Kershaw Zing

U

UnknownVT

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Feb 15, 2003
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Zing.jpg

Zing2.jpg


One of the knives I was most impressed with at the Blade Show 2008 was the RJ Martin designed Kershaw Zing.

rjMartin080530.jpg


The Zing is a further refinement of the Tim Galyean flipper - which we first saw on the Kershaw JunkYard Dog and Kershaw JunkYard Dog II.

The ballbearing detent is made more resistive therefore one has to apply more finger pressure to overcome the detent, and the blade then flies out.

The Zings were very impressive.

Those were more "artsy" photos above - here are more clinical ones -
ZingY2.jpg

ZingY.jpg


Both these Zings arrived with their pivot screws rather tight - so I had a difficult time opening them fully with the flipper. Using a Torx T-9 I found the screws very tight - but this also meant I could adjust the pivot very finely.

Adjusted so that the blade would just fall under gravity when unlocked - but no hint of any wobble/play in the blade when open - these then will literally fly open with a snap when flipped almost effortlessly - the action (once adjusted) can be quite astounding.

The action of these Zings are noticably snappier when compared to the already excellent JunkYard Dogs and Groove. Very comparable to the Kerhsaw RAM which I was very impressed with.

Closed -
Zing3Cls.jpg


Notice the flippers - because of the swell in the handle toward the blade - these are not quite as protruding as on the Groove.

Zing_GrooveCls.jpg


The locks on the Zings were very well done - the liner looks thick and both samples have the liner just fully engaged - very nice -
ZingLock.jpg


The back of the handle has a nice touch in the spacer has nice ridge bumps.

ZingSpn.jpg


Of course the blades look stunning to me - almost like radiating pattern and I like the way the blade is stepped hollow ground - which helps in emphasizing the radiating pattern.

The groove pattern doesn't seem to get in the way when cutting through things - going through corrugated cardboard for example - I can actually feel the groove pattern - but it seems to retard the blade's pull through, so the blade actually managed (for me) to stay in the cardboard longer - therefore giving a deeper cut - interesting.......

Marking Details -
ZingMk.jpg


The Zing uses the new Sandvik 14C28N stainless steel which I think may be a Kershaw exclusive(?) - this is said to be an improvement over the already highly regarded 13C26.

I was impressed at the Blade Show - I am impressed (after adjustment) now.....

The Zing is already riding in my pocket as my at home EDC.

--
Vincent
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I'm curious as to how the radiating grooves will effect the edge as the knife sees more use, and the edge is worn up into the grooves. I would also have concerns about the grooves weakening the tip.

Andy
 
The grooves have no effect of the blade as you sharpen, as you remove blade material the grooves are removed at the same rate, so the blade will always be the same as it is now.

On the weakening of the blade I have no idea, but I have never seen a report of a broken one either and the groove has been out for quite a while now so I would expect it to be a non-issue. Maybe someone else will know more on that part of it.
 
supasuprab0b said:
I'm thinking about getting a orange one to go with my black one.
Click to expand...

Thanks.

At first I was a little hesitant about the blaze orange.

But it is a much more practical color if you think about it.

If dropped it is more visible than the more commonplace black.
But while being used the handle is not really visible in the hand and does not attract any more unwanted attention than black.
While clipped in pocket it does show a bit of orange - but it's so little that it is not really "shouting".

Overall I am very taken with the blaze orange -
that I now prefer it over the black -
and it is my at home EDC.

At minimum it is different.

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Vincent
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imp said:
The "Tim Galyean Flipper"???
Click to expand...

The action of these flippers are different from normal traditional flippers -
they work on pre-loading finger pressure and the release of that pressure flips the blade out.

It was first introduced on the Tim Galyean designed JunkYard Dog.

This thread may help explain things -

New Kershaw Flippers

Hope that helps -

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Vincent
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Great review...many thanks. I've got to get my hands on one of these soon. It'll be my first Kershaw; I'm reasonably sure I'll grab a Leek at the same time as well.
 
I just picked up the Orange Zing after handling it at my local knife store. This is my first Kershaw, very impressive little knife. A few observations not mentioned, the handle material is some sort of plastic Kershaw calls Polyimide. Whatever it is, it feels great with nice texture, almost like G-10 appearance wise. I'll be interested in seeing how this holds up over time. Also, in addition to the flipper, the blade can easily be opened using the ambidextrous thumb stud. Very nice design on this, sort of ramp shaped for a much more comfortable feel:thumbup: At just under 3 oz. this knife is going to be an easy EDC for me and the price was right:)
 
i just got one in orange a few days ago.. i wont it in a raffle on another forum for 10 bucks... i dont mind the flipper action, but im used to the thumb stud which is a pain to use to open it... other than that no complaints.. its razor sharp. i took off the clip ebcause i dont use it it just let it be free in my pocket and without the clip i can barely even feel it in there
 
beautiful knife and great pic's. I think I would have a hard time with this knife though. One thing I use my knives for daily is spreading peanut butter on my sandwich at work. I can imagine on this blade I might have a problem wiping it down. :D
 
ive been edc'ing a black groove for about a month. Its a great knife. Small enough not to be intimidating but by no means too small for almost anything i need a knife for. I really love mine. I would only change the plastic handles to g10 but even the plastic seems very much like the texture of G10 anyways. Nice review.
 
i really didnt like the groove because of well the grooves but now that i know its got a different flipper i may need tolook into it
 
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