Disappointed with Kershaw

[vwb563]

I'm not making more of what you said at all. What I'm saying is if you are going to complain about their Chinese blade steel but then buy one because you like the looks of the knife but ignore the blade steel on the said knife you just bought it's kinda nulls the whole reason of your post. We get you are sad about their use of steels in their Chinese made knives but buying them isn't letting them know you don't like their choices. Agian I buy them also but I don't mind the few I buy that are Chinese made. And really enjoy the USA ones I own. Getting angry about dosent do any good we all have our own opinions.

Whatever.... You know what they say about opinions.

 

[jbmonkey]

That is what the majority of people enjoy about them, funny how that works (Thank you Ken Onion for speed safe). As to the lock bounce of the Launch series, I own about 5 of them, a couple Launch 1, a couple Launch 2 and a 3. None of them have exhibited failure to lock upon firing. In fact, the tension of these knives is excellent. I enjoy the quality steel that for a long time was only seen on customs (CPM154) as well as the various colors. If you got a bad Launch, I would suggest sending it in and getting it repaired. At least contact Customer service. I don't know who works there anymore, the girls that ran CS for KAI about 5 years ago were some of the very best I have dealt with in the time I've collected and bought knives.

have 3 bad launches...so do many others. some start fine and develop it later. i have one of those as well. i own many autos, many brands, have for many years.....only my kershaws suffer from lock bounce. their last batch of autos suffered from lock bounce as well. the rogues especially. those were great designed knives but lock bounce issues.

you Sir have been lucky, and that aint bad but kershaws autos have a lock bounce problem and it needs to be fixed as they make some great designs in autos but the bounce is a problem.

 

[vwb563]

I have Launch 1. What is this lock bounce that you speak of?

 

[RevDevil]

That sucks JB, I wonder what it would take to fix it? thinner coil spring?

I have Launch 1. What is this lock bounce that you speak of?

Blade bounces off the stop pin before it has the chance for the button lock to engage.

 

[JupiterPaladin]

Kershaw's offerings in 14c28n are quite the value. Made in the USA and decent pricing.

 

[GermanyChris]

That sucks JB, I wonder what it would take to fix it? thinner coil spring?

Blade bounces off the stop pin before it has the change for the button lock to engage.

They're not coil sprung and that's part of the problem.

 

[Etna]

I for one an extremely glad for the Chinese made knives since in my country, knives are sold at MSRP or above. At least with the Chinese blades, we have something that can still be considered remotely affordable compared to the US-made variants.

For example, a Leek sells for $80 as per Kershaw's homepage, but most resellers in the US sell it for about $55 to $60. In my country, the Leek sells for about 88USD. That's a huge difference.

 

[vwb563]

That sucks JB, I wonder what it would take to fix it? thinner coil spring?

Blade bounces off the stop pin before it has the change for the button lock to engage.

I've not had any problems with my Launch 1 but I haven't used it that much.

 

[jbmonkey]

I've not had any problems with my Launch 1 but I haven't used it that much.

you may not. some havent had the issue. so its not every knife by any means, just too many of them have. i have a launch 5 first gen model. worked fine for awhile, then one day lock bounce. over and over then went away then came back. in fairness to kershaw mine are all first or early models. not sure if kershaw has solved the issue yet or not? those with newer made models may not see it? dont know what kershaw is doing to fix it but they are aware of the issue. its not a made up problem.

 

[palonej]

I have a Launch 1 and a 3. Both refuse to lock up unless the spine is facing up when firing.
If the knives are held in any other position when firing, the blade will not lock up. Period.
There are lots of people experiencing this problem. Kershaw says tomadjust the pivot.....won't help.
I guess some of us got lucky with them, but most will have the bounce.
There are a bunch of videos on YT showing this problem.
Will Moon and LuvThemKnives. Both guys get the same thing when firing and neither knows why it's happening.
Don't get me wrong.....I like Kershaw, they make some
Really good stuff!
The HOB exclusive Link is excellent! The Knockout is a fantastic knife! The Launches I had were terrible. Before I realized what was happening, I sliced the shit out of my index finger.
Joe

have 3 bad launches...so do many others. some start fine and develop it later. i have one of those as well. i own many autos, many brands, have for many years.....only my kershaws suffer from lock bounce. their last batch of autos suffered from lock bounce as well. the rogues especially. those were great designed knives but lock bounce issues.

you Sir have been lucky, and that aint bad but kershaws autos have a lock bounce problem and it needs to be fixed as they make some great designs in autos but the bounce is a problem.

