Pros: Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness
Cons: Pocket Clip
Awesome
Lol swapping out out bearings is hard
Reviews and Ratings for Kershaw 1301BW Starter Assisted Flipper Knife 3.4" Blackwash Plain Blade, Stainless Steel Handles
(15 reviews) 4.4 out of 5 stars
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Customer Reviews
Majik
CaliforniaMay 18, 2017
Max
OCNYNov 20, 2018
Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness
Cons: Pocket Clip
Best. Knife. Ever.
I use this knife for EVERYTHING. I have thrown everything possible at this blade and it just keeps going. I sharpen, oil, and clean it regularly. I’ve hammered it into wood, used it as a prybar, dug holes, and of course cut things. Some would say it’s too heavy, I like the heft. Feels like a real tool and not some hipster EDC. I would suggest buying multiples, not because it is a bad, just in case you lose it. Trust me, you will be upset if this knife disappears.
Al H
Stuart, FLJul 28, 2014
Pros: Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness
Cons: None
Wow-awesome
Even better than I expected. Heavy duty very sharp.
Mark G
Hamilton, OntarioAug 11, 2014
Pros: Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Pocket Clip, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness
Cons: Weight
Kershaw Starter
For the price you can't argue. Sharp out of the box. Rock solid lockup. The only complaint would be the weight, but with a full metal knife, it's to be expected. I will be getting the other 2 from the set.
Doommex
Clovis CA Nov 09, 2020
Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Pocket Clip, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness
Cons: None
Brutal Blade
If I was a knife salesman I could sell them all day long just for the price alone. It has a great texture on the scales very sharp out of the box pocket clip a plus as well. So I even purchased two of them would make a great gift for any knife collector.Hats off to Kershaw for thinking about the working class men and women for such a great edc.
Joey V
Santa Clarita, CA, USAJul 22, 2014
Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Pocket Clip, Blade Sharpness
Cons: None
My new favorite Kershaw
Love this knife. Minor negatives/heads up: • It's a little heavy so if that's not your thing, I'd recommend my 2nd favorite Kershaw, the Volt SS (they make a nice pair, with the Volt SS being more of a gentleman's knife/dressy/clean/thin... that one has a 3-way clip but no thumbstuds). The heavy steel handle is a plus in my book, but it also is a bit heavier than the blade so it's not completely balanced. Feels great, just fyi. • The pocket clip is right, tip-down only. My preferred position so I'm ok with it, but fyi if that's a deal breaker for you. • For the money, the quality is flat out amazing and can't be beat, but just keep in mind it's still a $30 Kershaw, not a Zero Tolerance. The tang is a bit small and the blade might benefit from blade stop style thumbstuds to give it a little more side-to-side strength. It's also made in China and has cheaper stainless steel. Other than that, everything is amazing: Positives: • SpeedSafe assisted opening • Flipper opening • Thumbstud opening. Rounded thumbstuds as well as slight indents on the handle to help get your thumb in make this method just as easy as the flipper. Ambidextrous too for you lefties but keep in mind that pocket clip will be in the way a bit (still doable). • Strong, heavy steel handle. • Blackwash finish all over (even the pocket clip, and the screws/studs/spacers all match too) • Good looks (blade shape, the handle, pivot screw, deep-carry clip) • Nice grip • Some jimping on spine • Easy-to-close liner lock My current favorite sub-$30 knife, or even sub-$50 or $60.
Steven F.
Oklahoma City, OK.Jul 16, 2015
Pros: Weight, Pocket Clip
Cons: Sheath
Overall it is an excellent knife. The weight helps if I had to bust glass (which I did about a week ago with if), very sharp, very good carrying knife for the price. I would recommend it to anyone.
Drew The Knife Guy
West Columbia, SCAug 11, 2020
Pros: Ease of Opening, Pocket Clip, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness
Cons: Lock Ease of Use
great knife
An all around EDC knife, very comfortable in my pocket, very pleasing design. The only difficulty I have experienced is with the blade release when closing the blade into the handle. Other than that, no complaints. A definite all around keeper.
Rich
NYDec 16, 2020
Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Pocket Clip, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness
Cons: None
Excellent knife
For the price of this knife its solid and very sharp, my new edc
Tank
AlabamaJan 23, 2026
Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Ease of Opening, Handle Feel, Handle Material, Lock Ease of Use, Lock Type, Overall Quality, Pocket Clip
Cons: Sheath, Weight
Well informative
Well built knife. Easy and fast to open with the assist. Come from factory with a razor sharp edge and after using it for a month it’s still just as sharp. The knife is a little heavy for a EDC but that’s what I was looking for is a rugged dependable and heavy duty knife. Well built.
Matt M.
CaliforniaAug 13, 2014
Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness
Cons: Weight, Pocket Clip
My $.02
I use as a every day carry. With the weight of the knife, a glass breaker attached would be great.
Zoghound
New JerzeeOct 05, 2018
Pros: Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Overall Quality
Cons: Weight
hey now
this knife is heavy man .. no i mean it weighs a lot .. almost too much to just sit in your pocket .. but it moves fast and feels nice in the hand .. looks snarky too ..with a very manageable price ...
William
WVJul 01, 2014
Pros: Ease of Opening, Pocket Clip, Blade Material, Blade Sharpness
Cons: Weight, Handle Feel, Handle Material
Not a bad knife
Ive been a fan of Kershaw knives for many years now but havent purchased one for a while. Right out of the box the first thing you notice is the predigous weight. It feels like a lump of steel in your hand and pockett. The scales, while durable, are a little cheesey looking, almost appearing cheap and do not seem to fit the beautiful "blackwash" blade. The flipper and thumb studs are equally suited for engaging the assisted open feature and neither are cumbersome or misplaced. The scales fit well in a large hand but lack a textured grip feature for the thumb. All in all its a great knife for $20 and constructed well enough to be used for laborous tasks, though the weight means I wont use it for my EDC, it will work great on the job.
Zach
Sep 01, 2015
Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Pocket Clip
Cons: Lock Type
The Keyshawn starter is an ok budget knife. The steel does loose its edge very quickly but it is a pretty good looking knife. I would get this knife only if you know how to sharpen knives because you will have to do that. The pivot screw does strip very very easily.
Derek
CanadaDec 05, 2014
Pros: Ease of Opening
Cons: None
Only looks like a knfie
This is a well designed budget knife. I was happy with it out of the box but once I started using it the budget price became obvious. The blade is absolutely worthless. I only used this blade for opening boxes and packages so it only went through plastic wrap, scotch tape and some cardboard and the edge chipped out. I resharpened it to a razor edge and a few days later, same result. Do yourself a favor, spend a little more money and get a real knife.
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Close-up of hand holding knife, opening or unsheathing knife, and then closing or sheathing knife.