Pros: Blade Material, Ease of Opening, Handle Feel, Handle Material, Lock Ease of Use, Lock Type, Overall Quality
Cons: None
Kershaw takes a leading role
Kershaw Bel-Air Carbon Fiber I’ve wanted to like Kershaw for a long time, I already own a Chive, Leek, Whirlwind (one of my first good knives), Ripcord, and used to have a Japanese Vapor. As I got older, I grew to distrust liner-locks, and I grew less interested in ‘value’ focused knives. Sadly, most of Kershaw’s catalog was a liner lock folding knife, and much had moved to Chinese manufacture. I looked in on them often, hoping to see change. I’m very pleased to say that there has been a big change. A few years back I got a Launch 5 and I thought to myself ‘this is Kershaw of old: quality steel (CPM 154, old but good), a solidly built aluminum handle, a quality lock, and made in America. And now, this exquisite, elegant, fantastically well made Bel-Air. This steel is a state-of-the-industry marvel, look into the origins and the composition of Crucible’s CPM MagnaCut because it is an impressive steel and a really good story. In short: its carbides are extremely fine and are exclusively Vanadium and Niobium; its smaller than usual Chromium component is all in solution in the steel. What does that mean? This is probably the current standard in high performance stainless steel in almost every respect. It sharpens and polishes beautifully and it seems like a sin to paint it black or otherwise block the view. It sharpens up to sticky-sharp and the edge polishes just beautifully. It doesn’t come terribly sharp, but doesn’t everyone sharpen their new knives? The blade is interesting with its flat grind and fine tip, this is no beater of a knife but controllable and capable shape. It settles neatly into a not too big, not too small size. Its near-Wharncliffe profile should prove quite the slicer. Then there’s the handle: two handsome slabs of carbon fiber that look premium and are a delight in the hand. The texture is a bit grippy, and thankfully they’ve not spoiled it with excess grip aids. And the size and shape are just sublime, it carries comfortably in the pocket and handles deftly. Then there’s the lock. I’m gonna say it: I’m so glad the Axis lock fell out of patent, because while it is arguably the best lock available, it was annoying that Benchmade owned it and didn’t license it. Benchmade knives are fantastic quality, but utterly boring; competent cutting appliances. Kershaw probably must refrain from calling it Axis Lock, or may prefer to avoid a competitor’s branding; Dura-Lock is kind of a silly name, but whatever, I’m glad they’re using it. On a related note: the ball-bearing action is smooth. Very smooth. I might prefer the hardware to be stainless, as that would contrast with the carbon handle nicely, but it’s fine in black. I don’t like how deep the pocket clip carries, but that’s just a preference. I’d prefer the jimping on the spine be just a bit sharper, but I’m fixing that. All in all, this is one heck of a nice folding knife. A co-worker of mine was skeptical of a $200+ Kershaw, but with such a premium handle material, such a state-of-the-industry steel, such a stout lock mechanism, and made in U.S.A., I think it’s worth every penny. It is so good to see Kershaw now back in a leading role in the industry, I’d rank this thing well ahead of Benchmade for style and honestly in overall quality at this price easily; and in line with anything competitively priced from Spyderco (my favorite). I see that the Bel-Air family share the important aspects of this knife: the overall design, the steel, the lock; so I don’t think you can miss with any of them if the premium price of this one is a bit much. I do see Kershaw doing more of this, and it’s a direction I hope they continue to follow: premium materials, excellent design, American manufacturing. If the Iridium model had been made in U.S.A., this review might’ve been about that one; I just can’t EDC something from China. Keep it up, Kershaw!
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