Reviewed 11/23/2011 by Gregg
Overall
Quality
Ergonomics
Value
-Price Paid: $25.99
-Used for Light Duty/General
-Owned for Less than 1 Month
Comments:
I found this Whirlwind online for $25.99 about two weeks ago, at this price I had to give it a try. The price was due to this knife lying on the shelf for quite some time with no box. The blade is marked as being made "Jan 05", found above the liner lock if the blade is half opened. The knife came with a stained blade, scuff marks on the black pocket clip and a stiff action from no lubrication. I cleaned it up and eased the action with a little gun oil and time working the SpeedSafe action. The edge was still fairly sharp, but not hair popping sharp like the majority of new Kershaw knives out of the box. The glass filled nylon or polymide handle is the same as that found on the Blackout I've been eyeing at the local Walmart. The jimping on top of the blade for thumb perch is set so low as to be almost non-existent. One more millimeter would probably work wonders here. I have big hands and find the 4 1/2" handle large enough to fill my hand comfortably with about 1/4" sticking out beyond my pinky finger. With lubrication the SpeedSafe assisted opening is very fast and has been working fine, no complaints there. So far I haven't had a real chance to put the Whirlwind to good use, only cutting some tape here and there. In my opinion the Whirlwind is not the best choice for self defense EDC as the handle is too thick (over 1/2" at the widest point) if the knife is kept in your front pant pocket making it difficult to reach into or pulling your hand out of your pocket. For security I prefer to keep my EDC in my front pant pocket. Measuring in at about 3/8" wide my Kershaw Skyline is better in this regard. If only the Skyline also had a black pocket clip! Bottom-line, I like the Whirlwind at the price I bought it but find it better suited for light duty/general work and not EDC due to the thick handle. YMMV.
