Kershaw 4035TIKVT Nura 3.5 Folding Knife

Another great Kershaw. this knife is fantastic. to start this review ill begin with the looks. from the start its an eye catcher. I've gotten made complements on just how this knife looks alone and it looks even better in person than from the pics. then holding the knife makes it even better. it is very thin and light for a knife this size. the knife opens up flawlessly every time with Kershaw's KVT bearing system. the kvt system works as how assisted opening knives work only there is no spring in the knife at all. the standard washers that can be found on a regular pocket knife is removed for washers that have small ball bearings which allow the knife blade to glide open with ease. so you can flip open the knife with less effort than an assisted opening knife. once the knife is open you will find the full comfort of this knife. the handle looks like it will be uncomfortable due to its metal exterior but upon grasping the blade it deceives you. it is shockingly comfortable and could not have been made any better. comes with gimping on the top rear end of the blade itself along with some on the handle providing grip when cutting. The size of this knife is perfect for me. it is a perfect size but if you want a smaller knife get the Nura 3.0 it has a smaller blade and handle.over all and amazing knife and if you like the kvt system check out the Kershaw strobe.

The Nura 3.5 is a great value. The flipping action is smooth and fast, with a push button action, and lockup is solid. It's hard to do much better for the price. The only thing that keeps this from being a 5 star rating is the finish quality on the blade itself, and the quality control issues I had with the knives I received.The knife arrived quickly and I was excited to play with it immediately. I noticed, right off the bat, that the knife appeared to be off center. This doesn't alarm me much since knives in the $30-$40 range may have some issues with final assembly. Generally, a quick adjustment of the pivot screw and maybe another body screw or two, and the centering will be in the acceptable range. I also don't expect a budget folder to be dead center. Upon further inspection, I found that the blade was centered at and near the pivot, and moved off center, to the right, as it extended toward the tip. The blade was bent! Probably a heat treat issue.I reached out to Kershaw online, and was advised to send the knife in, at my expense, and they would asses whether they felt the issue warranted a repair, replacement, or neither. I sent it in promptly, and received a replacement in just over a week. I was pleased to find that this example was only a little off center, and the blade was not bent or warped. I took the blade apart and cleaned it thoroughly. It was during reassembly that I discovered the reason for it being off center. Kershaw uses concave bushings on the handle side to serve as a track for the KVT bearings (at least on the show side). These are very thin, and it seems that my knife had two stuck together, where only one was needed. So, I took out the extra and finished putting the knife back together.I'm happy to report that after the replacement, disassembly, and reassembly, the Nura I'm left with is smooth, fast, and dead centered. It is a beautiful knife, demonstrating the quality available from Kershaw in a high value folder, and the design aesthetic you get from partnerships with knife makers as talented as Dmitry Sinkevich.Even with the dud I got initially, I would have probably given this knife a 5 star rating, thanks to the phenomenal service I received from Kershaw. The only element that takes my rating down to 4 stars is the surface finish on the blade. It is titanium carbo-nitride coated, which isn't a problem on its own, but that coating doesn't hide the imperfections in the blade grinds. You can clearly see the rough grind lines and edges despite the filling in that the coating may do. Also, the gimping on the blade is not perpendicular to the spine, and doesn't line up with the handle gimping. These elements take the fit and finish, which was excellent when looking at the handle detail, and knock it down a fair bit.All in all, I maintain that the Nura 3.5 is a great value in the low $30 range. It sits securely in the pocket with a strong and unassuming clip. It is comfortable in hand despite a shape that doesn't give that impression. It is beautiful to look at, with striking lines and details you don't generally see on knives in this range. And finally it is highly functional with quick and smooth opening, positive lockup, a clean, sharp edge, and a wicked fine point. I wouldn't hesitate to give this knife as a gift, or to get a second one for my collection should the need ever arise.

This knife is a steal for $23. It came razor sharp out of the box and I could easily slice paper with it. Although when I first got it the frame lock actually hurt my finger to close the knife but either I have gotten used to it or it has been broken in to the point where this isn't a problem at all anymore. This knife has the best flipping I have scene for a non-spring-assisted knife but when I first got it it was difficult to get it to flip all the way but after being broken in it now flips effortlessly. Whenever I am bored I cannot help but sit there and open and close it over and over again. The zeroing on the blade was perfect when I got it and is still perfect. Yet another knife that kershaw hit right on the money.

This knife appeared perfect when I opened the box. However, upon careful inspection I noticed that the blade seemed warped and had a slight bend and twist towards the right (as the blade is opened and I look down the blade from the base of the spine). Odd also because once the blade is closed into the handle the blade appears to be somewhat centered between the handle scales. Also, the pillar on the flipper side of the knife toward the middle is loose and makes a clicking/rattling noise if I shake the knife. There is nothing to secure that pillar down either. Weird.

I'm not sure if I got a faulty unit or not, but I've noticed a couple big problems thus far, mainly with the opening system. First, I've opened the knife well over 100 times and still no matter how hard I press the flipper, the knife will not open fully without an additional wrist flip added in. I don't have that issue on my Cyro 2 or other flipper knives. Second, the frame lock digs into the base of the knife HARD. I cannot close this knife with one hand because the frame lock gets so wedged in there. I have to use my other thumb and really put some power into the frame to get it to release.I don't think these are intended "features" as I watched several review videos where the blade was opening quite smoothly with just the flipper being pressed. I'm going to attempt an exchange and will update my review IF the new knife works better.I like the design of the knife, the blade was pretty sharp, and once the frame lock was disengaged it closed smoothly...but the opening and frame locking were just too much of a hassle.