What happened to Kershaw?

All of the models people have mentioned liking so far (leek, knockout, etc) have been models that were introduced some time ago. I feel like that says a lot.
 
Those cheap Walmart knives are what gives KAI the ability to make the crazy high end ZTs, so I'm okay with it.

Kershaw still makes plenty of amazing knives. If getting knives like the 0777, 0454, 0600 etc etc means selling a few hundred thousand $20 Walmart specials a year, more power to them.
 
Comeuppance said:
All of the models people have mentioned liking so far (leek, knockout, etc) have been models that were introduced some time ago. I feel like that says a lot.
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Except for the Strobe, the Emersons, the Launches and the Camber which were all introduced within the last two years.

Also, I don't think a lot of the 2016 stuff has made it out yet for people to enjoy, like the Induction.
 
Scurvy092 said:
Those cheap Walmart knives are what gives KAI the ability to make the crazy high end ZTs, so I'm okay with it.

Kershaw still makes plenty of amazing knives. If getting knives like the 0777, 0454, 0600 etc etc means selling a few hundred thousand $20 Walmart specials a year, more power to them.
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We haven't seen any knives of the like in years. Just 0392s in fun colors.
 
Scurvy092 said:
Those cheap Walmart knives are what gives KAI the ability to make the crazy high end ZTs, so I'm okay with it.

Kershaw still makes plenty of amazing knives. If getting knives like the 0777, 0454, 0600 etc etc means selling a few hundred thousand $20 Walmart specials a year, more power to them.
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They need something in the middle though. As far as I'm concerned they are missing out on a huge market by not catering to that $80-$200 customer. ZT is just so far out of whack with their pricing that I've never been able to swallow it down and buy any of their products. I know that's another argument for another thread, and there's been many threads here covering people's feelings on ZT and what you get for the money, but we're discussing KAI as a company and I feel the need to add my feelings and opinion on the company. Comparable to other companies and other knives on the market they are just nuts with the prices they want for their knives. KAI needs to either get their ZT line in check with what they should cost or come out with a mid level knife line that is of nice quality and in that $100, give or take, range.
 
Blur, Knockout, JYD, Rake, Camber, 6 difference Launch models, 0909, 0350, 0566, 0450, 0770, 0900, 0808, 0801, 0562, 0620

Are all USA made KAI knives in the 80-200 range...
 
I think most of their US made options are good quality, but it seems like any of their new designs are cheaper China made product.

I have a couple older Japan made knives from them that are nice, and I like my US made Skyline well enough but more options (different color scales, blade steel and coating options) would be nice.
 
Ehh I 've only bought like 3 Kershaws. A S30v Blur,.The Elmax Knockout and the link. I'll keep all 3 because I like them but as far as I'm concerned, in general Kershaw knives are entry level. I will try some Sylines out in Damascus perhaps.
 
CascadianAaron said:
I think most of their US made options are good quality, but it seems like any of their new designs are cheaper China made product.

I have a couple older Japan made knives from them that are nice, and I like my US made Skyline well enough but more options (different color scales, blade steel and coating options) would be nice.
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There are close to a dozen variants on the Skyline FYI.
 
Scurvy092 said:
There are close to a dozen variants on the Skyline FYI.
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There are or there were...?

I've seen only a few currently for sale (Damascus blade for example) from the regular outlets, but I have seen pictures of other colors and blade combinations online.
 
Ever since Ken Onion left kershaw they have gone down . CRKT have some knives that are design by Ken that would have made a bigger impact in the knife community if they were made by kershaw and marked as Made In USA .
 
CascadianAaron said:
There are or there were...?

I've seen only a few currently for sale (Damascus blade for example) from the regular outlets, but I have seen pictures of other colors and blade combinations online.
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colors, carbon fibers, coated blades, damascus, s30v etc.
 
I dont have too much to add to the discussion, but i havent seen too much of a difference from last year really. While they added alot of 3cr blades this year, they still have alot of 8cr ones too. There lineup looked like it pretty much doubled this year.
Yeah i would like to see more usa, better steel stuff out there, but im sure alot of that focus is there auto line up right now.
Imo it seems like they have been on this path for a while now. Although i did make myself a hypocrite this year with my no china rule. I bought the entropy and i love it. 8cr steel, orange spacers, awesome looking knife. And i deassisted it, and the detent is great in it and flips good too.
 
I like the new Showtime for 30 bucks. Where is Kershaw's marketing going? Looks like they are trying to give people a lot of budget choices with all the Chinese made knives. I have found some of these knives irresistible for the price.
 
Is there still any point to buying a Chinese-made Kershaw with 3Cr13 steel for $20-$30 when a Smith&Wesson using 7Cr17 steel or a Schrade using 8Cr13Mov / 9Cr14MoV can be had for lesser?

The Schrade SCH10x series in particular are so dang affordable ($13-$20) for 8Cr13Mov steel that I'm starting to regret sinking all my money into SanRenMu and Enlan, especially since their designs are way nicer than the latter two.
 
I've gone through a similar transition. Years ago I pretty much purchased every Kershaw released, especially the imports because of price/value. Lately I've gravitated only to ZT's and US Kershaws because of my perceived quality/value for the price. The Own It Starter/Manifold series felt extremely cheap. By that I mean cheap heavy steel, and very dirty and gritty out of the box presentation. True some of them are extremely cheap in price. But the original quality with value seemed to diminish just a little.
 
I think ZT is a big part of it. In general in knives I see a trend where the budget knives get lower quality and price while the premium knives get higher prices and quality.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 
Comeuppance said:
I don't know about the pricing thing - I feel like we're seeing lower prices relative to the quality we are getting. Cold Steel, Zero Tolerance, Kizer, Reate, and many others seem to really be stepping up the game without really stepping up the price point. Case in point: you can get a -range- of 204P bearing-pivot folders for under $300, you can get 110V folders for under $150, and you can get S35VN for under $100... And these are all from known brands with warranties and good customer service.

The advances we're seeing in production technology is promising from my perspective; it allows more companies to do more with less expense. Radical designs aren't radical to make, precision engineering is basically the norm now (a lot less talk about "CRK Tolerances" these days...), and the materials available to us are outright mindblowing.

It's partially because of these advances that Kershaw's seemingly rapid decline is almost a complete mystery to me.
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Honestly, from a normal person perspective, don't you think a $200 or $300 folder is just a tad expensive? Prices have seemed to have gone up. With the success of the ZT brand, I suspect Kershaw is mostly going to be about ZT and produce some cheap stuff for the big retailers. Kershaw stuff never really did it for me. I own one Kershaw knife other than ZT. Benchmade has been the same way for me, although I am beginning to want to give a reasonable Benchmade a shot. I just don't need 100 knives when I mostly carry a SAK or a traditional with a modern thrown in from time to time. There are a lot of choices these days in the knife world.
 
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