.T.
17. 1910 Ram
18. 2710 Scamp
19. 1445 Half-Ton
20. 1920 Select Fire
21. 3420 Blitz
22. 3410 Chill
There are some boutique runs as well of which many are non A/O

Assisted Offerings
1. 1550 Blackout
2. 1560 Whirlwind
3. 1570 Avalanche
4. 1580 Boa
5. 1585BR Baby Boa
6. 1595 Speed Bump
7. 1596 Spec Bump
8. 1600 Chive
9. 1610 Centofante/Onion Alum
10. 1615 Centofante/Onion Stainless Black
11. 1620 Scallion Polyimide Scale
12. 1660 Leek
13. 1670BLK Blur - Black
14. 1800 Mini Mojito
15. 1820 Needs Work
16. 1830 Oso Sweet
17. 1840 Shallot
18. 1850 Tyrade (This one is actually discontinued since they're out of blades)

I might have missed one or two.

 

[kneedeep]

Pete1977, thoughtful posts. :thumbup:

I have experienced the same service from Spyderco and I know of several other people who have as well.

That's pretty cool that Sal posted to resolve a customer service issue for you.
Can I ask what happened with the original knife, that Spyderco's customer service couldn't resolve the issue for you? What model knife did you end up with after Sal took care of it for you?

Spyderco has an exceptional warranty

This has sort of been discussed elsewhere, but since you were using the warranty as a "more" comparison point, I'd point out that Spyderco has a pretty average industry standard warranty. This is not meant as a negative comment toward Spyderco, this is just a practical part of doing business. Kershaw has a comparable warranty with the added benefit of NOT having a specific exclusion of replacing blades as Spyderco does. The warranty itself is not as important as the customer service that stands behind it. Clearly, as many have posted throughout the years here both companies have provided exceptional customer service more often than not.

I work around water and don't have the luxury of making sure the knife is clean and dry between uses. I work around sand and coal dust as well as with old polypropylene rope that, when cut leaves dust on the blade and in the workings of the knife. I want to know that my knife will open reliably ever time that I open it and especially when it is in a life or death situation...

Kershaw makes a great knife and I would own more of them if they are not assisted opening.

I haven't had the issues that you have with assisted openers, but I only rarely use mine in conditions as challenging.

Kershaw makes quite a few knives that are not assisted openers. Only the Ken Onion designed models are A/O. There are excellent manual designs by Tim Galyean, RJ Martin, G&G Hawk, Lee Williams, and in house designers. Definitely worth a look.

From the description of your work environment, you might check out the ZT 0500. It is a manual opener with sealed pivots designed specifically for the type of abuse you describe.

I guess 2brothers posted while I was typing...

 

[Dekz]

The Buck advantage pro. S30V steel G10 and made in the USA for about $45. I think it might be the new king of the budget knives with the materials used and made here in the US.

Not much to not like plus it has a nice thin grind which makes for one heck of a slicer.

Edit: Forgot to mention it has a flipper and a low ride pocket clip for left or right tip up carry. I'm really surprised these aren't talked about more.

Are you kidding me? That knife is mentioned in EVERY "knife under $50" thread.

 

[Pete1977]

That part caught my attention, so.....

Kershaw is widely known for their A/O models because they are so popular. So, I looked through my lists
and was wondering how many are actually assisted and how many are not.

Unassisted VS. Assisted Offerings
I'm not including variations of models, because like many manufactures they offer different colors or serrated vs. plain blades etc.
I'm not going to include slippies or lockbacks either, it would be unfair to the A/O list.
I'm also going to only include products that are readily available. Will also try to keep out discontinued items.

Unassisted Offerings
1. 1470 Storm
2. 1475 Storm II
3. 1640 Vapor
4. 1650 Vapor II
5. 1720 JYD
6. 1725 JYD II
7. 1725CB JYD II Composite Blade
8. 1730 Groove
9. 1735 Zing
10. 1740 NRG
11. 1745 NRG II
12. 1750 Lahar
13. 1760 Skyline
14. 1770 OD-2 Flipper
15. 1775 OD-1 Flipper
16. 1900 E.T.
17. 1910 Ram
18. 2710 Scamp
19. 1445 Half-Ton
20. 1920 Select Fire
21. 3420 Blitz
22. 3410 Chill
There are some boutique runs as well of which many are non A/O

I have the JYD II (excellent knife, a tank of a folder. Unfortunately, I can get an Endura for about the same price and have a better steel in the blade and the thumb hole. Otherwise, that knife was fantastic) , an OD-1 (exceptional, too small for my work needs), used to have a Vapor and a Vapor II, both did not sharpen up well and would not hold an edge. They were AUS-6 I believe. Next to my Paraframe and CRKT-M16 they were one of the more useless of my knives. The serrations on the combo edge one were ground so deeply and with such long points that they were unusable.[/b]

Assisted Offerings
1. 1550 Blackout
2. 1560 Whirlwind
3. 1570 Avalanche
4. 1580 Boa
5. 1585BR Baby Boa
6. 1595 Speed Bump
7. 1596 Spec Bump
8. 1600 Chive
9. 1610 Centofante/Onion Alum
10. 1615 Centofante/Onion Stainless Black
11. 1620 Scallion Polyimide Scale
12. 1660 Leek
13. 1670BLK Blur - Black
14. 1800 Mini Mojito
15. 1820 Needs Work
16. 1830 Oso Sweet
17. 1840 Shallot
18. 1850 Tyrade (This one is actually discontinued since they're out of blades)

