Kershaws Composite blade.. How and what?

bodydamage

bodydamage

Joined
Jan 10, 2007
Messages
639
I just received a blaem JYD II yesterday and am really digging it.. Some of the guys I work with and I were discussing the blade this morning.. So now, I have some questiond for you Kershaw gurus out there.. How exactly does Kershaw produce their composite blades, what is the third material, and what purpose does it serve.. The thirs material appears to be copper, but I would think that it would be waay to soft in a blade. Thanks..
 
The third metal is copper which they use to create the weld. It is very very thin (a good thing), and creates a weld that, in my experience, is every bit as tough as a standard blade.
 
I picked up a JYDIICB in a trade at a local (2 hours away ;)) knife shop, and have really liked using it. I don't like the design on the blade of the "meld", but it is an interesting concept.
 
When Kershaw first introduced the composite blade, they had a little demo Tyrade at Blade Show. I forget if it was done live or not, but they stuck the edge if the knife in a vice and broke it off. In the pics you could see that the break went right through the edge steel into the back of the blade with very little separation of the two. (I wish I could find those pics)
Anyway, the way the composite blades are designed it may as well be homogeneous steel.

Here's some spiffy shots of my CB JYD II (IMO one of the toughest folders out there).

Zooming in.

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x60 magnification.

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bodydamage said:
I just received a blaem JYD II yesterday and am really digging it.. Some of the guys I work with and I were discussing the blade this morning.. So now, I have some questiond for you Kershaw gurus out there.. How exactly does Kershaw produce their composite blades, what is the third material, and what purpose does it serve.. The thirs material appears to be copper, but I would think that it would be waay to soft in a blade. Thanks..
Click to expand...

I think they braze it. A brazed joint is very strong. In the text books, they tell you ia brazed joint is stronger than the joined materials. There are brazing compounds specifically designed for stainless steels. Many of them are combinations of copper and silver, so they end up looking yellow or like copper.

Don't worry about the strength. You won't break it at the joint.
 
Thanks guys.. I wasnt concerned about breaking it, just more inquisitive about the production process more than anything.. Has anyone seen pics of the production of these blades? Ive been playing around with it and its a solid piece for the price.. The blade and the process behind it is intriguing to me, thats all..
 
Ah! So there's 3 screws in the Tyrade handle backspacer. Just thinking about pulling mine apart and replacing the G10 (or is it micarta?) spacer with some fancy stand-offs.

Good to know.

Daniel
 
Daniel Dorn said:
Ah! So there's 3 screws in the Tyrade handle backspacer. Just thinking about pulling mine apart and replacing the G10 (or is it micarta?) spacer with some fancy stand-offs.

Good to know.

Daniel
Click to expand...

After not buying any knives for quite a while, I picked up two Tyrades (composite), a Ti and an orange G-10....been using `em both on a regular basis, and am quite impressed with their construction and cutting ability. The Ti in particular is one beefy sumbitch, that framelock is *solid* !
I`ve also been toying with the idea of replacing the spacer with stand-offs....where do you get them from ?
 
One end of the Speed Safe torsion bar connects to the spacer and I think it would not work with standoffs.
 
My brother packs a CB JYDII & really likes it....the down side to this beast is the UGLY clip that snags on everything :thumbdn: He has bent his clip several times & now needs a new clip !
 
coaldigger said:
My brother packs a CB JYDII & really likes it....the down side to this beast is the UGLY clip that snags on everything :thumbdn: He has bent his clip several times & now needs a new clip !
Click to expand...

If he has access to some files or a grinder the clip could be altered without a whole lot of trouble. I thinned out both on my CB JYDII and SG2 JYDII. Kershaw CS will gladly replace the clip for him.
http://www.kershawknives.com/contactus.php?brand=kershaw
 
I was always intriqued by the process of joining the two pieces of the blade as well. Thanks for starting this post.

There probably isn't much chance of the pieces coming apart under normal use. It would be interesting thosugh for someone with to try to break it apart and see if they could.

If you do, wear your safety goggles!
 
I like the way the two sections lock in place like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.
Thanks for the extra close-up views. Certainly bolsters my faith in the overall strength of the blade. Not that I doubted the blade's strength. It's a Kershaw.:D
 
Daniel Dorn said:
Ah! So there's 3 screws in the Tyrade handle backspacer. Just thinking about pulling mine apart and replacing the G10 (or is it micarta?) spacer with some fancy stand-offs.

Good to know.

Daniel
Click to expand...

The backspacer on the Ti Tyrade is actually carbon fiber! Its an excellent addition to the amazing knife and really cements the overall durability of the knife. The carbon fiber is extremely tough stuff and really brings the strength of the knife up a step. And as was mentioned you could not change it to standoffs because the torsion bar needs somewhere to hook into.
 
coaldigger said:
My brother packs a CB JYDII & really likes it....the down side to this beast is the UGLY clip that snags on everything :thumbdn: He has bent his clip several times & now needs a new clip !
Click to expand...

I've got one name for you... STR.
I have one of his low ride clips on my Sg2 JYD, it makes a world of difference and is very convenient. Th knife will disappear in his pocket, I don't notice mine in my pocket anymore.
 
Are the 2 pieces of each blade joined and then brazed or is it done in a huge billet that each blade is cut from? Id like to see a pic of what STR can do to these.. Ive asked before, but havent seen one yet.. Can someone point me in the right direction?
 
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