Kershaw walmart knife bundle 2013 - Freefall and Swerve

Kershaw recently released a holiday bundle pack for black Friday and Christmas 2013. The pack includes two flipper knives and a small flashlight. unfortunately it comes in a clam shell pack, so you can't handle the knives before you buy them.

this was an admirable effort by kershaw; two black coated flipper knives with steel liners for $20.

Knife 1: 3850BLK "Freefall"



Knife 2: 3840BLK "Swerve"



3CR13 Steel

I figured for $20 I couldn't lose, and wanted to give the knives away to get some people started on carrying and using pocket knives.

so of course I couldn't just wrap this pack up without checking the knives out first, you know - just to make sure they're both in working order X-D

One of the knives, which looks like it borrows a lot of design influence from the kershaw knockout, actually turned out to be a decent and functional knife.

However the other knife was a big disappointment. It has a gritty and squeaky opening, and doesn't even lock up unless you really whack it open.

Neither knife is a functional flipper, but the better knife can be flicked open via thumbstud.

both knives feature very poor steel, both have bladeplay

Both knives were sharpened unevenly, some parts of the edge are sharp, others are dull.

The handles of these knives are molded plastic with steel liners. They're actually both pretty nice to hold and use.

The Kershaw swerve was sadly the worst knife I have owned, just do to the fact it really didn't function and was unsafe to use. the knife wouldn't lock up under normal opening, and when open would fail easily.

I figured trying to fix the swerve would be a better use of my time than standing in the wal mart return line, since I hate wal mart to begin with.. so I took it apart.

I found that the swerves pivot rides on two white washers (I believe to be Teflon washers) and to no surprise the lock face and knife tang were crudely machined. I cleaned the pivot area and sanded down the blade tang with sandpaper enough for it to lockup safely.

These make decent beater knives, but I wouldn't recommend picking up the pack. If you want a $10 knife from kershaw I highly recommend the kershaw crown, much better knife.

Pros:
ergos

Cons:
functionality - flippers that don't flip, a lock that won't lock.
poor machining
plastic
dull edges
blade play
loose thumbstud
soft steel
poor coating

Kershaw Knockout 1870 review

I noticed an amazon lightening deal for the Kershaw knockout and couldn't pass it up. It's an impressive knife for the $45 I paid.

This is the newer kershaw knockout model with aluminum scales and stainless steel "sub frame lock" as well as speed safe assist.

as far as fit and finish goes this knife has exceeded my exceptions. the aluminum handles are nicely machined and finished, and so is the blade and thumb stud. there are no sharp edges, nor does the blade have any play up or down side to side.

The blade even has no play and is centered when closed.

The lock up on this knife is right where it should be, and it is consistent when opened soft (with both hands) or flicked open.

The knockout is very pocket friendly, and has plenty of cutting power with its wide blade and very pointy tip.

every surface of this knife is smooth, and it is void of any jimping. It was a good decision to leave jimping out of this design, it is not necessary with a properly designed handle.

Pros:
Ergonomic as it can be (for a fairly flat pocket friendly design)
Steel: Sandvic 14C28N
Made in USA
Sub Frame lock

Cons:
Plastic Backspacer - this choice is puzzling to me, I would have rather had a design made with only metal. I believe it is made of Zytel.

It's hard to even nitpick this knife when you realize it isn't even a $50 knife. the minor nitpicks I have are the relatively boring but functional low rider pocket clip and the plastic back spacer.

and although the thumb studs on this knife are well made, and fit the look of the knife well, they are pointless and should have been left out. There's really no need for them when you have the flipper, or want to open it two handed in public.