KAI Brands Debut 2021 Releases

KAI’s dynamic duo, Kershaw and Zero Tolerance, have revealed their 2021 lineups. In terms of the new releases’ tenor, it’s business as usual – which means a slew of varied designs from Kershaw, and a much smaller, premium-directed offering from ZT.

ZT Looks Forward and Backward with Pair of New Blades

The 0762 comes to us from the in-house design team, and bears the hallmarks of that lineage. The ZT crew’s penchant for unusual blade shapes is in full display with a 3.4-inch modified wharncliffe blade – or is it a modified drop point? Either way it’s heavily modified, with a notably raised tip and quite a bit of belly. For the blade steel we’re getting CPM 20CV; the handle is prettied-up with full front-and back carbon fiber, skeletonized and laid over a steel fretwork frame. The pocket clip is made from titanium, as is the Sub-Frame Lock mechanism.

Also from the in-house team is the 0990, a knife that looks back on the classic, collectible ZT 0999. That was an uber-premium limited release, so the 0990 makes things comparatively more utilitarian while retaining the original’s techy bio-mechanoid look. The CPM 20CV blade measures 3.25 inches long and the skeletonized blade and handle combo give the 0990 a very carry-friendly weight of 2.9 oz.

Kershaw Fleet Arrives

Kapsule

Usually you can tell a Jens Ansø knife when you see it, but the Kapsule is a bit of a departure for the veteran designer. It’s a manual OTF knife with a button lock and a tiny 1.9-inch spear blade.

Drivetrain

The Drivetrain is an assisted opener with D2 blade steel. It also packs in two emergency-oriented secondary features, in the form of a glass breaker and a seatbelt cutter.

Highball XL

The name says it all: the Highball XL is a larger variation of last year’s Highball – but at 3.3 inches in blade length, this is still an eminently EDCable blade.

Bracket

On one level, the Bracket is simply a scaled-up version of the Static, now sporting a 3.4 inch cleaver blade. But evidently the other, multiple altered elements make it more than an “XL” of an extant design. The Bracket has 8Cr13MoV blade steel and SpeedSafe deployment.

Platform

The Platform follows in the footsteps of minimalist multifunctional knives like the Victorinox Cadet. The main feature is a 2.75-inch slipjoint blade; but in lieu of a pocket clip it packs in a folding pair of nail clippers.

Brace

One of three fixed blades en route for 2021, the Brace is a tiny, 2-inch-bladed neck knife. With an 8Cr13MoV blade, it’s the only new fixed blade made from steel, but more on that below.

Canonball

Obviously designed for hard work, the Cannonball is a beefy stainless steel frame lock with D2 blade steel. Its 3.5 inch blade length puts it right in the wheelhouse for an all-around daily tasker.

Tremolo

The hyper budget-focused Starter series is getting a new model, the Tremolo. This one has a 3.125-inch recurved blade that opens with a SpeedSafe flipper tab.

Knife in Featured Image: Zero Tolerance 0762