Kershaw Grinder Folding Knife Review

There really 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 you’re carrying the real thing. When Kershaw is talking about this, they say, “The real thing means value and plenty of it. With Kershaw, you get incredible bang for your hard-earned buck. Even our inexpensive models are impressive. In fact, everything about a Kershaw is solid, crafted, and reliable. That’s why we can back each of our knives for the life of its original owner against any defects in materials and construction with our famous Limited Lifetime Warranty.

And yes, people do own their Kershaw knives for a lifetime. (Although, occasionally, a Kershaw has been known to get accidentally left at a campsite, lost in the garage, or permanently borrowed by a friend.)

The point is, you can always look to Kershaw for every day carrying knives that can tame 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.”

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

Today we will be discussing the Kershaw Grinder.

 

The Blade:

The blade on this knife is made out of 4Cr13 steel. This is a value priced steel that is extremely stain resistant. This steel is going to keep the overall cost of the knife at an incredibly low price. It is also going to be able to get most of the jobs done, while not needing too much maintenance. That being said, it is a lower end steel, so it is not going to stand up to the super steels or premium steels. You do get what you pay for as well, so this steel is not going to hold its edge as long as other steels. But, it is going to be easier to sharpen than other steels because it is so soft.

The steel has been finished with a bead blasted finish. This finish is created by using abrasive glass or ceramic beads that are blasted at the steel at a high pressure. This process results in an even, grey finish. A blasted finish reduces reflections and glares because of its even, matte surface. However, the blasting does create an increased surface area and micro-abrasions, both of which make the steel more prone to rusting or corrosion over time. In fact, a blasted blade can actually rust overnight if it is left in a very humid environment. While most environments are not humid enough to trigger overnight rusting, you should be aware that it is possible.

The blade is a clipped tanto style blade. This does have some significant differences form a typical tanto, but a tanto is definitely where the inspiration came from. For starters, instead of having a straight back, the back is curved inward until about 3/4ths of the way up the blade. At this point, it angles sharply down towards the point. The curves section has been outfitted with a row of jimping, which will give you the control you need to really benefit from this tough knife. Another one of the striking differences between a typical tanto and this tanto-inspired blade is that this blade does have a belly while a regular tanto blade does not. IT is not the largest belly that you are going to find, but it is enough to get the job done when it comes down to it. You will be able to slice with this knife, which allows it to be a general utility knife that you can always have on hand and trust to work. The point of the knife is going to be tough enough to pierce through things, but it is sharper than your typical tanto, so it is going to be easier to pierce into things as well. Overall, this is a modified version of the clip point blade shape and the tanto blade shape. This blade is going to get the job done and get it done well. It prepares you to take on a little bit of everything without excelling at anything. For a knife that you are going to have with you at all times, this is a great option.

 

The Handle:

The handle on this knife is made out of Glass-filled nylon, or GFN. This is the same material as Fiberglass Reinforced Nylon, or FRN, as it is more commonly known as. This is a modern material that is crazy strong while also being cheap.

This material is similar to G10, Carbon Fiber, and Micarta, except that it doesn’t suffer from being brittle and it is not going to break as easily as the other materials. This is because in the other materials, all of the nylons are arranged in a single direction. The handle will be strong in that direction, but will begin to break apart when it is stressed in any other direction. With GFN, the fibers are arranged haphazardly, so no matter which way the handle is stressed, it is going to stay together. This is also an inexpensive material because it can be injection molded which lets the manufacturer build lots more at the same time. And, because it is injection molded, the material can be textured in the manufacturing process, which does cut down on labor and thus cost. The overall benefits of this handle material is that it is strong, tough, inexpensive, and requires very little maintenance. The cons to this handle material is that it is not going to offer as much grip as G-10 would and some people think that it has a cheap plastic feel to it.

The ergonomics of this handle are built to be comfortable while also giving the user a solid grip on it, perfect for a general utility knife.

