Disappointed with Kershaw

I've been disappointed and/or disinterested in most of Kershaw's offerings for awhile now. Their overall quality level has dropped imo, or they are going for a totally diff market that I'm not apart of. I've been happy with the couple of ZT's I've purchased, but can't say the same with the regular Kershaws.
 
I'm new here so maybe forgive my spin on things but this thread is a bit snobby , imo . " The Knife Ignorant " and such comments are a joke . Someone that buys a china made kershaw for 20 bucks isnt ignorant , as an example . I have plenty of experience with china made Kershaws and other china made knives . I use them as work knives and some have stood out as a good work knife . I think a lot of the poo pooing about how bad something is , mainly comes from the " collector mindset " and not so much a user mindset , if that makes sense . Sure , a 20 buck china made kershaw or whatever brand scrutinized compared to a high end knife isnt gonna be on the same page . That said , I work the hell out of a china made kershaw and other cheaper knives and they do the job , which is what a knife is all about
I get that many of these newer tactical knives are the cool thing . And I also realize that making something a hobby is a cool thing too . But what I dont enjoy reading is when a hobbyist over thinks something and goes too far , which then spews snob . It's a drag and a bit " Man Bunish "
 
You're new here so maybe read more and post less until you get a feel for the place. Maybe you'll realize you aren't understanding what you're reading.
No one is poo pooing anything based on country of manufacture or price.
There are some great $20 knives that many of us will recommend. There are some $20 knives that aren't worth $5.
I appreciate hearing the bad along with the good.
Joe


ruffinogold said:
I'm new here so maybe forgive my spin on things but this thread is a bit snobby , imo . " The Knife Ignorant " and such comments are a joke . Someone that buys a china made kershaw for 20 bucks isnt ignorant , as an example . I have plenty of experience with china made Kershaws and other china made knives . I use them as work knives and some have stood out as a good work knife . I think a lot of the poo pooing about how bad something is , mainly comes from the " collector mindset " and not so much a user mindset , if that makes sense . Sure , a 20 buck china made kershaw or whatever brand scrutinized compared to a high end knife isnt gonna be on the same page . That said , I work the hell out of a china made kershaw and other cheaper knives and they do the job , which is what a knife is all about
I get that many of these newer tactical knives are the cool thing . And I also realize that making something a hobby is a cool thing too . But what I dont enjoy reading is when a hobbyist over thinks something and goes too far , which then spews snob . It's a drag and a bit " Man Bunish "
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palonej said:
You're new here so maybe read more and post less until you get a feel for the place. Maybe you'll realize you aren't understanding what you're reading.
No one is poo pooing anything based on country of manufacture or price.
There are some great $20 knives that many of us will recommend. There are some $20 knives that aren't worth $5.
I appreciate hearing the bad along with the good.
Joe
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Knife ignorant is pretty self explanatory .. just sayin
 
bigolegator said:
I've been disappointed and/or disinterested in most of Kershaw's offerings for awhile now. Their overall quality level has dropped imo, or they are going for a totally diff market that I'm not apart of. I've been happy with the couple of ZT's I've purchased, but can't say the same with the regular Kershaws.
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This is exactly what I'm talking about. I do like a few of the newer China Kershaw's like the Natrix but for the most part I've lost interest in Kershaws. Just seems like they're more interested in producing $20 - $30 China made models than USA made stuff. And even with their newer USA made models like the Link for example they have lowered the blade steel quality. My USA Link has 420 steel. They could have at least used 14C28N like my Leeks have.
 
R ruffinogold Knife Ignorant is self explanatory but are you confusing ignorant and stupid? Ignorant means a lack of knowledge which is generally true of majority of people buying a Kershaw as it is in the budget sweet spot for the average consumer.
 
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KAI has done well positioning their divisions in the market to serve the three primary market segments. As a business KAI is making the right moves to be successful in the pocket knife market.
 
I was going to buy a Natrix, but them remember my last few purchases. My Injection was about as smooth opening as a Buck 110 that sat in the woods for a decade, and my Spoiler was the biggest joke of a knife I've had since buying Frost Cutlery a decade and a half ago. The Link is alright, but is still missing a lot.