 

[PURPLEDC]

I sorta feel that Kershaw is now the budget line of the kai business model. Now when I say budget I mean within reason. IMHO when ZT first came into its own it didn't play the role it does now. Back then (2006-7 ish) Kershaw had done some higher end limited editions and as the two lines came into their own the lines of what would be a Kershaw and what would be a ZT seemed to blur. So what we see today IMHO in Kershaw is the lower end Chinese stuff and the middle of the road USA produced stuff that fills a utilitarian role and not so much flash. IMHO it almost seems like Kershaw is dumbing down the Kershaw name while pumping up ZT to mean more than it was ever meant to. And now we are seeing a lot more flash and finishes in the ZT line where at once it was simply nothing but tactical black war machines. Now while ZT and Kershaw are two separate lines I don't really look at it as Kershaw cheapening its products. I view all KAI products under the same umbrella. And it just seems like they have restructured what gets made into what. I would not be surprised if one day Kershaw was the low end and zt the high end. But they would either have to phase out core products from the Kershaw line all together or rebrand them ZT knives. But I think a ZT leek would go over like a fart in an New Mexico church in august. But you also cant just kill off the products that bring in the bacon. Though I am surprised they have been allowed to continue to make any K. Onion designs since that relationship dissolved. But K. Onion was Kershaw for awhile there. And the brand to me at least has sorta lost its identity over the years not having him as an influence. I would have thought Tim Galyean would have been the obvious choice to fill those design shoes as Tim had really great ideas that felt in line with what Kai was doing at the time. Now its almost as if Tim never existed.

 

[PURPLEDC]

I have a Launch 1 and a 3. Both refuse to lock up unless the spine is facing up when firing.
If the knives are held in any other position when firing, the blade will not lock up. Period.
There are lots of people experiencing this problem. Kershaw says tomadjust the pivot.....won't help.
I guess some of us got lucky with them, but most will have the bounce.
There are a bunch of videos on YT showing this problem.
Will Moon and LuvThemKnives. Both guys get the same thing when firing and neither knows why it's happening.
Don't get me wrong.....I like Kershaw, they make some
Really good stuff!
The HOB exclusive Link is excellent! The Knockout is a fantastic knife! The Launches I had were terrible. Before I realized what was happening, I sliced the shit out of my index finger.
Joe

IMHO (an opinion highly regarded by me alone) they have improper clockwork. Some brands for some odd reason do things differently. Kai is one of these brand. For instance their insistence on using square spring stock and an oddly shaped spring that only allows you to replace it with one of their springs. But also the clockwork. Which basically doesn't keep the blade under constant spring pressure for the full length of the throw. They way they clock their springs it seem max torque is reached at 3/4 of the way open and then relies on intertia to fully open the blade. Adjusting the pivot can in some cases help but its kinda like putting a bandaid over severed vein. Yeah you may have stopped the problem in a way but its definitely less than ideal and probably isn't a good alternative to just correcting the real issue. There are countless brands that make a hard firing auto that lockup each and every time (cough protech!) and they don't have to rely on magical pivot adjustments for proper performance. If there is one thing I have learned about kai its that they don't like to admit that they make a mistake. Even if those launches actually fired so hard that you couldn't hold on to it and confronted kai, they would simply say "uh, why do you think we named it the launch?"

 

[alphatiger]

I just got my Natrix and it screams cheap. Like thin and cheap. Not even very sharp, the lettering on the blade and the clip are not very legible and I can say I'm very disappointed. And I wasn't expecting a ZT. I guess you have to see it to believe it. You'd think with the history behind this knife they would have over built it a little...It's back in the box. Not even sure what to do with it. $37 bucks!!! WTF

 

[gotgoat]

I must be lucky with my Natrix, it seems to be good so far but I have seen the videos.

 

[Fanglekai]

I just got my Natrix and it screams cheap. Like thin and cheap. Not even very sharp, the lettering on the blade and the clip are not very legible and I can say I'm very disappointed. And I wasn't expecting a ZT. I guess you have to see it to believe it. You'd think with the history behind this knife they would have over built it a little...It's back in the box. Not even sure what to do with it. $37 bucks!!! WTF

If it's unused then return it or maybe exchange for something else?

 

[vwb563]

I just got my Natrix and it screams cheap. Like thin and cheap. Not even very sharp, the lettering on the blade and the clip are not very legible and I can say I'm very disappointed. And I wasn't expecting a ZT. I guess you have to see it to believe it. You'd think with the history behind this knife they would have over built it a little...It's back in the box. Not even sure what to do with it. $37 bucks!!! WTF

Makes me even more excited about getting the one I just bought. Oh well, Christmas is coming up and I'm gonna need gifts to give away.
But in all seriousness this is exactly what I'm talking about. They (KAI) could have built this knife here in the USA with decently premium materials like an s30v blade and charged in the $70-$80 range which is twice the selling price of the China made knife and I think they would have sold the heck out of them. I Love the look of the 0777 but I'm not paying the $500 price tag for one. This would have been a chance for them to sell all us admirers a decent made clone but sounds like they have screwed it up.