The Pocket Clip:

The pocket clip on this knife is a deep carry, reversible pocket clip. This knife is designed to be used for utility or any other function that you can possibly think of. The deep carry comes in handy there, because you won’t have to worry about the knife falling out of your pocket when you have it with you every single day. This clip is reversible for either left or right handed carry, but can only be attached for tip down carry. Most people do prefer their clip to be tip-down so that if the knife accidentally opens inside of their pocket, they won’t get cut.

The clip is silver, matching the blade and the hardware on this knife. It is a tapered clip with a slight skeletonization on the upper portion of it.

 

The Mechanism:

This is an assisted opening knife that has been equipped with a flipper as well as Kershaw’s SpeedSafe assisted opening mechanism and a liner lock.

The flipper is a small protrusion on the blade that allows for fast and easy one-handed opening. The flipper is also ambidextrous, which helps make this knife more fully ambidextrous. To open this knife, hold the knife handle vertically in one hand. Place your index finger on the top of the flipper. Gently apply downward pressure on the flipper or push outwards on the thumb stud. SpeedSafe opens the knife quickly and easily, and the blade locks into place. Keep fingers away from blade edge while closing.

             Kershaw was the first to bring SpeedSafe® assisted opening knives to market, launching a revolution in opening systems—and winning numerous industry awards along the way. Originally designed by Hall of Fame knife maker, Ken Onion, Kershaw’s SpeedSafe knives flew off the shelves. Today, almost all knife companies offer some sort of assisted opening knife, but none matches the popularity or proven durability of the original. So what exactly is SpeedSafe? Well, SpeedSafe is a patented system that assists the user to smoothly open any SpeedSafe knife with a manual push on the blade’s thumb stud or pull back on the flipper. SpeedSafe is built into many of Kershaw’s best-selling knives. And how does it work? The heart of SpeedSafe is its torsion bar. Closed, the torsion bar helps prevent the knife from being opened by “gravity;” it creates a bias toward the closed position. To open the knife, the user applies manual pressure to the thumb stud or flipper to overcome the resistance of the torsion bar. This enables the torsion bar to move along a track in the handle and assist you to open the knife. The blade opens smoothly and locks into position, ready for use.

Lastly, the Grinder has been equipped with a liner lock. The liner lock is the most common of today’s blade-locking systems. In knives with locking liners, the handle consists of two metal (usually steel or titanium) plates (the “liner”) on either side of the blade. Handle scales, which can be made from a variety of materials, such as G10, aluminum, plastic, or natural materials like wood or bone cover the plates. When the knife is opened, one side of the knife’s liner, often called the lock bar, butts up against the backend of the blade (the tang) and prevents the blade from closing. The lock bar is manufactured so that it angles toward the interior of the knife, creating a bias for the locked position. To close the knife, the knife user applies manual force to move the lock bar to the side so that the blade is unblocked and can be folded back into the handle. The liner lock provides a secure and convenient way to make using a Kershaw folding knife even safer.

 

The Specs:

             The blade on this knife measures in at 3.25 inches long with a handle that measures in at 4.5 inches long. The overall length of the Grinder when it is opened is 7.75 inches long. This knife weighs in at 4.5 ounces.

 

Conclusion:

When Kershaw is talking about this knife, they say, “The new Kershaw Grinder is designed to be put to work. To that end, the Grinder offers a blade with a slightly curved belly for all-purpose cutting and slicing. A clipped, tanto-inspired tip offers excellent piercing capabilities, too. If you need to bear down on the back of the blade during a particularly tough cutting job, the concave spine with heavy jimping provides additional grip security. The work-ready blade is made of 4Cr13MoV steel for solid service.

The Grinder is always ready to go to work quickly thanks to our SpeedSafe assisted opening and convenient built-in flipper. A secure liner lock keeps the blade securely open during work until the user releases it. The glass-filled nylon handle is ergonomically contoured to fit the hand securely and grooved to offer an extra-secure grip. The deep-carry pocket clip is easily reversible for tip-down, right- or left-handed carry.” You can pick up this knife today at BladeOps.