Kershaw "Chive" - The Perfect Bargain EDC?

T

Tractorshaft

Joined
May 7, 2006
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58
I have been a fan of pocket knives since I was a teenager, this gives me over 30 years to "Review" and test no small number of little EDC knives. I normally wouldn't take time to post a comment on something as "Personal" and subjective as the selection of a man's pocket knife. FWIW, I am older now and make enough money to buy and carry almost anything I choose.

I don't mean to sound condescending but when I am as impressed and completely happy with something that means so much to some of (Our pocket knives) I just had to share, the "Value" factor of this little knife is damn near a perfect ten. :D



For around a year or so I carried either a little G-10 Strider which I liked very much or a Chris Reeve small "Classic Sebenza". These were both excellent knives but thats not what this post is about, just a little background on some of the hardware I have in my "Knife Basket", its a basket of pocket knives on my dresser where I choose my EDC from each day.

About 9 months ago I was in Wal-Mart buying some range ammo and on an impulse I bought one of the little Kershaw "Chives". I liked the size, blade shape and the assisted opening feature was novel. Well as you know, the proof is in the proverbial pudding. For starters it was very sharp out of the box, so sharp in fact I did not touch it before putting it in my pocket, I am pretty particular about the sharpness of my tools.

Day after day I found that the little Chive was just about perfect in size and function. More and more it was the one I chose each morning, it was big enough to handle most any cutting chore a guy in IT runs into on a daily basis. The assisted opening feature made it a literal "Snap" to open it one handed. A quick press with your cutting hand's forefinger is all it takes to authoritatively open it. The small size and "Pretty" colors make it PC enough not to scare any of the liberal cube dwellers, it takes a great edge and seems to hold it like it was made out of D2. I have literally cut a 4 foot stack of heavy duty cardboard boxes in half and the knife was still reasonably sharp afterwards, don't get me wrong here, I would not want to shave my face with it after that but there still a good "Working" edge left on it.

Once I started to really "Build a relationship" with the little Chive and having learned my lesson some years back, I went back to Wally World and bought three more of them to put in my gun safe. Like anything else, they will one day drop this little gem from their line and I will be left wanting.

Ladies & Gents, for a sub $50.00 EDC knife I would pit the little "Chive" against anything out there, I only ask that you give it a fair and objective review, pick one up, carry if for two weeks and then comment here. For a few bucks what do you have to lose? I have never been a great fan of the Combo-Edge type blades except for this one. It just seems like the right proportion of length and plain/serrated blade. If you are a heavy user, a few strokes with your tapered diamond stone makes these little sharks teeth sing right through braided nylon, thick rubber matting, speaker wire, etc. etc.

If there was one thing I would change it would be the thickness of the tip, its not quite as "Delicate" as I prefer, this is nit-picking at its best. In an attempt to correct this I took the blade to my belt sander. I was not happy with the results. I boxed the knife up and mailed it back to Kershaw, telling them what I did and to charge me for replacing the blade. Two weeks later I received a brand new Chive in the mail with a nice note from Kershaw. This folks is customer service a its finest. :thumbup:

I saw a thread where a bladesmith was regrinding folks pocket carries with a thinner blade and consequently they ended up with a sharper tip. The tip as it is ground from the factory will open 1 gal. paint cans without missing a lick. If you treat yours like this, the Chive as shipped will be just right for you.

I continue to be so happy with this little knife I just had to share on the forum, I recently took mine and a friend's (Just as crazy about the Chive as I am) apart and buffed the internals on my 8" buffing wheel, sharpened them and put a little braided lanyard on it. A drop of some Mil-Tec lube and they lock up like a $500.00 Darrel Ralph folder. Knowing what a marked difference in how the knife operates now this would be the FIRST thing I do to it when I took it out of the box.

For anyone who has not tried one of these little Chives, do yourself a favor, buy two! You will not be sorry. Comments, criticisms and critique solicited. ;)
 
Just purchased a Scallion last weekend, so far it has been quite impressive. I will have to look at the Chive next time at the Wally World.
 
I am also a fan of the Kershaw brand. I am also a big fan of value gear. Not cheap gear but gear that does the job of higher priced gear at a lower price. This often means that it might not have all the bells and whistles. It might not be as pretty. It might not be a name brand.

My personal EDC (literally carried everyday, everywhere, not a rotation, same knife) is the Kershaw Vapor.

I was shopping for something nice and couldn't decide on what I wanted. I bought the Vapor at the same store you bought your Chive. Walmart. I am still shopping a bit more than a year later and haven't found anything with as much value for the mone as the Vapor.

