I finally got my hands on Kershaw 1425 Talon II.. It is a a very solid knife. 3
1/4 oz. of quality heftiness. Very nice finish on the blade, no born on
date though, did they stop doing that? Shaving sharp right out of the
box as usual for a Kershaw. Strong A/O action is a nice feature the old
1420/21ST's didn't have. The flipper is really the only way to open
this knife. The blade sits low in the frame and the Thumbstuds are
beyond redundant; they are totally inaccessible, unusable and
unnecessary. The "Zing" style clip is great, hugs the handle, and doesn't
interfere with gripping the knife. Tip up & down for righties, Tip
up only for lefties. The texture on the G-10 handles is very rough and
I think even if you dipped your hands in butter you still would not
lose your grip. Because a hawk blade sees more pulling than most
standard blades maybe the omission of jimping or texture on the spine
is justified, but it would be useful on the front of the flipper.
Compared to the original 1420/21ST's there is no lanyard hole and there
doesn't appear to be room to make one.
I can
honestly say though, that no nostalgia for the original talons is necessary to appreciate this
knife. If you have any need or want for a hawkbill style blade, this one would serve well.
Steel: Sandvik 14C28N, Bead-blased finish
Handle: Textured black G-10
Blade Length: 2 7/8 in. (7.3cm)
Closed Length: 4 in. (10.1 cm)
Overall Length: 6 7/8 in. (17.5cm)
Weight: 3.2 oz.
Features: SpeedSafe, Locking liner, Thumb Studs, Pocket Clip
Kershaw 1425 Talon II - Obverse
Kershaw 1425 Talon II - Reverse
Top to bottom - Kershaw 1421ST Ti Talon, 1425 Talon II, 1420 Ti Talon