Up for to is a review of my Kershaw Skyline. The knife features Sandvik 14C28N steel with a bead-blasted finish. The blade length comes in at 3 1/8 in. The weight is 2.3 oz so it’s nice and light. The handle scales are a textured black G10. It features a liner lock , thumb stud, flipper and pocket clip. Which I will discuss in depth. And the icing on the cake is that is Made in the US.
The skyline is my main EDC knife. I spent a good month or so looking for an EDC blade to suit m needs. The features I was looking for were a small to medium-sized knife that was light, strong, held an edge and was not intimidating looking. I wanted to be able to use it at work without drawing too much attention. Also I wanted it to be around the fifty dollar price range. My research kept turning up one knife again and again, The Skyline. After watching Nutnfancy’s review of it I was convinced to try it out.
I got mine from Bass Pro Shops. One of the actual good experiences there. I normally have terrible service at their knife counter. Right out of the package the knife came shaving sharp. The edge retains moderately long. I find it not to be the easiest knife to sharpen however. The texture on the scales feel very comfortable in the hand. I’ve never had any issues with the clip. It rides snug in the pocket and has a low profile. It has the option to mount the clip tip up or tip down. It comes set up for tip down carry and although I would prefer tip up the knife shape works better to leave it tip down.
The Kershaw Skyline is a light to medium use blade. In most work places it is more than sufficient. I use it regularly for opening boxes and packages. Cutting rope, opining mail. One several occasions I’ve used it in food prep. Since I only oil with olive oil I don’t have any food safety issues. It easily slices through meat for cooking. I’ve diced bacon with it and used it to eat brats . For small outdoor tasks I’ve used it for notching, cordage cutting sharpening sticks for meat skewers. It falls into my philosophy of always using backup blades first, i.e the Skyline of multi tool blade, before using my main fixed blade knife. The sharper you can keep your main blade for times you really need it the better. I would hate to end up in a survival situation only to find out that from overuse I’ve dulled my main knife. If you’re in the market for a small, light duty every day carry knife to use for package opening, food processing and light wood craft I highly recommend the Skyline.
On to the pros and cons. Blade shape and length are winners here. It’s just the right size for small tasks. The weight to versatility ratio is extremely high. I like just enough weight to knows its there without being an uncomfortable carry. The clip’s snug hold and low profile are great for maintain a discrete appearance. I find the flipper opening to be very intuitive and fast. The simple opening is great and adds to the light weight profile. The handle shape and texture feel natural in my hand. You can get a really good grip on it for delicate jobs and bore down for tougher tasks.
The thumb stud to me is almost useless and redundant. You can open it fast using the studs they just feel unnatural in the hand. I can see how someone with smaller hands might find use in the thumb studs to me it just feel awkward. The knife seems like it tends to lose its sharpness quickly. Also I have never been able to successfully sharpen the knife myself at home using numerous techniques. On a professional belt sander setup it takes an edge easily though. Next week when my new Work Sharp sharpener shows up (review forthcoming) Ill see how it responds to that. when open there is some completely useless ridges, fake, gimping on the liner lock. Unless the knife is held in a reverse grip with the thumb in the thumb in there I can’t see a reason for it. Also the spine could really use some gimping. The spine is way too smooth for really choking up on the blade for some more delicate work.
Like i said before I bought mine in store a few years ago. I have an old-fashioned habit of wanting to buy things in person whenever possible. I paid around $40 bucks for it. A quick online search tells me that you could have one for around $22. For the quality of this American made knife that’s a hard deal to beat. If you’re in the market for a new EDC knife give the Kershaw Skyline a try I can guarantee you wont be disappointed. Let me know in the comments what you prefer to carry and why.
I think the “thumb stud” is really intended to be a blade stop. I don’t think it was ever meant to deploy the blade on this particular knife due to its relatively small size. It sits too close to the handle to really get your thumb on.
Exactly, that’s what the flipper is there for. 🙂
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OK, this might be a bit of a late response, 2014… but my take on the Skyline after several years of use. I own several of them, Black blade/brown handle, Red handle, etc. which are kept in my collection, not to ever be used. But the original version, which has been my EDC since 2010, is the one I’ll focus on. First of all, these things have turned out to be quite popular and collectible, as well as hard to find unless you get on EBay. So, as of 2014, if you find a new one, I’d put it up and watch it’s value appreciate, used ones sell for more than they cost when they were new. This is amongst the best EDC knives of all time, far exceeding the “bang for the buck” cliché. So the temptation to carry a new example will most likely exceed anyone’s desire to keep it new in the box, and that’s understandable, since you’ll not find a better overall choice in EDC knives to this day. Everything good that you can read about the Skyline is true. The one point I’d like to address, after 5 years in my pocket every day from my original purchase, is that what once seemed like such a great design idea, to reduce weight, the single liner, which serves as the lock, seems to, over time, and repetitive “flipping” with a firm wrist action, for a guaranteed quick opening action, takes its toll on the knife. Eventually, due to the lack of two liners, the handle will “give” and allow too much side to side play of the blade. It can be corrected for a while by tweaking the torx screw that tightens/loosens the blade action, but eventually, you can only adjust that screw to a point that the blade will not want to flip open anymore, due to the handle gripping too tight, which is the only way to get rid of the side to side play. But, this is after 5 years of every day use. That’s why, if you enjoy the Skyline, it would make sense to buy several, as they will, buy their design, wear out through their flipper action, and also the G10 will become quite smooth and loose its grip. I am not knocking the Skyline, it’s my favorite knife Kershaw has ever made, and I have plenty of backups, but this is just sort of a long-term re-evaluation, if you will, and hope it help shed light on where you’ll be after you cary one for half a decade. Thanks.
I swapped out for a Spyderco a while ago. Might bring the Skyline back into active duty though. Comment on all the old posts you want levi. Hows the edge holding up. Mine ended up re profiled from a sharpening mistake.
Numerous sharpenings, it’s a really nice steel. Held up well. Thanks, nice review btw.
Also, as we speak, there’s a guy on EBay that has a whole bunch of Skyline factory blemishes for sell, I’ve bought two, and I swear, I can not see what is wrong with them. I mean, really, they are absolutely pristine, possibly the writing on the blade may be off center, or something minor, nothing structural,etc,,,they are less than $30 including shipping, for anyone interested.
I have two myself. One stainless and one blackwash. I sent the stainless into Kershaw for a blade replacement and it is on its way home today. I dropped it on my kitchen tile, blade open, and it chipped the tip. I had no idea that Kershaw would replace the blade for only $10. I didn’t find out until the blackwash came in and I read the little booklet it came with. This is the only time the stainless blade has taken off since ’08. My extracurricular activities include salt water, mud, and/or thick woods. My Skyline has never locked up, rusted shut, or buckled in on me. The design is so simplistic and the steel is so tough that the only reason I’ll ever buy another pocket knife is because I want one but it certainly won’t be because I need one.