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OT: Kershaw knife edge quality?

rons

Diamond
Joined
Mar 5, 2009
Location
California, USA
Kershaw Speedsafe knife with black handle. Was given this and I started to look it over. Has a patent message on the blade and right where the blade folds into the handle in real small print "China". When blade is out in the locked position there is some play. Are these knifes any good and can they hold a edge?
 
I live ten minutes from Kershaw and carry a ZT every day. I didn’t know any of their stuff was made in China. Are you sure it’s not a knockoff? I thought it was all made here?
 
Bunch of the Kershaw models are made in China.

Not a big fan of Kershaws, much prefer my Benchmade.

Teryk

Sent from my XT1710-02 using Tapatalk
 
I live ten minutes from Kershaw and carry a ZT every day. I didn’t know any of their stuff was made in China. Are you sure it’s not a knockoff? I thought it was all made here?

No, I'm not sure. And I don't have anything to compare it with. I find it pretty slick that the little print "China" is just in the right place so that when the blade starts to move back into a folded position the print disappears underneath the handle.

I have a couple Uncle Henry LB5's and they look like pieces of art. The Kershaw looks like it was made for a knife fight.
 
I have a couple Kershaws... They're good beater knives, not top shelf or anything, but they work for slicing stuff open when I need to. This is in my pocket currently, it was a gift after I accidentally flushed my ceramic bladed Boker down the auto-flush toilet at work. https://www.amazon.com/Kershaw-Stonewashed-Glass-Filled-Reversible-Pocketclip/dp/B00AU6NSFI

I've carried it every day for about 6 months and it's as sharp as the day it came out of the box. I'm no good at resharpening knives, I always pay someone to do it for me, but this one won't need it for awhile.
 
Regarding the play in the blade in the locked position, whether that is normal or not depends on the lock style. Most knives with a lever lock on the spine of the handle will rock a bit, it's practically unavoidable. Knives that do that are generally safe to use. If the lock is like TeachMePlease linked above, I would be a little bummed out if it did that. Those should lock firm for years before anything loosens up enough to have a noticeable play in the blade.

Can't speak to edge retention, but in general, the longer a knife keeps its edge the harder it is to get a keen edge back next time it gets resharpened. It's a constant balancing act, and it depends on who you are where your preference lies.
 
Can't speak to edge retention, but in general, the longer a knife keeps its edge the harder it is to get a keen edge back next time it gets resharpened. It's a constant balancing act, and it depends on who you are where your preference lies.
Depends on the stones used. With good diamond stones the harder the steel the easier it is to get a keen edge.
 
Depends on the stones used. With good diamond stones the harder the steel the easier it is to get a keen edge.

It also depends on your skill level and attention span ;). I have trouble spending more than 10-15 minutes at a time keeping focused on sliding edges across stones, so I try to work within those boundaries (by frequency, material choice, or simply putting up with a sub-optimal edge sometimes). I got a set of Norton water stones (220, 1k, 4k, 8k) and that helped me a lot. the 1k and 4k are by far the most used for me.
 
It also depends on your skill level and attention span ;). I have trouble spending more than 10-15 minutes at a time keeping focused on sliding edges across stones, so I try to work within those boundaries (by frequency, material choice, or simply putting up with a sub-optimal edge sometimes). I got a set of Norton water stones (220, 1k, 4k, 8k) and that helped me a lot. the 1k and 4k are by far the most used for me.

10-15 minutes?! Wow, you're much more patient than I. I rough the edge in on a deburring wheel if it needs it, and then hone the edge a bit with a 600 - 1000 grit stone and call it good.
 
10-15 minutes?! Wow, you're much more patient than I. I rough the edge in on a deburring wheel if it needs it, and then hone the edge a bit with a 600 - 1000 grit stone and call it good.

Maybe I have a skewed frame of reference, since my brother is into cooking and cutlery. He spends HOURS at a time honing his knives, and occasionally sends me videos like the one where he cut through 4 grapes sitting on his cutting board, the hard way, without moving them. If I can push-cut paper and take some arm hairs off, it's plenty good for me.
 
I'm a Leatherman guy due to their warranty, and the pliers and screw drivers on them make them my "bad habit" tool (the tool I use too often instead of the ones I SHOULD use). Their blades hold up well for my use, but I've thought about packing around a plane pocket knife too. Case knives have been the go-to pocket knives in our family though.

For sharpening simple blades like pocket knives, we keep a 3600 rpm grinder set-up in the shop with a pair of dense cardboard wheels, one impregnated with grit (the grade escapes me at the moment, but it's finer), and one with rouge. 2 seconds polishing with the rouge will often get an edge back to the "shave test". If it's worse or has nicks in it, maybe a couple passes on the grit wheel before hitting it with the rouge.

I've got a pile of sharpening stones at home but rarely use them. Even if I get an edge razor sharp with them, I tend to get a micro serration on the edge that I don't like. The rouge wheel leaves a nice smooth edge.
 
Had my Walmart "China" Kershaw for numerous years and it's held up to EDC very well. It stays sharp enough that I'm happy with it and ever bought one for my son when he obtained his Boy Scout totin' chip. For $35 I can't complain :)
 
While I don't carry a kershaw myself, I know guys who do (not sure if China or US made) and they seem to like them pretty well. However, I'm more of the belief "buy once, cry once" when it comes to tools I use regularly. I carry a Benchmade Arcane, which I love. Benchmade has a great warranty, great quality overall, and you know exactly what you are getting when you buy one. That would be my recommendation.
 
I tried a Kershaw some years ago and I wasn't very impressed; don't remember what it even was. But I am a Spyderco guy. My EDC is a Native 5. Great knife.
 
I tried a Kershaw some years ago and I wasn't very impressed; don't remember what it even was. But I am a Spyderco guy. My EDC is a Native 5. Great knife.


I can't get with the thumbhole thing... I need a stud. If I can't easily open and close a knife with one hand, with my eyes closed, I won't even consider carrying it.
 
I have a Kershaw 1670 that I've had for at least 14 years. I like it, but it is a pain to sharpen with out a diamond stone. Though I've never minded sharpening as I find it to be relaxing and I cannot tolerate a dull blade.

I like CRKT knifes for certain models and have found the steels they use to be easier to sharpen.

I could never get into the Spyder thumb hole thing.
 
Doug, I have the Gerber brand of same designed knife. I love it. When it’s dull I flip the blade. When I have free time I just throw a new razor blade on it. It’s awesome and cheap. The belt clip is far from perfect as sometimes it comes loose but if I lose it it’s not like I lose any sleep. It’s cheap.
 








 
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