Kershaw Knives have been produced since 1974 and they have a solid line of work and hunting knives. Originally owned by Pete Kershaw, they are now a subsidiary of KAI Cutlery with manufacturing facilities in the USA, Japan, and China. Kershaw has collaborated with innovative knife designers, such as Ken Onion, to produce high tech folders; and they were the innovators and first to popularize the assisted opening mechanism which they called - SpeedSafe Assisted opening. Assisted Opening knives are not automatic knives, but an ingenious design that incorporates a torsion bar to not only help open the blade easily, but also help hold it closed. As in all knives, the blade is opened by pressure applied to the blade and not a separate opening mechanism.
Kershaw knives have one of the sharpest factory edge and exhibit a high degree of workmanship throughout the line. The Kershaw USA manufacturing facility is located in Tualatin, Oregon.