Kershaw Own It Kuro Assist Knife Pack with Neck Knife Review

Kershaw Knives designs and manufactures a wide range of knives, including pocketknives, sporting knives, and kitchen cutlery. Kershaw is a brand of Kai USA Ltd., a member of the KAI Group, headquartered in Tualatin, Oregon.

Kershaw Knives was started in Portland, Oregon in 1974 when knife salesman Pete Kershaw left Gerber Legendary Blades to form his own cutlery company based on his own designs. Early manufacturing was primarily done in Japan. In 1977, Kershaw became a wholly owned subsidiary of the KAI Group. In 1977 the U.S. production facility was opened in Wilsonville, Oregon. Due to an expanding market, the facilities were moved to a larger production site in 2003. Currently, Kai USA manufacturing facilities are located in Tualatin, Oregon with some goods coming from their Japanese and Chinese factories.

This company 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 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 the first-to-market. They also introduced the concept of knives with interchangeable blades in their Blade Traders. And recently, they introduced their Composite Blade technology. Kershaw says that they will keep on innovating, bring new and better technologies and materials to today’s knife making industry and knife-using public.

Today we will be discussing their Own It Kuro Assist Knife Pack that includes a neck knife.

 

 

The Kuro Assist:

The Blade:

The blade on this knife has been made out of 8Cr13MoV stainless steel. This is a Chinese produced steel that is often compared to AUS-8. This steel is a little more corrosion-prone than AUS-8 and not quite as hard. The biggest advantage that this steel boasts is how inexpensive it is. For the cost, you get a good steel that is going to get the job done. Don’t be expecting a super steel though.

The blade has been finished with a black oxide, or a blackening, finish. This is a conversion coating for ferrous materials that is used to add mild corrosion resistance as well as an appealing black appearance. The coating puts a layer in between the environment and the steel, which prolongs the life of the blade. It also cuts down all glares and reflections. Unfortunately, coatings do scratch off, which can become a hassle to get them re-coated.

The blade has been carved into a drop point blade shape, which is the most popular blade shape in use today. The back edge of the knife runs straight from the handle to the tip of the knife in a slow curved manner. This blade shape is extremely versatile because it has a lowered tip, which gives the user better ability to control their cuts. It also has a large belly, which is what helps the user slice easily. Plus, because the tip is broad, instead of thin and sharp, this knife is extremely durable and can take on almost any task that you need it to. The only disadvantage to having a knife with this blade shape is that because of the broad tip, you do not have the best ability to pierce and stab.

 

The Handle:

The handle on this blade has been made out of glass filled nylon, or GFN. This is the same material as FRN and even the name brand Zytel. This material is a thermoplastic material that is crazy strong resistant to bending and abrasion, and is known for being almost indestructible. This is such a durable material because all of the nylon fibers in it have bene arranged haphazardly, which means that it is strong no matter which direction you stress it in. Plus, because this material is injection molded, it is definitely on the inexpensive side of things. The GFN on this handle is black.

Kershaw has added a ridge swirl pattern that goes across the entire face of the handle. This pattern allows the user to have the most secure grip in almost any environment—even a slippery one. There is a large finger guard that helps protect fingers as well as a deep finger groove which gives a comfortable grip. The butt of the handle is pointed as well as there being a lanyard hole carved into it.

 

The Pocket Clip:

The pocket clip on this knife is black, which blend sin with the all black knife—including all the hardware. This is a reversible pocket clip, which means that this knife is completely ambidextrous.

 

The Mechanism:

The Kuro is an assisted knife that features Kershaw SpeedSafe mechanism, a flipper, and a liner lock.

The SpeedSafe is a patented system that assists the user to smoothly open any SpeedSafe knife with a manual pull back on the flipper. The biggest characteristic of the SpeedSafe is its torsion bar. When the knife is closed, the torsion bar helps prevent the knife from being opened by “gravity;” it creates a bias toward the close 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. Plus, the SpeedSafe is very safe, because when the user overcomes the resistance of the torsion bar, SpeedSafe assists in opening the knife. Once opened, a locking system secures the blade in position so that it does not close accidentally. When releasing the lock, the blade won’t snap shut due to resistance provided by the torsion bar. Since the torsion bar provides a bias towards the closed position, it will normally hold the blade securely closed.

