Thoughts on my Kershaw Knockout (some good, some bad unfortunately)

[Dorito Monk]

took out the assist but without it there was no detent so I put it back in, I am not a fan of assisted knives in general

Damn, that's a bit disappointing. I was hoping this one would function well as a manual-only knife because I've been moving away from assisted knives lately, too. I don't really have an opinion one way or another on the other things mentioned about the knife...I usually wait and see what more folks think of the knife before I buy one anyway.

 

[LG&M]

I was also disappointed when they went to G-10 . I hope The Aluminum will come back in the future. It is one of the reasons I love my Blur. Thanks for the review. I wander if this is one of the reasons the release date has been pushed back so far.

 

[bobpoptart]

Sample size = one. I'll reserve judgment until I can get my mits on one and/or hear for more users. Any other Knockout owners out there?

 

[amnesia997]

As far as I know, the warranty is not voided by dissassembly. If it were, I don't think Kershaw would send out torsion bars to those who have broken theirs.

 

[Burdan]

I hope they go back to Aluminum soon.

like you, I was also concerned when they announced G10 scales and no liners. History shows that G10 just isn't a good material for holding stop pins.

 

[jimw451]

I own a Knockout and purchased it brand new in the box from a retailer late last year (lucky find). I've noticed very minimal flexing while applying pressure or pinching the liners together at the stop and absolutely no amount of "wiggle" in the blade. That being said, the lock will not move when I try to wiggle the blade at all. Rock solid lockup with no lock bar movement at all. I did notice the stressed looking G10 on the liner side of the scale, but that wasn't much of a concern for me personally. I would offer to send my LNIB Knockout to lman30 for a second look at a basically untouched, flipped open a few times knife. I have to exert quite a bit of pressure right at the pivot area to prevent it from opening with the A/O flipper, and using the thumbstud flicks it open consistently.

Let me know if interested via PM or email and we can coordinate from there. Thanks.

 

[Greenhead556]

That makes me wonder if the knife Iman30 got was a dud

 

[Bwolcott]

yep super basic lol

So you took it apart????????

 

[Bwolcott]

If you are unhappy with it I will refund your money it is a basic thing to do to disassemble and reassemble that knife,the lock up is exactly the way it came. I dont think there is anything that Kershaws warranty would do with that knife as it seems it is as designed, and yes they do cover it after disassembly as I have used there warranty service twice before

I'm a pretengineer. Basically a fancy technician that knows too much for his own good. I work at an R&D/Engineering/Manufacturing company, and spend waaaaaaay too much time around real engineers.




I wasn't aware this knife had been dissassembled until now. The above analysis was based upon the assumption that it was a brand new, factory condition knife.

I can't say that I feel that any damage was done, but it does raise the question as to whether the poor fitment of the lock came about during reassembly.

That said, it does nothing to excuse the poor quality machining on the decorative detail on the scale, and the lack of stability in the front of the knife. I did adjust the pivot screw myself (as I do with every knife), so I can still confirm that is not part of the issue.



I think at this point we should let Kershaw chime in. I can say that this knife is pretty much a writeoff for me now, as I don't believe Kershaw's warranty covers dissassembly, and I am not willing to pass it on to someone else. Lesson learned.

 

[Bwolcott]

yea there is no detent after the assist is taken out, that disapointed me as well hence getting rid of it but other then that I was happy with it locks up fine whe you flip it open and it cuts, the only thing I noticed was the blade did rub on the scale when opening because it was leaving marks which I noted in the sale

Damn, that's a bit disappointing. I was hoping this one would function well as a manual-only knife because I've been moving away from assisted knives lately, too. I don't really have an opinion one way or another on the other things mentioned about the knife...I usually wait and see what more folks think of the knife before I buy one anyway.

 

[lman30]

Thanks for the offer jimw, but I still haven't really decided if I even want to bother with this knife design any more. I've got my sights set on another brand/model now.

