3" Stainless Steel Blade Pocket Knife | Kershaw RJ Tactical 3.0 1987

I’ve been a fan of Kershaw “SpeedSafe” flippers since I picked up a limited edition OsoSweet (orange scales and black blade) a few years ago.I recently purchased the RJ Tactical (black scales, black blade) and the Barricade (orange scales, black blade) to evaluate which one would make a good gift.I thought it would be nice to compare all three. NOTE: You cannot get the orange and black OsoSweet any longer. The black and silver Oso is the same size and deploys at the same speed as my orange one for purposes of comparison.Barricade: Those knife is much bigger than I was expecting. It’s beefy and takes a little more umph to deploy. It snaps open quickly and locks up nicely. With a seatbelt cutter and glass breaker, it’s got a few extras. Too big, even for a Wookie, to daily carry without being awkward... I didn’t realize the extra 1/2 inch would change the ergonomics so much, but it does. So it’s going in the center console of my vehicle. It would make a decent survival knife in a pinch.OsoSweet: Very fast opener, lightweight, easy to use. Perfect middle ground. Currently available in black/silver, grey/silver, and green/silver, all with a silver clip... and they just look plain. But for an everyday carry knife, that’s fine. It does what it’s supposed to... open quickly, cut quickly, and carry deeply. I'm just not impressed with the current choices.RJ Tactical: This guy is just a smidge smaller (1/10 inch) and lighter than the OsoSweet. It also deploys just a tad slower (but also quieter). Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a fast opener just a little slower than the others. I LOVE the black on black look... really clean. Definitely has a tactical look which can weird people out a little. Got a few sideways looks with this one where the much larger Barricade got no attention. This one is only tactical in appearance.All three have a decent steel (8Cr), take a hair popping edge , have assisted opening, and tip up carry. All three come in right at the $30 mark so no breaking the bank.Barricade: Decently big, good knife for your car, bug out bag, etc. Haven’t tried the seatbelt cutter or window breaker yet, but they look functional.OsoSweet: My favorite except for the look of the new ones. If they were black on black, or better yet still available in orange on black, it would be the best choice here.RJ Tactical: I’m not a big fan of the slower deployment... but it’s perfect for people learning to use an assisted flipper and for those who don’t like the “thwack” of an aggressive flipper. Big bonus points for the all black (tactical) look.If you want big, go Barricade...If you want medium & really fast (but plain), go Oso...If you want gentler opening and better looking, go RJ...

I recently decided that I wanted my first folding pocketknife. I wanted a knife mainly for everyday carry use, but I also wanted one that would make an excellent weapon if I needed to defend myself. I really liked the look of tanto blades, but they are designed strictly for stabbing and self-defense, not EDC use.I finally settled on this knife, mainly because of the blade shape. I also liked the sleek and aggressive, stealthy, all-black look.Kershaw is a well-known and well-liked quality knife manufacturer, and it shows with the RJ Tactical 3.0. It is a sturdy, solidly built knife. The knife feels good in your hand, neither too heavy nor too light. A little pressure on the flipper is all that is needed to flick open the blade. You don't need to flick your wrist at all; as soon as you push the flipper, the SpeedSafe assisted opener takes over. The blade opens pretty quickly, but you can still manually pull the blade open if you prefer. Once open, the blade is solidly locked with the liner lock, and there is no way that this knife will ever unintentionally close. The handle fits your hand well in a variety of holding positions, and the curvy raised web design ensures that you will always have a firm grip. This knife can be opened and closed with only one hand if needed. The blade is very sharp right out of the box, and the shape of the blade is perfectly suited for both EDC and tactical defense. The pocket clip can be configured as tip-up, tip-down, or left-handed tip-up.The one thing I don't quite like about this knife is the fact that the pocket clip is very, very tight. It takes a lot of pressure to move the clip away from the handle, and retrieving the knife from your pocket with one hand takes a lot of force. This can be a good thing, however. You will never lose this knife because it fell out of your pocket, and nobody else will be able to easily take the knife from your pocket.

I am very picky about my knives, that said I was oddly impressed with this one. No thumb studs for me to fiddle with, but the flipper is comfortable to use. I like deploying the blade, it's very quick and doesn't scruff up my hand like the thumb studs on the kershaw brawler. I tend to fidget. The blade is very versatile and does piercing and simple cutting very well. The blade is indeed three inches, after careful examination and comparison. This is fine for me personally, because of blade length laws. Hande is comfy, but not g10, still does the job for the price and my grip on the handle is very solid. Not much to say about the point at the bottom, but it can strike some things if needed. Like ice, or maybe a window. The only complaint is no jumping on the blade, but otherwise very happy with it. Have even put down blades with g10, cause I find this one to be comfortable in shape. Reverse grip is perfect, with jumping at the bottom of the handle goes at the top of your thumb for a reverse grip. Just no jimping on the blade, sadly. Overall though, a good first-time knife pick for new owners. Can see this model holding up for a long time. Kershaw rarely disappoints me and is overall a good brand to go to.