Kershaw 1925 Payload Multi-Tool Folder Knife Review

Everyone knows that there is nothing like a Kershaw. From award winning technologies and advanced materials to the solid sound of the blade lockup, when you’re carrying a Kershaw, you know that you are carrying the real thing. The real thing means value and plenty of it. With Kershaw, you get incredible bang for your hard-earned buck. Even their most inexpensive models re impressive. In fact, everything about a Kershaw is solid, crafted, reliable. That’s why they can back each of their knives for the life of its original owner against any defects in materials and construction with their famous Limited Lifetime Warranty. And yes, it is definitely possible to own their Kershaw knives for a lifetime.

The point is, you can always look to Kershaw for everyday carrying knives that can take any cardboard box and liberate any purchase from its plastic packaging, sporting knives that make hunting, fishing watersports, and camping even better, work knives that won’t let you down, and tactical knives that ensure you’re ready for anything.

Kershaw was founded in 1974 to design and manufacture tools that knife users would be proud to own, carry, and use. This has meant that every Kershaw knife must be of the highest quality. Whether it’s a hardworking pocketknife, a hunting knife, or a special collectors’ edition, Kershaw always chooses appropriate, high quality materials, and is dedicated to intensive craftsmanship. Along with extremely tight tolerances and state of the art manufacturing techniques, this ensures that Kershaw knives provide a lifetime of performance.

Kershaw has pioneered the use of many of the technologies and advanced materials that are today standard in the knife industry. Their SpeedSafe assisted opening knives were first-to-market. They also introduced the concept of knives with interchangeable blades in their Blade Traders. And, recently, their Composite Blade technology, which combines two steels into one blade, gives knife users the best of both worlds by enabling them to use steel known for edge retention on the edge and steel known for strength on the spine. And they will keep on innovating, bringing new and better technologies and materials to today’s knife making industry and knife-using public.

Kershaw Knives is a brand of Kai USA Ltd., a member of the Kai Group. For over 100 years, Kai has been Japan’s premier blade producer. Kai takes an innovative approach to product development based on the close coordination of research and development, production, marketing, and distribution functions. While many of Kershaw’s quality products are made in their 55,000 sq. ft. facility in Tualatin, Oregon, they also draw on Kai’s resources to provide the very best of the customer.

Kershaw says, “If this is your first Kershaw, be prepared. You just may be back for more. If it’s not your first Kershaw, welcome back. We’ve got some cool new blades to show you—along with a wide selection of your favorites. For design, innovation, quality, and genuine pride of ownership, Kershaw is the one.”

Today, we will be talking about eh Kershaw 1925 Payload Multi-Tool Folder knife with a bead blast blade.

 

The Blade:

The blade on this knife is made out of 8Cr13MoV steel. This is a popular budget brand of knife steel, which is made in China. In its composition this steel is close to the Japanese steel of AUS-8 grade. 8Cr13MoV steel at tis low cost demonstrates very worthy characteristics of cutting. At suitable heat treatment of steel, the products made of 8Cr13MoV steel retain for a long time the sharpness of the cutting edge and have a very good corrosion resistance. The range of steel hardness is 56-59 HRC. Knives made of 8Cr13MoV steel keep sharpening well and at the same time they are easy to sharpen, and have highly aggressive cuts on soft materials. This stainless steel is well balanced with regard to strength, cutting, and anti-corrosion properties. Many features made the 8Cr13MoV steel suitable for production of non-expensive tourist and urban knives with good average performance. As a key, don’t bother with anything less than 8Cr in this series—7Cr and less isn’t worth your time or money, because it lacks the carbon necessary to hold an edge even during mild use.

The blade on the Payload has been finished with a bead blasted finish. This finish is created by using abrasive glass or ceramic beads. These beads are blasted at the steel at a high pressure which results in an even grey finish. A blasted finish reduces reflection and glare due to its even matte surface. Creating a blasted finish is a base level or user level finish on a knife blade. The blasting creates an increased surface area and micro abrasions make the steel more prone to rust and corrosion. A blasted blade, even form stainless steel, can rust overnight if left in a very humid environment.

The knife on the Kershaw Payload has been carved into a beefy clip point blade shape. This is one of the thickest clip point blades that you are going to find because it has been specifically designed as a utility blade. This is a great all-purpose blade, that is one of the most popular blade shapes in use today. The blade shape is formed by the unsharpened edge of the knife running straight from the handle and stopping about halfway up the knife. Then, it turns and continues to the point of the knife. This cut-out area can be straight or curved, and on the Payload, is a curved portion. This section is referred to as the “clip”, which is how this blade shape got its name. Clip point knives look as if the part of the knife form the spine to the point has literally been clipped off. This clipped out portion creates a lowered point, which gives you more control over your cuts when you are using the knife. Often times with a clip point blade shape, the tip suffers from being pretty brittle because it is so fine and thin. However, since this knife has been designed as a utility knife, the tip is not thin, it is sharp, but not thick. This means that you can take on some pretty tough utility tasks without having to worry about the point snapping. This blade shape is also very versatile because it sports such a large belly. This belly is what makes slicing such a breeze. And, if you are looking for a good every day or all-purpose blade, you should be looking for a knife that features a large belly. The majority of the cuts that you are going to be doing are with the belly of your knife.

