Kershaw LoneRock Folding Gut Hook Knife Review

There really is not much that compares to 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. The real thing means value and plenty of it. With Kershaw, you get incredible bang for your hard-earned buck. Even their inexpensive models are impressive. In fact, everything about a Kershaw is solid, crafted, and reliable. Kershaw says, “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. 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.”
Kershaw was founded in 1974 with the mission 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. Kershaw pioneered the use of many of the technologies and advanced materials that are today standard in the knife industry. They say, “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.”

Kershaw is also a brand of Kai USA LTD. 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 (just south of Portland), they also draw on Kai’s resources to provide the very best for the customer.

Today we will be discussing the LoneRock Folding Gut Hook Knife.

The Blade:

This hunting knife has a blade that 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. 8Cr13MoV is top-of-the-line Chinese steel and, Kershaw believes, offers their customers an excellent value. HRC: 57–59.

The knife is coated in a titanium carbo-nitride. Kershaw also uses titanium carbo-nitride to produce an attractive black or gray blade coating that increases the blade’s hardness, helps maintain the edge, and increases the overall lifetime of the blade. A coating can increase the overall lifetime of the blade because it creates a barrier between the steel and the environment. This increases the wear resistance as well as the corrosion resistance.

The blade has been carved into a drop point gut hook blade shape. It has a similar shape to a regular drop point shape. It features the large belly that is ideal for slicing. This is especially important for a hunting knife, because you need the large belly to be able to skin the game that you are dressing. The large belly also works to make the knife a little more versatile. Next, the knife still has a lowered tip, which gives the blade more control. This is also crucial for a hunting knife because the added control makes it easier to avoid nicking any of the internal organs. However, this blade shape differs from a drop point on the spine. Instead of the slow curve straight from the handle to the tip, it is broken up by a gut hook. This allows you to flip the knife around and cut a clean line through your game. Often times though, hunters don’t like to use this because then the point of their blade is directed at them. This is a great tool for beginner hunters. However, this gut hook is not completely useless. You can also use it for prying nails out of something, opening a bottle, or for cutting through thick materials such as a seatbelt.

 

The Handle:

The handle on this knife is made out of glass-filled nylon with a K-Texture grip. Glass filled nylon is more commonly referred to as GFN. This is the same material as Fiberglass Reinforced Nylon (FRN) and even the name brand Zytel. This material is a thermoplastic material that is strong, resistant to bending and abrasion, and overall just pretty much indestructible.

This material can be so durable because the nylon fibers are arranged haphazardly throughout the handle. While GFN is similar to other material such as G-10, Carbon Fiber, and Micarta, it does not suffer from being brittle like the other materials. This is purely because of how the fibers are arranged. Because they are arranged haphazardly when it comes to GFN, the material is durable in all directions and won’t break apart when stressed in any direction. The other materials have their fibers arranged in a single direction, so while they are extremely strong in that one direction, they will begin to chip or break apart when they are stressed in any other direction.

This material can be so inexpensive because it is injection molded to shape it. This means that the manufacturer can create a high volume of handles in one go as well as texturing the handle in the production process. This helps keep the cost very low.

The overall benefits of a GFN handle is that it is going to be strong, tough, inexpensive, and require zero maintenance. This is especially beneficial in a hunting knife because it is guaranteed to get messy and it will be easy to clean. If you are on a long hunting trip, you won’t have to worry about your handle corroding if you cannot get it entirely clean. The overall cons to this material is that it does have a cheap plastic feel and it is going to offer less grip than G-10 would.

The handle on this is one of the more unique aspects of the knife. The shape is simple with a curve spine, a curved belly, and a slight finger groove for increased comfort and grip. However, there is a bright orange streak going through the middle of it as well as orange ends. The rest of the knife is heavily textured with small K’s to provide the texture you need when it comes to your hunting trip.

 

The Mechanism:

This knife is part of Kershaw’s series of hunting knives—for the toughness, durability, and edge-holding capabilities that your next hunting trip demands.

This is a manual opening knife, which means that there is no mechanical assist, such as SpeedSafe, that is used to open the knife. It opens the old-school way. This does help with legal issues, because it won’t fall under the same strict laws that an automatic or a spring assist knife would. However, it is also not going to be as efficient to use. While this can be a drawback in a tactical scenario, this is a hunting knife, so it should not have any issues. In fact, this can make it even safer, because while you are on the hunt and running around, you won’t have to worry about it accidentally opening.

This knife has been equipped with a secure mid-lock. The mid-lock is one of the older of the popular blade-locking systems, yet the principle is the same as with the locking liner and frame lock systems. Once the knife is opened, a steel bar locks into place behind the blade and prevents the knife from closing until released by the knife user. In this case, that steel bar is positioned along the back of the knife and you can see the mechanism along the handle spine. This heavy steel bar is under spring pressure. When the knife is opened, the lock snaps into place in a notch cut into the back of the blade, behind the pivot. This blocks the blade open until the knife user releases the lock. To close a mid-lock, the user presses down on the lock release on the back of the handle. This lifts the steel bar out of the notch in the back of the blade, releasing the lock and enabling the user to fold the blade back into the handle. To ensure strength in our mid lock knives, Kershaw uses only high-quality steel with excellent toughness and wear resistance.

 

The Sheath:

The sheath that comes with this knife is made out of nylon. Nylon is a material that is commonly used in knife sheaths. They are often compared to leather sheaths, because they are both very commonly used in sheaths. Just like leather sheaths, nylon sheaths are very tough and very strong. However, they are resistant to rot and mildew. This is an advantage over leather because they are not as vulnerable to water. Plus, nylon sheaths are not easily scuffed or torn.

Of course, nylon sheaths do have their cons as well. Nylon sheaths are one of the more inexpensive sheaths, but this also means that they aren’t going to last as long as the other sheaths. The biggest disadvantage to a nylon sheath is that they do get stretched out over time. While the sheath will still technically fit at this point, the knife is not going to fit as securely inside. Since this is a pocket sheath, this disadvantage should not matter quite as much.

 

The Specs:

The blade on this knife measures in at 3.5 inches long with a handle that measures in at 4.75 inches long. When this knife is opened, it measures in at an overall length of 8.5 inches long. This knife weighs in at 5.5 ounces without the sheath.

 

Conclusion:

             When Kershaw is discussing this knife, they say, “The Buck Commander® LoneRock Folding Hunter with Gut Hook, designed and built by Kershaw, is a compact tool designed to make every hunting trip better.

The blade is razor-sharp and holds its edge well. Buck Commander brown titanium coating protects the blade in outdoor conditions. An oversized choil and thumb grooves on either side of the handle enable you to choke up on the blade when necessary. Mid-spine jimping provides a good grip for fine control. A big belly and precise gut hook make skinning easier.

This manual folder opens using the large groove in the blade—so there’s no thumb stud to get in the way of your work. A sturdy mid-lock secures the blade. You’ll get an extra secure grip with Kershaw’s exclusive K-Texture™ grip. The K-Texture material is both textured and rubberized to provide a non-slip grip, making the Buck Commander LoneRock exceptionally easy to use. Includes nylon sheath.” You can pick up this knife today at BladeOps.