Kershaw Epistle 3.0 in Blade Aluminum

“The epistle” knife is just a total miss for me and I can honestly say I hate it, here’s what’s wrong with it (my opinion). The blade deployment is very difficult, it’s nearly impossible to open the knife one handed, possibly due to the length of the blade in relation to the narrow handle, it simply will not open one handed without difficulties, though there were no noticeable defects in the one I received. I was excited by the over all sleek look and the manual operation but honestly it has more of a dainty look than a contemporary gentleman’s folder. The audibles, if you’re into that are also bad, it makes this pop sound when the blade locks, it’s just a mess of a blade. The price point of $30 puts it in a range of at least 30 other knives by notable brands that are far superior. I truly wish Kershaw would streamline their line of knives and focus on the ones that really work because these near endless variations of made in China Knives are just not worth the effort, this one is no exception. I will say I still like the over all blade shape, the lines of the knife are attractive, the edge was sharp and the weight of the knife in hand was good. But in all honesty you can get the Kershaw “dividend” made in the USA and frankly a perfect pocketknife imo, for only $10 more, that fact alone just makes me wonder why I spend hard earned money on these other knives. By contrast you can get the Kershaw “grinder” for $15 LESS, and it’s a real beast of a blade. If you want me to put down hard earned bucks, please put more thought into these designs or I’ll take my knife jones somewhere else. These attempts at making a low end version of a high end knife require more thought, I just think they didn’t sit on this one long enough, perhaps it can be tweaked into something great, who knows? Skip this one though.