Skyline Discontinued

SpyKers

SpyKers

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Mar 3, 2012
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This post may be redundant, as I’m sure it’s been mentioned before (feel free to link an original thread here as a comment if so), but is anyone else just shocked that Kershaw discontinued the Skyline?

The Skyline at one point had all sorts of steel and color combinations coming out due to its popularity. Now, it’s been fired. Why? Why would Kershaw let a model like this go stale?

Why not dress it up? Put some bearings on it, make a Skyline 2, deep carry clip, something?

To me, it was essentially Spyderco killing off the Delica, or Benchmade letting go of the Mini Grip. Maybe I’m off here. Maybe the Leek and Blur are better comparisons. But regardless, that’s a sad day for me to see it go.

I’m still rocking my s30v CF edition. Ain’t never letting that thing go. I guess we all better get used to SpeedSafe or Autos since that’s about the only thing the USA knives can produce apparently.
 
That sucks :( I think the "onion" knives are the best sellers for them though, probably not the skyline.
I had one, and it was a great knife. I wish I knew what happened to it... :( even though I wouldnt carry it now. Ive become a snob over the years lol. I just cant bring myself to carry liner/frame locks anymore (had them fail on me and my wife), but the skyline was one of the sharpest blades Ive ever used. It was great, this is too bad.
 
I think it's sad... they use bronze washers I believe, which many people prefer over bearings (honestly, imho, bearings are just more maintenance)
also, the 14c28n is great

I'm sure they'll have 'sprints' of it in s45vn or whatever for 4x the price :(
 
Maybe this is intentional. Maybe they intend to offer flavors of Skyline in the new Kershaw Sprint Runs?

Regardless, I’m a little sad about this. I guess this makes the last iteration of the Skyline those horrid imported XL versions? The last American made run were the Natural G10 versions?

The Skyline came out to in ‘08 and they did a special edition of it almost every year. The two knives that celebrated Kershaw’s 40th anniversary were the Ruby and the Skyline. It’s too bad it fades out like this, but in a lot of ways it represented the best of yesterday’s knife technology. It’s hard to keep up with titanium and bearings and CNC with humble G10, PB washers and a single liner.

If nothing else, the Skyline always cut like a well made cutting tool.

RIP, Skyline. I’ll carry you tomorrow.
 
I'm surprised for some of the same reasons. Having owned a Skyline though, I was always a little surprised by the popularity. The handle shape didn't feel so good in my hand. The the action wasn't great. Here's hoping that they'll make a better manual folder with 14C28N and we'll see fun scale options for it.
 
The bronze bushings are great, no doubt. It was a simplistic knife through and through. But bearings are becoming more and more popular by the minute from what I see with what is being released. I think this a model that could have benefited from it (also why I probably don’t have Kershaw banging down my door for advise).

They’ve done some great sprint runs/exclusives already with the Skyline (S30V CF Exclusive is still in my EDC rotation). I think the knife had a couple of Achilles heels that could have been worked on for an update, namely the pocket clip and just how much of the handle sticks out for starters. But it was (is) a very comfortable knife, easy to control, and just a joy to use.

ugh...
 
SpyKers said:
This post may be redundant, as I’m sure it’s been mentioned before (feel free to link an original thread here as a comment if so), but is anyone else just shocked that Kershaw discontinued the Skyline?

The Skyline at one point had all sorts of steel and color combinations coming out due to its popularity. Now, it’s been fired. Why? Why would Kershaw let a model like this go stale?

Why not dress it up? Put some bearings on it, make a Skyline 2, deep carry clip, something?

To me, it was essentially Spyderco killing off the Delica, or Benchmade letting go of the Mini Grip. Maybe I’m off here. Maybe the Leek and Blur are better comparisons. But regardless, that’s a sad day for me to see it go.

I’m still rocking my s30v CF edition. Ain’t never letting that thing go. I guess we all better get used to SpeedSafe or Autos since that’s about the only thing the USA knives can produce apparently.
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I think knives like the Atmos and Natrix fazed it out. It seems like their new approach is to make look alikes of ZT knives that have the KVT ball bearings. I just wish they would make more of these knives available in better steel.
 
Going against the grain here. I never did like the Skyline. One of the few USA Kershaws I dislike. Its biggest offense is awkward pocket clip placement. Tip up and half the knife sticks out of your pocket. Tip down, and the flipper gets pressed on accident too easily. Owned two of them. I really wanted to like them, but ended up selling both.
 
Bean counters working their magic. I guess sales are down or they're making room for another product.
Unfortunately, our sentiments and likes don't always match up with the numbers.
The "general public" outnumbers the Blade Forums "general discussion" by a lot.

We lead the industry, but they don't always follow.
Change is good, many good lessons learned from the Skyline I'm sure.
Best thing to do is to put our energy towards excitement for what's next!
If you have a special or limited run Skyline, they just gave you some real incentive to save it up for collector's or trader'$ $ake.

They should have made Tail Lights Blue :confused::eek::(
3b8e26293424e99f54c1659902cc3177.jpg

Good Bye Kershaw Skyline :(:(:):thumbsup::cool:
Kershaw-Skyline-Black-SW-1760-BHQ-8520-jr-2-large.jpg
 
Love that knife and I feel like it's one their best. Kinda disappointing to see it go away. I suppose it is due for a redesign.

I wish there were a line of regular manual knives, not everything has to be a flipper.
 
Only issue I ever had was having large hands and the Skyline was a little on the thin side for me.

SO, I modded mine with custom polished canvas micarta scales. I went a little overboard and created custom standoffs, and acid washed and stonewashed the blade and liner. Then polished out all the hardware and the pocket clip.

Love the Skyline and this was a gift so I'll have it forever. Skyline Custom (2).jpg Skyline Custom (3).jpg Skyline Custom (4).jpg Skyline Custom (5).jpg Skyline Custom (8).jpg Skyline Custom (9).jpg Skyline Custom (13).jpg Skyline Custom (15).jpg Skyline Custom (17).jpg Skyline Custom (18).jpg
 
I think the skyline was a great knife years ago, and the nostalgia keeps it fond in our memories today. Kershaw definitely is exploring new designs more, getting into more aluminum scales, premium steels, assisted mechanisms to keep up with low cost competitors.
If the Skyline was a cash cow, this wouldn’t be happening.
I think the leek is more the “delica” or “griptilian” of Kershaw. I’m always seeing people pulling leeks out of their pockets.. I just don’t see the skyline much these days.
 
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I never got the skyline love. Too thin and light for my taste. Also, the examples I had were all horrible at flipping, even by the standards at the time. Then prices went up with the hype.

I know many will miss it but for me at least, I'm happy production capacity can go elsewhere.
 
craytab said:
I never got the skyline love. Too thin and light for my taste. Also, the examples I had were all horrible at flipping, even by the standards at the time. Then prices went up with the hype.

I know many will miss it but for me at least, I'm happy production capacity can go elsewhere.
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Good point on the flipping, I forgot about that. Unless I flicked my wrist, it wouldn’t open, and that’s no way for a good flipper to operate.
 
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