I had the blackout, boa, centofante/onion, shallot, and the needs work. The blackout was a fragile feeling knife and would not hold an edge well. The boa was great, the handles were too slippery for me and the S60V was difficult to sharpen in the field and the edge would roll when cutting cardboard or rope. The centofante/onion is a fine little gentleman's folder. The shallot is great, my favorite of all kershaw's offerings. Unfortunately it is assisted opening. I don't carry it much. Again, I can carry an Endura with a stainless handle and have a VG-10 blade, superior serrations, and an opening hole for about the same price. The needs work is a nice knife, I am a huge fan of the wharncliffe blade but the handle leaves a bit to be desired. I used it around fresh water for 5 days and the Sandvik steel is prone to corrosion more than the 8Cr13MoV offered in similarly priced Spyderco knives.

The gray area of legalities is another reason why I shy away from A/O. If one strikes my fancy, I buy it by all means, but I don't carry it in the city of Chicago, don't travel to Boston with them and only carry them on the river.


I might have missed one or two.

Pete1977, thoughtful posts. :thumbup:



That's pretty cool that Sal posted to resolve a customer service issue for you.
Can I ask what happened with the original knife, that Spyderco's customer service couldn't resolve the issue for you? What model knife did you end up with after Sal took care of it for you?

I have never had a spyderco knife fail me. He has sent me knives to evaluate when I was looking for a specific style of serration. I have read countless posts of Sal posting to resolve issues personally with ELU's knives.

This has sort of been discussed elsewhere, but since you were using the warranty as a "more" comparison point, I'd point out that Spyderco has a pretty average industry standard warranty. This is not meant as a negative comment toward Spyderco, this is just a practical part of doing business. Kershaw has a comparable warranty with the added benefit of NOT having a specific exclusion of replacing blades as Spyderco does. The warranty itself is not as important as the customer service that stands behind it. Clearly, as many have posted throughout the years here both companies have provided exceptional customer service more often than not.

You are correct. The warranty is not as important as the customer service that stands behind it. The customer service at Spyderco is exceptional in my dealings with them. Sal Glesser's presence on this forum and his treatment of even the vehement anti-Spyderco folks and extortionists is evidence enough. I have never dealt with Kershaw's CS department. I take the word of pretty much everyone who has posted on the subject that it is exceptional.


I haven't had the issues that you have with assisted openers, but I only rarely use mine in conditions as challenging.

Kershaw makes quite a few knives that are not assisted openers. Only the Ken Onion designed models are A/O. There are excellent manual designs by Tim Galyean, RJ Martin, G&G Hawk, Lee Williams, and in house designers. Definitely worth a look.

I would gladly check out Kershaw's higher end offerings, just as I would gladly check out Spyderco's. Unfortunately I work on a boat and money is tight. I would not want to spend more than $50 on a folder and lose it overboard. This leaves me to the lower priced models of each company. If I did have the expendable funds for a high end knife and the guts to take it on the river I would gravitate more towards Spyderco's USA line before purchasing a ZT knife simply out of personal preference. Kershaw isn't the only company with it's loyal followers

From the description of your work environment, you might check out the ZT 0500. It is a manual opener with sealed pivots designed specifically for the type of abuse you describe.
see above...it is too expensive to be using on a boat with the way funds are now.

I guess 2brothers posted while I was typing...

my responses in bold above

I posted to answer the queries directed at my posts. Anyone can feel free to contact me via pm or email with any more questions. I think we have taken this thread from a comparison of two knives to a comparison of two of the finest companies in the production knife industry today and that is probably subject for another thread altogether.

2brothers, thanks for the list I looked a few of those knives up. I have had plans for some time to pick up another OD-1. That is one smooth knife.

Kneedeep, I hope I answered your questions to your satisfaction. PM me or email me if you want. I am going to bow out of this thread as to not further the drift. It has been a good, drama-free discussion though for the most part

Pete

 

[2brothers]

2brothers, thanks for the list I looked a few of those knives up. I have had plans for some time to pick up another OD-1. That is one smooth knife.

Pete

Thanks for your response Pete, just wanted to make sure you knew what else was available.

You mentioned the Needs Work and there just happens to be a limited run of them with G-10 handles and stonewashed 14C28N blades.
Might want to give that a shot.
(And yes, the G-10 handles look much better than the standard)

 

[joesrx]

Regarding Kershaw customer service, I had a part on a ao knife break. I emailed them expecting no return and within 2 hours, my response was answered and part was sent. Very quick and flawless.

joe

PS, just ordered the tenacious, but have kershaws.

 

[Gespenst]

Based on what I was told here, my first Cyclone assist spring probably broke from repeatedly opening and closing the knife. I didn't think I had abused it but wrote it off since Kershaw was willing to send a replacement at no cost. The replacement spring broke at work. It was the first time I had opened it that day. A few days later I gave it to a coworker.

My remaining Kershaws are non assisted and have given me no trouble at all.
Still wish the steel was a bit better but the knives are otherwise high quality.

How are you guys breaking your folders? I've never broken a folder, ever. I don't even take care of the folders I carry and use, other than sharpening about twice a year. Every now and then, I'll blow the lint buildup out from carrying it in my pocket.

My regular use folders are Spyderco, Kershaw, Benchmade, Victorinox, and a long time ago...Gerber.