I've been waiting to snag a Knockout ever since they were announced this time last year. I wasn't smart enough to get in a pre-order early, and so missed the first shipment. A few days ago after becoming frustrated with the wait, I picked up a Paramilitary 2. It's a very nice knife, but just wasn't for me. When another BF user posted a like new Knockout for sale, I jumped on it.
I'm going to start out with the good, just so this doesn't come across solely as a gripe post. There are some things (IMO) this design got wrong, but there are some it got VERY right. Firstly, the ergonomics on this knife are superb. I hope whoever did the original trace on this knife got a nice Christmas bonus.
I love the aesthetics, as well as the blade shape; it's what attracted me to the knife in the first place. I really can't think of a single thing this knife got wrong in that area.
There are a few things about this knife, though, that just don't sit well with me. Before it seems that I'm being unfair, I realize that this knife is intended as a slim, lightweight knife, in the form factor of a larger knife. Kershaw really took this design to the bleeding edge, but IMO in some ways, they went a little over the edge.
My first concern is the pocket on the backside of the left scale, which contains the hidden half-liner (for reinforcement). The internal pocket was machined first before the decorative milling on the outside. After the internal pocket was machined, the G10 went convex due to its own internal stresses. That left a visible area on the outside of the knife where the decorative milling was not able to cut deeply enough due to the dip in the material.
I measured the the decorative grooves with my depth micrometer, and the average depth throughout the outside of the knife body is between 0.0045 and 0.0055 inches. The depth in the center of the depression is 0.001 inches. When you have a decorative groove that is only 0.005 deep, a 0.004 difference is quite significant. If the warpage had been any worse, the decorative milling wouldn't have even made it through the texture portion of the G10 sheet.
It is very visible in any light, and from any angle. It was a bit disturbing for me, because I usually expect nothing less than perfection from Kershaw. This is what I would consider a rather amateur mistake in machining. I don't mean that to insult the fine American workers in Kershaw's factory, but if this was in my shop, I certainly would have cut the decorative detail before milling the underside pocket, and destabilizing the material. Additionally, if the underside pocket is cut last, it ensures that its dimensions won't be affected by changes that occur after the decorative detail is added on the other side.
This knife is designed to be as lightweight and slim as possible, and so has very limited liners under the G10 scales. Because of this, the front of the knife where the pivot resides, is very unstable. By pinching the lower front of the scales together (with firm but not excessive force), I am able to expand the gap between the scales at the stop pin, from 0.1445", to 0.1650". In a resting closed position (without squeezing the bottom front of the scales), I am able to close the gap from 0.1530" to 0.1445" by pinching the top of the scales. In a resting position, the stop pin has just over 0.010" of lateral play, as well as roughly 0.001" of play in the scales (which is well within reason, we're talking a synthetic composite material here, although G10 is very strong, it does have limited mechanical stability).
The flex in the front of the knife is severe enough that if a right hander is using the knife, gentle pressure is enough to cause the scale to rub the blade as it is opening. Slightly firmer pressure will actually prevent the blade from fully opening. It takes very little pressure to cause the scale to touch the blade.
After opening the blade, the lock has roughly 50% engagement.
Gently wiggling the blade causes the engagement to set to somewhere around 70%
A very gentle squeeze will set the lock all the way against the opposite scale. This concerns me, because as the lock breaks in, it will eventually cease to tightly engage the blade. I don't see full lock failure as a serious possibility, but it still is disturbing. I don't like the idea of significant blade play in the future. I'm especially concerned with the combination of this, and the relatively loose, small diameter lock pin that is supported solely in G10, with no metal liner support.
I know that some people were dissapointed when it was announced that the knife had been switched from all aluminum scales, to G10 with hidden liners. Looking at all of the features and design aspects of this knife, I can see that it was definitely designed with all aluminum scales in mind. I don't want to go as far as to say that the design became faulty from the switch to G10, but IMO it came very close. I understand this isn't meant as a "beater" knife or a prybar, but as it sits now, the physical size of the knife does not match up to the mechanical stability of the design. I'm sure some won't agree with me, but that is my personal opinion after review. If the original all aluminum design was retained, I believe that it would be perfectly matched.
I showed the knife to a few of the engineers at work today, and they came to the same conclusion without any coaching. On a positive note, they loved the knife otherwise.
In its current state, I can't say that I'm confident in the long term durability of this knife. I love the design so much, that I'm somewhat on the fence as to whether I plan on keeping it, or continuing the hunt for my next "perfect" EDC. The only thing swaying my opinion is my love for Kershaw as a company, and the knowledge that I can probably get any future problem taken care of rather easily. I also didn't exactly spend a fortune on the knife.
