The new Kershaw Cinder knife, model 1025, is a teeny tiny EDC folding knife that’s meant to be, well, not scary looking.
Pull out a full-sized folding knife, such as one of the new Zero Tolerance knives for 2016, or even a multi-tool, such as the awesome Leatherman Wave, and you might get a few strange looks.
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This has happened to me once, when in a research lab and using my Skeletool (review of the Skeletool CX here) to cut some soft peristaltic tubing. My tubing cutter was who-knows-where, we didn’t have any scissors, and my utility knife was borrowed but not yet returned. So I used my Skeletool to make the cut. A colleague of mine made a weird comment, with the details being lost to time.
As an aside, here are some soft tubing cutter recommendations.
The best knife or tool is the one you have with you.
I’ll carry a legal-sized pocket knife or multi-tool whenever I think I’ll need to use one, and sometimes I’ll carry both if they’re complementary. But if I’m going to be in an urban or very public environment, I’ll carry something more discrete.
When greater discretion is preferred, I’ll carry something like a Swiss Army Knife, Leatherman Juice, or multi-tool with an inside-accessible knife (like the Rebar), and maybe a smaller folding knife, such as my cute little Moki Ezo Red Fox knife, or something a little bigger but not “scary looking.”
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The new Kershaw Cinder is designed to be small, but functional.
It has a thumb stud for manual opening, and liner lock for secure use. The blade is 1.4″ long and made from 3Cr13 stainless steel, which seems to be a basic alloy. The Cinder weighs just 0.9 ounces, and has a lanyard hole. You should barely feel it in your pocket or bag.
The handle is made from glass-filled nylon, which should provide for a reasonably slip-resistant grip. It has “faux G-10 texturing” to further enhance gripability.
There’s also a built-in bottle opener, because – why not?
The Cinder is a collaboration between Kershaw and Rick Hinderer, if that matters to you.
I feel a little conflicted about what I’ve said so far, and worry that mentioning the “non scary” knife parts might distract you from seeing the knife for what it is – a small and lightweight EDC folding knife.
Kershaw does emphasize the “non scary” appearance of this knife, but they also describe the blade shape, and how it offers plenty of useful cutting edge. It does look to be longer than its 1.4″ measurement suggests, but that’s just going by the image.
Just from the photos, I’m thinking the Cinder is a neat and thoughtfully designed mini keychain-sized knife. And with an MSRP of $11, it’ll probably retail for $8 or so. I have yet to have a negative Kershaw experience, and have high expectations for the Cinder.
Plenty of brands offer cheap keychain-sized knives that are manufactured overseas. But Kershaw is a name I know and trust. Maybe I’ll give the Cinder a shot at being on my keychain.
MSRP: $10.99
More Info(via Kershaw)
If you want something a little bigger, the Kershaw Shuffle ($17 via Amazon) has a 2.4″ blade and looks to be the Cinder’s big brother.
If you would rather have something with a replaceable blade, check out the Gerber Artifact ($10 via Amazon), which works with standard #11 hobby knife blades. The Artifact also has a bottle opener, and one feature the Cinder doesn’t have – a mini pry bar.
Bruce
First, handy little knife. The wife keeps one about that size in her purse. Of course she doesn’t use a knife most days so she’s less particular about easy access and ease of opening and closing.
I tend to open and use my knife a minimum of 4 times a day and a max of having it out all day long. I’ve pretty much settled on the mini Griptillian. It’s cheap enough that I don’t feel bad when I screw up the edge cutting against concrete, but durable enough to put up with the abuse. The Axis lock keeps my fingers out of the handle when I’m closing it and makes it possible to complete the full opening and closing cycle with one hand. This knife would be a constant irritation in that role.
Jerry
Why bottle openers on e erything? Granted, I don’t drink so I’m not familiar with the need but my friends that do, seem to have no problem twisting the cap off. The opener is often something that snags a keychain in a pocket causing an occasional annoyance. That said, I can’t say I ever experienced a bad Kershaw knife. My favorite mini EDC knife is one of the Ken Onion assisted opening knives, can’t remember the name offhand but it is the smallest one a d was USA made. I paid a little under $20 a couple years ago and it was worth every penny. This one seems to be even smaller, but not by much.
As an aside, I noticed that opening a multi tool blade sometimes gets looks, but for some reason if it was a Swiss Army knife with the exact same size blade, it almost never does. I give the credit/blame for that to MacGyver.
bymbie
I find bottle openers useful. I mostly drink European beers and non of those are twist-offs.