I am thinking about another Kershaw. Maybe a Needs Work. I might have to head over to Walmart and look at the Chive.
 
I could write the EXACT same thing as Hard H20 (mine is not the VaporII, just Vapor).

I'm feeling lazy so just read his post twice.
 
Soilarch said:
I could write the EXACT same thing as Hard H20 (mine is not the VaporII, just Vapor).

I'm feeling lazy so just read his post twice.
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I have seen a few around. The Vapor is a good value.

I just wanted a blade, approx. 3" long, slim with clip, easy to sharpen, stays sharp, slices nice, doesn't cost an arm and a leg.
 
I have a Chive and appreciate its qualities.As you say, it cuts&holds very well and is up for a variety of tasks. I'm just not so sure about assisted opening frankly, I keep the safety lock on as I'm horrified by the idea of it opening in the pocket. This means it takes longer to open once you've fiddled about than with a conventional 1 handed opener it seems to me.Well made it is certainly,perhaps a bit slippery to hold.I use mine as a money clip,but get searching looks sometimes.....
 
I carried a Chive for a bit but didn't care for the slightly curved blade shape. This was solved by switching to a Kershaw Centofante which is the same size as the Chive but features a straight Wharncliffe blade. Just another possible option for a small assisted opener.
 
I am interested in how many people carry the various Kershaw knives that have assisted opening WITHOUT having the lock on.

I have carried one for 3 weeks now without the black lock on with no issues.

I agree with willgoy, if you use the black lock on it, it pretty much defeats the purpose of a quick opening knife. I think I would go back to my mini griptilian if I didn't like the assisted opening so much.
 
I've had and carried often a Chive for over a year, usually clipped to my pocket. I never use the safety, never had a problem. I did carry a Needs Work for a while, which has no safety. Also no accidental openings.

What I did do was thin out the edge by grinding the hollow to near flatness, until the edge went to zero, and then put a tiny bevel. I generally prefer smaller cutters this way, as it greatly improves slicing ability, ease of sharpening, and fine detail work.

No accidental openings, solid lock, good ergonomics. I did get it used in a trade from a fellow forum member, and after lots of idle openings, the spring did go south. A call to Kershaw had me a couple replacement springs, and it's been fine since.
 
I have two Chives , and numerous other Kershaws , they are excellent !!!

Their customer service is top notch , fast and courteous , cool how they replaced it for you even after you messed it up ( to be fair Buck and CRKT have also been very fair towards me in the realm of C.S. )


My Chives though ? I find the tip perfect , in fact I dropped mine and broke the very tip of the tip off , had to fix it with one of the stones.
In other words I love a good tip but if they are too fine they can break that much easier.

All of Kershaws kinives are fine value for the dollar , if you dig your Chive check out a Groove , or a Blur , or a Leek , or a Scallion , or a Boa , or a.... :D
 
Tractorshaft, that was a great review. The Chive is a favorite of mine too. For those that have mentioned something similar but with a little longer blade, let me suggest a Shallot. An incredible value, it offers a frame lock, 13C26 blade and is also assisted opening. It's Kershaw's version of Ken Onion's Dead Sexy. I'd consider it a perfect sized gentleman's knife.

Drop by the Kershaw sub forum, say Hi and post a link to this thread. The guys would really like to read your review.
 
Seeing the dull bladed display version of this knife is what got me to stop carying $.79 snap-off boxcutters as my EDC :) After I got into bigger benchmade's & spyderco's, I'd occasionaly wear this one clipped to the inside of my ball cap as my 'blunt skinner' at partys- it was a big hit until I lost the damn thing.

It's a great knife, but in terms of bargains, I would say that the "needs work" is even sweeter IMO.
 
bkrosco said:
I am interested in how many people carry the various Kershaw knives that have assisted opening WITHOUT having the lock on.

I have carried one for 3 weeks now without the black lock on with no issues.

I agree with will roy, if you use the black lock on it, it pretty much defeats the purpose of a quick opening knife. I think I would go back to my mini griptilian if I didn't like the assisted opening so much.
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Hey Rosco, et al,

+1 :thumbup: on disabling the blade cross block safety, thanks for bringing this up. Too often I would find myself taking it out of my pocket to use and, Uh, Uh, Uh..Oh..Safety's on. It's almost like pulling the trigger on a gun and finding it does not go "Bang", some say thats the loudest sound in the world :eek: Ha Ha!

I took a little Torx wrench and completely removed the sliding pin that captures the tip. Another option here may be to simply tighten up the screw that runs through the pin? This may aid in the safety staying in the selected position, OFF.

