Kershaw Link 1776BW, by Thomas Christianson

The Kershaw Link 1776BW is a rugged everyday-carry (EDC) knife. It weighs in at 4.3 ounces and has a 3.25 inch, drop-point, hollow-ground, blackwashed-finish blade made of 420HC steel that is 0.1 inches thick. The assisted-opening blade is reliably deployed via a flipper, and is held open by a liner lock. The glass-filled nylon (GFN) handle provides an excellent grip. The overall length is 7.6 inches. Best of all, the Kershaw Link is made in the USA.

The particular model that I tested has been discontinued. A similar model with an olive aluminum handle and a stonewashed-finished, CPM-Magnacut blade is currently out of stock at kershaw.kaiusa.com, with a list price of $159.99. That knife is widely available from other online vendors for about half as much as it costs at the Kershaw website.

I purchased my test sample used on eBay for $30.73.

Whether new or used, these prices reflect an excellent value for a quality, American-made knife. If you are looking for a sturdy, effective, American-made knife, you may want to give the various models of the Kershaw Link a second look.

Mine is definitely a keeper. I retired the Ontario RAT 1 that was on the peg board over the tool bench in the pole barn, and replaced it with the Link. The RAT 1 went into my knife box, to be given away to a friend or family member who is in need of a good EDC knife.

Background

I have wanted to review an American-made Kershaw knife for quite some time now. Kershaw never responded to any of my requests for a sample for testing and evaluation. Since I end up giving away most of the knives that I review after I am finished testing them, I try not to invest a lot of money into those knives. That can get expensive really fast. But when I found a used Kershaw Link on eBay for $30.73.  I decided that it was an investment that I could afford. I placed my order, and 4 days later the knife arrived in my mailbox via USPS Ground Advantage.

Initial Impressions

I was pleasantly surprised to find the knife in better condition than I had expected, based on the pictures that had been posted on eBay. There were some small spots of white paint or similar material on the handles that I was easily able to scrape off with a fingernail. The finish on the GFN handle appeared a bit dull at first, but it seemed to become glossier during regular carry. I am not sure if that was due to the natural oils secreted by my hands, to the polishing effect of taking it in and out of my pocket, or to some other factor or factors.

The Kershaw SpeedSafe assisted opening system was highly effective at snapping the blade decisively, authoritatively, and consistently into place with a simple flick of the flipper. The liner lock then reliably held the blade firmly open.

As is typical with most used knives purchased online, the blade was somewhat dull upon arrival. One of the major advantages of 420HC blade steel is that it is easy to sharpen. A quick session with an AccuSharp Diamond Pro 2-Step knife sharpener soon had the blade shaving sharp again.

Two of the weak spots in the design of the Link are the screws that hold the pocket clip in place. Those screws are a bit smaller than I could wish. In fact, they are so tiny that I was unable to even locate a Torx bit small enough to tighten them. I admit that I have a tendency to over-engineer things, but I can’t help feeling that these screws are inadequate for the task that they are being asked to perform.

A generous lanyard hole near the pocket clip is more than large enough to accommodate a paracord lanyard or even a 3/8-inch nylon strap.

The design is rock solid. It feels like I could use the handle to pound in small nails, or use the back of the blade to pry those nails out again.

Testing

I clipped the knife into the left front pocket of my pants, and carried it pretty much every day for the better part of two months.

During the course of those two months, I used the knife for a variety of routine tasks:

∙ Cutting away wood fibers near where a bolt came through a newly drilled hole. Cutting the fibers out of the way allowed a nut to be threaded onto the bolt.
∙ Cutting chunks of chocolate from a giant Hershey Kiss that my wife had given me for Christmas.
∙ Cutting open a dose of heartworm medicine for our dog, Tucker the Beagle.
∙ Prying ineffective glides from chair legs so that I could install more effective glides. The ineffective glides were damaging the new synthetic floor in our church gym.
∙ Peeling UPS labels off of boxes of chair glides that I needed to return because I had ordered the wrong size.
∙ Prying open an access panel in the back of the car so that I could install a new taillight.
∙ Prying out a couple of staples that were holding an extraneous piece of velcro to a door frame.
∙ Scraping away creosote that was obstructing the door-open-indicator-switch on our outside wood boiler.
∙ Cutting bags of salt open so that the salt could be added to our water softener.
∙ Cutting open the monthly flea and tick treatment for Tucker the Beagle.
∙ Prying open a jammed stapler.
∙ Cutting a bad spot out of an apple that I was eating. (Note: I had washed the blade after opening the flea and tick treatment).
∙ Cutting a diaper pail liner so that I could bag up the diapers and take them to the trash after a visit from our grandchildren.
∙ Cutting cold ham that I was eating for supper when the ham proved to be too tough for a table knife. (Note: I had also washed the blade after the diaper pail incident).
∙ Cutting off a sapling at the end of the dog run. Tucker the Beagle wrapped his lead around it, so I had to go out and untangle him. I decided to prevent future problems by eliminating the sapling.

I had a couple of incidents that revealed some particular points of interest. During the first, I was removing an unused junction box from the side of our house in preparation for moving our electrical service connection underground. The line from the last power pole to the house has been downed 3 times in the last 10 years or so. I decided that “3 strikes made an out”, so that the time had come to get that section of line put underground. The power company asked me to clear some brush, move some stones, and remove the unused junction box in preparation for this process. Soon after I began removing the junction box, I went inside to exchange the Link for a Leatherman Skeletool. The Link is a fine knife, but it is not a multi-tool, and cannot compete with a multi-tool in the completion of certain tasks.

The second incident occurred during a visit to a botanical garden with our grandchildren. We were eating lunch in the cafeteria of the botanical garden, and I was having difficulty opening a package of cheese. I pulled the Link out of my pocket and deployed the blade, which then locked into place with a highly conspicuous click. My daughter, “Ella”, and wife, “Kari” looked at me with some concern. They were afraid that I was going to get our family kicked out of the botanical garden for brandishing a dangerous weapon. I could have avoided that concern by reaching deeper into my pocket for the Victorinox Classic SD Swiss Army knife that I also carry. Opening the scissors on the tiny knife would have appeared much less threatening to a room potentially filled with people who seldom use a knife as a tool, and so generally perceive a knife as a weapon.

Some Kershaw History

In 1974 Pete Kershaw left Gerber Legendary Blades to found his own knife company. In 1977 Kershaw Knives became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Kai Group of Tokyo, Japan. Early production focused primarily on traditional, fixed-blade hunting knives.

In 1995, Kershaw introduced their first knife employing a liner-lock. Then in 1998, they introduced their assisted opening mechanism. These features were well received by the knife-using public, and have been widely utilized on many of the knife designs that Kershaw has produced in recent years.

Conclusions

I found my used Kershaw Link 1776BW to be a great tool and an excellent value for the money. Although the Link arrived looking well-broken-in (i.e. a little worn and battered), it proved itself to be a sturdy workhorse of a knife throughout extensive and varied use.

I own prettier knives and more expensive knives, but I don’t own any better knives for EDC use than the Kershaw Link. I still prefer a multi-tool for everyday carry. But if you favor just a blade over a multi-tool, the Kershaw Link might be an excellent choice.

Disclaimer

I did not receive any financial or other inducement to mention any vendor, product, or service in this article.