New Kershaws look intriguing

Silent H

Silent H

Joined
Feb 1, 2018
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A USA made OTF, and a new Launch series in Magnacut look great, I just don't understand why they put a coating on the Magnacut.

Kershaw is also offering axis lock style knives now, including a few manual flippers with the lock. I've always loved the Axis lock, and Benchmade could never figure out the manual flipper action with it, I'm glad some other companies have cracked that code now, hopefully it will inspire Benchmade to defend their crown.

The frontrunner has an interesting design, but the rest of it is pretty meh to me.

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A lot more machining, a lot more parts, and a more complex design than many other knives play into it. In the end, there's not that many choices for OTFs out there, so companies can price them how they want to.
 
Warmouth said:
Why are out the front knives so expensive (in my opinion)?
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They have to be made in the USA were employment wages are higher, production is slower, manufacturing facilities are sparse, and people work less hours. Having them made overseas involves legal complications and hassles when it comes to shipping them here that making them here is the better alternative.

They might as well make them high end (Super steels etc.)
 
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Meh. Kershaw always wastes its US production capacity on autos. The Launch series can go away now, and an otf? A bit late to the game there.
The ZT fixed blade looks nice.
All these new axis lock knives, and they couldn't spare one to be made in the USA?
 
Silent H said:
A lot more machining, a lot more parts, and a more complex design than many other knives play into it. In the end, there's not that many choices for OTFs out there, so companies can price them how they want to.
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Another big factor are inane, misguided, and arguably unconstitutional laws restricting or prohibiting OTFs in many places. Aside from the hassles mentioned by G greater , it makes for an artificially small customer base. That and all the other factors mentioned add up to high prices.
 
Okay. So I've previously dedicated threads to knocking the new-year releases from Kershaw and CRKT. I just don't have the energy this year.

Overall, I see a lot of overpriced 8Cr13Mov and Chinese D2 from both companies. On the plus side, Kershaw did a little better than CRKT on pricing this time around. (CRKT has a couple of real head-scratchers this year, including a folder in 1.4116 and FRN with an initial street price of $90.) Unfortunately, their Chinese-made stuff is still way behind the curve versus the direct Chinese brands. For instance, compare some of Kershaw's new $40ish assisted knives in 8Cr13Mov to the $40ish Sencut knives by WE with great manual action and 9Cr18Mov with an excellent heat treatment. 🤦‍♂️

In that sense, I suppose Kershaw and CRKT are still hiding behind protected retail spaces like the Walmart knife counter. I get that they can still make money with this kind of stuff but as a modern enthusiast who used to carry a lot of Kershaw knives back in the day, it just makes me sad. Also, here's a link to the current thread on assisted action:

Why would anyone go for an assisted knife?

I was thinking about this and decided to make an account to see if there is a counterpoint to my severely judgmental position that assisted knives are only attractive to basic B's. Other than the fact that any kind of assist is illegal where I live, I believe that every assisted blade is...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
 
mqqn said:
The irony of a wall of text post after telling us that you don't have the energy is humorous.
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You call that a wall of text? It was three paragraphs plus a link and only one of those paragraphs was more than three sentences. If I was doing a thread on this, it would involve a lot more work with pictures and discussion of individual models.
 
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