KershawLink Drop Point Knife Olive Aluminum (3.25" Stonewash 20CV) 1776OLSW

The smartest folding knife buy available today. I've owned mine for a couple of years and have used it as my only every day carry pocket knife. It is, by any meaningful measures, simply the best folding knife available today, and at a bargain price - AKA the best knife value available today. You can spend stupidly more money on knives than this, but you will not find anything near the value of this model. But many knife shoppers will miss the compelling qualities because of all the silly hype and nonsense that permeates discussions of modern knives. 1. It uses a USA made 3rd generation powder metallurgy "super steel" designed specifically for use in super high performance knife blades - Crucible CPM-20CV. It offers a combination of hardness, toughness and edge retention that are pretty much the state of the art in generally available knife steels. 2. It has an excellent general purpose blade profile that can superbly perform all the variety of reasonable tasks one can ask of a pocket knife AND it has an edge profile that is easy to keep sharp. Remember, the tool you are using is the blade EDGE, not the blade body; you cut with the edge, the rest of the blade just supports it. 3. The SpeedSafe assisted opening mechanism is first and foremost a safety feature, as it is based on a closure spring with much higher pressure than other mechanisms, so it keeps the blade more securely closed in you pocket. It opens only when you exert constant pressure for the entire first half on the flipper's travel, after which the spring assists the blade's opening AND LOCKING in the open position. I have carried Speed Safe knives in my pocket with no worries or incidents constantly for eight years securely and ready for instant use. It's an amazing design and mechanism. 4. Kershaw backs their USA made knives with a life time warranty and a life time sharpening service (if you can't sharpen a blade effectively, you can send it to them for a renewed factory edge!). 5. The anodized aluminum handle is ridiculously strong, tough, and durable. Did you know that aodizing aluminum creates a surface layer of alumina ceramic that is some 20x harder that stainless steel? Now you do! 6. My analysis and reporting have benn so compeling I am now going to order another one for my brother at the insanely low price of $81.29 and count myself smarter than all those poor fools who saw this deal and passed it by!

When I saw the price of this knife, I just had to have it. It was listed as having M390 Blade steel but the one that I received actually turned out to be magna cut. now for me that’s not a problem at all, as both steels are fantastic. In my limited experience, I’d say that the M390 will probably hold an edge slightly longer than the magna cut if it’s done correctly, but the magna cut is definitely more tough which I think would make it better for more of an all-around every day use knife at least for the majority of people.I only have two other assisted opening knives and for me, it’s not exactly something that is needed as I find most modern pocket knives open very easily these days sometimes easier with the ball bearings that are found on most. The knive opens perfectly with the flipper tap but closing it is a little bit more difficult simply because you have to overcome that spring. So it’s not a one hand closer at least not for me. I either have to use both hands or push it against the side of my leg or an object. The blade itself is a very nice shape. It’s got a good amount of belly on it, but it has a nice tip on it as well. It was very sharp right out of the box. The lock up is of course very good with the liner lock. There is no blade play at all. The handle is aluminum, but feels very ergonomic and fits my hand perfectly. The clip on this is not terrible, but not great at least in my opinion it’s so so. The knife is a tad bit heavier than some other knives I have of a similar size but not uncomfortably so and it definitely feels solid and durable. When I bought it I think it was $109. That’s just unheard of and Kershaw makes a great product. They really made a very good knife in this and I would highly recommend whether you like assisted knives or not if you want a super steel knife this is one of the best options out there.

After much research I went with this Kershaw, I was going to plunk down the money on a Zero Tolerance, but after finding out that this is a ZT with Kershaw markings, I was sold. The steel is some of the most balanced as far as edge retention, corrosion resistance, and ease of sharpening. I never keep a factory edge and always pop my knives up on my WickedEdge for a real sharpening session and this took a little time to get the burr to even out, but once it did, sharpening was smooth as butter to 3000 grit and stropping from 4 microns down to .5 microns and wow did it take the edge I put on it and polish up like a mirror. Did a 20⁰ bevel and this thing is sharper than any Gillette you buy for shaving. With the MagnaCut steel it should hold the edge for a while, if you're even considering this knife, just do it, the factory edge is sharp, just not to what I consider sharp. The action is solid abit more powerful than I was expecting, the liner lock holds tight as it should, blade is centered properly, and feels very balanced in your hand. About the only thing I wish it had was jimping on the back of the blade, that would make this just about perfect. I'll carry it as an edc for sure. Definitely a tool I could take into the shop and use without worry. I highly recommend this knife. Quit reading and buy it already!