This knife is also a plain edged knife, which lends it more capably to a variety of tasks. The plain edge also lets you perform some finer work and will give you very clean cuts.

 

The Handle:

The handle of this multi-tool and knife is made out of glass-filled nylon or GRN. This is a thermoplastic material that is super strong, resistant to bending, abrasion, and practically indestructible. Plus, this material is very cheap. This material is similarly to G-10, Carbon Fiber, and Micarta, except that it is a lot stronger and more indestructible than those other materials. In this material, the nylon fibers are arranged haphazardly throughout which results in it being strong in all directions, as opposed to those other materials that have their fibers arranged in a single direction, meaning they are brittle. There are some drawbacks though, many knife enthusiasts di not warm up to this material because they claimed it felt cheap and somewhat hollow. It also is a little less grippy than G-10. This material is inexpensive because it can be injection molded into any desired shape and textured in a multitude of ways in the production process. All this lends well to high volume manufacturing and hence low cost. The handle is pretty beefy and this is where a lot of the multi-tools are stored. While this handle is a beefier handle, there is a curve to it, which makes it a lot more comfortable to hold, especially during long periods of time. This curve also gives you the secure grip that you need when you are working with the tools.

Some of these parts are an out-the-back spring-loaded bit driver and five bits being stored in the handle. These bits are #1 & #2 slotted, and #1 & #2 Phillips, and a T-6 bit.

 

The Pocket Clip:

This knife has its own custom pocekt clip and it’s ready to go to work whenever you need. The pocket clip has a piece that you can attach all of your bits into. But, because of this, it is a single position pocket clip. The clip, along with the rest of the hardware in the knife are black.

 

The Mechanism:

This knife is a fully manual opening knife. It features thumb studs to help you open this knife. This is arguably the most common one-hand-opening feature, the thumb stud is employed by a lot of different knife manufacturers. A thumb stud essentially replaces the nail nick found on more traditional knives. The principle is pretty straightforward—you grasp the folded knife, place the tip of your flexed thumb on the stud and extend your thumb to swing the blade through its arc until the blade is fully open. Knives with a thumb stud usually incorporate a locking mechanism of some sort.

In the case of the Kershaw Payload, the locking mechanism is a liner lock. The liner locks are one of the more common mechanisms seen on folding knives. This mechanism’s characteristic component is a side spring bar located on the same side as sharp edge of the blade, “lining” the inside of the handle. When the knife is closed, the spring bar is held under tension. When the knife is fully opened, that tension slips the bar inward to make contact with the butt of the blade, keeping it firmly in place and preventing it from closing. To disengage a liner lock, you have to use your thumb to push the spring bar “down” so that it clears contact form the butt of the blade. This lets you use your index finger to push the blade just enough so that it keeps the bar pushed down so you can remove your thumb form the blade path, then continue to safely close the knife. Liner locks are beneficial in that they allow a knife to have two true handle sides, unlike a frame lock. You can close the knife with one hand without switching grip, ideal for when you need both hands on the job. You’ll find liner locks in both entry-level and high-end knives. If you’ll be using your knife for heavy duty tasks, you should know liner locks typically aren’t as robust as other locking systems. They are still plenty strong, but because they’re typically made from a thinner piece of metal, they’re more prone to wearing out compared to a beefy frame lock.

 

The Specs:

The blade on this knife measure in at 3.3 inches long, with the closed length measuring in at 4.25 inches long and an open length measuring in at 7.5 inches long. This multi-tool weighs in at 6.3 ounces.

 

Conclusion:

When Kershaw is describing this knife and multi tool, they say, “Get your hands on the Payload and you will soon appreciate its practicality. The Payload stores a 5-bit screwdriver set on board: a #1 slotted screwdriver, a #1 Phillips™, a #2 slotted, #2 Phillips™, and a T-6. Just remove the bit you want, then push the button at mid-handle to release the bit driver in the back of the handle. The spring-loaded bit driver slides out, ready to accept your chosen bit. When your job is done, replace the bit and slide the bit driver back into the handle. In addition to the handy on-board bit set, you also get a big, beefy utility blade. Open this manual knife one-handed using the convenient thumb stud. The blade is quality 8Cr13MoV stainless steel with a no-nonsense bead-blasted finish. A secure locking liner holds this wide blade safely open during use. The Payload has its own custom pocket clip and it’s ready to go to work now.” Pick up your Kershaw Payload today at BladeOps.