Kershaw Builds up Starter Series, Rolls out Limited Edition Traditionals

Last week Kershaw’s latest Product Reveal landed. The reveal included two new folders, an outdoors-centric fixed blade, and a mess of limited edition traditional knives.

Korra

Kershaw designates the new Korra as a Starter Series model. Knives in this series aim to be the entry level products in the Kershaw lineup, with materials chosen to hit a lower price point. So the Korra’s 2.75-inch drop point blade is made from 5Cr15MoV, a steel comparable to 4116 stainless; and it is indeed very stainless, although of course edge holding, compared to more advanced formulations or even current gen budget steel like D2, is going to be lacking.

Beneath that blade we see handle scales made from GFN, with a liner lock under the hood – and the Korra, just like the Align below, opens with a spring-assisted flipper. It weighs just 2.2 oz.

Align

Meanwhile the Align seems to be situated just above the Starter Series in terms of materials and price – similar to the zone that Kershaw classics like Rick Hinderer-designed Cryo occupy. Its blade, a bit larger at 3.15 inches, is made from 8Cr13MoV, the old king of budget steels before we entered the D2 era. 8Cr13MoV ups the performance over the 5Cr on the Korra, but in terms of general classification gets a similar designation, that is as an easy-to-maintain, entry-level stainless.

The handle here is full stainless steel, which makes the Align, at 3.6 oz., a bit heavier than its stablemate above. It also leverages that full steel frame to incorporate a frame lock instead of a liner lock.

Deschutes Gut Hook

The Deshutes family, a pair of affordable fixed blades targeting hunters, grows with the addition of a gut hook variant. We won’t go into the nitty gritty uses of this one, but suffice to say it is right there in the name; the Gut Hook has the same 3.9-inch edge length and D2 steel as the standard Skinner model.

Limited Edition Traditionals

The Gadsden, Brandywine, and Culpepper – these are three pieces in the small but enduring traditional slipjoint section of Kershaw’s lineup. Each of these models has just been rolled out in a limited edition, upgraded batch available direct from Kershaw only. The scales are red bone – either smooth or jigged – and the steel on all blades is D2. Each knife also has a Kershaw shield inlay.

All of these knives are available now.

Knife in Featured Image: Kershaw Align

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