Knife Review: Kershaw Mini Natrix Copper Flipper Knife

The Kershaw Mini Natrix Copper Flipper Knife

Kershaw knives was founded in1974. Their purpose was to design and manufacture tools that knife users would be proud to own, carry, and use. To make sure that their users were proud to carry their knives, they knew that they must make each and every knife with the highest quality materials and manufacturing tools.

Kershaw also has a commitment to innovation. Because of this, Kershaw has pioneered the use of many of the technologies and advanced materials that are the standard in today’s market. Some of their best innovations have been the SpeedSafe assisted opening knives. They also had the idea to create knives that can have interchangeable blades with their Blade Traders. One of their most recent innovations is their Composite Blade technology, which actually combines two steels into one blade. This gives the user the best of both worlds because they can have one steel by the sharpened edge that provides them with a fine edge and long-lasting edge retention, but then still have a strong spine, because they can use a stronger steel on that portion of the blade. Because one of their major drives is to keep innovating bigger and better technologies, they will constantly have excellent knives in the market.

Kershaw Knives is actually a sub brand of Kai USA, Ltd. Kai has been Japan’s leading blade producer for over 100 years now. This larger company also vows to take an innovative approach to their products, product development, marketing, and distribution functions.

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.”

Today we will be discussing the Kershaw Mini Natrix Copper flipper knife. This is currently in stock at BladeOps.

The Blade:

The blade on this knife is made out of D2 steel. This is a tool steel that is known as a semi-stainless, because it falls just short of the required amount of chromium, which is 13%. Even though it is not a fully stainless steel, it does give you a good amount of resistance to corrosion. In the tool steels, D2 is much harder than the rest and it will hold an edge a little better than the rest. Also, it is not as tough as many other steels and much harder to sharpen. To get a fine edge on the steel, you do need to be a master sharpener.

The blade on the Natrix has been finished with a Stonewash finish. This is when the steel is rolled around with an abrasive material, usually small pebbles. After that portion of the process, it is smoothed over. This finish gives a slightly textured look to the blade, so it hides scratches and fingerprints very well. Because of how well it hides scratches and fingerprints, the Natrix’s blade will have to be polished less. The textured look of the finish gives the blade a rugged, low-maintenance characteristic.

The stonewash finish also is going to cut down on glares and reflection that you would come across with a more reflective finish. All in all, the stonewash finish is going to create a low-maintenance blade that is easy to use as well as reliable.

The blade on the Kershaw Mini-Natrix has been carved into a modified drop point shape. It keeps many of the same characteristics that a regular drop point provides, but the shape is a little bit different. Instead of the usual slowly curing spine, this modified version looks slightly more like a hawksbill-shaped spine. This does of course, still provide you with the lowered tip that is going to give you the control that you know and love with a drop point blade shape. It also does create a broad tip that is going to provide this blade with plenty of strength. Even though it is small in size, you will still be able to take on those tougher tasks without having to question the blade.

The belly on this modified drop point is large as well, providing plenty of surface area to better slice with. There is a gentle curve to the belly, which will make slicing a total breeze.

The modified drop point still does have the disadvantage of having a broad tip. This is because the broader the tip, the harder it is going to be to pierce with. Of course, you aren’t buying a drop point blade to pierce with, so this shouldn’t hold you back in any serious ways.

The Handle:

The handle on this version of the Natrix has been made out of a copper that has been finished with a bead blast. The 

bead blasted finish is going to give the copper a little bit of a more worn appearance, which pairs well with the stonewashed finish of the blade. The copper handle is going to be durable, while still providing a unique look that you are not going to find on many other pocket knives. The copper gives character to this knife, without being over-the-top.

The handle has more angels than curves, with a slightly elongated and squared-off finger groove. The groove will add some comfort for you to better be able to hold this knife. There are ridges on this handle to give you the texture that you require. There is no lanyard hole.

The Pocket Clip:

The pocket clip on this Kershaw is a reversible deep-carry pocket clip. This clip can be attached for either left or right handed carry, but only tip-up. This does help to create a near fully-ambidextrous knife. Plus, because it is a deep-carry, you will be able to go about your day without worrying about the Natrix sliding out. It will also stay more concealed, because the deep carry format allows it to sit low in your pocket.

The clip is held in place by two silver screws, which do match the bulk of the hardware on this Kershaw. The hardware that is not silver is a matte gray. Both of these colors pair well with the copper handle.

