If you fancy yourself a pocket knife kind of guy, always on the lookout for innovative designs, you need to check out the Kershaw Zing 1735 knife. The Kershaw Zingย 1735 knife has a unique 3D machined blade. Designed by the famous knife designer RJ Martin, this folding pocket knife has a blade made of special stainless steel.
Kershaw Zing 1735 First Impressions
When we first picked this knife up from a localย retailer, we immediately took notice of the blade design. The blade of the Kershaw Zing folder is 3Dย machined with a striated pattern. It leaves the blade with a unique texturedย appearance. The machined grooves run perpendicular from the blade edge backย towards the spine of the knife.ย
Sandvik 14C28N Blade Steel
Theย blade steel is made with Sandvik 14C28N; this is proprietary stainless steelย developed by Sandvik for Kershaw. Sandvik is a world leader in producingย special stainless steel and alloy materials and they are located in Sweden. Theย Sandvik 14C28N used in the blade of the Kershaw Zing 1735 is designed to have increasedย corrosion resistance over many other types of stainless steel. It stillย retains a keen ability to hold a precise edge.
Polyimide Handle
The handleโs scales are made ofย injection-molded Polyimide that is black in color and has a textured feel. (They also haveย a blaze orange version available, Model 1735OR.) The Polyimide material is veryย durable, lightweight, flexible and resistant to heat and most chemicals. Withย many knife manufacturers starting to outsource their products overseas, we likedย that many of the Kershaw knives are still made in the USA, includingย this one.
Kershaw Zing History and Construction
The designer, RJ Martin, has been designing knives since the mid-1970s andย for this particular project he teamed up Kershaw to design and produce theย Zing.ย The unique and custom made knivesย made by RJ Martin command high prices and are highly sought after by the mostย discriminating custom knife collectors.ย The Zing is just one of six differentย knives that RJ Martin has collaborated with Kershaw.
The construction of this knife is quite robust withย thick stainless steel liners beneath the Polyimide handle scales. The blade isย able to be locked open thanks to the liner lock that automatically engages onceย the blade is fully extended. Only once the liner lock is manually pushed out ofย the way, will the blade be able to swing closed.
All the parts of the knife areย securely screwed together with four Torx-style screws and nuts. The Kershaw Zingย features what Kershaw calls their โFlipperโ manual opening. Just useย heavy index finger pressure on the blade protrusion or use the built-in thumbย stud to swing the blade out. There is a pocket clip pre-installed on the backside of the knife that holds it in a blade-down position. If you wish to carryย your knife in a different position or location, there are two small Torx screwsย that can be removed; the pocket clip can then be relocated to two otherย positions that are already tapped for the screws. If you donโt like pocketย clips, you can just take it off.
Testing the Kershaw Zing 1735 Knife
As far asย testing and use, we just went ahead and stuck it in our pocket and used itย whenever we had a task for it. So far we are happy to report that the blade hasย remained sharp, even after opening numerous packages. The knife is aย comfortable size that fits in the hand, but so lightweight, we hardly evenย noticed when it was clipped in our pocket.
Conclusion
Since Iโm a pocket knife kind of guy, it wasย hard to resist checking out the Kershaw Zing 1735. This knife combinesย many of the elements that I look for in a knife: Quality materials, rugged build, andย something that is a little different than what everyone else has.
Combine allย of the above with a well-known custom knifemaker, and weย think the Zing is a winner. We gave this knife aย 10/10 in Performance because it offers quality materials in a robust build. We feel it shouldย last a lifetime. For Value, the Kershaw Zing 1735 knife scores a solid a 9/10. Itย combines many quality and custom features at a pretty good price. If you lookย around, you can find this knife for considerably less than the MSRP.
