The light one with the good steel. D2 at 59–60 HRC, KVT ball bearings, DuraLock crossbar release, and a glass-filled nylon handle that brings the whole knife in at 2.7 ounces. If you want tool-steel edge retention without carrying a four-ounce knife, this is the one in this range.

Specifications

• Blade steel D2
• Hardness 59–60 HRC
• Blade length 3 in (7.6 cm)
• Closed length 4.2 in (10.7 cm)
• Overall length 7.2 in (18.3 cm)
• Blade thickness 0.09 in (2.3 mm)
• Weight 2.7 oz (77 g)
• Blade finish black-oxide
• Edge plain
• Lock DuraLock solid steel crossbar, ambidextrous
• Handle glass-filled nylon
• Pocket clip reversible extra-deep-carry, right or left, tip-up, black-oxide

How it opens: manual

No assist and no spring — the blade moves only as far and as fast as you move it. Some people prefer this, and in some places it is the only kind of folder worth owning.

About the steel

D2 is a high-carbon, high-chromium tool steel. It holds an edge considerably longer than the stainless grades and is tougher, at the cost of being harder to sharpen and only semi-stainless — keep it dry and oiled.

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.