I do like the Kershaw knife, but I've been a little disappointed in its ability to hold an edge, and I'm really just ready for something different, a bit bigger, and with the best quality steel I can find. I'm still pretty sweet on that Boker knife, but I've been instructed not to buy such things for myself so close to Christmas. Perhaps it will show up in my stocking this year. :-)
I did also read the Kershaw warranty info (which HeyBub also posted here) and I am curious about whether they would honor it, but I don't think I'll send off my knife to find out until after Christmas. I don't want to be without a knife while I'm waiting for them to decide. :-)
Try to make sense of this post. I am on my second pot of coffee on a marathon of cleaning up paperwork and outstanding estimates that have to go out this week. Waaayy too much caffeine.
The Kershaw knife you have has a blade made from AUS6, which was a good standard at the time. It is pretty much relegated to less expensive knives these days, or knives that are hard to sharpen due to their size or shapes.
Good news: AUS6 doesn't rust unless abused. Blades don't break because the steel is only hardened to about RC 55 or a couple of points less. Easy to sharpen.
Bad news: Needs frequent sharpening
I'm still pretty sweet on>
I love a guilt free purchase like that.
Kershaw's customer service is legendary. Sure, they don't make everyone happy, but their batting average seems to be really good. Additionally, if you want, if his email is still active I can put you in touch with the head executive in charge of customer service.
You can read all about their service here since they have re-enabled the search function for non members:
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regularly participate there and have for some time. I am not a Kershaw addict, but love their knives. (I am midnight flyer if you search for my own small contributions)
I don't like to carry a knife in a sheath or belt holster as I my duties take me from a jobsite to estimates on more refined homes. Besides catching on things, I just don't like the holsters. And the Buck 110s (and your Kershaw version of the Buck) were always too big for me to carry in my pocket since they had to ride under my nail bags. The bags ground the knife into my leg, and they ground off the denim on my pants.
I was really surprised the first time I got a knife with a pocket clip on it. They ride right down the seam of my jeans and I literally can't feel the knife at all when I have it clipped. Thanks to the Bladeforums crew, I found this extremely affordable knife which is my favorite work knife:
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down to the plain edged, satin finished model. I absolutely love this knife, and Tom at Chestnut has the best prices anywhere (great guy, too!). This is a few steps up on the steel, and has proven to be a real winner for me as a slicer and sadly, sometimes as a beater. The G10 on the handle is not too aggressive, but it holds on to your hand quite well and doesn't wear down like the FRN on your Kershaw.
It locks up like a tank, and is just as secure as it was when I started carrying it a year+ ago. If you call, ask for Tom and tell him you would like for him to take one out of the package to check for fit and finish before he ships. He did it for me, and I am sure he will do it for you.
AUS8 is pretty good steel, great for a work knife. Easy to sharpen and maintain, and if you get too aggressive it still won't break or chip. I couple of passes on my diamond rod and it is back up to duty standards. It comes with a sharp edged spine, and I keep that sharp (90 degrees) as well and use the spine as a makeshift scraper.
When I know it won't get too abused, and I am doing all woodwork, this is by far and away my favorite work knife to pack around:
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sandwiched steel is a kick. No, there are no recorded cases of delamination! If you are an experienced sharpener, the D2 on the edge is no problem at all to sharpen. And it will get *screaming* sharp and stay that way.
Roger over at Knifeworks is great to work with, and I have bought several Kershaws from him, including a couple of "super steel knives" like S110V. (Not worth the dough!)
Both of those guys have the prices and service I like.
As a sidebar, there have been a lot of questions about the Kershaw lines that have moved to China. You knife in particular was brought into question a few months ago, and the consensus was that the Chinese models are as good or better than the Japanese models made by Seki.
Like any other manufacturer, Kershaw has their clinkers, but the consensus is that they will stand by their product, barring abuse.
Well it's good to hear a sensible explanation as to why I was always thinking "How come this damn thing ain't sharp? Didn't I just hone it last week?"
Even the Boker I've been looking at, which clocks in with a close length of
4-1/4" is bigger than I really want to carry around in my cushy office job... :-)
Sounds good. I probably will see if I can get this one taken care of under warranty service; it just might be a while before I will do it and find out how it goes.
As usual Robert, thanks for the in-depth and helpful response!
OK, you have to know I am laughing my ass off at myself. Remind me to wear my glasses when I look at small things on the monitor. The little knife you posted as your current knife has a big brother, a near copy of the venerated Buck 110 folder.
But... yours is less than 3" closed, and this one is more than 4" closed and a helluva lot heavier. But in profile, and in appearance, they look the same.
Hey.. I told you I had too much caffeine! A few too many cups of coffee and I think I can read without my spectacles!
OK... one last shot though.
Check this guy out:
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has all kinds of good brand names, including CASE, Boker, Queen, etc. Right now I am partial to Queen because I love that D2 steel. Excellent stuff. It is stain resistant so it doesn't rust easily, but has enough carbon to really hold an edge.
I live the bone handles on these knives, and Queen does a great job. I have the Stockman, the Dan Burke Barlow, the medium Stockman, the Gunstock, the Dan Burke half whittler, and the Country Cousin from this line, all bought at Mike's shop. Great guy, too. I bought a knife for a gift that wasn't 100%, and he had a new one in the mail before I got the other one packed to send back.
The medium Stockman would do what you wanted, as would the Copperlock or Canoe. All three of those are considered medium duty work knives.
Personally, I keep my work knives around and use them hard, but my real love of pocket knives is the old patterns and materials. I take pretty good care of them, even if they were designed for hard work.
I am understanding now that you want more of a gentleman's knife.
But still, you should buy that RAT1 as your knock around knife. ;^)
I also like Kershaws knives , I had a model 1050 at one time ,given to me by my wife , she had my intitials engraved on the blade . Unfortunately it was taken from my house when it was burgled and I always meant to replace it but sadly they don't list that model anymore . In it's place I opted for a limited issue Kershaw , made in Solingen Germany , has deer antler scales and brass bolster, 80mm hollow ground blade ,its a folder and I have found the blade to be of good quality , price was 150.00AUD about 20 years ago.I dont carry it much at all as we are not permitted to carry knves in a belt pouch here at any time . But as a field knife for hunting it's a pearler
For ever day use I have a 3" folding boot knife made by G96 , the boot holster has long since given up , but I wear a stockmans belt that has a pouch sewn on to it the knife fits into it and lays parrallel with the belt ,and has a small flap with a press stud fastner ,It sits just left of the buckle and is rather obscure ( hides under my drooping gut) and dosen't stand out ,in fact most people dont realise that I carry a knife at all except when I take it out and usually get the question "where did you get that from ?" I reply with a question " the knife or the gut?" . The little G96 I've had since the late 70's holds a good edge and It gets used for every thing from opening parcels to skinning game.
I owned a Puma one time , excellent knife , cost way more than my Kershaws together when I bought it , unfortunately it's laying in a field somewhere a long way from where I live now. Hopefully some one found it and gave it good home.
That is actually a common practice, the manufacturer offering a better warranty than the retailers, Not uncommon for a manufacturer to offer a life time warranty an $X + X% the retailer offering a shorter warranty at $X
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