WOW! Kershaw Cyclone

1kimo4u

1kimo4u

Joined
Jul 13, 2007
Messages
1,531
aloha all,

i just ordered, and recieved on saturday, a kershaw cyclone. all i can say is WOW!:eek:

5 inch handle. 3 3/4 inch blade (plain edge). steel liners, aluminum scales, and made in the good ol' USA!:D

it's a ao (on demand). is designed by ken onion. opens fast. still decent on manual. fit/finish are good. came sharp enough for me right out of the box. ergo's feel good in my hand.

the only thing i can't figure out is why would they want to discontinue this?:confused:

any way, some pics (no bs, i really got one. er...............................2:D)

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comparison pic next to a spyderco endura4.

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cheers! kimo
 
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When I first started getting into knives last December, I really wanted to grab one of these with the camo handles, until I found out that they all had that moose engraving on the blade =(
 
yeah, big beefy knife. i think perhaps it was just too big and bulky for some, maybe that i why they discontinued it. it also came with a switch to toggle between manual and assisted opening which was pretty cool. and blade shape is awesome.
 
Definately one of my favorite kershaws, I just wish I was patient enough to wait for a plainedge one to come in stock at knifecenter. I love the blade shape, the handle shape and the ondemand AO. If the blade was S30V and the handle was carbon fiber, micarta, or G10, it would be my faorite knife almost hands down (the BM minirukus would be its only competitor).
 
the way the handle arches and acts as the thumb ramp decreases handle size, also overall length of knife. so although it is a meaty folder, it still seems a bit compact (compared to my manix):D. the blade length is almost same as the endura and manix, but overall length is less.:confused: rides a bit high in my rt front pocket, tip up.

yes reeks! very good value indeed! (under $40:eek:)

let's see how this baby holds up to some edc!!!
 
Bonkers said:
So its kinda like a safety on a rifle?

But the SpeedSafe mechanism stays 'put' inside the knife right? It is just up to the user whether is is off or on?
Click to expand...

Theres a switch that will engage the spring when you close it. Switch has to be flipped when the knife is open, as the spring engages and energy is stored when you close it.
 
Munky88 said:
Theres a switch that will engage the spring when you close it. Switch has to be flipped when the knife is open, as the spring engages and energy is stored when you close it.
Click to expand...

And thus I now understand...many thanks Munky88.:thumbup:

And to all you others for bearing with the dim-witted questions, apologies.:o
 
wow again!

this sucka is finding a regular place in my edc! sat-tues=edc mr. cyclone. my thumb is getting lazy!:D it will never be my manix, but this cyclone sure makes me smile when i hear the clack!:eek:

some more cyclone pron...................
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cheers all! kimo
 
Nice.

Got the full size and mini-me today. Only issue I have with them is the hard to get to liner lock. Mini is a little stiff, with the pivot screw damn near falling out, guess it will break-in?
 
I've wanted one of these for quite sometime, but I never got around to pulling the plug. ANd it looks like I never will if it is being discontinued? :(
 
check several online stores. they are going for $57 (approx.). egay has some going for $38-$44 ish (shipped). still a good deal, msrp is listed as $85-$95 depending on the blade style. don't know the street price.

i checked out the leek and skyline today at wallyworld. they both seemed small compared to my large cyclone!

i have noticed that the cyclone doesn't get the same love the blur, leek, shallot, etc... get. maybe that's why it's getting disco'd.:confused: all i know is if you like em beefy and solid, mr. cyclone is #1 in my book. much cheaper then the zt line, tyrade, and even the ram and jyd2. did i mention that it is made in the USA!
 
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I have one of these. Everyone whos seen it wants one. seems like theyre hard to come by in OZ , and much (much) more expensive to boot.

1 thing that would be cool would be textured FRN scales - the aluminium is a tiny bit slippery.
 
Being a knife salesperson who has handled hundreds of these, I think I have the answer as to why they were discontinued. Perhaps someone who own one of these knives will be so kind as to take photographs of the internals I'm about to describe.

The assisted "on demand" technology is essentially a "D" shaped wheel, with the flat on the interior. Next to this switch inside the handle is a rather unusual spring bar with most of the stock ground away from the center. There is a torsion bar much like those found in Kershaw's standard offerings that sits above this bar. With the AO engaged, the butt of the torsion bar rests atop the vertical spring bar and uses it as a brace. When the switch is flipped to disable the AO, the "D" wheel pushes the spring bar forward, creating a channel that essentially allows the torsion bar to "free float" instead of building tension.

Because of the very thin nature of the spring bar (having nearly all of its stock removed in its center) this naturally made for a somewhat shaky support under tension. As a result, the spring support bar had a tendency to bend out of shape slightly. When trying to tension the AO as the knife closed, if the spring support bar was slightly bent then the torsion bar would slip off of it and you'd feel tension build slightly but then suddenly release with a "clack" noise. This was the torsion bar sliding off the top of the spring support bar and down into the open channel.

We had a handful of them do this in our shop, and I was easily able to remedy the situation by disassembling the knife and bending the spring support bar straight again, but the average non-knife-knut consumer is going to think that it's totally broken. Likewise repeated straightening of the bar would be sure to cause component failure.

A great knife with a poor gimmick thrown in unfortunately.
 
Thanks 42. I'm now glad I didn't buy one. They are awesome looking and I thought about buying one on clearance. I know know why they were discontinued. The Gimmick AO isn't worth having if it breaks. And it's just one more thing that will break eventually. Maybe they could redesign it, and just make it a manual opener. Drop the price, and it would sell like crazy., Maybe make it a bit lighter as well.
 
Great design I especially like the blade geometry! There is to many other knives ahead in line so I probably want get one, sorry to hear of it being dropped!
 
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