Kershaw Blur Knife

Product Description

,FLEXCUT Carving Kit - 4 Piece ,Schrade SCHF9 Extreme Survival Knife ,SOG Specialty Knives & Tools CK-25 SOGfari Hunter Set ,Gerber 30-000183 LHR Knife, Serrated Edge ,Spyderco Dragonfly G-10 Plain Edge Knife, Foliage Green Most knife injuries occur because the user has a poor grip on the knife. Kershaw's Blur knife solves the problem with its unique anodized aluminum handle, which features advanced materials designed to provide a safe, secure grip every time--even under extreme conditions. In addition, the handle is CNC-machined to accept Trac-Tec inserts, giving your hand an even grippier surface. The Blur also sports the SpeedSafe ambidextrous assisted opening system. Invented by celebrated knife maker Ken Onion, the SpeedSafe system lets users smoothly and easily deploy the stone-washed, stainless-steel blade with either the left or right hand. This makes it ideal for sporting and work situations in which one-handed opening is easier and safer, such as when hunting, fishing, or working with your hands on the jobsite.

Finally, the Blur comes with a Kershaw pocket clip, which is meant to be clipped with the handle on the inside of your pocket. The clip is not to be worn on a belt, as this is an unsafe way to carry your knife.

The SpeedSafe assisted opening system lets you smoothly deploy the blade with 1 hand. About the SpeedSafe System The patented SpeedSafe knife-opening system helps users open the knife by applying manual pressure to the thumb stud or blade protrusion. The heart of the SpeedSafe system--which is built into many of Kershaw's best-selling knives--is its torsion bar, which keeps gravity from opening the knife. After the blade is out of the handle, the torsion bar moves along its half-moon track and takes over, smoothly opening the blade and locking it into position, ready for use. Although they may look similar at first glance, SpeedSafe knives are not considered switchblades. Unlike a switchblade, SpeedSafe knives do not deploy with the push of a button in the handle or by gravity alone. Instead, the user must manually overcome the torsion bar's resistance, putting the knives outside the federal definition of a switchblade. However, it's the responsibility of the buyer to investigate and comply with the laws and regulations that apply in his or her specific area. Buyers should rest assured, however, that SpeedSafe knives are extremely safe, as they open only when the user manually deploys them, and lock securely into position when open so they don't close accidentally.

Knife Maker Ken Onion A master of his trade, Ken Onion is one of the most sought-after custom knife makers in the industry. His custom knives can be found in the most prestigious private knife collections as well in as in the pockets of his dedicated customers. Ken's involvement in the knife trade dates back to his time in Palestine, West Virginia, where he was inspired at the age of 12 by Vernon Ott, a local blacksmith and maker of garden tools and knives. In the ensuing years, Ken joined the U.S. Marine Corps and worked in such fields as construction, heavy equipment repair, and hydraulics repair, always with an eye toward eventually designing the perfect knife. In November of 1991, Ken met Stan Fujisaki, a talented knife maker who agreed to teach him the tricks of the trade. After years of preparation--and some inspiration while working on a Harley cam for a friend--Ken created his first SpeedSafe knife. Today, Ken designs a custom selection of knives for Kershaw, many featuring the patented SpeedSafe torsion bar system for assisted opening. Ken is personally involved throughout the design and manufacturing process to ensure that each knife meets his high standards for performance and quality.

Specifications

• Blade: S30V stainless-steel with stone-washed finish
• Handle: 6061-T6 anodized aluminum with Trac-Tec inserts
• Blade length: 3-3/8 inches
• Closed length: 4-1/2 inches
• Overall length: 7-7/8 inches
• Weight: 4 ounces

This review is from: Kershaw Blur Knife with S30V Steel Blade (Sports)
This knife should put Benchmade to shame (I have a few too many of those). Since I got this one, aside from some minor gripes discussed below, it's my new favorite EDC.

Pros:

1. Fantastic quality (so far) knife with a generous and functional S30V blade. Go find a knife with that steel that's well executed, is under a Benjamin and is US-made.
2. Aluminum handles with well thought out steel (or something else?) liners.
3. Liner lock - those can fail, but Kershaw did a good job grinding this one just right (at least on mine they did). Some liner locks can have an issue with under or over fitting of the spring - i.e. you don't get a full lock up on the back of the blade or the spring overshoots the stop and is hard to dis-engage. This one is about 93% perfect (pretty good, that is).
4. The clip, which I was hesitant about due to two screw mount, is actually pretty nice and is just the right profile not to annoy the user when carried.
5. Also, the clip can be repositioned for tip-up carry. By default, it comes in the tip-down carry position. So you get to dial in your preference.
6. There is no extra plastic/metal along the spine - so water/dirt can just pass through.
7. Just the overall size and feel - the knife with such a usable/size-able blade should feel larger, but this one does not - so it rides nice and skinny in your pocket (some, with larger hands, might find a bit too skinny). The aluminum handle balances the blade of decent heft just about right too.
8. The traction inserts - awesome - normally, with aluminum handles, manufacturers choose to just push cross-hashes in the handle for grip, which can feel pretty bad on your hands. This one has rubberized inserts which feel great and give a very positive grip. I suppose, the possible downside is that they could eventually tear off. Then again, Kershaw is know to stand behind their stuff.
9. Oh - the blade. If you are not a fan of a re-curved grind - may not be your thing then (I am not, but do like this one). It's a very good size, thickness (don't go prying and splitting branches with it - it's not a Swamp Rat), sharpness is "satisfactory" out of the box. It almost resembles a decent clip/spear-point in general geometry, but plus the re-curve. Overall - about 93% grade on the blade (a lot of other knifes coming in at, say, 77.5% even in a lot higher price ranges).
10. The speed-assist - beautiful. Frankly, why bother with an automatic for most of us "mere mortals" when you can have nearly as fast and legal deployment? Oh, and for half the price... Some complain that the assist is too aggressive. I'd say on mine, it's about perfect. Have fun with it if you get one - I couldn't put mine down for about a week.

Cons:

1. The thumb studs. Yes, they are "revolutionary" by having the slant and do provide positive engagement. But they were very sharply cut out of the box (I actually cut my hands on them a couple of times while sliding my hand in to the pocket with the knife in there). However, a few minutes with a Swiss-file did the trick. Hence, not a major con.
2. This is more of negative - the washers/bushings are too small in diameter. Yes, they had to make an engineering decision to accommodate the spring-assist mechanism, but it does look like they could've gone a bit bigger on the diameter. One of the worst things to happen to a good folder is side to side play due to bad washers/bushings (have returned/tossed more than one knife because of that - Vantage comes to mind - then again that one was CHEAP as in cheaply made). So far, so good on the bushings, but will keep watching that one.
3. If there a lefty? I am right-handed and, in a pinch, could use this one with a left hand, but for the full-time lefties it would be nice to have a dedicated version (unlike the Axis-Lock(TM), liner locks are not ambidextrous, which is one of their non-numerous disadvantages).

So far, can't think of anything else. The more I looked at this knife for negatives, the more positives I found. You will, most likely, spend hundreds, if not thousands, on knives before you will come a full circle and realize that knives such as this one are an amazing bang-for-the-buck (counting quality, materials, design, execution, place-of-origin).