If you are unhappy with it I will refund your money it is a basic thing to do to disassemble and reassemble that knife,the lock up is exactly the way it came. I dont think there is anything that Kershaws warranty would do with that knife as it seems it is as designed, and yes they do cover it after disassembly as I have used there warranty service twice before

I can't possibly imagine that Kershaw is now purposely designing knives so flimsy that the blade rubs against the scale, or that they are designing knives where one can sqeeze the the scales and cause the stop pin to become essentially free floating. Additionally, I can't imagine they would design a knife where the lock could be pushed all the way against the opposite handle with minimal force.

Fixing the issue with the decorative machining, which we now have another owner confirming, is as simple as reversing the order in which they perform the machining process on the scales. It wouldn't even require a change of tooling, and most likely wouldn't even need a change of program. Most machinists would have caught that within the first couple parts.

I don't think you had anything to do with the state of this knife. I was just covering my rear because sometimes people can be brutal on internet forums.

As far as a refund, after waiting a year, I'd much rather have a properly functioning knife. If I can't get a replacement from Kershaw, I'd just as soon trash this knife and move on in life. I don't particularly care about the money. I don't feel that this knife is safe to use with its loose stop pin and warped scale. I am fairly confident that the stop pin could be dislodged during heavy downward cutting.

 

[Bwolcott]

I know what you mean, if Kershaw won't replace it for you I will refund your money and shipping cost, I feel bad because I want all my dealings to be happy ones



QUOTE=lman30;10404777]Thanks for the offer jimw, but I still haven't really decided if I even want to bother with this knife design any more. I've got my sights set on another brand/model now.



I can't possibly imagine that Kershaw is now purposely designing knives so flimsy that the blade rubs against the scale, or that they are designing knives where one can sqeeze the the scales and cause the stop pin to become essentially free floating. Additionally, I can't imagine they would design a knife where the lock could be pushed all the way against the opposite handle with minimal force.

Fixing the issue with the decorative machining, which we now have another owner confirming, is as simple as reversing the order in which they perform the machining process on the scales. It wouldn't even require a change of tooling, and most likely wouldn't even need a change of program. Most machinists would have caught that within the first couple parts.

I don't think you had anything to do with the state of this knife. I was just covering my rear because sometimes people can be brutal on internet forums.

As far as a refund, after waiting a year, I'd much rather have a properly functioning knife. If I can't get a replacement from Kershaw, I'd just as soon trash this knife and move on in life. I don't particularly care about the money. I don't feel that this knife is safe to use with its loose stop pin and warped scale. I am fairly confident that the stop pin could be dislodged during heavy downward cutting.[/QUOTE]

 

[lman30]

I know what you mean, if Kershaw won't replace it for you I will refund your money and shipping cost, I feel bad because I want all my dealings to be happy ones

If we do decide to go that way, I would most certainly not want a refund of shipping cost. I actually wouldn't even want a refund of full purchase price.

I have no real reason to be unhappy with our transaction, because you were honest about the only wear related issue the knife had, which was the blade rub. All the other issues are factory issues.

 

[Bwolcott]

thanks man keep me updated and if you need me for anything just ask, like I said I used there warranty service for 2 zero tolerance knives and it was exeptional service, one was replaced and the other repaired


QUOTE=lman30;10405148]If we do decide to go that way, I would most certainly not want a refund of shipping cost. I actually wouldn't even want a refund of full purchase price.

I have no real reason to be unhappy with our transaction, because you were honest about the only wear related issue the knife had, which was the blade rub. All the other issues are factory issues.[/QUOTE]

 

[lman30]

I just wanted to post an update. I still feel pretty let down by this knife. I'm not sure that I want to sell it and pass it on to someone else, and I'm not sure that Kershaw has any replacements in stock. For now I've just ordered a newly released knife from another manufacturer; it should be here tomorrow. I'm kind of bummed out on Kershaw at the moment. I want to call customer service and ask for replacement, but I'm pretty much positive I know what they're going to say regarding getting a replacement any time soon. Even if some may not find fault with the overall mechanical integrity of the knife, the scales should NOT rub on the blade, period. That's just garbage.

