3" Stainless Steel Blade Pocket Knife | Kershaw RJ Tactical 3.0 1987

I’ve been a fan of Kershaw “SpeedSafe” flippers since I picked up a limited edition OsoSweet (orange scales and black blade) a few years ago.I recently purchased the RJ Tactical (black scales, black blade) and the Barricade (orange scales, black blade) to evaluate which one would make a good gift.I thought it would be nice to compare all three. NOTE: You cannot get the orange and black OsoSweet any longer. The black and silver Oso is the same size and deploys at the same speed as my orange one for purposes of comparison.Barricade: Those knife is much bigger than I was expecting. It’s beefy and takes a little more umph to deploy. It snaps open quickly and locks up nicely. With a seatbelt cutter and glass breaker, it’s got a few extras. Too big, even for a Wookie, to daily carry without being awkward... I didn’t realize the extra 1/2 inch would change the ergonomics so much, but it does. So it’s going in the center console of my vehicle. It would make a decent survival knife in a pinch.OsoSweet: Very fast opener, lightweight, easy to use. Perfect middle ground. Currently available in black/silver, grey/silver, and green/silver, all with a silver clip... and they just look plain. But for an everyday carry knife, that’s fine. It does what it’s supposed to... open quickly, cut quickly, and carry deeply. I'm just not impressed with the current choices.RJ Tactical: This guy is just a smidge smaller (1/10 inch) and lighter than the OsoSweet. It also deploys just a tad slower (but also quieter). Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a fast opener just a little slower than the others. I LOVE the black on black look... really clean. Definitely has a tactical look which can weird people out a little. Got a few sideways looks with this one where the much larger Barricade got no attention. This one is only tactical in appearance.All three have a decent steel (8Cr), take a hair popping edge , have assisted opening, and tip up carry. All three come in right at the $30 mark so no breaking the bank.Barricade: Decently big, good knife for your car, bug out bag, etc. Haven’t tried the seatbelt cutter or window breaker yet, but they look functional.OsoSweet: My favorite except for the look of the new ones. If they were black on black, or better yet still available in orange on black, it would be the best choice here.RJ Tactical: I’m not a big fan of the slower deployment... but it’s perfect for people learning to use an assisted flipper and for those who don’t like the “thwack” of an aggressive flipper. Big bonus points for the all black (tactical) look.If you want big, go Barricade...If you want medium & really fast (but plain), go Oso...If you want gentler opening and better looking, go RJ...

I recently decided that I wanted my first folding pocketknife. I wanted a knife mainly for everyday carry use, but I also wanted one that would make an excellent weapon if I needed to defend myself. I really liked the look of tanto blades, but they are designed strictly for stabbing and self-defense, not EDC use.I finally settled on this knife, mainly because of the blade shape. I also liked the sleek and aggressive, stealthy, all-black look.Kershaw is a well-known and well-liked quality knife manufacturer, and it shows with the RJ Tactical 3.0. It is a sturdy, solidly built knife. The knife feels good in your hand, neither too heavy nor too light. A little pressure on the flipper is all that is needed to flick open the blade. You don't need to flick your wrist at all; as soon as you push the flipper, the SpeedSafe assisted opener takes over. The blade opens pretty quickly, but you can still manually pull the blade open if you prefer. Once open, the blade is solidly locked with the liner lock, and there is no way that this knife will ever unintentionally close. The handle fits your hand well in a variety of holding positions, and the curvy raised web design ensures that you will always have a firm grip. This knife can be opened and closed with only one hand if needed. The blade is very sharp right out of the box, and the shape of the blade is perfectly suited for both EDC and tactical defense. The pocket clip can be configured as tip-up, tip-down, or left-handed tip-up.The one thing I don't quite like about this knife is the fact that the pocket clip is very, very tight. It takes a lot of pressure to move the clip away from the handle, and retrieving the knife from your pocket with one hand takes a lot of force. This can be a good thing, however. You will never lose this knife because it fell out of your pocket, and nobody else will be able to easily take the knife from your pocket.

Just received this RJ Speedsafe 1987 folder.Initial inspection showed the blade to be adjusted properly. Opens fine and no wiggle or side-to-side play. The liner consistently (thus far) fully engages the back of the blade when opening.The edge is evenly ground and decently sharp, especially for a budget knife in this price range. Mostly "hair-popping" when checked, and it cuts cleanly when tested against medium paper stock and newsprint, meaning there's no obvious burrs. The "grind" lines on the sides of the blade are smooth, instead of "crisp & sharp edged", but that's fine for what I was expecting. They're evenly done, even at the point.I like how the spine is partly filled by an insert, offering some protection to the blade edge. The jimping is nicely done, and I like how the protruding tip at the butt is smooth, and not sharp, making it less likely to wear & damage a pocket (if not clipped to a pocket mouth).The ability to position the clip at 3 locations seems like it may become handy. Tip-up option on each side (mine arrived positioned for tip-up, spine forward/RH carry), and tip-down option on one side (as shown in website pic).Decently thin compared to some other Kershaw speedsafe models.I like 3" folders for use when I'm either wearing pants with tighter pockets, or made of lighter material, and for times when I'm traveling and local ordinances may preclude carrying a blade longer than 3". Long enough to be useful, but small enough to be practical.I'll update if anything changes. Initial inspection seems very satisfactory for the money invested, though. If they can keep this QC consistent, it ought to be a real sleeper for a budget pocket folder using a liner lock design.