I got the Half Ton from Kershaw today, and I'm pretty impressed. Actually, I bought three of them. The Half Ton is made in China and is model number 1445. It costs around $11 in stores and is a good value; I really can't think of any other $11 knife to compare it against. The Half Ton weighs in at 3.2 ounces. Photos will be added as soon as my Photobucket account wants to work, but until then I can leave you with this image from KnifeCenter.
The Handle: The Half Ton is 3-5/8" closed and 1/2" thick without the pocket clip. The handles are red glass-reinforced nylon with black Santoprene overlays, and both sides have full stainless steel liners. The handle is comfortable in use, but is barely a three-finger knife for me. That's not a major issue though. The handle is an open-back design, and the handle is held together with two black T-6 screws on each side and one T-8 screw for the blade pivot.
The stainless steel pocket clip is held on with three stainless T-6 screws. It's located in the right-hand tip-down position and while it is removable, it can't be positioned anywhere else on the knife. It's shaped like a wrench which might be cool to some of you, but I'd prefer a plain clip. Retention is good, but not great. when fully inserted in a pocket, 7/8" of the handle sticks out. I found that when clipped to my Dickies, the Half Ton wants to migrate out of my pants, especially when sitting. This is caused by the high-riding handle of a short-handled knife, the smooth clip and the smooth handle, and the slight looseness of the clip; you'll have to remove it and bend it slightly. I found this problem on all three of mine, but it's a quick fix.
The Half Ton locks open very firmly via linerlock, which is jimped. The liners are each 1/16" thick and the lock is great. It's not too stiff nor too weak; perfect. The blade comes open rock solid, which is rare for an $11 folder. There's a stop pin to keep the blade from overtraveling, and it's pretty much just another pillar (about 1/8" thick). There's some grooves right where you'd expect jimping on the handle back, and it's functional enough. There is a lanyard hole in the butt, and it's pretty small at only 1/8" in diameter.
The Blade: The Half Ton's blade is made of 8Cr13MoV stainless at 56-58 on the Rockwell scale. This is pretty close to AUS-8 in terms of performance, and holds an edge very well. The blade is 1/8" thick and 2-5/8" long with a 2-1/2" cutting edge. The blade is satin finished and hollow ground from the 2/3 way up. There's also a slight swedge. The blade opens very quickly via thumb studs, one on each side of the blade. The thumb studs are ramped, another thing you don't see on any other $11 knife. The blade has two white nylon bushings - one on each side - to make opening smooth.
The blade came paper-slicing sharp, but was popping hairs after a few seconds on a leather strop. There's no jimping on the blade, which may annoy some customers, but I find them unnecessary for a knife of this size and use.
In all, the Half Ton represents a milestone in imported knife quality. It's better than the Kershaw Chubby that was a Snap-On exclusive, and that's saying something. I know that companies like Byrd and Rough Rider are putting out high-quality knives from China, but nobody is touching this quality at this price.
This is a toolbox knife and would make a great stocking stuffer, possibly a back-up EDC or as one of those "loaner" knives we talk about. It's definitely worth a look at just $11, and will surely find its way into your EDC rotation if you try one out.
The Handle: The Half Ton is 3-5/8" closed and 1/2" thick without the pocket clip. The handles are red glass-reinforced nylon with black Santoprene overlays, and both sides have full stainless steel liners. The handle is comfortable in use, but is barely a three-finger knife for me. That's not a major issue though. The handle is an open-back design, and the handle is held together with two black T-6 screws on each side and one T-8 screw for the blade pivot.
The stainless steel pocket clip is held on with three stainless T-6 screws. It's located in the right-hand tip-down position and while it is removable, it can't be positioned anywhere else on the knife. It's shaped like a wrench which might be cool to some of you, but I'd prefer a plain clip. Retention is good, but not great. when fully inserted in a pocket, 7/8" of the handle sticks out. I found that when clipped to my Dickies, the Half Ton wants to migrate out of my pants, especially when sitting. This is caused by the high-riding handle of a short-handled knife, the smooth clip and the smooth handle, and the slight looseness of the clip; you'll have to remove it and bend it slightly. I found this problem on all three of mine, but it's a quick fix.
The Half Ton locks open very firmly via linerlock, which is jimped. The liners are each 1/16" thick and the lock is great. It's not too stiff nor too weak; perfect. The blade comes open rock solid, which is rare for an $11 folder. There's a stop pin to keep the blade from overtraveling, and it's pretty much just another pillar (about 1/8" thick). There's some grooves right where you'd expect jimping on the handle back, and it's functional enough. There is a lanyard hole in the butt, and it's pretty small at only 1/8" in diameter.
The Blade: The Half Ton's blade is made of 8Cr13MoV stainless at 56-58 on the Rockwell scale. This is pretty close to AUS-8 in terms of performance, and holds an edge very well. The blade is 1/8" thick and 2-5/8" long with a 2-1/2" cutting edge. The blade is satin finished and hollow ground from the 2/3 way up. There's also a slight swedge. The blade opens very quickly via thumb studs, one on each side of the blade. The thumb studs are ramped, another thing you don't see on any other $11 knife. The blade has two white nylon bushings - one on each side - to make opening smooth.
The blade came paper-slicing sharp, but was popping hairs after a few seconds on a leather strop. There's no jimping on the blade, which may annoy some customers, but I find them unnecessary for a knife of this size and use.
In all, the Half Ton represents a milestone in imported knife quality. It's better than the Kershaw Chubby that was a Snap-On exclusive, and that's saying something. I know that companies like Byrd and Rough Rider are putting out high-quality knives from China, but nobody is touching this quality at this price.
This is a toolbox knife and would make a great stocking stuffer, possibly a back-up EDC or as one of those "loaner" knives we talk about. It's definitely worth a look at just $11, and will surely find its way into your EDC rotation if you try one out.
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