This knife is discontinued, shop all Kershaw Knives here.
They're some of the first of Kershaw's Ken Onion SpeedSafe knives and still among the best. All feature 13C26 stainless-steel blades for strength and corrosion resistance. The Blackout's blade is also coated with scratch-resistant Tungsten DLC for a handsome, non-reflective surface. All knives include a contoured handle of injection-molded polyimide, an extremely durable engineering plastic, for a comfortable and stable grip. Stainless-steel liners add to the overall handle strength. Steel: Sandvik 13C26 stainless-steel Handle: Polyimide Blade Length: 3 1/4 in. (8.4 cm) Closed Length: 4 1/2 in. (11.3 cm) Overall Length: N/A Weight: 3.5 oz
SpeedSafe Locking Liner Thumb Stud Pocket Clip
Kershaw Whirlwind Assisted Knife Review
I have been carrying, using, and lending this knife out for a couple years now and its about time I threw a review down. This knife has been to camping trips (winter and summer), its been to work with me cutting open new shipments of knives, it chilled by the side of my pool for a couple days and picked up some rust marks, and I have let others use this knife when they were short a blade in a time of need. This review is the result of all that use and more.
BLADE
The blade on the Whirlwind is made of 14C28N Sandvik Steel. That probably means about as much to you as it did to me; very little. I looked it up and it turns out this steel is basically only used by Kershaw and was designed for use in razor blades, meaning its easy to sharpen to an extremely sharp edge and it retains it reasonably well. The general consensus was that the steel is on par with VG-10. The blade on my knife is the part serrated version, a mistake now that I have owned the knife for a couple years but so be it. The blade holds true to its steel and holds an extremely sharp edge. The knife cuts through things like theyre butter due to its steel type and hollow grind. The drop point blade is great for slicing and really works with the motion of your hand. The steel also resists rust surprisingly well. I accidentally left it by the side of my pool for about 48 hours and it got splashed and dripped on a little bit both days. The water just sat there on the blade too. When I retrieved my knife I brushed the water off and there were only a couple tiny rust spots. The only thing I really didnt like about this knife were the serrations. Over the years I have really come to dislike the little jaggedy points knife makers put on their blades. Get serrations they said, they will be useful they said. Well they werent. A nicely sharpened plain edge will cut just as easily and will sharpen up much easier when the time comes. Plus I lent my knife to my friends dad and he cut all of his ski passes off of his jacket on a winter camp. My knifes serrations were gummed up for months with nasty ski pass adhesive.
HANDLE
The handle on the whirlwind is made of glass reinforced nylon with a textured pattern along the sides of the handle. The pattern is grippy but not overly grippy. Some knives are like holding sandpaper but this is not one of them. The shape of the handle fits in your hand well. It is not the most comfortable shape in the world (that would be the Spyderco Native) but it does not feel strange in the hand like some knives. The pocket clip carries the knife tip down and is oriented for right handed carry.
ACTION
The action on the Whirlwind is spring assisted and is activated by using the thumb stud. The thumb stud is not as easy as a spine flipper but it is a lot less likely to fire in your pocket or on accident as you draw it. The spring action on this knife was always very smooth and very quick. I loved it, my friends loved it, and all was well. I would amuse myself by flipping the blade out, cutting something, and closing it. It was quick enough and sharp enough that this entertained me. Juvenile, I know. That is it was smooth until Bear Lake. Maybe a year and a half after I got this knife I camped on the side of Bear Lake. It must have been a dry year because it was dustier than I had ever seen it. My knife ended up on the ground at some point and ever since the action has just felt gritty. Still fast but gritty. Im sure if I pulled the knife apart and gave the joint a nice cleaning all would be well again but I just havent gotten around to it.
OVERALL IMPRESSION
The Kershaw Whirlwind has been one of my favorite knives for years. Recently it has faded out of favor due to two things. First, when I now go camping I like to take a small fixed blade rather than a folder. Due to their stronger nature. Second this knife is a little big for my EDC tastes. I would prefer something the size of a Spyderco Dragonfly. But other than that I still love the knife, it just doesnt get as much use anymore. SO if you like a medium sized EDC or you like to take folders into the wilderness this knife is great for you.