The Mechanism:

This is a flipper knife that has been equipped with a KVT ball-bearing opening mechanism as well as a sub-frame lock.

When Kershaw is explaining the KVT ball-bearing system, they say that it “makes one-handed opening of your knife fast and easy—without the need for a mechanical assist. While SpeedSafe assisted opening uses a torsion bar to help move the knife blade out the handle, KVT relies on a ring of ‘caged’ ball bearings that surround the knife's pivot. (‘Caged’ means the ball bearings are secured within a ring that surrounds the pivot. It keeps the ball bearings in place, while allowing them to rotate freely.) When the user pulls back on the built-in flipper, the blade rotates out of the handle as the ball bearings roll in place. KVT makes one-handed opening quick, easy, and smooth as butter.”

This means that it is going to allow you to bring the blade into play much quicker than you would without this system. It also is going to be easy to use and easy to get the hang of. The KVT ball-bearing system is also going to allow this knife to feel more like an automatic knife, without actually being an automatic knife. This will allow the mini-Natrix to be legal in more states, cities, and areas than an automatic knife would. Of course, you should still know your local knife laws before purchasing and carrying this knife.

This unique knife has been equipped with a flipper mechanism as well. The flipper is a small triangular protrusion. This piece of metal is a piece of the blade. It extends out of the spine of the handle when the knife is closed. To open a knife with a flipper, you are going to hold the knife in one hand, then use your index finger to push down on the flipper. This will move the blade out of place, start the KVT ball-bearing opening system, and allow the blade to swing open where it will lock into place, ready for use.

There are a wide variety of benefits to the flipper. However, you should know that it is going to be harder to get the hang of than a knife that has been equipped with a thumb stud. But the flipper is going to enable fast and easy one-handed opening. Along with that, you can access the flipper from either side of the blade, which does mean that it is going to be fully ambidextrous. This opening mechanism will work the same for both right and left handers. The flipper is also one of the safer mechanisms to use. This is because the flipper does act as a finger guard when the blade is opened, adding an extra element of safety and protection. Plus, the flipper does not put your fingers in the path of the blade when you are swinging the blade open, like the thumb stud would. This means that once you do get the hang of the flipper, you are going to be less likely to accidentally hurt yourself while using this knife.

The last thing that the mini-Natrix has been fitted with is the Sub-Frame Lock. Kershaw says, “The Sub-Frame Lock is a variation on the traditional frame lock. In this case, a piece of the lighter weight frame, usually G10, glass-filled nylon, or aluminum, is machined out and a piece of steel is riveted into its place. This piece of steel acts just like a standard frame lock. It’s angled inward and biased toward the locked position. When the blade is open, it moves into position behind the blade tang, blocking it open. As with other frame locks, the user moves it to the side and out of the way in order to close the knife. The Sub-Frame Lock is Kershaw patented technology and enables us to make a knife with a slimmer profile, while still providing the strength and security of a frame lock.”

The benefits of the Sub-Frame Lock are that it will cut down on the size and the weight of this knife, without compromising on the quality or durability of the knife. You will be able to rely on the locking mechanism without having to worry about whether or not it will stay locked in the open position while you are using it.

The Specs:

The blade on the Mini Natrix measures in at 2.75 inches long with a handle that measures in at 3.2 ounces. This is definitely a smaller knife, with the overall length when the blade is deployed measuring in at a mere 6.4 ounces. Of course, since it is a smaller knife, you can expect less weight, with it weighing in at only 3.2 ounces. While this is a lighter weight knife, you can still expect it to get the work done, because it does fall in the sweet spot of between 3 and 5 ounces. This is enough weight to get the job done, but not too much to weigh you down. This is the perfect Kershaw to have with you at all times.

Conclusion:

The Kershaw Natrix is one of many models released by Kershaw in 2017 and was designed after the popular Zero Tolerance 0770 model but 2018 brings forth a new upgraded version. This sub-frame lock designed model, which aids it in being lightweight, features the KVT ball-bearing system, instead of Kershaw's patented SpeedSafe™ assisted system, which quickly deploys the blade thanks in part to the ambidextrous flipper function. This particular Natrix features a new tool steel blade that offers even better performance with better edge holding and re-sharpening abilities as well as a 3-D machined and chamfered handle for a comfortable grip. This model features copper handle scales, a modified drop point style blade in a stonewash finish and the deep carry reversible pocket clip is designed for tip up carry only but is eligible for a left- or right-hand carry option.

This Kershaw is currently in stock at BladeOps, buy yours here.