raccoon city's Favorite Knives, with pics! All Kershaw (except for two) so far.

I got mine off of eBay for $20.

That's probably the best place, but in my opinion there are better Kershaw knives available for less.

Thanks rc, I just like the looks of that one.

Looks are important.

I used Kershaw knives almost exclusively for over a decade. I’ve had a bunch of different models over the years. They tend to offer consistent quality and they have excellent customer service. I rather like the Dividend. It feels like a superior successor to the Leek but I’m not crazy about 420 HC at that price. Due to recent changes in the market, it runs into some stiff competition in the $30-50 range. Once you get around $30 and up, I’d definitely recommend checking out Tangram, Civivi, and some of the other new quality budget makers from China.

As far as classic Kershaw designs in 8Cr13Mov, my favorite is still the Clash. It cuts well and is quite comfortable in my hand. It suffers the same problem as a lot of other Kershaws in that not everyone is going to love that clip. If you want a more streamlined deep-carry clip, you can call Kershaw. I’ve found that the clip from the Kershaw Brookline fits the Clash perfectly.

I don’t own any Kershaw, or Zero Tolerance knives, so I apologize.

My last few are a Spyderco PMII in S110V, a Delica in ZDP-189, an EnZo Birk 75 in D2, Scandi and carbon fiber and a Helle Dokka in tri-laminate.

I carry a SwissChamp everyday, despite having two dozen other nice autos and folders.

Chris

The Spline 3450 looks pretty apealing.

UPDATE:

I have a knife to add to the list...

Kershaw Natrix 7007BLUBW!

I'm not the biggest fan of G10, but I really like certain shades of green and blue knives/flashlights.

I'm glad I got this one, though.

This knife is really nice.

The only thing I don't like is the clip.

If the clip were 25% longer, I would like it a lot more.

As is, the clip is just a little short for my likings.

Another winner from Kershaw, and this one is really lightweight due to the G10 and the handle being so slim.

This knife is one of the better made in China Kershaw knifes, except for the somewhat short clip.

I’m not super into your list, only because I prefer having fewer knives with better steel choices, but I did recently run across one that checks a lot of my boxes and is Kershaw (your specialty):

https://www.bladehq.com/item—Kershaw-Dividend-Assisted-Opening—76656

M390 Dividend

My preference for my next purchase is something to EDC with work slacks (in order of priority):

  • ~3 oz or less
  • ~2.x - 3.x” blade
  • thin and not too wide handle (not huge pockets like jeans or cargo shorts)
  • high quality steel
  • flipper or auto but will settle for thumb hole/stud
  • prefer deep carry clip but will settle
  • any price between $40 and $400
  • NOT a black coated blade

Thoughts?

See if the Kershaw Leek comes in your choice of steel.

It's very thin, weighs 3 oz, and has a 3 inch blade.

It's my very favorite partly because it's so thin.

Small Sebenza 31 / $375

SEBENZA 31
Technical Specifications
LARGE / SMALL

BLADE
• Material: CPM S35VN
• CPM S35VN Hardness: 59-60 RC
Damascus Hardness: 56-58 RC
• Length: 3.61” (91.69mm) / 2.99” (76.17mm)
• Thickness: 0.12” (3.07mm) / 0.12” (3.04mm)

HANDLE
• Material: Titanium 6Al4V
• Thickness: 0.15” (3.81mm) / 0.13” (3.30mm)
• Length: 4.79” (121.67mm) / 3.98” (101.09mm)

OVERALL
• Length: 8.40” (213.36mm) / 6.98” (177.29mm)
• Weight: 4.7oz (133g) / 3.0oz (85g)

I’ve considered this one (well specifically the last version) but you might have to buy a few more of my lights before I pull the trigger.

:smiley: :+1: … I know what you mean. I have not bought a new one in several years. Then I innocently looked at their site the other day… :person_facepalming: Low & behold I find the Sebenza has progressed to 31 lately. It has been a struggle of resistance ever since. :money_mouth_face:

They are honestly fantastic knives. A rare combination of simplicity & well thought out perfection.