I can still see a definite niche for this knife in its current state and price point. I must say though, I would GLADLY have paid $100+ for a much more robust, all aluminum version of this knife with slightly upgraded blade steel. The overall design of this knife is undeniably awesome.
I'm going to start out with the good, just so this doesn't come across solely as a gripe post. There are some things (IMO) this design got wrong, but there are some it got VERY right. Firstly, the ergonomics on this knife are superb. I hope whoever did the original trace on this knife got a nice Christmas bonus.
I love the aesthetics, as well as the blade shape; it's what attracted me to the knife in the first place. I really can't think of a single thing this knife got wrong in that area.
There are a few things about this knife, though, that just don't sit well with me. Before it seems that I'm being unfair, I realize that this knife is intended as a slim, lightweight knife, in the form factor of a larger knife. Kershaw really took this design to the bleeding edge, but IMO in some ways, they went a little over the edge.
My first concern is the pocket on the backside of the left scale, which contains the hidden half-liner (for reinforcement). The internal pocket was machined first before the decorative milling on the outside. After the internal pocket was machined, the G10 went convex due to its own internal stresses. That left a visible area on the outside of the knife where the decorative milling was not able to cut deeply enough due to the dip in the material.
I measured the the decorative grooves with my depth micrometer, and the average depth throughout the outside of the knife body is between 0.0045 and 0.0055 inches. The depth in the center of the depression is 0.001 inches. When you have a decorative groove that is only 0.005 deep, a 0.004 difference is quite significant. If the warpage had been any worse, the decorative milling wouldn't have even made it through the texture portion of the G10 sheet.
It is very visible in any light, and from any angle. It was a bit disturbing for me, because I usually expect nothing less than perfection from Kershaw. This is what I would consider a rather amateur mistake in machining. I don't mean that to insult the fine American workers in Kershaw's factory, but if this was in my shop, I certainly would have cut the decorative detail before milling the underside pocket, and destabilizing the material. Additionally, if the underside pocket is cut last, it ensures that its dimensions won't be affected by changes that occur after the decorative detail is added on the other side.
This knife is designed to be as lightweight and slim as possible, and so has very limited liners under the G10 scales. Because of this, the front of the knife where the pivot resides, is very unstable. By pinching the lower front of the scales together (with firm but not excessive force), I am able to expand the gap between the scales at the stop pin, from 0.1445", to 0.1650". In a resting closed position (without squeezing the bottom front of the scales), I am able to close the gap from 0.1530" to 0.1445" by pinching the top of the scales. In a resting position, the stop pin has just over 0.010" of lateral play, as well as roughly 0.001" of play in the scales (which is well within reason, we're talking a synthetic composite material here, although G10 is very strong, it does have limited mechanical stability).
The flex in the front of the knife is severe enough that if a right hander is using the knife, gentle pressure is enough to cause the scale to rub the blade as it is opening. Slightly firmer pressure will actually prevent the blade from fully opening. It takes very little pressure to cause the scale to touch the blade.
After opening the blade, the lock has roughly 50% engagement.
Gently wiggling the blade causes the engagement to set to somewhere around 70%
A very gentle squeeze will set the lock all the way against the opposite scale. This concerns me, because as the lock breaks in, it will eventually cease to tightly engage the blade. I don't see full lock failure as a serious possibility, but it still is disturbing. I don't like the idea of significant blade play in the future. I'm especially concerned with the combination of this, and the relatively loose, small diameter lock pin that is supported solely in G10, with no metal liner support.
I know that some people were dissapointed when it was announced that the knife had been switched from all aluminum scales, to G10 with hidden liners. Looking at all of the features and design aspects of this knife, I can see that it was definitely designed with all aluminum scales in mind. I don't want to go as far as to say that the design became faulty from the switch to G10, but IMO it came very close. I understand this isn't meant as a "beater" knife or a prybar, but as it sits now, the physical size of the knife does not match up to the mechanical stability of the design. I'm sure some won't agree with me, but that is my personal opinion after review. If the original all aluminum design was retained, I believe that it would be perfectly matched.
I showed the knife to a few of the engineers at work today, and they came to the same conclusion without any coaching. On a positive note, they loved the knife otherwise.
In its current state, I can't say that I'm confident in the long term durability of this knife. I love the design so much, that I'm somewhat on the fence as to whether I plan on keeping it, or continuing the hunt for my next "perfect" EDC. The only thing swaying my opinion is my love for Kershaw as a company, and the knowledge that I can probably get any future problem taken care of rather easily. I also didn't exactly spend a fortune on the knife.
I can still see a definite niche for this knife in its current state and price point. I must say though, I would GLADLY have paid $100+ for a much more robust, all aluminum version of this knife with slightly upgraded blade steel. The overall design of this knife is undeniably awesome.
