- Joined
- Oct 2, 1998
- Messages
- 1,874
I just picked up a Kershaw Storm II from an online dealer for $28. If there's a better knife for that price, I'd love to see it.
A Ken Onion design, with his typical flowing lines, recurve blade, and reducing-diameter hole patterns. The handles are 1/16" stainless steel slabs, with the front handle having two inlays of a black grippy material, and two sets of "Onion hole" patterns. That back slab is smooth, with a frame lock and a wide pocket clip (which also has the Onion hole pattern.) The blade is a hollow-ground 3.5" of Sandvic 13C26 stainless steel (whatever that is), and a gorgeous recurve shape. (There is also a 3" version for those looking for a smaller blade.) The blade and handle finish appears to be some sort of bead blast, which gives it a frosted look. It has dual thumb studs, which seem too small at first, but prove to be fairly effective. There is also a small flipper tab to flip the blade open, but my knife is too tight right now to really use this feature. Just as well, because I prefer to open the blade with the thumb studs anyway. The opening action is very smooth, even though the amount of resistance is more than you'd feel in say, an Axis lock. The flipper tab acts as a finger guard when the blade is open. Naturally, for this price this is a manual-only knife - no Speed Safe action here.
The whole package is only 5/16" thick (without the clip) but weighs almost 6 ounces. It feels very solid. The fit and finish are better than you would expect for the price. The blade locks up solidly, with no side-to-side or up-and-down blade play. The ball detent is excellent, providing what I think is the perfect amount of resistance to hold the blade closed. The blade is perfectly centered when closed. There are mild traction grooves on the handle spine and on the frame lock. They (along with the handle shape) provide a very secure grip. The one thing I didn't like was the handle inserts. They have the feel of rough (maybe 100 grit) sandpaper. They could tone this down a bit without affecting the grip IMO.
The knife is an open back design, with only two black (plastic?) standoffs and a steel stop pin. Very open and easy to clean.
The knife came with a fairly average edge, but a few strokes on the Sharpmaker, followed by some light stropping brought the edge to shaving sharp. I've only cut a few arm hairs, some paper, and the cardboard box the knife shipped in, so I have no idea how long this steel will hold an edge.
The pocket clip fits with the style of the knife, and is unobtrusive when gripping the handle. The clip grips my pants pocket tightly, but still slips easily in and out of my pocket when I need it to.
About the only thing I'd change is to use a less grippy material for the handle inserts.
If you're looking for a thin, strong, sturdy, frame lock with a typical gorgeous Ken Onion design, then the Storm line is a great choice. It would also be a great gift to give your friends who might be teetering on the edge of knife disease.
For $28 you can't go wrong.
Oh yeah - it's made in the USA as well!
A Ken Onion design, with his typical flowing lines, recurve blade, and reducing-diameter hole patterns. The handles are 1/16" stainless steel slabs, with the front handle having two inlays of a black grippy material, and two sets of "Onion hole" patterns. That back slab is smooth, with a frame lock and a wide pocket clip (which also has the Onion hole pattern.) The blade is a hollow-ground 3.5" of Sandvic 13C26 stainless steel (whatever that is), and a gorgeous recurve shape. (There is also a 3" version for those looking for a smaller blade.) The blade and handle finish appears to be some sort of bead blast, which gives it a frosted look. It has dual thumb studs, which seem too small at first, but prove to be fairly effective. There is also a small flipper tab to flip the blade open, but my knife is too tight right now to really use this feature. Just as well, because I prefer to open the blade with the thumb studs anyway. The opening action is very smooth, even though the amount of resistance is more than you'd feel in say, an Axis lock. The flipper tab acts as a finger guard when the blade is open. Naturally, for this price this is a manual-only knife - no Speed Safe action here.
The whole package is only 5/16" thick (without the clip) but weighs almost 6 ounces. It feels very solid. The fit and finish are better than you would expect for the price. The blade locks up solidly, with no side-to-side or up-and-down blade play. The ball detent is excellent, providing what I think is the perfect amount of resistance to hold the blade closed. The blade is perfectly centered when closed. There are mild traction grooves on the handle spine and on the frame lock. They (along with the handle shape) provide a very secure grip. The one thing I didn't like was the handle inserts. They have the feel of rough (maybe 100 grit) sandpaper. They could tone this down a bit without affecting the grip IMO.
The knife is an open back design, with only two black (plastic?) standoffs and a steel stop pin. Very open and easy to clean.
The knife came with a fairly average edge, but a few strokes on the Sharpmaker, followed by some light stropping brought the edge to shaving sharp. I've only cut a few arm hairs, some paper, and the cardboard box the knife shipped in, so I have no idea how long this steel will hold an edge.
The pocket clip fits with the style of the knife, and is unobtrusive when gripping the handle. The clip grips my pants pocket tightly, but still slips easily in and out of my pocket when I need it to.
About the only thing I'd change is to use a less grippy material for the handle inserts.
If you're looking for a thin, strong, sturdy, frame lock with a typical gorgeous Ken Onion design, then the Storm line is a great choice. It would also be a great gift to give your friends who might be teetering on the edge of knife disease.
For $28 you can't go wrong.Oh yeah - it's made in the USA as well!
