Kershaw Chill, how good is it?

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phaserrifle

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Apr 8, 2008
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I'm looking at getting myself a new outdoors folder.
basically I'm planning to use it for general tasks that are not heavy enough for a fixed blade, so mainly the sort of stuff an EDC type folder would be expected to be able to handle, although maybe some slightly tougher jobs.

I've recently become aware of the kershaw chill, and i'm really likeing the look of it. however, reviews of it seem few and far between, and mostly seem to be be based on first impressions, rather than actual use.

is the chill a decent choice for my intended use?
or am I going to find it severely lacking?
 
I got one comeing from e-bay seller, I was wanting it for the same reasons you are, from what I have read, it should be ok
 
The chinese kershaws i've handled have felt very solid I'd say the quality is comparable to the byrd line of knives by spyderco.
 
There is a review of the Kershaw Chill on another site, where the fellow carried it for all of his daily chores for appx a six month period. He would check in every once an awhile, praising the knife all the way.

I have one that is only a few weeks old and I love it. It does everything I ask of it. I think you won't do any better for the price. It is an R.J. Martin Design.:cool:
 
I really liked the design and am a big flipper/Kershaw/RJ Martin fan, but when I handled one I found that it was a bit, for a lack of a better description, "flimsy-feeling" (basically, too light/thin) for my tastes. The build quality was good, and I'm sure it would have held up fine under light/medium EDC use, but I just didn't like the feel of it in my hand.

I've had really good experiences with another Chinese-made Kershaw/RJ Martin collaboration (the Nerve) and with another sub-$35 Kershaw/RJ flipper (the Zing, which has a bit more heft to it and a much smoother flipping action than the Chill), but for some reason the Chill just didn't do it for me.
 
I sort of got one for Christmas from my brother in law. He got me a S&W Darrel Ralph design tactical looking folder with a combo blade. At least he had the common sense to choose the Darrel Ralph design. So I took it in to Big 5 and traded up to a Kershaw Chill.

Well worth the extra couple of bucks. Very nice fit and finish, light slim, disappears in my pocket. Came very sharp out of the box.

I've been EDCing it the last week or two. So far so good.

The edges on the handle are not rounded enough for my liking, this of those personal preferences (or pet peeves). Thumb stud seems a little awkward to me. It seems to work better if I flick it with my thumb.

I figured how to use the finger guard to flick out the blade. Works better than the thumb stud. It is also one of the most ambidextrous liner locks I've played with.

The edge is holding up to the mundane edc stuff: paper, a little card board, some kitchen prep, para cord, scraped off some dried epoxy and gorilla glue. And it hasn't bitten me yet.

Anyways I give it the two thumbs up. I'm happy with mine.

Ric
 
Phydeaux said:
I sort of got one for Christmas from my brother in law. He got me a S&W Darrel Ralph design tactical looking folder with a combo blade. At least he had the common sense to choose the Darrel Ralph design. So I took it in to Big 5 and traded up to a Kershaw Chill.

Well worth the extra couple of bucks. Very nice fit and finish, light slim, disappears in my pocket. Came very sharp out of the box.

I've been EDCing it the last week or two. So far so good.

The edges on the handle are not rounded enough for my liking, this of those personal preferences (or pet peeves). Thumb stud seems a little awkward to me. It seems to work better if I flick it with my thumb.

I figured how to use the finger guard to flick out the blade. Works better than the thumb stud. It is also one of the most ambidextrous liner locks I've played with.

The edge is holding up to the mundane edc stuff: paper, a little card board, some kitchen prep, para cord, scraped off some dried epoxy and gorilla glue. And it hasn't bitten me yet.

Anyways I give it the two thumbs up. I'm happy with mine.

Ric
Click to expand...

are you sure it's a chill?
because as far as I can make out, they don't have thumbstuds, it's flipper (finger-guard) only
 
phaserrifle said:
are you sure it's a chill?
because as far as I can make out, they don't have thumbstuds, it's flipper (finger-guard) only
Click to expand...
I was wondering the same thing -- you're correct that the Chill doesn't have thumbstuds.
 
Interesting! I looked at mine (got it at Big 5...) and it is a model 3410TS. The 3410 corresponds with the model number on the Kershaw site. I was not able to find the 3410TS on the site. I assume that the TS refers to thumb stud. All the other sites show the Chill without the thumb studs. Maybe its the Big 5 special.:p

I may take off the thumb stud. I almost sliced my thumb a couple of times using it or I need to work in my technique with this knife.

Ric
 
I got my brother one of these for christmas, so i've fondled it a little bit. It is a very, very light knife and it is thin which are excellent qualities for an EDC knife. The flipper works well, but I think it needed to be broken in; in terms of physics a light blade should flip easy, but it "feels" like a little mass would help smooth out the deployment when you add a little wrist action. Also, this knife is a very handsome design.

I think this knife would be perfect for an EDC knife (i may get one for myself), but i didn't get the feeling that it would excel at being a hard use outdoors knife. It is a 2.0 oz gentleman's folder, so in my opinion I wouldn't recommend it for your intended application. It's not that expensive though, so maybe you should get one anyways:)
 
Phydeaux said:
Interesting! I looked at mine (got it at Big 5...) and it is a model 3410TS. The 3410 corresponds with the model number on the Kershaw site. I was not able to find the 3410TS on the site. I assume that the TS refers to thumb stud. All the other sites show the Chill without the thumb studs. Maybe its the Big 5 special.:p

I may take off the thumb stud. I almost sliced my thumb a couple of times using it or I need to work in my technique with this knife.

Ric
Click to expand...

Thomas W said:
FYI, Chill's with a thumb stud are a Big 5 exclusive.
Click to expand...
Ah, makes sense now. Thanks for clearing that up, guys!
 
Thomas W-

Thanks for the information about the thumb stud being a Big 5 special.

Does anybody know how they attached the thumb studs? Press fit? Threaded? Elmo's Glue? One of the thumb studs has a small hole in it, can't tell if theres a hex screw in there, its pretty small. I'll try to stick a small allen wrench in there and see if it grabs any thing.

Ric
 
hmmm, by the looks of it, the chill is a good knife, but not a good knife for what I want to do. :(

looks like I'm back to looking. maybe the scamp :confused:
 
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