Kershaw Kai Question

[deanmm56]

Hello all,

I have an old Kershaw Kai ( made in Japan ) fixed blade skinning knife. I'll try to post some pictures ASAP. My Question is what type of steel was used in these early knives ? Mine takes on a great edge and keeps it for a long time but I was told at a Gun & Knife Show recently that the steel in the early Kershaws wasn't so good ???? So, now I'm just wondering

Any help on this subject ?

Added Info : 6/24 @ 2;10 PM EST

The knife in question is a Model 1030 and I believe it was made here in the USA ?

Sorry for the bad pics .... took them with my cell phone

[reddirtknives]

Was it just one guy who felt this way or did it seem to be the opinion of everyone you spoke with on the subject? Sounds to me like yours is a good one.

[HiPower]

as is true with many knives the quality of factory knives can certainly vary. some of the kershaws made in 80s were terrible but if you found a good one--rejoice.--HiPower

[junebug]

i think it was 440c blade steel if i remember right..........i bet ORVET will know



i personally have never heard the OLD kershaws had BAD STEEL in them........ KERSHAW is a pretty popular brand on the west coast too,alot here use them.

[deanmm56]

Red Dirt,

It was just one guy .... a dealer of Kershaw knives of all things !!!! I will post a pick today for further reference.

[jerryd6818]

Dean -- Have you ever noticed some guys will bad mouth what ever YOU have but their stuff is 24k gold. I'm looking for an Astra Firecat .25 cal auto. I'll walk into a gun shop or up to a seller at a gun show and ask if they have one and instantly I get something on the order of, " An Astra? What a pile of crap." or ".25 cal? Worst gun ever made. Why would you want one of those." I'm guessing it's because they don't have one. A-holes. A good sales person would say, "I don't have one right now but leave your contact information and I'll get in touch if I do run onto one."

Why he would want to denigrate your knife is anyones guess but I automatically put those kinds of indviduals in the "ignorant a-hole" class.

[Old Hunter]

Jerry, you are dead-nuts on the money! I hear that kind of crap all the time in gunshops and at gunshows. The proof is in the pudding - if Dean's Kershaw Kai takes and keeps a great edge, then the knife is a good one - period. OH

[reddirtknives]

Yep Jerry nailed it eloquently as usual. What's sad is how high of a percentage there is of these (haters) types of people. I'm not saying that they are a majority but for what they are trying to achieve the percentage is way too high. There seems to be less the further down the ladder you go or up the ladder depending on how you look at it. Nothing runs me out of a store or sales floor faster than this particular type of personality and if it is a sales approach then they have been studying the wrong one to place me in my comfort zone. I have a $100 bill that says the Kershaw dealer only had new knives and had the Kershaw Co. reps found a room full of old stock from the eighties and called him up offering him a deal where he could double his profit easily that tune would have been quite a bit different. Respect and etiquette is important when dealing with and being a part of society and this should be doubly so for those who are trying to pay their bills with some of you and I's money... Haha I just heard George Castanza's voice in my head... WERE LIVING IN A SOCIETY!!!

[deanmm56]

And it still shaves the hair off my arm .... overall a great skinner and I've used it plenty !!!!

[HiPower]

regarding reddean particular knife i certainly did'nt state that particular knife was Inferior--read my post. my brother, myself 'nephews & others had several kershaws that were poor performers in the 80's. these were folders not straight knives, kershaws may have improved since then & these knives were'nt a large sample of kershaws; just several models anyway that experience may have caused our group to move over to other brands with better edge holding. it only takes one or two bad apples to sometimes form an opinion of certain brands which may be decent in the majority.--HiPower

[deanmm56]

HiPower,

I don't believe anyone was referring to any previous post you may have made. I stated a Kershaw dealer at a Gun & Knife Show in Raleigh, NC really put a bad taste in my mouth when I told him I had an older Kershaw Kai brand fixed blade knife. A a Kershaw dealer I would have thought he would have some praise for the older knives .... maybe he just wanted me to buy a new one ? My skinner has served me well for well over 30 years .... no sense in trading now.

[jerryd6818]

I hope there was no misunderstanding about my post. It was related to Dean's recent experience at a gun & knife show as in the original post.

