Kershaw – Select Fire

This is about a week after I received the knife. So still in the early days.

First, notice that I call it a “knife”. That is because it is a knife first, a multi-tool second. This means it can replace my Cold Steel blade.

It is noticeably lighter than the Cold Steel blade. It is also a bit shorter, about a half inch shorter. Which is one of the reasons it is lighter.

The Cold Steel has metal slabs. This makes it stronger? It does make it heavier. The slaps have finger divots, making it easy to grip.

The Select Fire has a metal interior but a plastic exterior. It has good fitment and comfortable ergonomics. No finger grooves or divots but the shape is such that I’m not concerned that it will slip will using it.

I did something unusual and read the directions. It gave the edge bevel. This is helpful for those that sharpen their own knives. The blade arrived sharp. Kershaw offers free sharpening services for their blades.

The edge is not polished nor is it hair whittling sharp. It is a good functional edge.

The pocket clip is my only issue, so far. It is so tight that I can’t get it to clip to my pockets, in all cases.

The other issue is that because of the design, I can not carry it point up. I adjusted my Cold Steel to clip point up. This means that as the knife comes out of my pocket, it is in the correct orientation to deploy.

The Kershaw can only be carried point down. This is taking a bit of training on my part to learn how to retrieve the knife and deploy it.

So what makes the Select Fire a multi-tool? A bit socket. The shaft is 2 inches long and has a standard hex 1/4in socket at the end. It has a magnet to hold the bits in place.

The socket rod has three positive detents. One is full close, one is ninety degrees and one is 180 degrees. They are strong detents, moving close to “am I going to break something” when I first started working with it.

This give you a good 1/4 driver, which for me is a big plus as it is the standard screw head size for many items, like dishwashers, washing machines, furnaces and others.

There is onboard storage for 4 standard bits. Two per side. The holders are spring loaded to hold them closed. The bit holders are firm but not stupid tight. Bits move in and out with little effort but I don’t think they would “just slide out”.

When the carrier is closed, there is no space for the bits to slide out. They are stopped by the knife body.

It comes with a PH1, PH2, 5mm slot, and 7mm slot bits. I will be replacing the slotted with a gunsmithing version. I will replace the other slot with a Ph0. Ph0 is used for many electronics.

So far, I’m impressed and happy with the knife/tool. I might write a follow up in a 6 plus months, but for now, this is an acceptable replacement knife.

Oh, the one thing I would not use it for is processing game. It has too many places where blood and tissue could get. Since I have knives for game processing, this is not an issue, for me.