Kershaw Blur S30V Folding Pocket Knife

I bought the s30v blur and the knife I received was a 14c28n blur. The sticker said the correct model number for the s30v blur but the wrong model was in package. I guess it was a packaging mistake on kershaws fault. So the review is not for the blur it's self, it's a fantastic knife model it's for the wrong model being in the box. The blur is a 5 star knife all day long, it's just a good edc knife and ready for anything you throw at it. Where this really hurt me was this was a bday gift and I got it the day before the bday soooo that really thru a wrench in the gears. Thankfully I had a ace value that's local that sells a ton of kershaws so I just ended up going there and grabbing the correct one and returning this one... only thing that sucked about that is ace charged me 147.99 for the knife so over 50 more than the average online price but I had no choice as I needed it for the gift. Just make sure you know what steel your getting. The s30v model is black handle scales and the normal 14c28n model will been green scales typically but CHECK THE steel on the knife blade and make sure the model number ends in s30v. The reason I say this is because the one I got was the black anodized handle scales like the s30v should be but the blade model number etch said 14c28n. So I'm guessing a 14c28n blade got in the batch of s30v blades as it went on the correct handle color and I was the unlucky soul that got it lol. With that said the 14c28n model is very good as well, the s30v model will hold an edge a lot longer but the toughness of 14c28n is pretty incredible.. the reason it was a problem is because the 14c variant is around 30 less than the s30v model plus the bday person specifically asked for the s30v model as they really love that steel. So make sure you check the etching on the starboard side of the blade under where it says Ken onion design and the model number will end in the steel the knife is made from. Kershaw yall seriously need to teach the QC person to simply look at the model number to verify steel is correct as part of the QC check. Plus the one I got on here also had some lock rock (slight up and down play due to the lock bar not moving over far enough on the lock ramp, easy fix just increase lock bar tension slightly but still that should have been caught at QC as well.) Again please dint base your buying decision based on my review being of the blur, the 2 stars is specifically because of the wrong blade steel.. the blur is a 5 star model all day long, it's a hard use work knife that will take what you throw at it and be ready for more. It's a big hand filling design with a full size blade length for an edc knife, the recurve while slightly increasing the effort required to sharpen is well worth it becsuse of how it just pulls the material in to the recurve and cuts without wanting to slip out of the cut. I don't personally like the look of a recurve on knives but when it's a light recurve the functional increase in performance is worth the slightly goof ball look of a recurve. For those worried about sharpening a recurve, this recurve is light enough that you can use the corner of a bench stone to sharpen the recurve without problem, it's not a tight enough recurve to make you need curved top stones or half inch wide stones. You can easily do it on a standard 3x8 inch bench stone just take your time while doing it. You can also simply wrap a piece of Silicon carbide wet/dry sand paper around a half inch wooden rod and use that as well. The 3mm blade stock tapers down to about 22-23 thousandths of an inch behind the edge so it's a decently slicey geometry, bot a super slicer but pretty slicey and there is enough meat behind the edge to make it plenty tough for anything you should be doing with a 3.5 inch blade pocket knife (keyword in that sentence.. SHOULD... if your prying a locked door open you deserve what you get or if your hacking in to hardwood and twisting like crazy to get the blade unstuck... well you deserve what you get) and it's slicing performance is pretty good because of the geometry but when you factor in the recurve drawing the material in to it's self that also makes slicing performance great. The blade shape is excellent for edc, it's also excellent for hunters as it's a great skinning knife and is also stout enough to handle separating joints as your sectioning out cuts of the venison, elk, pronghorn etc etc. The heat treat kershaw is having done on the CPM S30V is pretty good, I wouldn't say it's as well done as spydercos s30v but it's pretty much what you would expect from benchmades s30v. Spydercos s30v comes up crisper on the stone and deburrs better but with that said kershaw ain't no slouch and their s30v is done well. It strops back very well and it maintains aggression in the edge even after a bunch of strop backs. S30v isn't a steel that holds it's upfront keenness very well, the super keen edge falls off fairly quickly but the toothy aggressive working edge will last you for a long time and it will strop right back to hair popping time after time after time on a simple diamond loaded strop. If your buying it as a hunting knife to cape and break down game I would say you will be able to dress and break down 3 deer or so before needing to get back to the stones (this is assuming you aren't slamming the edge in to hard bone nonstop) a quick strop back after skinning and dressing out a deer and the edge should be right back ready for the next one... the 14c model of this knife you will likely have to strop the edge back before your half way thru one deer. The s30v is gonna give you a substantial increase in performance in uses like that and will maintain a lot more bite in then edge than 14c will due to the carbide volume and micro structure of the steel matrix. 14c being super fine grained and very low carbide volume of any type will have it getting glassy/slicky edged very quickly. I know i put two stars and then rave about the knife. I just want everyone to know the two star is specifically because getting the wrong steel and a little bit of lock rock.. I want everyone to know how great of a edc and hunting knife the blur is, it's a classic for a reason and it's very well respected in the knife community for a reason. I really wish kershaw would QC better because someone that didn't know knives as well as me may very well have not even knew what the 14c28n at the end of the model name means.. they very likely would have gotten the knife and kept it not knowing they got a mid tier steel when they should have gotten a premium powder steel like they paid for... they then would think that s30v isn't a great steel because the edge retention of 14c isn't very great, it's great in toughness and stainlessness but edge retention isn't all that great and s30v will last significantly longer between sharpenings (assuming the edge angles are at the same angle, if your lowered the edge angle on 14c28n around 3 degrees per side lower than the same knife in s30v the perceived edge retention of the 14c would then about match what s30v is).. I hate seeing someone paying for something and getting something else.. you pay for s30v and get 14c28n that's lame. If I pay for a premium powder steel than I expect to get a premium powder steel (not saying 14c isn't a great steel, it totally is but a much lower cost ingot formed steel. S30v in a premium powder steel that is gonna be around 3x the cost per blade blank than the same blade blank in 14c) I know this was just an error on kershaws fault and likely a fairly rare error but it should have been caught in QC, it literally takes half a second to look at the model number to know and should most definitely be part of the QC check list... just as lock rock should be part of the QC check list. While the lock rock is minimal it shouldn't be any at all and it was enough that it was instantly noticeable as soon as I opened the knife and gently checked for side to side play and it's Rick solid and gently checked up and down for lock rock and bingo.. that should have been caught by QC even if the steel type in model number wasn't.. a little side to side play is ok (this knife has no side to side play) and won't cause issues but lock rock is a problem as it will accelerate wear if you increase lock bar tension so your lock up will move further and further up the lock ramp much faster than it would if the geometry was correct and you don't have to increase lock bar tension. So to fix it is easy but the extra tension is going to increase how quickly the lock ramp wears and if you don't adjust it that lock rock is a good way to get the lock bar to slip back off the lock ramp when applying upward pressure and can cause a lock failure and you to be cut. Lock rock is a problem and there is no excuse for that not being caught in QC considering it was enough to easily feel with just light up and down movement of the blade.. So if you buy this knife BE SURE TO CHECK THE MODEL NUMBER AND MAKE SURE IT ENDS IN S30V so you know the steel is correct and check for lock rock, if there is lock rock I would return the knife 100%, even if it's just a little movement, if you can feel up and down play you should return it. To kershaw, make sure steel check and lock rock checks are part of your QC.... this is a quality USA made knife and the QC should be great.... I get better QC on a 40 dollar kizer than I got on this knife.