Kershaw Barge Multi-Tool Knife Review

There really is nothing like a Kershaw. From award-winning technologies and advanced materials to the solid sound of the blade lockup, when you’re carrying a Kershaw, you know you’re carrying the real thing. Kershaw says, “The real thing means value and plenty of it. With Kershaw, you get incredible bang for your hard-earned buck. Even our inexpensive models are impressive. In fact, everything about a Kershaw is solid, crafted, reliable. That’s why we can back each of our knives for the life of its original owner against any defects in materials and construction with our famous Limited Lifetime Warranty.

And yes, people do own their Kershaw knives for a lifetime. (Although, occasionally, a Kershaw has been known to get accidentally left at a campsite, lost in the garage, or permanently borrowed by a friend.)

The point is, you can always look to Kershaw for every day carrying knives that can tame any cardboard box and liberate any purchase from its plastic packaging, sporting knives that make hunting, fishing, watersports, and camping even better, work knives that won’t let you down, and tactical knives that ensure you’re ready for anything.”

They were founded in 1974 with the mission to design and manufacture tools that knife users would be proud to own, carry, and use. This has meant that every Kershaw knife must be of the highest quality. Whether it’s a hardworking pocketknife, a hunting knife, or a special collectors’ edition, Kershaw always chooses appropriate, high-quality materials and is dedicated to intensive craftsmanship. Along with extremely tight tolerances and state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques, this ensures that Kershaw knives provide a lifetime of performance.

They also have a commitment to innovation. They say, “Kershaw pioneered the use of many of the technologies and advanced materials that are today standard in the knife industry. Our SpeedSafe assisted opening knives were first-to-market. We introduced the concept of knives with interchangeable blades in our Blade Traders. Recently, our Composite Blade technology, which combines two steels into one blade, gives knife users the best of both worlds by enabling us to use steel known for edge retention on the edge and steel known for strength on the spine. And we will keep on innovating, bringing new and better technologies and materials to today’s knife making industry and knife-using public.”

Kershaw Knives is a brand of Kai USA Ltd, a member of the Kai Group. For over 100 years, Kai has been Japan’s premier blade producer. Kai takes an innovative approach to product development based on the close coordination of research and development, production, marketing, and distribution functions. While many of Kershaw’s quality products are made in their 55,000 sq. ft. facility in Tualatin, Oregon (just south of Portland), they also draw on Kai’s resources to provide the very best for the customer.

Kershaw says, “If this is your first Kershaw, be prepared. You just may be back for more. If it’s not your first Kershaw, welcome back. We’ve got some cool new blades to show you—along with a wide selection of your favorites. For design, innovation, quality, and genuine pride of ownership, Kershaw is the one.”

Today we will be discussing the Kershaw Barge, which is a multi-tool.

 

The Blade:

The blade on this knife is made out of 8Cr13MoV steel. You may have heard that 8Cr13MoV stainless is basically the equivalent of AUS8A. And it’s true. For everyday use, even a serious knife enthusiast would be hard-pressed to tell the difference between a well-made 8Cr13MoV blade and a well-made AUS8A blade. Nevertheless, there are slight differences in the steel formula. While most other components are relatively equal, 8Cr13MoV has slightly more carbon for hardness and wear resistance and slightly less nickel. The key to blade performance for both of these steels is manufacturing quality. That’s where Kershaw’s expertise comes in. Kershaw precision heat-treats 8Cr13MoV steel to bring out its best high-performance characteristics: the ability to take and hold an edge, strength, and hardness. 8Cr13MoV is top-of-the-line Chinese steel and, Kershaw believes, offers their customers an excellent value. The steel has been hardened to a 57-59 HRC level.

The blade on this knife is stonewashed, which is created when the steel is placed in an abrasive material (usually pebbles) and tossed around. Once this step is completed, the steel is removed, smoothed out, and polished. This finish creates a very well-worn look to the blade, which also comes off as rugged. This finish works to easily hide the scratches on the blade as well as smudges, which means that it is a low maintenance finish. The stonewashed finish also works to prolong the original look of the knife overtime.

The blade has been carved into a modified Wharncliffe blade shape with a fairly straight edge. This is a perfect shape for a general utility knife. The back of the knife has jimping in two sections so that you can have a solid grip when you are trying to use this knife. The back angels sharply down towards the tip before stopping about a quarter of the ways away from the tip. At this point, it drops steeply down to meet the tip. The belly is not much of a bely at all, but rather a straight, flat line that curves up slightly at the end when it is about to meet the tip. This belly is miniscule when being compared to a drop point or a clip point, but will allow you to get the basics done when it comes to slicing. True to the Wharncliffe style, this blade has more of a false tip, which prevents accidental stabbings or injuries.

