Kershaw Skyline Review
The Kershaw Skyline is, like the Tenacious, one of those knives that has been reviewed and reviewed and even re-reviewed all over the internet, on knife forums, and elsewhere. So, like the Tenacious review, this is really about having a more comprehensive list of reviews than breaking news. Also, I happened to want a Skyline since I saw one at Wal-Mart on sale for a paltry $25. Here is my Skyline:
The idea for the Skyline, according to Tommie Lucas, its designer was to make an EDC knife that uses a flipper but does not have an assisted opening. He hit it right on the mark.
ASIDE
I think every knife should come with its designer's name on the packaging. First, they deserve the credit (or the blame). Also, eventually you learn that there are certain people you like (Sal Glesser) and folks you don't (Brian Tighe) and this helps you evaluate new products for purchase. Its like putting the director's name on a movie.
END ASIDE
Here is the product page. Here is a good street price. Here are the Amazon reviews. The average score is 4.73 out of 5 with 73 reviews. There is also a special addition "Damascus" blade Skyline and a ACU digital camo G-10 version. The ACU camo version is much rarer than the Damascus version. There is no serrated version, thankfully. Above were three good video reviews.
Design: 2
Sit and look at the Skyline for a minute. Stare at it. Do you see it? Do you see what makes this a really competitive knife in an already overcrowded market segment? Its greatest design triumph, the thing that separates it from lesser knives, is subtle. It only has one liner. By doing that Tommie Lucas lightened the knife significantly and made it from yet another mid-sized clunker into a svelte contender. The cut of the handle is very ergonomic and the flipper does double duty as a hilt. Here is a close up of the great finger choil/cutout:
The blade:handle is an impressive: .73. The curved, talon-like end of the handle makes for a great rest when holding the knife in a reverse grip.
Fit and Finish: 2
Working with a razor thin budget Lucas and Kershaw banged out a fantastic knife in terms of fit and finish. Buck should take notice because this knife is made the USA, is cheap, and has a well centered blade even in a liner lock, something the first couple batches of Vantages, at the least, did not manage to do. Lock is smooth and tight, there is no wiggle room in the blade when out, and the blade's finish is even and smooth.
Grip: 2
Second only to my ZT350, this baby really locks into your hand, again probably because of the great finger choil and flipper working in combination. The tapered tail is also nice. The handle slabs of G-10 are rounded over so there are no hotspots. I did a lot of whittling with my Skyline and even in repeated, hard pulls there was no pinching or uncomfortable places. That said the surface is still quite grippy.
Carry: 2
The knife's incredibly slim profile means that it just vanishes in the pocket and its weight means you can't feel it either. For a blade larger than three inches it is amazingly invisible. Even the flipper is okay, as unlike other flippers, it does not get in the way of retrieving the knife for some reason.
Steel: 2
The big issue with the Skyline is that Kershaw has upgraded the steel from the original release. It was originally released with Sandvik's 13c26. In 2009-2010 they upgraded the knife to the Kershaw exclusive Sandvik 14c28n. The steel's recipe is very similar to 13c26. The interesting thing is that 14c28n, and to a lesser extend 13c26, seem to be part of a wave of new knife steels that have low carbon counts and high nitrogen counts. This is, based my limited understanding, a way to keep the steel hard and add some corrosion resistance to the blade. So, for example, the 14c28n has .11% nitrogen and Spyderco's H1 has .10%. There is more carbon in the 14c28n than H1, so it will rust, but it is an interesting and new way to balance out the attributes people look for in steel. The hardness count on the Rockwell scale varies significantly depended on heat treating (55-62, according to Sandvik), but its high is really high, slightly more than S30V (which usually tops out around 60-61) but less than ZDP-189 (which can hit 66). I really punished the knife, whittling an oak tree limb and cutting cardboard and it is still decently sharp. I did touch it up on the Sharpmaker so it is not as hard as ZDP-189, but it is still very impressive; in the upper echelon of steels and at this price, probably the best steel for the money right now.
