Kershaw E.T.

November 26th, 2005

This is an item I just couldn’t pass up for review. It has that mixture of ingenious design, impressive craftsmanship, and just plain weirdness. It’s a pocket knife by Kershaw called the E.T. (External Toggle), shown here with a Camillus 904S for comparison. It won the Blade Magazine award for “most innovative American pocket knife” for 2005.

The knife is opened and closed by pressing down on a small ball at the end of the stainless steel toggle/pocket clip. It actually takes two hands to open or close the knife, since you have to hold on at the grooved area while “snapping” the toggle handle. You can get a better idea of how it works in this picture, which shows the blade at the halfway point.

Even after several dozen attempts, I could open the knife fully on the first try only about 50% of the time. The blade ran out of momentum at the halfway point. I’m sure there’s more of a trick to getting it to work, I just haven’t found it yet.

The craftsmanship is superb, and the ingenuity is amazing. But I have to rate the practicality as low. The knife does make an interesting collectible, and can be quite a conversation piece as you challenge others to figure out how it works. I have a few other pocket knives in my collection that look deceptively simple, but are not easily mastered unless you know the trick.

This knife is not simple in its construction, since I counted over 30 components to the knife, including pivots, rivets, screws, springs, and Nylock nuts, in addition to the blade and toggle mechanism.

As with other gadgets here at the Hobbit Hole, this knife goes to the first Soldier or Marine that expresses an interest in a knife that’s unique and collectible, even if not very practical.

Entry Filed under: Hobbit Hole Knives, Troop Tech