 

[palonej]

I knew there was a reason I liked you Tim!!!
I have been saying this for years. Not many agree.
I am an auto nut.....Pro Tech, Paragon, Spydie, SOG, Microtech & Benchmade. Every single one exerts spring pressure on the blade for the entire length of travel.....every single one.....except KAI.
This problem has been brought to their attention countless times and they say to tighten the pivot. Or try to time when you release the button. Come on!
Great!! So now the blade is no longer centered and you're just slowing down the action.......that's like engaging the emergency brake while you're driving.
Horrible design and they just keep adding new models with the same build. Sucks because they are nice looking knives with great blade steel made in the US.
Ugh.
Joe

IMHO (an opinion highly regarded by me alone) they have improper clockwork. Some brands for some odd reason do things differently. Kai is one of these brand. For instance their insistence on using square spring stock and an oddly shaped spring that only allows you to replace it with one of their springs. But also the clockwork. Which basically doesn't keep the blade under constant spring pressure for the full length of the throw. They way they clock their springs it seem max torque is reached at 3/4 of the way open and then relies on intertia to fully open the blade. Adjusting the pivot can in some cases help but its kinda like putting a bandaid over severed vein. Yeah you may have stopped the problem in a way but its definitely less than ideal and probably isn't a good alternative to just correcting the real issue. There are countless brands that make a hard firing auto that lockup each and every time (cough protech!) and they don't have to rely on magical pivot adjustments for proper performance. If there is one thing I have learned about kai its that they don't like to admit that they make a mistake. Even if those launches actually fired so hard that you couldn't hold on to it and confronted kai, they would simply say "uh, why do you think we named it the launch?"

 

[Lapedog]

Guys the Natrix was purposely designed to feel cheap. It was designed that way as a diss to Microtech. Actually it costs alot of money to achieve such a cheap appearance. You can't use machines, they're too precise. You jeed a human deciding which side gets 1 washer and which side gets 7.

KAI put alot of R&D money into making sure you got a knife that felt truly cheap. Now you will have a bad taste in your mouth when you see the outline of this knife somewhere. You will never buy a Matrix.

 

[palonej]

A good friend says the same exact thing AT. He opened the box, handled the knife, put it back in the box and returned it the same day.
Joe

I just got my Natrix and it screams cheap. Like thin and cheap. Not even very sharp, the lettering on the blade and the clip are not very legible and I can say I'm very disappointed. And I wasn't expecting a ZT. I guess you have to see it to believe it. You'd think with the history behind this knife they would have over built it a little...It's back in the box. Not even sure what to do with it. $37 bucks!!! WTF

 

[Scurvy092]

I most certainly did buy one off the exchange. I liked the looks of it. I bought it. Period end of story. I most certainly did not "bash" Kershaw over their Chinese stuff. I said I was disappointed in seeing so many as compared to the USA made ones and their use of lower and lower grade blade steels. I certainly wished the Natrix I purchased today off the exchange had s30v or even better s90v steel but it is what it is. I recently bought a Link with the 420 blade steel also. Certainly doesn't mean I'm happy about their steel choice. Wish it had s90v also. No I was not "bashing" them. I just wish they would offer more USA made models and use better blade steels in the Kershaw line. I think you need to look up the definition of the word bash and get your facts straight before you post.

If you like that design and want S35vn, why not just get a ZT0770cf? I don't get it. If you want S90v, the ZT0095 just had a run of S90v. The Link is available with S35VN.

Makes me even more excited about getting the one I just bought. Oh well, Christmas is coming up and I'm gonna need gifts to give away.
But in all seriousness this is exactly what I'm talking about. They (KAI) could have built this knife here in the USA with decently premium materials like an s30v blade and charged in the $70-$80 range which is twice the selling price of the China made knife and I think they would have sold the heck out of them. I Love the look of the 0777 but I'm not paying the $500 price tag for one. This would have been a chance for them to sell all us admirers a decent made clone but sounds like they have screwed it up.

Kershaw already makes SEVERAL knives in the $70-80 range with S30v or S35vn. Why would they want to continue to overlap their lines?

We get that they don't have the exact knife in the exact configuration you want but who does? I'm sure plenty of people have similar issues with every other company. Look at how long people had to wait for the Griptillian line to get g10...