I am sure the polish & tighten has helped prevent "Accidental" openings. After polishing the tang and bearing surfaces I was able to tighten the main blade pivot screw and action just enough that it took a bit more effort to bring the blade out enough for the assisted action to engage.

This polish and tighten did not "Slow" the knife down at all, if anything its lock-up time if faster; The little "Fluff & Buff" solidified and improved the action of the entire knife.

Have I ever stuck my hand in my pocket to find it partially open or felt a little "Poke" through my pants pocket? Sure, but only twice, neither time was the blade fully engaged. As discussed earlier, the blade is not real "Pointy" so unless you carry it in a pouch in the front of your underwear I wouldn't worry to much about it :o

I sure am glad to find so many experienced and knowledgeable "Knife" people who feel the "Kershaw" brand folder is a good value. Frankly, before this experience I never thought much of them for the sole reason of where they were being sold, I would not hesitate to buy another Kershaw product.

Another plus is; I don't cringe anymore when my friend says "Hey, toss me your knife would ya?" I toss them the little Chive and simply put a check mark next to their name for my Christmas shopping list, I know what I am getting them this year....

Thanks for taking time out to reply to this thread with all the great comments.

Best Regards
 
:thumbup: I love my little Chive. Bought mine at Academy Sporting Goods. Super Sharp out of the box. So small , I dont even notice its there, until i need it. I cut everything with it; Fruit, meat, Cardboard, rope, light wire stripping. Its finally in need of a sharpening after 3 weeks.

For the Value a great little knife I can take anywhere. A great product by Kershaw.
 
I carried a chive for a while a couple years ago. I like the fact that it's a framelock flipper in such a tiny knife. However, it would open in my pocket and cut my pockets to hell, which took forever to sew up. Luckily it never cut into my anatomy. The holes cost me at least one nice pen and untold coins. Later I replaced it with a SOG twitch, also an assisted folder, and that never came opened. Nonetheless, I eventually stopped carrying that as well.
 
I just wish it had a reversible clip.

I'd pay a few extra bucks on any of my folders if they came with a 4-way movable clip.
 
I tried to like the Chive, I really did. But the AO didn't sit well with me and I haven't yet been able to wrap my mind around the idea that such a tiny folder is useful enough. FWIW every knife I have been able to carry without "fears of inadequacy" are Small Sebenza-sized. I do agree that the Chive is an excellent value and a very well-made knife, though. I'll probably give it another shot someday.
 
carrot said:
I tried to like the Chive, I really did. But the AO didn't sit well with me and I haven't yet been able to wrap my mind around the idea that such a tiny folder is useful enough. FWIW every knife I have been able to carry without "fears of inadequacy" are Small Sebenza-sized. I do agree that the Chive is an excellent value and a very well-made knife, though. I'll probably give it another shot someday.
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Hey Carrot,

I never worried about the relatively small size of the Chive, I have yet to find an everyday knife chore that the little blade could not handle. I worked as an assistant bear guide on Afognak and Raspberry Island's off of Kodiak for over 4 years and lived up there for fifteen. I can honestly say with all confidence that I could rapidly and effectively take an Elk or Deer from the hoof to the skillet using nothing but the little chive.

I would take clients afield who looked like they stepped out of the L.L. Bean or Cabela's catalog with big old Bowie's or some sort of the latest "Survival" or 10" Tactical wonder knife on their hip :jerkit: I got to where I could take one look at a guys boots and knife and tell you what kind of outdoorsman he was.

9 times out of 10 unless you are going to need some expedient shelter by hacking up little birch trees or walking the streets of Fallujah they are nice to look at around the lodge at happy hour but are piss poor in application. Granted, I would rather have something around the old Schrade "Sharp Finger" size for general camp and field utility, the little Chive is perfect for the "Cubicle Commando", I am talking EDC here, the biggest advantage in my opinion? You never even know its in your pocket until you need it. If you loan it or lose it, oh well, losing a little Sebenza is painful, don't ask how I know this:rolleyes:

The best knife to have? The little sharp one that you ALWAYS have in your pocket ;)
 
The leek, chive, vapour, neds work and storm to name a few are all exellent bargains. I currently EDC a storm.
 
I have a Chive and really like it but not as a carry knife. Instead it is my desk /office knife. I'm just too nervous about bumping into something with the assisted opening and carrying a locked knife defeats the purpose to a great degree. Instead, I EDC a Mnandi or Sebenza but the Chive works just fine at the desk.
 
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