 

[mmkjohnson1]

why not call kershaw and give them a chance before posting that you are bummed out on kershaw.

 

[lman30]

why not call kershaw and give them a chance before posting that you are bummed out on kershaw.

After reading your post I made a phone call to Kershaw to confirm what I already knew... they don't have any replacement knockouts on hand, and it will be months before I have any chance of recieving a replacement (per the warranty service rep I spoke with). Furthermore, them replacing the knife with one that does not have a warped scale that rubs on the blade, will not make me forget that the knife had the issues in the first place. I am going to be bummed on Kershaw for some time, because with my past purchases from them, I have come to expect superb quality with every purchase.

My $17 Chinese made Kershaw Chill absolutely blows this USA made knife out of the water in finish quality, fit, and function. That just is not right, at all. There's no good excuse for a USA made knife costing three times as much to be beaten out by a Chinese knife from the same company.

I already waited a year for the knife, I'm not waiting another few months to replace a knife that should have worked properly from the factory.

The main reason for this thread was to try to get Kershaw's take on the knife's issues, and warn potential buyers that this knife is not suited for anything more than moderate duty. I already have another brand/model of knife arriving today to replace this knife's intended function as my new EDC. At this point I'm just going to cut my losses and move on. I will be more wary of future Kershaw purchases, that's for sure. I used to trust Kershaw explicitly, to deliver a high quality, properly functioning product to me. I no longer have that trust. This is my sixth Kershaw, and will be my last for a while.

 

[jvarn81]

After reading your post I made a phone call to Kershaw to confirm what I already knew... they don't have any replacement knockouts on hand, and it will be months before I have any chance of recieving a replacement (per the warranty service rep I spoke with). Furthermore, them replacing the knife with one that does not have a warped scale that rubs on the blade, will not make me forget that the knife had the issues in the first place. I am going to be bummed on Kershaw for some time, because with my past purchases from them, I have come to expect superb quality with every purchase.

My $17 Chinese made Kershaw Chill absolutely blows this USA made knife out of the water in finish quality, fit, and function. That just is not right, at all. There's no good excuse for a USA made knife costing three times as much to be beaten out by a Chinese knife from the same company.

I already waited a year for the knife, I'm not waiting another few months to replace a knife that should have worked properly from the factory.

The main reason for this thread was to try to get Kershaw's take on the knife's issues, and warn potential buyers that this knife is not suited for anything more than moderate duty. I already have another brand/model of knife arriving today to replace this knife's intended function as my new EDC. At this point I'm just going to cut my losses and move on. I will be more wary of future Kershaw purchases, that's for sure. I used to trust Kershaw explicitly, to deliver a high quality, properly functioning product to me. I no longer have that trust. This is my sixth Kershaw, and will be my last for a while.

Why don't you just gift it to me then? I can PM you my address....

 

[Varg Lobos]

I just pre-ordered a Knockout.

Can't wait to get it and use it.:thumbup:

 

[lman30]

I'm done with sour grapes over this knife. I just got another folder in today from a different manufacturer, and it is absolutely rock solid and flawless in every way. I'm going to enjoy my new knife, and forget about this one for the time being. Regarding my OP, to readers of this thread, you can either take into account my observations of the issues, or just write them off. Some are very surprised at the issues this knife has, while others seem to be completely ignoring them. To each their own.

Why don't you just gift it to me then? I can PM you my address....

I'm not going to send out a knife that could potentially harm someone. The stop pin is barely hanging on because of the warped scale, and could easily be dislodged if one was applying heavy downwards cutting force. This knife is either going in for warranty exchange, or it's going in the trash can. I haven't decided which yet.