Kershaw Injection 3.5 Folding Knife

Kershaw 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 you’re carrying the real thing. Kershaw says, “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, 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 won, 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.

They also have a commitment to innovation and even pioneered the use of many of the technologies that are now the standard in the knife industry.

Kershaw is a brand of Kai USA Ltd, which is the premier blade producer in Japan for over 100 years now. Kai takes an innovative approach to product development, which is where some of Kershaw’s commitment to innovation comes from.

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 the Injection 3.5 folding knife.

The Blade:

The blade on this knife is made out of 8Cr13MoV steel. You may have heard that 8Cr13MoV stainless is basically the equivalent of AUS8A. And it’s true. For everyday use, even a serious “knife knut” would be hard-pressed to tell the difference between a well-made 8Cr13MoV blade and a well-made AUS8A blade. Nevertheless, there are slight differences in the steel formula. While most other components are relatively equal, 8Cr13MoV has slightly more carbon for hardness and wear resistance and slightly less nickel. The key to blade performance for both of these steels is manufacturing quality. That’s where Kershaw’s expertise comes in. Kershaw precision heat-treats 8Cr13MoV steel to bring out its best high-performance characteristics: the ability to take and hold an edge, strength, and hardness. Kershaw says, “8Cr13MoV is top-of-the-line Chinese steel and, we believe, offers our customers an excellent value.” This steel has been hardened to a 57–59 HRC.

The blade on this knife has been bead blast finished. This finish is created when the manufacturer takes glass or ceramic beads and then blasts them at the steel at a high pressure. This process results in an even grey matte finish. A blasted finish reduces reflections and glares because it is so matte. This is nice because it means that when you are using the knife, the reflections are not going to blind you while you are trying to work. It also means that if you are ever in the field using this knife, you won’t have to worry about the glares giving your position away. Of course, this finish does have its disadvantages. The blasting creates an increased surface area and micro-abrasions make the steel more prone to rusting or corroding. This means that a blasted blade, even if it is a stainless steel, can rust overnight if left in the absolute worst environment.

The blade on the Injection 3.5 is a drop point blade shape. The drop point blade shape is one of the two most popular blade shapes on the market today. This is because it is versatile as well as being incredibly tough. The blade shape is formed by having the spine of the knife curve slowly from the handle to the tip of the knife in one, unbroken curve. This creates a lowered point, which is where the user gets the control over the knife. You can perform fine detail work with this knife because of the control, or you can just get really even cuts. The tip on the drop point is also lowered, which is going to give you the strength that the drop point is known for. This is the strength that allows you to take on more tasks than if you had a clip point, which is prone to breaking. The drop point also has a large belly area, which is why slicing is so easy with this knife. This is a huge advantage no matter what style of knife you are dealing with, because the bigger the belly, the easier it is to slice. One of the most common techniques you are going to be doing with your knife is slicing, or push cutting, which is what the drop point is going to excel at. That being said, the drop point does have one major disadvantage: because the tip is broad, you do lose out on many of your piercing or stabbing capabilities. You do need to keep in mind that it is that broadness that gives you your strength.

 

The Handle:

The handle on this knife is made out of 3D machined G10. G10 is a grade of Garolite that is made out of fiberglass. This material has very similar properties to carbon fiber, except that it is slightly inferior, which means that you can get it for a much cheaper price.

To make this material, the manufacturer takes layers of fiberglass cloth and soaks them in resin. Next, they will compress them, and then bake them under pressure. The material that you get is tough, hard, lightweight, strong. Out of all the fiberglass resin laminates (which include Micarta and carbon fiber) G10 is considered to be the strongest of them all.

Texture can easily be added to the handle, which helps to provide a very solid and comfortable grip. Tactical folders as well as fixed blades can benefit greatly from having G10 as its handle because it is durable, lightweight, and non-porous, which means that maintenance levels are going to be low.

While this is a cheaper material to produce, it is not going to compare to GFN, because GFN can be injection molded, while G10 has to be cut and machined into shape. That being said, out of the fiberglass materials, it is definitely on the cheaper end of the spectrum because the texturing is added during the production process.

The overall pros to a G10 handle is that it is going to be tough, light, and durable. The overall cons are that it does suffer from being brittle and it does not have a ton of personality. It suffers from being brittle because all of the fibers have been arranged in a single direction. While the knife is going to be strong in that direction, it will begin to break apart when it is stressed in any other direction.

The handle is all angles instead of the more common curves. The spine of the knife angles from the blade to the butt in a straight angle. The belly of the knife has a large finger guard that angles upward to create an angled finger groove. At this point, the belly of the handle goes towards the butt of the handle sharply. The butt of this handle is triangular. To cut down on weight and add texture, the handle has two long grooves cut out, to semi-skeletonize the handle. The rest of the G10 has texture so that you will have a solid grip on the knife.

 

The Pocket Clip:

The pocket clip on this knife is silver, which matches the blade. It is kept in place by two silver screws, which match the rest of the hardware on this knife. The pocket clip is straight, but tapered, which does help to keep it in your pocket. This is a reversible pocket clip; you can attach it for either left or right handed carry. That begin said, it can only be attached for tip up carry. This is a drawback, because if the knife happens to come open in your pocket, you could very easily slice yourself if you do reach into your pocket.

 

The Mechanism:

This is a manual opening knife, which means that there is no mechanical assist, such as SpeedSafe, used to open the folding knife. Kershaw says that it opens the “classic, old-school” way. In terms of efficiency, the manual opening knife is the least efficient between manual, assisted opening, and automatic. That begin said, it terms of legality, the manual opening knife is going to be legal in the most cities, states, and areas.

This knife 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 this Kershaw folding knife even safer.

 

The Specs:

The blade on this knife measures in at 3.5 inches long with a handle that measures in at 4.5 inches long. The overall length of the knife measures in at 8 inches long. This knife weighs in at 4.4 ounces.

 

Conclusion:

Kershaw says, “Custom details without the custom price—that’s the new Injection 3.5 from Kershaw and custom knife maker Todd Rexford.

From the tip of its classic drop-point blade to its 3D-machined G10 handle, the manual opening Injection offers streamlined good looks. Details like decorative pivot hardware and machined thumb studs give the Injection a high-end custom look and feel. The G10 handle features six incised cutouts on each side, letting you see through to the stainless steel liners. The G10 is slightly textured for a secure grip. Even the back spacer is cool; it’s chamfered (cut at an angle) on the back end. Another nice detail is the inset lanyard pin so nothing interrupts the smooth line of the knife. And all of this at a price that definitely won’t break the bank.

The 3 1/2-in. blade gives you a little extra length for taking on larger tasks. Built of high-performance 8Cr13MoV, it comes razor-sharp and holds its edge well. The manual opening is smooth and easy. Once open, the blade is secured with a steel locking liner. The pocket clip is reversible for left- or right-handed carry. Want a slightly smaller knife? Check out the Injection 3.0.” Pick up this knife today at BladeOps today.