So how important is a sharp knife for Every Day Carry (EDC)? Several years back, the cuff of my wife’s jeans got snagged in an escalator as it approached the top. Fortunately, she quickly got my attention. I had my knife out in seconds and cut away the snag before anything serious happened! While I wasn’t carrying the Kershaw Kuro 1835TBLKST knife with me at the time, this is one sharp quick deploying tanto knife – the kind I now greatly appreciate after that small adventure.
The Kershaw Kuro 1835TBLKST comes with a SpeedSafe flipper-only deployment and weighs 4.2 oz. It has a closed length of 4-1/8 inches and, when extended, is just 7-1/4″ long. I’ve had this knife as my EDC for over two months now and it continues to serve me well. I love traditional blade shapes, so at first I was hesitant about the 3-1/8″ tanto blade. However, as I used it more and more, it grew on me and now I not only don’t mind it at all, I actually enjoy it quite a bit. I even found it easier to open up taped packages using the tanto tip because it’s raked angle acted just like a box cutter blade. It reminded me a lot of the CRKT M16-12ZER EMT tanto bladed knife.
Kershaw Kuro 1835TBLKST Knife Features
The included black clip can be placed tip up or tip down for the right pocket and tip-up only for the left pocket. The clip is somewhat small, however it stayed seated securely in both jeans and dress pants pockets very well. Being small, it also doesn’t attract a lot of attention. The Kershaw Kuro 1835TBLKST, when fit into my pocket, also left room for other items like keys and money and didn’t take over.
The flipper and liner lock made one-handed deployment and fold quite easy. It works just like you want and there are no surprises. The Kershaw Kuro lacks jimping on either the blade or the handle, but the textured on the glass-filled nylon handle prevents slippage from normal use.
I performed several cutting tests to see how well the blade of the Kershaw Kuro 1835TBLKST, which is 8Cr13MoV steel with a black-oxide coating, held up from the manufacturer. In order, I tested paper, cardboard, 550 paracord and then some vinyl weather stripping. The tests were repeated dozens of times and the knife stayed sharp throughout. After two months of light use, we noticed the expected decrease in the sharpness of the blade.
Paper, for example, required some sliding action in order to start a cut. This wasn’t unexpected, however, and using my Lansky knife sharpening system brought it quickly back to its factory sharpness – if not better. The partial serration is a nice touch for getting through really thick material and the main edge took care of any run-of-the-mill applications like opening cardboard boxes or slicing through cord. If you cut lots of cord, the serrated edge will help you to retain the sharpness of the main edge for other purposes.
Overall, at just $39.95 – and nearly half that online in some locations – the Kershaw Kuro 1835TBLKST will serve as a good inexpensive EDC option that we can’t help but recommend.
With both of her legs intact and sporting a new pair of jeans, my wife no longer thinks it’s “silly” that I carry I knife. In fact, now she carries one too! If you ever find yourself in a situation where the escalator is trying to eat your jeans, know that the well-maintained Kuro can get you out of trouble.