I still treasure my 0350, but I view Kershaw and Gerber at the same prestige level these days. It won't be long before they quit listing the blade steel at this point.
 
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You guys seem to miss the good about Kershaw. S30v CF Skyline, yes please? (any skyline really) CF CPM154 CF leek, Flat ground too. They cannot produce enough of the american knives as they sell them all. Why, as a business person, would you give up that cash flow to risk it on something that might work, or might fail? It's bad business. They play that game with the Chinese made knives. Its less of a risk, and they are not giving up proven money making production for an experiment. Any why no love for the Kershaw Crown? Best $10 knife ever....
 
neffarious said:
You guys seem to miss the good about Kershaw. S30v CF Skyline, yes please? (any skyline really) CF CPM154 CF leek, Flat ground too. They cannot produce enough of the american knives as they sell them all. Why, as a business person, would you give up that cash flow to risk it on something that might work, or might fail? It's bad business. They play that game with the Chinese made knives. Its less of a risk, and they are not giving up proven money making production for an experiment. Any why no love for the Kershaw Crown? Best $10 knife ever....
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i love my kershaw skyline in s30v and carbon fiber. also love my kershaw blur in s30v. while way more expensive my ZT 0770cf is amazaballs. if anyones considering a kershaw, try one of these. even if its not s30v.
 
Once again, you are not the target demographic for knives in that price range. You're willing to spend more for better steel. Each one has a place.
 
vwb563 said:
Everytime I look at the Kershaw's online I see more and more China made cheapos than new USA made knives. And even with their USA made ones they're using lower grade blade steels than before it seems. Am I the only one seeing this and becoming disappointed with Kershaw?
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I've had bad luck with my China Kershaws. They all work, they fit my hand, but quality issues are present on all of them. I'm really not nit picky though so they are just fine for me. I've never got a "golden egg" like I have with other brands. I bet if I paid over $40 and got a USA made or even China made Kershaw, I'd be happy. I'm going to buy a Leek, a skyline, and blur. Bet they'll all be much higher quality than the few I have! Anyway, it doesn't stink that they're made in China as much as it stinks that SO many of them are. I really like how Spydercos china line is nice and small compared to the rest of their lines. China can make some excellent stuff though!! Made in China doesn't scare me anymore. People made me think I should frown on it. Why?
 
Seems to me Kershaw is like one of those restaurants with an 8 page menu and the food is all bland. Don't understand why they don't cut the models in half and concentrate on quality over quantity. I miss the good old days and that's why I hang onto any Kershaw with the made in USA etch.
 
Maybe a dumb question but can you disable the Launch series spring? I like the idea of a button lock but don't have need for an auto. I think the Launch series are some nice looking offerings, good prices too.
 
vwb563 said:
I can understand that. I like manual opening knives also. Kershaw / ZT does tend to favor adding assisted opening to a lot of their designs.
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I think what actually happens is that you start off with the AO's and as you start moving up the ladder you realize that most good knives come manual. Second revelation is that you can open a good manual knife and you get a much better feeling with the manual. Now what happens is that you discover a whole new life of manual folders and then you start to sell off the AO's but keep 1 or 2 just because they were just that good like the Blur S30V. I could not give that one up. As far as I am concerned that is by far Kershaw's perfect AO-EDC knife. Now we are hooked on manual knives the question is how do I find out more and I discover YouTube and are hooked on knife reviews. Now real knife collecting begins. It becomes borderline obsession for a while, and that's how you know that you are now a real collector. This was of course a clip of my experience in the last 2 years.
 
crom said:
Seems to me Kershaw is like one of those restaurants with an 8 page menu and the food is all bland. Don't understand why they don't cut the models in half and concentrate on quality over quantity. I miss the good old days and that's why I hang onto any Kershaw with the made in USA etch.
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If they did that it would be encroaching on ZT's starter knives just like the Knockout & ZT 0770. They got you going and coming. They have just enough U.S.A. made Kershaws to peak you interest and next thing you know you are buying ZT's. I actually think that they have it figured much better than we think.
 
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