As I work in an office, my EDC is a Swiss Army Classic (I use the scissors daily), but it does not have a bottle opener. So I have to carry an opener – just in case. I also have a Leatherman Wave in my backpack.
I would love to find a knife that is as small/non-aggressive as the Swiss Army Classic, has scissors and a bottle opener.
Jerry
Boy Scout knife. Has a screwdriver and bottle opener, and when you use it, people assume you are (or at least were) a boy scout. I have a very nice little Swiss Army version that is a little shorter and notably slimmer than the traditional Scout knife. It has a slim but sharp blade, a can opener, a bottle opener with a flat screwdriver built into it, and a Phillips screwdriver that unfolds from the backside. Really isn’t any thicker than most 2 blade folding knives, as the 2 shorter blades hinge from opposite sides of the same slot.
Dave B.
That’s a Victorinox Rambler– a Classic with a bottle opener, and a Phillips screwdriver too. There are several currently listed on Ebay for under $10.
Andy
Really any quality beer does not have a twist off cap. I probably use a bottle opener more often than a pocket knife. Not sure if that should bother me or not.
Bruce
I have a very nice Atwood bottle opener on my keychain, but if you can’t use the side of your knife to open your beer, you need more training. 🙂
Jerry
I stand corrected. I didn’t realize bottle openers were used so much. Haven’t had a beer in over 20 years so I haven’t kept up.
mike aka Fazzman
Man,all these small knives nowadays,folks need to get some thicker skin or something. I carry a Spyderco Ulize as my EDC,if im gonna bothercarrying one it should be able to do something. This looks like a nice size forkids. $10 seems like a good price point.
curious how itcompares in size to a Spyderco ClipiTool or Manbug.
Mark Geoffriau
Looks like a fun little knife. For something I use every day, I prefer a better quality steel. Love my Spyderco Dragonfly 2 ZDP-189.
Peter H
Link for the Gerber Artifact directs to the Kershaw 8700 Shuffle
Stuart
Thank you! Oops, I guess it was a copy/paste mishap.
If you hadn’t mentioned it, it would have been months if not years before I found the error myself, if at all!
Scott
Thanks! This looks like a great edc knife. I really like the idea of the Gerber artifact and was close to buying one but I read too many reviews about sliced fingers. Apparently the blade can be difficult to open which leads to a thumb being sliced. I’ve been looking for something comparable for a while and this seems to fit the bill.
Brian
I will pull out any damn knife I want just about anywhere. I don’t care what anyone says. I’m either going to get the job done or not.
Mark S.
The size puts me in mind of the SOG Micro (the one that often gets packaged with two key knives) but this looks a lot less “stabby stabby” and more “cut with purpose”.
Stuart
I’ve got one of those (more info here: https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/sog-micron-keychain-knife/%3C/a%3E%29, but don’t really like it. It’s not at all comfortable to use.
Grady
Non Scary! These key chain bottle openers are typically used to open adult beverages. What’s more scary than a drunk wielding a sharp knife?
max
Looks more “non-useful” than “non-scary” to me.
Maybe it is just because I live in Colorado, but I don’t get the need for specifically having a “non-scary” knife. I probably use my large folder to split food for me and the kiddos than for anything else. I rarely get strange looks (though that could be more from having two cute munchkins with me – clearly not a scary guy if they are in tow). It is actually one of the main reasons I started carrying one again – too hard to cut through a 4 inch diameter burrito or hamburger with a 2 inch blade and the holes on the blade from my Skeletool
I would think that having a mulit-tool, Boy Scout knife, or a Swiss Army Knife would be “non-threatening” enough – and way more useful. It doesn’t look like you get any more blade on this thing than you do on a SA Classic. I would even carry something like a Fastback over this – you get the same blade length but it is interchangeable. And it is a “tool” which is probably less-threatening to muggles.
max
Sorry. Posted mid sentence.
“The holes on the blade for my Skeletool get food in them, which can be a pain to clean. I don’t want to walk through the place with a blade open. That could be ‘scary.'”
Thanks.
Clyde O
I have had a Cinder for about 18 months now, and I love it! I keep it on my keychain, so it’s always there when I need it. I use it several days for small light tasks, such as opening letters, stripping wire, cutting string or cord, or opening packaged materials. Is it a great blade? Not really, although it is far more usable then you might think. Does it stay sharp? No, but it is easy and quick to sharpen it with my ancient sharpening sticks. But it is amazingly handy, and so it gets used a lot. It does open bottles really well, too.