I carried a fancy version of the Leek for years. It was my “office carry” and served well enough in that role. However, there are three things about the Leek that I don’t like.

1. First is the little safety doodad. It shouldn’t have been a necessary feature but mine also had a weak detent and could be edged out slightly before the assist became active. Given the blade shape, that could mean just enough to bite if the safety wasn’t engaged. I came to hate this.

2. Second is the pocket clip. For the kind of carry and situations where I wanted the Leek, this was the wrong kind of clip. I often ended up carrying it loose in a pocket, which isn’t always very comfortable.

3. This is the fancy anodized aluminum that I was always worried about scratching. This is only a problem on some models of the Leek.

At the end of the day, I feel like the Dividend in decent steel is a good replacement for the Leek. Unless you really love the blade shape on the Leek, the Dividend will often a better choice. The Dividend can also be had with a deep-carry loop-over which makes carrying it a dream. It works well either tip-up in a pants pocket or tip-down in a sturdy enough shirt pocket or inside breast pocket of a suit or jacket.

My absolute favorite thin office carry is this:

https://www.bladehq.com/cat—Protech-Newport—1421

I have a CF/Alu version with just a plain satin blade and it’s awesome. I carried it for years. My only gripe is either I suck at sharpening it or the blade is profiled at such a sharp/thin angle that it dulls too fast if I carry it every single day.

I ended up getting another Protech in thicker blade and different steel and it fixes that problem but it’s WAY too thick and bulky for anything but jeans (IMO):

https://www.bladehq.com/item—Protech-Tactical-Response-2—97807

This is my other newer one, it’s more tolerable but the rough carbon fiber scuffs up everything and it’s a bit bulky but tolerable size:

https://www.bladehq.com/item—Spyderco-Mantra-3-Compression-Lock—80860

IDK I guess I have first world problems.

I’ve had a Cryo II and a Spline in the past, both were fantastic knives. I’ve since upgraded to a ZT0456CF Sprint run, don’t think I’ll find a better knife to replace this one in my pocket everyday.

I’m going to continue hijacking this thread cause I got some good suggestions.

I decided against the Leek because of the tip lock, frame shape, and clip. It did come in good steel options and other ergos seemed very good and the price was right.

I was still on the fence with the Dividend but it’s hard to tell how wide that blade is when closed.

I ended up with a Zero Tolerance 0450 ( ) cause it made even better use of space with a smaller footprint and larger blade with Ti handle and instant gratification and low price on Amazon.

The fun starts and stops there.

The second I unbox I instantly think “this is the size i’m looking for”. I had also read that if you call and ask nicely Kershaw/ZT and many other brands will send deep carry pocket clips if they have one that fits your non deep carry knife (for free usually).

Well the fun stops there. I couldn’t even flip open the blade. It fits so snugly inside the handle I couldn’t manually pull it either and there is no thumb stud for the 3rd option. Needless to say the harder I tried to open it the more it would not budge. The reason was because I was pressing on the F’ing frame lock. The harder I tried to open it the more I pressed on the lock, lol.

I did finally mostly train myself to hold it in such a way as to not interfere with the lock and it flips right open quickly but it’s not where my hand wants to go casually and the knife is so thin there’s not much room for error.

Will carry it and practice opening it some and see if I can get used to this.

Zero Tolerance knives look amazing, but they're out of my price range.

I hope yours loosens up for you.

Anybody know if Kershaw ever made the Chive with a GFN or G10 handle? I’m looking at a Scallion in GFN but just wishing it were smaller.

Great collection of Kershaws Raccoon.

My collection and certainly not as big as yours…only have 12 Kershaws and 4 Zero Tolerance.

Here is my collection of old and new Kershaws I have been collecting over 25 years.
You might like the last one…the rainbow leek.

I don’t believe they did. I certainly never saw one. The Scallion was the smallest in that line which I remember an FRN version of.