An all-stainless-steel handle with a reverse-tanto blade in BlackWash — a tumbled black-oxide finish that hides scratches rather than collecting them. SpeedSafe assisted, frame lock, clip reverses for either side.

Specifications

• Blade steel 4Cr14
• Blade length 3 in (7.6 cm)
• Closed length 4 in (10.1 cm)
• Overall length 7 in (17.8 cm)
• Blade thickness 0.11 in (2.9 mm)
• Weight 3.1 oz (88 g)
• Blade finish black-oxide BlackWash
• Edge not published for this variant
• Lock frame lock
• Handle stainless steel
• Pocket clip reversible, left or right

How it opens: SpeedSafe assisted

SpeedSafe is Kershaw’s assisted-opening mechanism. You start the blade moving with the flipper or the thumb stud, a torsion bar takes over partway through, and the blade completes its travel and locks. It is not an automatic knife — nothing happens until you push, and the bar resists until you do. But it opens faster and more surely with one hand than a plain folder, which is the whole point when the other hand is holding a strap, a rope or a steering wheel.

About the steel

4Cr14 is a budget stainless. It sharpens very easily and resists rust; edge retention is modest. Appropriate for a knife at this price and honest to say so.

Where these numbers come from

The dimensions above are Kershaw’s published figures for 1365RBW, the rainbow Misdirect, the same-platform sibling of this model — Kershaw does not serve a spec table for this exact variant. The platform is identical; we are telling you where the numbers came from rather than presenting them as this SKU’s own.

Origin. Kershaw lists this one as designed and quality-controlled in the USA, manufactured in China. That is their own split and we pass it on as they state it.

Before you order — please read

Knife law in the United States is set at the state, county and city level, and the rules on blade length, on carry, and on assisted-opening mechanisms specifically are not the same in any two places. Kershaw does not publish a jurisdiction list and neither will we — we would get it wrong, and a wrong answer here is worse than none.

What we do instead is tell you exactly what this knife is: the mechanism and the blade length are stated plainly in the specifications above, which is what the law actually turns on. Checking that it is legal where you live, and legal to carry how you intend to carry it, is yours to do before you order. Your local district attorney’s office is who Cold Steel and Kershaw both point people to, and it is the right answer.