Personal Review: Kershaw Half Ton Pocket Knife

Over the summer, I started carrying a multitool and then a folding knife - again. Out of curiosity, I looked up North Carolina knife laws. There are some statutes from the early 20th century that proscribe carrying concealed edged weapons. And there is a single case from the 1920s (I think) that exempts pocket knifes with blades under 4 inches. The knife I was carrying was 4-1/2 inches. I also read that, if it ever comes up during contact with law enforcement, that the "any weapons" questions and response of "a pocket knife" should cover you. But I decided on a small change ...

 I wanted a sturdier knife that was easy to single-handily deploy with my small hands anyway, and it was a bonus that it would fall below the 4-inch threshold. Somehow I settled on the Kershaw Half Ton based on price, and well, just stumbling upon it on Amazon.com. And Santa Claus brought it to me.

You can find the Kershaw Half Ton Pocket Knife for $10-15 from a variety of vendors.

Duel Purpose

Intended Use:  One: I had needed a knife just around the house. Every time I wanted a cutting tool I went looking for scissors, utility knifes, and various folding knifes I had stashed here and there. Two: I wanted a knife for gun-free zones, seat-belt cutting, and (Two-&-A-Half) just because I should always have a knife. I'm too young to have been required to show up on my first day of grade school with a pen knife, but I did earn my Whittlin Chip badge and carried a Buck 110 throughout Boy Scouts. There is something to be said about Scouts encouraging knife safety and use.

Quality

This is an inexpensive knife, but it is not cheap like the generic thing it's replacing. There is some flex in the body, but not much. Also, the blade developed a tiny dent from striking one of the spacers. 

   Finally, the pocket clip fell off. I was mulling removing the belt clip. I've used it to index my fingers (more on size later), but I didn't really need it. The manual mentions the ability to remove the clip, but I didn't expect it to fall off. After examining the two remaining torque-head screws, I realized that LockTite would have been perfect for retaining the clip. I just wish they would have thought about that at the factory.

   Oh, and the blade is not very sharp. The blade on my Leatherman Skeletool is perfect in comparison. But I would prefer serrations above overall sharpness for a general-use knife.

Performance

Handling: I have small hands, but for me this small knife takes a little practice opening one handed. I practiced opening it while indexing my fingers on the pocket clip - and it was a good thing that it fell off, because I do much better opening the knife without it. Also, the action has smoothed with use.

Utility: Some experts say that you should always have a utility knife and a tactical knife. Well, I'm not up for that now, so I want a knife that will cut what I need cut. So, even though what I used to carry was crap, I do miss the serrations. Also, since it is so small (even for my small hands), I don't know if I could retain it in a fight, have it function effectively in a rescue situation, or have the cutting force needed in a survival situation.

   So I'm looking at knives again - quality knives. But as a stopgap the Kershaw Half Ton performs.