 

The Handle:

The handle has two different handle scales. The front one is made out of GFN and the back one is made out of stonewashed steel.

GFN is a thermoplastic material that is very strong, resistant to bending and abrasion, and is almost impossible to break. Plus, this is a cheap material. It is such a durable material because the fibers are arranged haphazardly throughout it, which means that it is going to be strong in all directions instead of just a single direction like G-10 or Carbon Fiber is. However, many knife lovers did not warm up to this material because they felt like it was hollow and felt cheap. It also offers less grip than G-10 does. This is an inexpensive material because it can be injection molded into any desired shape and textured in a multitude of ways in the production process. These characteristics lead well to high volume manufacturing, which is where the low price comes in.

The other handle scale is made out of steel which is incredibly durable as well as being very resistant to corrosion. Unfortunately, steel is not a lightweight material. This will add a little bit of heft to the knife, but because it is paired with GFN, it won’t weigh the knife down as much as a fully steel knife handle would. The overall benefits to a stainless steel handle is that it is strong, durable, and resistant to corrosion. The overall cons to a steel handle is that it is going to be heavy and it can be slippery. But because you have the other GFN handle scale, it shouldn’t be too heavy.

The handle on this knife is pretty simple. There are some angles in the front handle scale that offer good texture so that you can use this knife for a general utility knife. The spine of the handle curves slowly towards the butt. The belly of the handle is relatively straight. But does angle towards the blade on the knife, creating a thick finger guard. The butt of the knife (where the pry bar is) is also steel that has been stonewashed.

The Pocket Clip:

The pocket clip on this knife is not a deep carry clip, which is a drawback of this knife. That being said, it is reversible for either left or right handed carry, which helps to make this knife more ambidextrous. It can only be attached for tip down carry. Most people do prefer tip down carry because there is no danger of it accidentally opening in your pocket and then you reaching into your pocket and slicing yourself.

The pocket clip is black, which contrasts against the stonewashed handle scale. However, it does match the front handle scale as well as the hardware. The clip is tapered and is slightly skeletonized.

 

The Mechanism:

This is a manual knife, which means that there is no true mechanism such as SpeedSafe to open it. You are going to open this knife the old school way. That being said, it has been equipped with a thumb stud as well as a frame lock mechanism.

The thumb stud is one of the most common one-hand-opening features and is used by almost all knife manufacturers. The thumb stud essentially replaces the nail nick found on more traditional knives. You hold the folded knife, place the tip of your thumb on the stud, and extend your thumb to swing the blade through its arc until the blade is fully open.

In a frame lock knife, the knife handle—its “frame”—consists of two plates of material on either side of the blade. To ensure a secure lock up, one or both of these plates is usually metal. When the knife is opened, the metal side of the frame, the lock bar, butts up against the backend of the blade (the tang) and prevents the blade from closing. To close a frame lock knife, the user pushes the frame to the side, unblocking the blade, and folds the blade back into the handle. Like locking liner knives, frame locks are manufactured so that the locking side of the frame is angled toward the interior of the knife, creating a bias toward the locked position. Both the blade tang and the lock bar are precisely angled so they fit together for a secure, reliable lockup. The thickness of the frame material blocking the blade open makes the frame lock extremely sturdy.

 

The Specs:

The blade on this knife measures in at 2.6 inches long with a handle that measures in at 4.7 inches long. The overall length of this knife when it is opened measures in at 7.3 inches long. This knife weighs in at 5.4 ounces.

The multi-function of this tool is that it has a pry bar on the butt of the knife. This means that you don’t have to do what most people are guilty of doing and using the blade of your knife as a pry. All you have to do is flip the knife over and there you go—a pry bar tool ready to go.

 

Conclusion:

When Kershaw is talking about this knife, they say, “You know you do it. And you know you shouldn’t. You should never use the blade of your knife—especially the blade of your folding knife—as a pry bar.

However, if you’re pry-prone anyway, we now have the right knife for you. The Barge features an integral pry bar that extends from the back spacer of the knife.  Now there’s no need to even think about wrenching on something with your blade. Finally, you’ve got the right tool for the job—an actual pry bar built into the back of the knife.

That said, the Barge’s other end is pretty handy, too. The shorter blade is a modified Wharncliffe with a fairly straight edge, which is a great shape for a general utility knife. That edge is extra handy for when you might need to bear down on something you’re cutting. The stonewashed finish hides scratches easily.

The handle has a textured glass-filled nylon front scale for grip and a stonewashed steel back with sturdy frame lock. The pocket clip is designed for tip-down carry and is left/right reversible. Next time you need to pry; you know what to do. Grab the Barge.” You can pick up this knife today at BladeOps.