Blade Shape: 1
Okay, here is the first ding against the blade and it is not a major issue. I am not sure I understand the reason for a spear point/drop point blade. Here is a not too close macro of the blade:
I like the belly, but the tip seems pretty fragile. Looking at the knife from overhead, you see that very little of the thickness of the blade is carried out to the tip. Compare this to the blade on the ZT350, for example, which I think has a great shape because of its thickness throughout, and I think you will have the same question I did: why? Why not just go with a clip point or why not get rid of the swedge and just carry the thickness all the way out? In a utility blade this thin of a tip could be a problem.
Grind: 1
As I have harped on this point all along--with lower costs comes lesser grinds. Here the grind on the blade itself is fine, but the secondary bevel, the actual cutting edge, well that is kinda messy. At the tip of the blade, the grind just seems to go off the line, as if the guy at Kershaw was dozing for a second at the grinder wheel. It is not terrible but it does weaken an already weak tip. Note how, in the picture above, the grind widens at the tip. Boo.
Deployment Method: 2
For a while I had this as a 1. The flipper here requires a very specific motion, hitting the very end of the flipper only, to deploy without a wrist snap. Then I realized, well, that could be a good thing as it requires a very specific action making accidental activation unlikely. If you need to deploy the knife fast every time, look at a different blade, but for EDC/utility use, the deployment method is very good.
Retention Method: 2
Ah yes, the simple beauty of the Strider clip. It was on loan to ZT and then it went over into the regular Kershaw line. Good thing because it is AWESOME. Here is a peek:
Lock: 2
The lockup is solid and the liner lock is perfectly fine. It also disengages easily. Very good.
Overall Score: 18 out of 20
For a blade made in America for under or around $30 the Skyline is an awesome choice. Nothing even comes close. But for a bit more, like 2 lunches at Subway more, you can get a Delica, which I think, is a more refined design. Not much more and maybe not even 2 lunches worth more. The Skyline certain deserves the praise it gets. It is an awesome knife. It has reset the bar for value in an EDC folder. Great job Tommie Lucas and Kershaw.
1YL: 19 out of 20
The more knives I review the more I realize that I dinged the Skyline TOO MUCH for the blade shape. Compared to, say the Kerhsaw Leek, this thing is positively robust. There are very few knives that I have gotten rid of that I want back. This is at the top of the list. It is such a solid blade and it is easily among the best values in the under $50 price range that I feel silly not giving it a higher score. Its not perfect, but it is damn good.
Classic Revisited
The idea for the Skyline, according to Tommie Lucas, its designer was to make an EDC knife that uses a flipper but does not have an assisted opening. He hit it right on the mark.
ASIDE
I think every knife should come with its designer's name on the packaging. First, they deserve the credit (or the blame). Also, eventually you learn that there are certain people you like (Sal Glesser) and folks you don't (Brian Tighe) and this helps you evaluate new products for purchase. Its like putting the director's name on a movie.
END ASIDE
Here is the product page. Here is a good street price. Here are the Amazon reviews. The average score is 4.73 out of 5 with 73 reviews. There is also a special addition "Damascus" blade Skyline and a ACU digital camo G-10 version. The ACU camo version is much rarer than the Damascus version. There is no serrated version, thankfully. Above were three good video reviews.
Design: 2
Sit and look at the Skyline for a minute. Stare at it. Do you see it? Do you see what makes this a really competitive knife in an already overcrowded market segment? Its greatest design triumph, the thing that separates it from lesser knives, is subtle. It only has one liner. By doing that Tommie Lucas lightened the knife significantly and made it from yet another mid-sized clunker into a svelte contender. The cut of the handle is very ergonomic and the flipper does double duty as a hilt. Here is a close up of the great finger choil/cutout:
The blade:handle is an impressive: .73. The curved, talon-like end of the handle makes for a great rest when holding the knife in a reverse grip.
Fit and Finish: 2
Working with a razor thin budget Lucas and Kershaw banged out a fantastic knife in terms of fit and finish. Buck should take notice because this knife is made the USA, is cheap, and has a well centered blade even in a liner lock, something the first couple batches of Vantages, at the least, did not manage to do. Lock is smooth and tight, there is no wiggle room in the blade when out, and the blade's finish is even and smooth.
