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What's the story with Kershaw knives?? Educate me...

S

SRBraniac

Joined
Jul 11, 2010
Messages
204
I never had one, but have been drawn by some models... Though hesitated to buy while I don't see as much owners of KAI knives as of BM or Spyderco...

What's the story??

Are they inferior to BM and Spydie in any way (steel, fit & finish, materials, quality control, etc.)? How do they hold in EDC tasks? Edge retention? How are they pricewise compared to BM and Spydie, and what's the price to quality ratio?
 
KAI is Japanese-owned, which is probably why you don't see their leadership as much. Quality is at least as good as BM and Spyderco at comparable price points IMO. I think that Kershaw's blade grinds are more consistent and even than Benchmade's and their finishing and details (like rounding off the edges) are a little better than Spyderco's. Kershaw's customer service and warranty far exceed the other two, which is really worth something, I think. Kershaw is a much bigger company than the other two, and sells some of their models in large quantities through big distribution networks like Walmart. This gives them an economy of scale advantage that lets them produce good quality knives for cheaper. Benchmades are more elegant, and Spydercos are more practical, but as far as bang for the buck is concerned, Kershaw is the clear winner for me. Their proprietary 14C28N steel doesn't hold an edge as long as, say, VG-10, but Kershaw has it on knives much cheaper than BM's or Spyderco's with supersteels. It's not a bad steel, either, very easy to sharpen. And they have knives available with better steel.
 
^^^^^ Yeah, I'll go along with that. Well stated.

Kershaw gives good value for $$$, IMO (for whatever it's worth).
What really pushes me in their direction with purchases is their Customer Service: no hassles, no B.S., above and beyond. That counts with me!
 
I started buying kershaws and I have to say I love them big bang for the money. Spyderco in my opinion are better in there finish but you pay for it I mean 65 for a delica when you can get a skyline and pay 35. The blur is an awesome knife I like it over the endura. Thing is you don't get the finish of a Spyderco sage or a PM2.
 
Kershaw gives you the best value and the customer service is exceeded by none. As for leadership Thomas W is the head guy at the Kershaw, he is on the forums pretty often and is a stand up guy.
 
It's probably more of a personal preference than anything else. I own many of the aforementioned brands and they are fine but Kershaw always winds up as my EDC. Right now it's a model 1630 Cyclone. Also I'm a AO flipper kind of guy.
 
All the Kershaws I've owned have been top quality. Although, when you get one make sure it's made in the good ole USA! The only ones I've owned are their US line.. like Scallions, leeks, and such. I'm getting a ZT 0350 in two days! I'll let you know how it is...
 
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