Kershaw 1445 Half Ton Folding Knife

Here is my short review after having this knife for 4 hours :)It was smaller than I expected. The blade was very dull but i quickly fixed that. I was surprised because most review i could find on the knife talked about it coming with a sharp blade. Mine was barely better than a butter knife.The blade steel is ok. I have experience with this steel in the past and it's nothing great but not bad by any means.Mine has nylon/silicon? washers and isn't super smooth opening but it's not bad either.The lock up is VERY tight. there is no play in the blade. The overall blade shape is very nice.The grip is decent. The rubber inserts provide NO extra grip though. You can get all 4 fingers on the handle if you have skinny or small hands and you really choke up on it.The pocket clip is silly, but works. I prefer not to draw attention to the fact i'm carrying a knife but the red handle and goofy pocket clip won't go unnoticed.Over all: I really like this little knife for the price. I'm going to abuse it and not feel bad about it. Haha.FWIW: I was testing this to see if it would be a good stocking stuffer for Christmas. Well, if the blade came sharp it would be. But as it is.... not so much.

I was pleasantly surprised about this knife. I actually purchased it on Amazon just to get the free shipping :D and was not expecting a great knife, but I enjoy collecting knives and the design looked unusual.Good points:It's a very quality knife for the price. If it was $20 more I'd give it 3 stars but at under $20 it's a bargain. Though one should never abuse knives, the fact that it's so inexpensive means I'm more likely to use it for tasks that I might hesitate if I had one of my Benchmade knives in hand.There is no side-to-side play in the blade and the blade itself is of substantial thickness. It kept and edge well, and sharpens without much fuss. I.e., it worked perfectly with a Smith's carbide fixed angle sharpener.The size is good too. With gloves on I was still able to open it with both hands, however, it's much easier to do so with the right hand (the clip tends to get in the way of the left).The grip material is good. Even with damp hands it felt secure and the fact that I could seat the heal in my palm was helpful.Downsides:It's a liner lock :).. Nothing really *wrong* with it, but I tend to worry that my index finger will release the lock at an inopportune time. With such a stout knife I could image using it rigorously and having the lock release.Downsides:

I bought this knife for a couple resaons. Im sick of tactical black knives so the red was cool. It's a knife that you really don't see out there with its shape and style. It came sharp out of the box and all I've had to do after use it hone it and it is back to shave sharp. I have a variety of Kershaw knives invcluding the Drone, OSO sweet, Hawk etc. This was just different, so for the price it is definately worth it. People complain about this steel rusting. I have never had a problem, But Im a knife nut and everything stays well cleaned and oiled. Even when I neglect a bit after a wet environment I still havent't had a ny problems. I actually love 8c13mov. For kershaw to upgrade from aus8 and keep good price points, thats a big Kudo's to them for sure. Yep, made in china but what isnt? Kai corporation is definately on top of quality control. Great lock up and centering, Quick deployment, and feels good in the hand, and has full steel liners throughout the hadle. It does have some jimping on the handle that I may modify to deepen but it does work when pressure is applied. The only thing I don't like is the nylon washers. Atleast I think they are, as i have not taken it apart yet. I prefer Bronze as they allow the knife to deploy much faster with drop of oil. I definately recomend and I will be getting the full ton.Update: After further review the knife is still awesome but they used Nylon bushings instead of bronze which slows deployment and will wear faster. I don't understand why they did that with this knife when they used bronze on others with same price point. Had to knock a star off. Hopefully they make a change.

The Kershaw Half Ton arrived shaving sharp, and has stayed that way so far as my EDC. I am impressed by the little bugger; a sturdy liner lock, zero play in any direction, silky smooth opening and hefty enough to take a beating. It's a bit heavy for it's size (though still all but unnoticeable on my pocket), which I consider a plus, as it feels more durable. The pocket clip is very strong; so much so that it takes a bit of effort to get it off a pocket. This is good in one way as it won't accidentally fall off, but a little less would be nice. The clip cannot be adjusted or moved.I have big hands, and the knife fits perfectly in 3 fingers. It handles like a significantly more expensive knife. I think the size is perfect, bigger than a wimpy afraid-of-breaking-it knife and small enough to not be obtrusive in a pocket. Plus, the big blade inspires confidence. This is my first Kershaw and I am very impressed. They could be charging $30 for the Half Ton, so at [...] it's a steal. Highly recommended.