Over at Knives Ship Free, they have the new Kershaw Bareknuckle 7777 folding pocket knife in stock. (I ordered one yesterday.)
Its design is inspired by the Zero Tolerance 0777, which was pricey and rare when it came out 5 years ago.
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The Kershaw Bareknuckle is a USA-made flipper, with 3.5″ blade length and anodized aluminum handles. It’s a manual folder with ball bearing pivot, which should allow for quick opening. The blade steel is Sandvik 14C28N.
It features a reversible deep-carry pocket clip.
Price: $70
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This seems like it could be a decent holiday gift. I’m a fan of Kershaw knives, especially their USA-made offerings. This one stands out, not only for its ZT 777-like styling, but because it’s a manual folder. This will be the second-ever manual Kershaw knife I’ve handled (I have a manual Natrix in for review). All of my other Kershaw knives have assisted-opening mechanisms.
Oregon
The brilliant 7777 is easy to flip open in my left hand. I wear XL gloves so my XL fingers spill over onto the lock bar, if I am not careful, keeping the knife closed. There isn’t much handle to grip for a righty on the lock bar side of the 7777 so if you encounter flip resistance opening the 7777 notice if your fingers are pressing/pushing on the lock bar and keeping the knife closed. With my digits off the lock bar the Bareknuckle flips like as it should. Smooth, fast and decisively.
Robear
I guess I don’t see what is special about these knives over the 10,000 knives on the market.
James f duncan
probably the same way i dont see why you would bother to reply to a knife post
Jim Felt
No kidding!
Robear
You replied to a knife post. Why did you bother. Do you have no life? I’m in the market for a new knife, so I was wondering out of all the knives in the world why was this one featured on the website. I’m doing research before making a purchase, and you’re just acting like a cry baby liberal.
Stuart
Be nice to each other.
For what it’s worth, your original comment came across as negative to me too. It sounded more like “who cares, why post about it?” than “please tell me more.”
James F Duncan
Exactly. some people should go to bed at 1:52 am instead of posting nonsense. I gotta laugh at those comments calling me a crybaby liberal though. I’m a Retired NYPD officer and probably the least liberal person on the planet.. but i guess thats what the kids are doing today when they try to argue on the internet for calling names nowadays..
Tim
Variety is the spice of life
RCWARD
Why would someone want a manual open knife instead of assisted open? What’s the advantage?
James f duncan
certains states have them outlawed
Matt
Also, in some states that outlaw automatic openers, the Police will sometimes say an assisted opening is an “auto”, and while this can be sorted out in court, it can still create a big hassle.
Mike
Assisted knives are garbage. If you’re looking for a quick opening knife, buy a quality auto or practice using a quality manual blade. I can flip open my Osborn or Para 2, just as fast as an auto… Well, maybe not as fast as a Protech.
Glad to see Kershaw displaying “made in USA” again… That’s the only way I would buy another one.
Sifter
Agreed. Much of their Chinese production diminished they’re good name.
Bruce
Manual opening are much easier to close with one hand. For a knife you actually work with, a manual blade is a better choice.
RCWARD
That makes sense,
Toolfreak
That hole in the spring clip makes it look like it’s a flipper for left-handers.
Too bad they didn’t actually modify that element to an actual way to open the knife, and maybe even make a run for left handers as well as moving it over to the other side for right handers.
Kershaw seems to “design” a LOT of knives for cosmetics over function now, which is too bad because their designs do have a lot of potential but they never take it all the way to where it’s both awesome to look at AND incredibly functional.
It is nice to see a USA-made knife for a reasonable price, too.
Zach
Because automatic knives can open in your pocket and cut the s*** out of you. Assisted won’t fully open. I can see a lot of you are clueless
James F Duncan
do you own any real automatics? i own Microtechs and Protechs and if you knew about them you would know thats pretty much impossible
Nathan
question – why do you (directed at anyone) need or use a automatic or assisted opening knife?
in what situation does it help? Reason I ask is it seems to add cost and complexity to something that’s already a useful tool without it. I would never buy such as I have no need for them that I’m aware of. Is it going to help me cut shingles or open boxes faster?
that aside – I like the made in the USA and I mostly like the price. sadly I can’t carry a greater than 3 inch blade to work now so I’m limited on choices.
Stuart
It makes knives easier and quicker to open.
Automatic is mainly for law enforcement or similar users.
Assisted opening mechanisms can be useful for general use. My opinion is that it makes less expensive knives more usable without requiring greater care in pivot tuning or optimization.
There can be a lot of variation in less expensive knives, and assisted opening mechanisms can help make that invisible to users.
Sometimes it might be more of a trend, I’m not sure.
Toolfreak
Automatic and assisted opening is for those who can’t open a manual with a flick of the wrist, or if you might find yourself in situations where you want the safety of keeping a folder closed when not using it, but might need to open it when you can’t really move your hand enough to do it.
It’s great for situations where you’re holding the workpiece/object in one hand and need to be able to reach for the knife and make the cut ASAP.
Probably also useful if you’re ever tied up with rope and only have one hand able to reach for your knife and can’t really move enough to open it otherwise.
Countryboy
Stuart I’ll sure be interested in your opinion of the Bareknuckle since I’ve been considering one myself. Mainly I want to know how challenging/difficult it is for a right-handed person to open that sub-frame lock?
Stuart
I received it yesterday. I haven’t done much aside from a few quick openings after first unboxing it, but it seemed to be very snappy to open and easy to close.
Countryboy
Thanks that’s good to know wasn’t sure how difficult it was to place your hand to not lean against the lock bar. Also read some were getting knives not sharp out of the box.
Stuart
I’m double-checking for you now.
My finger is sore from testing a different knife yesterday, but the flipper is still easy to operate. Middle finger placement is very important. ANY pressure on the lock bar, and my [sore] finger can’t apply enough pressure to overcome the detent. BUT, I learned this with past knives, and so muscle memory keeps my fingers away from frame lock bars.
The lock bar is easy to disengage. (I’m right-handed.)
It’s a fairly speedy and effortless mechanism.
As for sharpness, it’s reasonably sharp. It’s not hair-shaving sharp, but it has a good edge. It’s exactly what I’d expect at this price point – a knife that can be put to use right away. It can stand to be honed a little finer, but you won’t get that level of factory finish on a $70 knife.
Countryboy
Thanks for posting Stuart hopefully you’ll post a full review at some point. In the meantime it might be worth taking a chance on.
Stuart
I plan on it, but it might be a while.
From what I can tell so far, it seems like a good knife, and a good value for a USA-made folder.