What takes Kershaw so long??

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DIESEL8807

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First off, this thread is not a "bashing" of Kershaw, and is not meant to spin anyone up. I'm asking this out of curiosity.

Every year, I'll watch SHOT Show videos on YouTube to see what new knives Kershaw, Spyderco, CRKT, etc. is coming out with in the coming year. Lately, I've seen some of the Spyderco's and CRKT's that were in the SHOT show vids hit the shelves already, but no Kershaws (except of for the Blackwash Leek). This seems to be a common theme the last couple of years, I remember waiting essentially a whole year to get my hands on a Cryo, Cryo 2, and a Knockout. I've asked about the expected delivery dates for the 2014 Kershaws, but no dealer has an expected arrival date. Is there any particular reason for this? My only assumption is that maybe it's because they come out with so many new models that it's hard to ramp production up on so many different knives? Nonetheless, I'll still buy one when the become available.
 
Kai just tends to announce their products WELL ahead of when they'll actually be in full production. They'll have finished prototypes, but they might not have the materials or setups for the quantities they will produce leading up to release.

Also, problems with getting the right amount of the blade steels at the right price has been an issue for them in the past. They've been known to delay production for quality control issues as well, IIRC - waiting until they can crank them out right and reliably before going to market.

Remember that the Spyderco and CRKT knives that have hit the market are made overseas with much more commonly available materials. VG-10 and 8Cr13MoV are not exactly hard to come by, and the knives themselves are considerably less intricate in design. The ZT models that have been announced are bearing flippers with metal lock inserts, some with carbon fiber, all made in the US. Heck, even Kershaw's cheaper new releases are fairly ornate with many of them implementing the KVT bearing system.

I'll bet we see their budget Chinese-made assisted knives (manifold, lifter, etc) hit the shelves first, if they haven't already.
 
From what I've seen, KAI is quick to release early prototypes. Other companies may go through several design iterations before they release anything. CRKT is a good example, when they show off a knife it's frequently exactly how it will be produced.

EDIT: Well, Comeuppance beat me to it. I should have finished writing my post before getting up to get a snack :rolleyes:
 
Thanks for the original thread. It must have been HOURS since this question was asked.

Zt0801 debuted at shot 2013 and the first run was delivered before Blade 2013, less than 6 months.
 
Its a good question but I look at SHOT show as its meant for trade professionals, not the retail buying public. Its to sell product to distrubtors and retailers as well as to showcase up coming models which may not be available for quite some time. I'd rather know now than wait but thats just me.
 
Scurvy092 said:
Thanks for the original thread. It must have been HOURS since this question was asked.

Zt0801 debuted at shot 2013 and the first run was delivered before Blade 2013, less than 6 months.
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Thanks for the one example that illustrates timely production, it really completely discredits the question.
 
Where's the spyderco battle station that debuted march of 2013. The chap 3 also debuted then and JUST hit the shelves. Karahawk took about 8 months.


It's been two years since we've seen the foundry.
 
Maybe if benchmade had debuted the 0300 ball flipper before shipping them to dealers, they could have corrected the cheeseburger handles instead of waiting a year.

Also, if Kershaw did this, the 0770 would only be aluminum.
 
Taken from another thread - hope this helps.

Kai Corp. said:
Look for us it's really about internal focus. We want to come to market more than anyone. It's how we make money. It's an expense up to delivery. There are only a few opportunities through a given calender year that you get a collection of all your major customers in one room with each other. These are the times, at least for us, that we take to preview a window of new products that will be available at whatever timetable. The mass retailers are never buying for the now, but more seasons ahead. Sometimes those time frames are 1 year ahead. Our internal designs and catalogs for 2015 have to be finished up in July/Aug. We're working on next year now. I suppose there is some marketing involved that does create demand, but the hype usually comes from entities other than the manufacturer. We especially try to keep the new items to a minimum because we know they are not available. The retailers are involved with the promotion of the new items, ultimately they have ordered them, and need to sell them. Please understand we are a step away from the public, and the dealer in many cases is our customer.

