Kershaw Freefall

This is a great every-day-carry (EDC) knife. It is an assisted opening knife with a very smooth action. It's sturdy and robust, and still small enough to tuck away in a pocket. It came sharp out of the box, and has held an edge despite being used as an EDC.

I bought this knife as an EDC and I am very happy with it on a few different levels.

It's a very attractive knife. It has a modified Tanto style blade. Tanto blades are usually found on tactical knives. The Tanto style tip offers increased tip strength for plunging and stabbing motions. I have no need for a tactical knife, but the style is very unique and the knife still functions well for all the things that I use it for. Cutting open food packaging, paracord, rope, tape, whittling sticks for roasting marshmallows. I could potentially use it to open a can of food if I find myself camping without a can opener. The Tanto blade was made for tasks like that.

The assisted opening works great! There is a spring in the handle that serves two purposes. It keeps the knife closed, and it assists the knife to open. When the knife is sitting in the closed position, the spring applies constant pressure on the blade to hold it in the closed position. This prevents the knife from opening when it's in your pocket. The knife has a 'paddle' style opener. It's a small tooth that protrudes from the backside of the blade.

To open the knife, you hold it in your hand and press the paddle with your index finger. When you push the paddle to open the knife, you will feel slight resistance, but when the blade has become partially opened, the spring kicks in and pushes the blade into the opened position. The result is that the knife appears to be like a switchblade, but unlike a switchblade, this knife is safe and legal. The knife has a liner lock, but no barrel lock. I know some people have a negative opinion of liner locks, but I have owned many and have never had a problem with them.

The knife is sturdy and robust. It has a wider blade than most small pockets knives. The blade is 3.25". The knife is 4.25" closed, and 7.5" opened. It weighs 4.1 oz. This is a little larger and little heavier than many people would want to carry. I think the added weight and size is worth it, because I will use this knife for heavier tasks than I would not use a typical Swiss army style knife for.

When I received this knife, it did not need to be sharpened. It was very sharp and is holding an edge, despite being used as an EDC.

The lanyard hole fits paracord! What more needs to be said? I use my knife while fishing in my canoe, so a lanyard hole is a must for any knife or tool I take out on the water.

The handle is ergonomically designed. It fits the palm of the hand and is easy to grip. The K-texture (Kershaw's signature texture style made up of a bunch of K's) feels grippy, even when the knife is wet. The only downside of the K-texture is that it seems to be fraying the edge of my pocket a bit. The jimping is nice and chunky and feels very comfortable against my thumb.

There is a deep pocket clip. It holds the knife firmly in your pocket, and sits in a way that the entire knife is contained in your pocket. The clip is adjustable, and reversible, but the screw to do this is an extremely small torx screw. I bought a pack of torx bits so that I could switch it from a right hand carry to a left hand carry, but the bits I bought weren't small enough. I don't mind buying tools, and now I have a set of torx bits to put in the garage, but it would have been nice if the adjustment screw was a little more generic.

This knife is very affordable. The quality seems high despite the low price tag. I ordered mine from amazon.ca and it came out to $35 including taxes (shipping was free).

I have owned this knife for a month, and am very happy with it so far. I plan to use it all summer, and I will update this review if the knife impresses me more, or if it fails to meet my expectations.

I would recommend this knife.