Grip: 2
Second only to my ZT350, this baby really locks into your hand, again probably because of the great finger choil and flipper working in combination. The tapered tail is also nice. The handle slabs of G-10 are rounded over so there are no hotspots. I did a lot of whittling with my Skyline and even in repeated, hard pulls there was no pinching or uncomfortable places. That said the surface is still quite grippy.
Carry: 2
The knife's incredibly slim profile means that it just vanishes in the pocket and its weight means you can't feel it either. For a blade larger than three inches it is amazingly invisible. Even the flipper is okay, as unlike other flippers, it does not get in the way of retrieving the knife for some reason.
Steel: 2
The big issue with the Skyline is that Kershaw has upgraded the steel from the original release. It was originally released with Sandvik's 13c26. In 2009-2010 they upgraded the knife to the Kershaw exclusive Sandvik 14c28n. The steel's recipe is very similar to 13c26. The interesting thing is that 14c28n, and to a lesser extend 13c26, seem to be part of a wave of new knife steels that have low carbon counts and high nitrogen counts. This is, based my limited understanding, a way to keep the steel hard and add some corrosion resistance to the blade. So, for example, the 14c28n has .11% nitrogen and Spyderco's H1 has .10%. There is more carbon in the 14c28n than H1, so it will rust, but it is an interesting and new way to balance out the attributes people look for in steel. The hardness count on the Rockwell scale varies significantly depended on heat treating (55-62, according to Sandvik), but its high is really high, slightly more than S30V (which usually tops out around 60-61) but less than ZDP-189 (which can hit 66). I really punished the knife, whittling an oak tree limb and cutting cardboard and it is still decently sharp. I did touch it up on the Sharpmaker so it is not as hard as ZDP-189, but it is still very impressive; in the upper echelon of steels and at this price, probably the best steel for the money right now.
Blade Shape: 1
Okay, here is the first ding against the blade and it is not a major issue. I am not sure I understand the reason for a spear point/drop point blade. Here is a not too close macro of the blade:
I like the belly, but the tip seems pretty fragile. Looking at the knife from overhead, you see that very little of the thickness of the blade is carried out to the tip. Compare this to the blade on the ZT350, for example, which I think has a great shape because of its thickness throughout, and I think you will have the same question I did: why? Why not just go with a clip point or why not get rid of the swedge and just carry the thickness all the way out? In a utility blade this thin of a tip could be a problem.
Grind: 1
As I have harped on this point all along--with lower costs comes lesser grinds. Here the grind on the blade itself is fine, but the secondary bevel, the actual cutting edge, well that is kinda messy. At the tip of the blade, the grind just seems to go off the line, as if the guy at Kershaw was dozing for a second at the grinder wheel. It is not terrible but it does weaken an already weak tip. Note how, in the picture above, the grind widens at the tip. Boo.
Deployment Method: 2
For a while I had this as a 1. The flipper here requires a very specific motion, hitting the very end of the flipper only, to deploy without a wrist snap. Then I realized, well, that could be a good thing as it requires a very specific action making accidental activation unlikely. If you need to deploy the knife fast every time, look at a different blade, but for EDC/utility use, the deployment method is very good.
Retention Method: 2
Ah yes, the simple beauty of the Strider clip. It was on loan to ZT and then it went over into the regular Kershaw line. Good thing because it is AWESOME. Here is a peek:
Lock: 2
The lockup is solid and the liner lock is perfectly fine. It also disengages easily. Very good.
Overall Score: 18 out of 20
For a blade made in America for under or around $30 the Skyline is an awesome choice. Nothing even comes close. But for a bit more, like 2 lunches at Subway more, you can get a Delica, which I think, is a more refined design. Not much more and maybe not even 2 lunches worth more. The Skyline certain deserves the praise it gets. It is an awesome knife. It has reset the bar for value in an EDC folder. Great job Tommie Lucas and Kershaw.
1YL: 19 out of 20
The more knives I review the more I realize that I dinged the Skyline TOO MUCH for the blade shape. Compared to, say the Kerhsaw Leek, this thing is positively robust. There are very few knives that I have gotten rid of that I want back. This is at the top of the list. It is such a solid blade and it is easily among the best values in the under $50 price range that I feel silly not giving it a higher score. Its not perfect, but it is damn good.
Classic Revisited