Hopefully this assist with answering your curiosity
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Kai Corp. said:
This is true

This is true. The retailer understands via a multitude of communication what "ASAP" means. Most also understand manufacturing and keep their expectations real. We've opted to take the approach of showing early, getting temp checks, reconvening, tweaking, and proceeding. it helps with a better product coming to market, and assists with our scheduling and forecasting.

What a retailer does is their business. You're speaking of the on line e-tailers. It's a fierce group fighting for dollars. They feel getting a pre-order is vital in getting the sale. It would be better for them to squash any delivery expectations vs. froth up the masses, but that information doesn't always get across to the elu very well.

SHOT show is a non-public show, yet the information is available to everyone. When the public see's it they want it. When the dealer handles it at the show he understands this is not for today. Not one dealer comes to the booth, see's the new offering, places their order, and expects instant production. The public does, the dealers don't. In the end sooner is always better, but manufacturing has a way of screwing up timing regularly. :) We do our best, and the knives come out when they are ready. Rushing is not a good practice.

Hope that helps with understanding a bit...Let me know if you need more.
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Scurvy092 said:
Where's the spyderco battle station that debuted march of 2013. The chap 3 also debuted then and JUST hit the shelves. Karahawk took about 8 months.


It's been two years since we've seen the foundry.
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With Spyderco, they release and announce knives year round and have tons of prototypes in shows that we don't even hear of. There's surprises monthly it seems like just yesterday, a CF composite S90v PM2 was revealed by a dealer out of the blue. They go about it differently. Wit heir facilities overseas and in Golden, they pump out a lot of new products and some take longer than others same as Kershaw.

People are just eager to see these awesome knives. The 801 you cited was the best case scenario. How about the 454 and 801CF announced in SHOT 2013? How long did the Cryo2 take? How about the ZT777, took so long that Microtech beat them to it. All companies deal with delays and people asking for them can be viewed as a positive thing. As far as the Foundry, the material it uses doesn't even exist in knives yet.
 
Scurvy092 said:
Maybe if benchmade had debuted the 0300 ball flipper before shipping them to dealers, they could have corrected the cheeseburger handles instead of waiting a year.

Also, if Kershaw did this, the 0770 would only be aluminum.
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Let's criticize other companies to make your brand look better.
 
Stays Sharp said:
Let's criticize other companies to make your brand look better.
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A) zt is not 'my' brand. I have owned knives from every major us producer and zts just happen to be the only ones still in my collection and they are mainly rare limiteds only. The rest of my collection is customs.

B) the only reason I commented is because this is a fairly common occurrence in the industry and yet Kai is the only one that catches flak.

C) this question has been asked 65 times at least since shot show and had already been answered every way possible. Not my fault if people are too lazy/ignorant/busy to do a search before posting.

D) new spyderco models (not dealer exclusive sprint runs) debut in March every year in Amsterdam. When they hit the market depends on their production timeline just like Kai...
 
Scurvy092 said:
C) this question has been asked 65 times at least since shot show and had already been answered every way possible. Not my fault if people are too lazy/ignorant/busy to do a search before posting.
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And this is why I rarely start threads, and hardly ever comment on others. Thanks for the ones who provided helpful information.
 
Sure, your post history indicates otherwise. ZT/KAI is very much your brand. Look at your avy, your sig. Look at your posts on this very thread. You can own every knife brand in the world, doesn't change it.
 
You are so good about making these threads about me and not the topic.

We're on a website dominated by production knives and my avatar reflects that. This is a very small corner of the knife world and in all the others my avatar is the potato head holding customs.
 
it sounds like the issue here is that KAI gives too much insight into whats coming up.....

perhaps it would be best for them to not share anything with the public at all, because each time they do they catch flack....oh wait, thats part of the reason they arent on this forum anymore...

The average consumer is unaware of all that needs to come together for a production model to take flight, especially with the volume that KAI produces. When those things happen they have to change their course. Personally I like that KAI give us info on what is on the way, regardless of how long it takes. Its sad that so much of that is gone because of childlike bickering on this forum.
 
Stay on topic or don't post. I would avoid making other members the focus for comment.
 
What in the world makes you think that any knife company has to have the same business model as another?

If one has longer lead times and one shorter, so what? How will that really affect your life?

The same ole same ole get old........
 
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