[reddirtknives]

eh hem It was brought to my attention that I had thrown yet another topic offtrack. My second entry into this topic was not directed at anything posted by anyone except for Dean and Jerry. Basically it was a continuing of Jerry's point with the Kershaw dealer whom dean encountered tossed in and how some people choose to do business as an active figure in society.
My apologies everyone
This topic has officially been killed
Sorry Dean

[orvet]

I managed a cutlery store in the early 1980s until the latter part of 1992. The store was about 25 miles from their Wilsonville, OR location, where they moved from the Jean Rd, Lake Oswego, OR location in about 1984 IIRC. (They are currently in Tualatin, OR).

I am a big fan of the Officer Ranch series,(esp the #4150) that Kershaw put out a couple years after the series your knife was in. I know that the more recent production of the #4150 from Japan was made with AUS-6 steel. (I don't know/care what the ones now made in china are made with).
However, I seem to recall that AUS-8A was what they used in most of their knives in the 1980s. I may be wrong, but I am pretty sure my Black Horse, (also of the Officer Ranch series), that I bought the first year the pattern was issued (about 1985), is made with AUS-8A.

I have seen, sold, used, sharpened & owned a lot of Kershaw/Kai knives in the last 30 years, but the majority of them were from the 1980s. Personally, I find the older Kershaw knives may be slightly harder to sharpen, but I find that my 1980s Kershaws out perform knives of the same model that made in the last 10 or 15 years. That is my opinion.

I believe your 1030 was made in Japan, as to the best of my knowledge Kershaw/Kai had no US manufacturing facilities until they moved to their current plant in Tualatin around 2000, as I recall.

I think the guy who told you the early Kershaws had bad steel had it backwards, though I don't consider their later production knives to have “bad” steel, just a slightly lesser steel than the early ones.

[deanmm56]

Thanks for the info Dave. After doing a little research on my own I did find out it is AUS-8A steel. And yes, you are correct ... a little harder to sharpen but keeps a keen edge.
This knife has been with me for well over 20 years, maybe 25 years now ?

[orvet]

Dean-
Found some info online regarding the time your knife was made.
According to an article written by Pete Kershaw, the 1034 was being used for the special edition Alaska Pipeline knives in 1977.
I think that series of your 1030 and the 1034 (Elk Hunter) were introduced in 1974 or 1975.
I think your knife is older than you think, at least the pattern is, We were selling the 1030 series in the 1980s.

Good link on Kershaw History:
http://www.thekershawstore.com/The-Kers ... -s/234.htm

Officer Ranch Series:
http://www.thekershawstore.com/The-Offi ... -s/229.htm

Jerry, this is for you-
Kershaw DWO:
http://www.thekershawstore.com/The-Kers ... -s/233.htm

Enjoy the read!

[jerryd6818]

Thanks Dale. I copied the story to a Word doc and saved it in the Kershaw DWO folder. Sounds like the original DWO was man enough to carry a pink Kershaw DWO 3000.

[deanmm56]

Dale,

Once again, thank you for the information. If memory serves me correctly, I think I bought this knife in 1978 or 1979. That would make the knife 34-35 years old !!!! I first started hunting deer in Florida about that time and while I had several pocket knives I thought a fixed blade knife was in order. I so much like this design ... almost an extension of my hand when skinning a deer.

[orvet]

FYI Dean-
The 1030 last appears in the 2009 catalog, but not in the 2010 catalog.
The 2009 list price was $199.00, quite a bit more than you paid 30+ years ago!

Do you remember what you paid?
I think in the articles by Pete Kershaw at that link I posted above the Cowboys at the Officer Ranch thought $29.95 was a lot of money for a knife. One said he could buy half a dozen K-Bars for that price! Which was right at that time. I remember seeing boxes full of military surplus Jet Pilot knives for selling for $5 each or less. A K-Bar was right about the same price. $5 X 6 = $30, the old boy could do the math!

As I think back on the price of the 1030 in the early-mid 1980 in the cutlery store, I think it was about $39.95 and by the time I left in 1992, I think the price was about $59.95, but that is through my old foggy memory. I don't have any of the old Kershaw catalogs or price lists any more.

[deanmm56]

Dale,

Been a long time but I'm sure it wasn't over 30-35 dollars. In the late 70s' that WAS a lot of money for a knife. I just wish I had stocked up on Case Congress models from 1970 !!!!