Tool Box Buzz

Kershaw Link 1776 GRYBW Blackwash Series

5/5

Manufacturer: Kershaw
Model number: Link 1776
Price: 39.51
Power source: Spped Assist
Weight: 4.8 ounce

Kershaw Link 1776 GRYBW Assisted Folding Knife Review

If I said to you I want an every day carry knife, [EDC] made in the USA, at an affordable price would you think of Kershaw Link 1776 GRYBW Blackwash Series knife?

If you didn’t know knives and you saw the Link, you’d probably say no way, thinking that it’s expensive, but it’s not.

Made In USA

Made in Tualatin, Oregon, the Link has a drop-point style blade constructed out of 420HC stainless steel. 420HC steel, while not the best quality knife metal, it  has higher amounts of carbon and chromium to boost both blade hardenability and corrosion resistance.

Drop Point Blade

I’ve always like drop point knives for my EDC because I use my EDC for more than cutting, like prying. I know, I can hear you cringing as you read this. sometimes my EDC knife becomes a tool of immediate means which means I use it for prying or other non-knife actives.  A drop point knifes blade slopes on the spine of the blade from the handle of the knife to the tip of the blade. This design allows the thicker stronger spine of the blade to continue forward to the tip of the blade.

Bad Ass Finish

My first impression of the Link knife was that it was a sharp looking knife, no pun intended.

The Kershaw Link 1776 GRYBW BlackWash Series came out of the box ultra sharp with a crisp, clean and uniform cutting edge, which includes a 1-inch serrated blade section.

The Link has an almost industrial look to it, with machined handles made from lightweight aluminum and anodized dark grey; which not only looks fantastic, but has good grip traction. The Blackwash finish on the Link is gorgeous, and gives the impression of that favorite “broken-in tool,” but the finish actually offers the knife corrosion resistance.

Durable Knife Engineering

The Link is a solidly designed knife, there is zero blade play, the blade rests perfectly centered, and I love how solidly fast the blade deploys.

The liner lock is not nested, but still well designed.   Folding the knife is simple and intuitive due to the liner lock that sticks out a bit from the scales.

A reversible pocket clip allows users to customize the knife for left or right-handed pocket carry. Pre-drilled holes in the handle enable the user to change either blade forward or blade rear positions. Both positions place the blade; tip up, for fast deployment. The however, does knife sit high in the pocket, approximately ¾-inch when fully seated.

There is also an over sized lanyard hole will easily accept Paracord rope. [550 cord]

SpeedSafe Assist Action: Smooth and Crisp

Probably the single most impressive quality of the Link, and many Kershaw knives, is it’s Speed Safe opening design.

For those of you that are unfamiliar with Speed Safe it is a torsion bar that allows the knife to be opened with one push of the built-in flipper. The knife “springs” open smoothly and easily and most importantly with one hand!

The “flipper” is a protrusion on the back of the blade that the user can pull back on, or flip, in order to deploy the blade. The Link opens quickly and easily with a manual push on the flipper.

Specifications

• Blade Length: 3.25″ (8.4 cm)
• Handle Length: 4.4″ (11.2 cm)
• Overall Length: 7.6″ (19.3 cm)
• Blade Steel: 420HC, Black-Oxide Blackwash Finish
• Handle Material: Machined Aluminum, Blackwash finish
• Weight: 4.8 oz. (136.1 g)
• Made in the USA
• SpeedSafe open, built in Flipper
• Reversible pocket clip, (left/right)

Worth It?

The bottom line is yes!   The Kershaw Link 1776 GRYBW Blackwash Series knife is bad-ass and I’m willing to bet that here are few, if any, $40, USA made knives on the market right now with this level or quality engineering. This knife sells online here: Kershaw-1776TGRYBW-SpeedSafe-Aluminum-BlackWash

1 Comment

1. Kershaw Prize Pack Giveaway - A Concord Carpenter

   March 22, 2016 at 5:49 pm

   […] Over at Tool Box Buzz we just finished up a review on this knife. Check it out here: Kershaw Link 1776 GRYBW Blackwash […]

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