The flipper is a protrusion on the back of the blade that the user can pull back on, or flip, in order to move the blade easily out of the handle. The flipper also enables fast and easy one-handed opening as well as it being completely ambidextrous.

The liner lock is the most common of today’s blade-locking systems. The handle consists of two metal plates on either side of the blade. Handle scales 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 and prevents the blade form 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 knife even safer.

 

The Specs:

The blade on this knife measures in at 3.1 inches long, with a handle length of 4.1 inches long. When this knife is opened, it measures in at an overall 7.25 inches long.

 

The Neck Knife:

The Blade and Handle:

The blade and handle are made out of stainless steel that has been acid stonewashed. Stainless steel knife blades are tough, but not the hardest. Stainless steel blades do not rust, chip, or stain easily. Stainless steel provides the knife with excellent durability and resistance to corrosion, but it is not lightweight. Because this knife is so small, the weight won’t be an issue.

The handle and the blade are made from one piece of metal. The blade portion of this metal has been carved into a dagger point blade. This blade shape is also known as the needle point blade and is made up of two symmetrical blades. They come to a point directly in the middle axis of the knife. The point is sharp, and the shape has been specifically designed for piercing and self-defense.

The stonewash finish is created by tumbling the blade in an abrasive material. This finish easily hides scratches and smudges, which preserves the look of the blade overtime. An acid stonewash finish is a blade that has had an acid treatment that darkens the blade before it undergoes the stonewashing. The acid oxidation enhances a blade’s rust resistance by placing a stable oxide barrier between the steel and the environment.

Going down the handle, there are three small holes carved out in a line. After the blade there is a row of jimping on each side to help you control this knife. The bottom rounds and a large circle has been cut from the middle to give you a better hold on this knife.

 

The Specs:

The blade on this knife is 2 inches long, with an overall length of 4.5 inches long. The thickness of this knife is 0.12 inches. This neck knife weighs in at 1.3 ounces.

 

The Mechanism:

This neck knife is a fixed blade. And not only is it a fixed blade, but it is a full tang knife, which means that the blade and the handle are made with the same piece of metal. This is an advantage because it means that there are no weaker spots on this knife where the blade and handle have been molded together. Full tang knives are stronger and more durable. And, because there are no moving parts on a fixed knife, they aren’t going to break that way either. Fixed blades are easier to maintain because you don’t have to worry about the hinge as you do with a folding knife. And, cleaning is very simple—all you have to do is wipe down your knife and oil it when needed and you are good to go. The biggest advantage of this neck knife being a fixed blade is that it has superior tactical use. This is because it can be brought into play faster than a folding knife during tactical situations. All you have to do is draw the knife out of its sheath, and you are good to go.

 

The Sheath:

The neck knife comes with a molded plastic sheath with a neck chain, perfect for convenient all day carry. The plastic sheath is one of the cheapest sheaths that you are going to find on the market. You do get what you pay for, so while this sheath is going to work, it is not going to excel. Also, plastic can retain moisture inside, which leads to rusting and corrosion on the blades part. For such a simple knife, this sheath will work, just make sure you keep up on your maintenance.

 

Conclusion:

The Kershaw Kuro Pack is an excellent way to get two quality knives featuring a Kuro assist knife for larger tasks and an additional neck knife for easy discreet carry, this package deal is an excellent value on two quality knives. Each knife features stainless steel with black oxide Blackwash finish and plain edge blades. One is carved into a dagger shaped blade, which is perfect for all of your self-defense needs. The second is carved into a drop point blade shape, which is perfect for all your other needs. The handle on the assist knife is made out of GFN, which is extremely durable as well as being inexpensive. Both of the knives feature sleek, black finishes. The Kuro knife features assisted opening and a reversible pocket clip. And match the clip with the flipper, you have a fully ambidextrous knife. The double edge neck knife has a finger hole for secure grip. Pick up one of the Kershaw Kuro Gift Packs today at BladeOps to cover all your bases.