Kershaw Select Fire Review

[Grant Lamontagne]

Kershaw Select Fire



   When one thinks of multifunction tools one tends to think of folding plier devices and when one thinks of multifunction knives one tends to conjure up the typical Swiss Army type knife.  The Select Fire from Kershaw actually manages to take features from both without losing it’s tactical knife-y-ness as well.  On the surface it’s a one handed opening, partially serrated liner lock with a partially serrated blade, injection molded handle scales and a pocket clip.  Not only that, the pocket clip can quickly and easily be swapped to the opposite scale for left handed users and the large, ambidextrous thumbstud won’t be leaving Southpaws out in the cold either. 



Not a bad deal as it is, but wait, there’s more!



   While that may sound like an infomercial come on the reality is that it’s accurate with the Select Fire because there is more.  Immediately obvious with this knife is the bit holders built into the handles, each carrying two bits per side- a Phillips #1 and 2 on one side and a medium and large flathead on the other.  The neat thing is that unlike many other bit carriers, these are friction fit and spring loaded, so once the bit is out the carrier snaps back into place in the handle on it’s own. This isn’t a huge deal when you are talking about use but it ensures that the bits won’t come out when you carry or are using the knife.  It is an extremely handy way of carrying the bits and doesn’t add a significant amount of width to the handles.  The only real drawback, if you could call it that is that these are single ended bits- the simple addition of double ended bits would allow the user to have a greater selection available.  As a Canadian I like to have Robertson bits handy and a couple of Torx wouldn’t be out of the question either, especially since the pivot pin, handle screws and pocket clip screws are all Torx types.  It would be nice to have the ability to maintain the tool on board the tool.  The up shot is that these are standard 1/4” hexagonal bits so they can be replaced easily enough if you lose them, break them or just want a different arrangement.



   Bits by themselves are more or less useless though, so Kershaw included a lengthy bit driver along the spine of the knife, in another stroke of simple genius.  Tool knives tend to be more of a compromise than most multitools as they try to sacrifice function for size (or vice versa) but the Select Fire doesn’t have that issue- not only does the bit driver not add any serious bulk, it also gives a good 2 and a half inch (about 6.5cm) reach, not counting the bits themselves.  There are very few if any multitools on the market that can come close to that.  And, as if to add insult to injury, Kershaw goes the extra mile and includes a small graduated scale on either side- millimetres on one side and inches on the other.  Admittedly this small scale has very limited function but it beats out not having anything.

   The Kershaw has another trick up its sleeve though.  The slot cut out of the handle for the head of the bit driver has a small extra slot cut in it so that the Select Fire can also perform the most important multitool function of all- the opening of bottles.  It’s not a great bottle opener, but it certainly is functional enough- professional bartenders may not want to use it but the average Joe using it to open a drink here and there is not going to be disappointed.  I generally prefer a lifter style opener while this is a push down style opener, but it’s not as bad as some I have used.



   Overall the Select Fire is a great knife and is available at an excellent price.  It represents a great value but it’s not perfect- but then what tool is?  Luckily they are few and nitpicky and overall I feel that this is a great knife for just about everyone- assuming of course that you don’t live in an area where one handed opening or locking blades are not illegal.

Pros:
•   Slim design despite additional functions
•   Pricing
•   Fully ambidextrous

Cons:
•   Single ended bits
•   Ruler is nice, but barely functional
•   Bottle opener could be better


Def

[Beerplumber]

Great review Def. I wish I hadve found one of these when they were floating around the wal-marts but I'll definitely grab one as soon as I can. I used to prefer lifter style bottle openers but after using a skeletool so much I really like the push-down ones. Do you remember what other colours they came in? Also will the double ended bits fit in the holder?


Stay multi my friends

[mvyrmnd]

Mine is black, with a plain edge blade. I'm quite happy with the bottle opener, too.

Mine is EDC'ed and had proven itself a very useful daily tool. Used mine yesterday to repair a busted hose on a 6KVA diesel generator on top of a mountain...

[Grant Lamontagne]

I'll bet that would have sucked if you had to keep going back and forth to the tool box!

BP- I suppose that depends on the double ended bits you have.  I have some regular sized ones that are meant for drills and I imagine they are too long, but I also have some stubby double ended DeWalt bits that I think will fit.  I'll investigate a bit more and report back.

Of course I don't think I have enough to replace all the individual bits though.
 
Def

[jzmtl]

The up shot is that these are standard 14” hexagonal bits

That's an awfully big bit, you sure 4 of them are going to fit? 

[Grant Lamontagne]

The up shot is that these are standard 14” hexagonal bits

That's an awfully big bit, you sure 4 of them are going to fit? 

Good to see someone is paying attention!

Fixed now...

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

I'll bet that would have sucked if you had to keep going back and forth to the tool box!

BP- I suppose that depends on the double ended bits you have.  I have some regular sized ones that are meant for drills and I imagine they are too long, but I also have some stubby double ended DeWalt bits that I think will fit.  I'll investigate a bit more and report back.

Of course I don't think I have enough to replace all the individual bits though.
 
Def

The good news is these double ended bits fit. The bad news is they are the same on both ends.  This one here as you can see is about the same length as the one found in the Select Fire but as it has two ends that are both #2 Phillips bits its debatable how useful it would be.

Def

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk

[Beerplumber]

Meh, with room for four its still a good time IMO. Select fire going on the my list of things I think I need... thanks Def.


Stay multi my friends

[Grant Lamontagne]

No problem buddy- encouraging money out of your wallet for more tools you don't necessarily need is kinda my thing....

Def

[Accujohn]

6 months of carry now and i can genuinely say this has been a stellar tool. I won't address subjectives but if a large blade edc with a few additional high use tools is what you want then this is it. Great tool... has held up perfectly to heavy use and still functions as purchased. All i added were bit upgrades. Holds up well under elbow grease torque and takes care of 80% of my daily tasks. I still carry a mt with it.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I was really quite impressed with this one, especially for the ten dollar price range. I feel it's actually well worth about four times that.

I'll have to send Grant Hawk a note about making a premium version with s30v or Damascus and g-10 handles to make it truly drool worthy!

Def

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2

[derekmac]

$10??  I really missed out.  I was looking on eBay last night at these, and they weren't that cheap. Oh well.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[Beerplumber]

Hmm I found quite a few on fleabay for under $20 when I got mine earlier this year. Anyways I really need to do a full review but mine is quickly disintegrating using it at work. The spring mech for the bit driver did not last long and the pocket clip and I parted ways weeks ago. Maybe I'm too hard on things but nothing else I carry falls apart this quickly. I'll get another I really dig the selectfire aside from the durability of the one I got.


Stay multi my friends

[Grant Lamontagne]

$10??  I really missed out.  I was looking on eBay last night at these, and they weren't that cheap. Oh well.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Wal Mart in the US was selling them for $10 around Christmas.  For that price I'm sure they sold them by the millions.  I had Ashley pick one up and send it on to me.

Def