Kershaw Random Task II Knife

Random thoughts Pat Farey gets to try the modern version of his all-time favourite knife – the Kershaw Random Task

About 10 years ago I came across a knife designed by Ken Onion, the Hawaiian based custom knife maker associated with Kershaw knives. This knife was a locking folder called a Random Task, and I was instantly smitten by its looks, its feel, and above all its function. This was just about the most useful general purpose folding knife I had ever come across, and it has served me well in my home, my sport and my hobbies – and if I’d had it earlier, it would have been perfect for my previous profession as a steel erector/rigger. Finally, in another country and another age it would have been the ideal EDC – unfortunately the knife laws in this country constrict the honest citizen much more than they do the criminals.

Nevertheless, the Random Task (RT) became my go to folder for just about all my cutting needs – and it still is for many jobs. The CPM 440V stainless modified tanto blade is steeply hollow ground below a shallow spine culminating in a straight angled tip that meets the combined serrated/plain edge. It has smooth polished Micarta scales on the slender handle with an ergonomic design that just feels right. A small lanyard hole and a steel pocket clip complete the handle.

Finally it has the Ken Onion SpeedSafe assisted opening system. For anyone that has ever needed to open a knife with one hand – for instance if you are climbing – then assisted opening makes a lot of sense, and the SpeedSafe mech is still one of the best and safest I have ever come across. A small reversible thumb bar on the blade’s spine is used to manually ‘start’ the opening process then when a certain point is reached (about 20 ? from the closed position) a spring assists the blade to the fully open position where a simple liner lock holds it in place. As the user must apply manual pressure to open the knife, the SpeedSafe mechanism does not meet the definition of a ‘flick knife’ or ‘switchblade’, as it is not deployed with the push of a button or by gravity alone.

KershawRandom Task II

The only thing that ever went wrong with my original RT was that the three tiny grub screws holding the pocket clip wore loose and it proved difficult to replace them – even from Kershaw. I even tried to buy a new RT but they told me that the production values of the original were too high to make the RT affordable to produce – I can believe them.

However, I couldn’t have been the only one asking for a new RT, because now we have the Random Task II, which follows the general design of the original including the SpeedSafe mech, but at £90.95 it isn’t excessively expensive.

The new model is noticeably heavier and dare I say feels ‘coarser’ than the original, but that may be due to the much thicker handle scales which are now made from textured G-10, although of almost identical shape to the original. The pocket clip is held by two screws (blade up carry) but there are two holes beside the lanyard hole to allow the clip to be repositioned for a blade down carry.

Overall dimensions (apart from thickness) are virtually identical with overall length of 7 ¾” (197mm), closed length of 4 ½” (115mm) and a blade edge length of 3” 80mm. Weight is 3.8oz.

The blade is now also of identical shape (although our test model had a plain edge) but is made of Sandvik 14C28N steel with a ‘stonewashed’ matt finish and has an ambidextrous thumb stud. It arrived with a scary sharp razor edge – no change there then. Finally the jimping on the spine section of the tang is much coarser than the fine milling on the original – no big deal, but even so it’s a difference.

Conclusions

Summing up I have to say that if I had never owned the original RT I would have been extremely pleased with the Random Task II, and if anything, I feel that the RT II looks and feels far stronger and more ‘heavy duty’ than the original.

Even though I feel I’ve been spoiled with the original Random Task, which is undoubtedly a design classic, I think it’s time to honourably retire my old companion and give this younger blood a chance.