Kershaw’s Faultline Folder, by Pat Cascio

You don’t have to spend a lot of money to get a lot of knife– one that will serve your every day needs quite well. The Kershaw Faultline is just such a folder.

Kershaw Knives

I’ve been reviewing Kershaw Knives for about 25 years, and I’ve toured their plant several times, even the new one that they opened a few years ago and already needs to be expanded to meet their needs. I remember on my very first tour of Kershaw, they had a mere 18 employees assembling knives and one lone gal inspected every knife before it was boxed up and shipped. Kershaw has come a long way since then. They now employ hundreds of people. It is quite the operation to watch how certain people assemble certain parts of a knife and it is moved down the line for the next person to work on it. Then it goes on to the room, a big room with lots of people who do nothing except sharpen knives all day long. They also test each blade for sharpness by slicing newspaper.

Kai Corporation

Kershaw is now owned by the Kai Corporation in Japan. I’m not sure if this is still true, but at one time Kai made more razor blades than any other company. They are also world famous for their kitchen cutlery and, of course, a division of Kershaw– Zero Tolerance, which makes those high-end, specialty knives for military and law enforcement use. However, you can still buy them even if you’re a civilian.

Sometimes, I’m buried with several press releases, announcing the newest and coolest knives from Kershaw. I can’t possibly test and review them all. So I pick and choose which knives I think our readers will enjoy reading about. Now, for all you haters out there who only believe in owning knives made in the USA, the new Kershaw Faultline is made in China. That’s the end of story. If you don’t like ‘em being made there, then don’t buy them. But you get as good as you want from overseas. Keep that in mind.

Kershaw Faultline Specs

Here’s a quick look at the Faultline specs. It has the KVT ball-bearing method of opening, and it is effortless and butter smooth. A simple push on the flipper and the blade locks open and is locked via an inset liner lock. It’s simple enough. There is a pocket clip. However, it is a single position number; you can’t move it from one side of the blade to the other, and the blade is carried tip up. The blade steel is 8Cr13Mov, which is a stainless material that takes a good edge, holds it a good long time, and is easy to re-sharpen. I’ve had some people challenge me on this, saying a knife that takes and holds an edge a good long time can’t possibly be re-sharpened easily. Well, I don’t have any special skills when it comes to re-sharpening knives, but this one is easy to do. It just takes a little bit of practice.

Blade and Handle

The blade length on the Faultline is three inches, but it seems longer than that. Also, the entire top of the blade has friction grooves, so you can easily place your finger where you want it to be, for up close cutting work. That’s very nice! The handle material is OD green glass-filled nylon with rubber overmold inserts. (I have more on this later.) The Faultline only weighs a mere 3.9 oz, so you hardly know you are packing it in a pocket.The blade has a black oxidized coating that is non-reflective and is a nice touch. Also, the blade came razor-sharp out of the box.

Rubber Overmolded Insets

The rubber overmolded insets really give you something to hold onto under any weather conditions. However, this is my one minor complaint. When clipped in my cargo pants pocket, those little rubber nubs make it extremely difficult to draw the knife. They tend to grab your pants pocket material.

Warranty

Kershaw has a limited lifetime warranty on all their knives against defects in materials, too. So, keep that in mind when shopping for a new folder. Many knock-off knife makers offer no warranty at all, so they obviously don’t have much faith in their own products. I couldn’t tell you the number of fake Kershaw and other knife company knives I’ve run across. Many even duplicate the boxes from the original. However, a quick look will let you know it’s a phony, not the genuine article.

A Good Everyday Carry Folder

The blade on the Faultline is a bit wider than you’d expect, which is a good thing. It allows more purchase on whatever it is you are cutting into. I used the Faultline for a number of cutting tasks around the house. This folder isn’t designed for heavy duty chores, like survival out in the wilderness. Then again, many folders aren’t up to this task to start with. However, many of us just like a good everyday carry folder for all our daily cutting chores at home or the office. The Faultline shines in this respect.

I did some light cutting on cotton rope with no problem, and opening packages from UPS and FedEx weren’t any problem. Also, I applied it to some kitchen chores, like cutting fruits and veggies, and then used it to cut up a steak at the dinner table, even though the shorter blade wasn’t made for this. Still, it worked just fine.

German Shepherds and Their Cardboard Boxes

We used to raise German Shepherds on a part-time basis, and at one time we had seven full-grown German Shepherds in our house. That was quite a chore caring for them all and then having a couple of litters. Even the pups were a lot of work. We are now down to just two males, and they are getting up there in age. However, the one thing they love is tearing apart cardboard boxes that UPS and FedEx bring.

Once in a great while, one will sneak out the door and meet one of the delivery drivers, and the drivers let ‘em have the box. The dogs could care less what is inside. They just want the box, and then they “fight” over the boxes, ripping it into tiny pieces. It doesn’t matter how many pieces of cardboard are on the living room floor, the other dog wants the piece the other dog has in his mouth.

I often time will cut up the bigger cardboard boxes, and this gives the boys a chance to have a bigger piece in their mouth, at least for a while. Then, as the pieces get smaller and smaller, they fight over what is left on the floor.

Faultline Kept Slicing and Dicing

The Faultline came in handy for me, cutting up several big boxes for my boys to enjoy. And, to be sure, cardboard is tough on a knife’s edge. It dulls them quickly. However, the Faultline just kept on slicing and dicing those pieces of cardboard.

The Best

I like to save the best for last, and that is the retail price. The Faultline has a full retail price of only $39.99, and you can usually find Kershaw knives deeply discounted in some of the box and small box stores, as well as online, too. If you want a new folder to keep in your glove box, tackle box, or on the office desk for opening packages, you could do a lot worse than the Faultline. Check one out.