Kershaw's AM-3 is a pocket-friendly flipper that draws inspiration from classic AL MAR knives, and incorporates SpeedSafe assisted opening for quick and simple one-handed deployment using the flipper or thumb studs. Its blade is made from 8Cr13MoV stainless steel with a satin finish and a short section of jimping on the spine for increased blade control. The black finished steel frame lock handle comes fitted with a black G-10 front scale, red standoffs, and a deep carry pocket clip with the AL MAR logo.
Features:
I really enjoy this knife, but I found that the pocket clip was a little to wide for my personal liking. I removed the clip and found that it is about half the thickness of the knife itself. I ended up drilling a small hole through the metal scale and using a small split ring and clip I found I now have a nice slim knife that feels comfortable in the hand.
I love the classic Al Mar design. I got this knife for a friend with smaller hands and she loves it. If you are looking for a classy carry knife and you have smaller hands or want a smaller knife this is a great choice. My only complaints are on the poor design of the thumb stud, it sits very close to the scales and is difficult to open quickly this way. Thankfully the flipper works excellently.
Let's start with a con... If you have larger hands this may not be the knife for you. It might be a little hard to get a good purchase on the flipping mechanism. Check out the AM-4. Now the pros... This is an elegant little budget knife. Perfect for my office carry. It's got a sleek look and the black G-10 front scale combos well with the satin finish of the blade.The red back spacers give it a nice splash of color. Snaps right open. I have no play in mine whatsoever. I'm a fan of the sharp spear point shape of the blade... It's accompanied by the really nice deep carry pocket clip... As luck would have it this has been in my pocket 70% of the recent times I've needed my EDC blade. I rotate a few different knives... It hasn't failed me yet. I have no regrets.
I LOVE this knife. I work in a professional office setting and still wanted to carry a knife. This knife has great sleek lines and I love the shape of it. No one even notices it in the pocket of my dress slacks and neither do I!
Very light so it's easy to clip on the pants and forget. Fun to take out and play with. Has a very satisfying flip-open. Thumb-stud is a bit tiny, but the right angle opens it fast. Beautiful, slender blade. The red details on it are nice too.
for the price its a good knife!
It dose it's job of being a tool and cutting it also has style and a sleek feel the g-10 handle scale with red back spacers gives it contrast to the almost mat black stainless steel. Ohh and it sharpens very easily.
This knife is very good for the price, I have only had it for 1 day so keep that in mind. One side of the handle is g-10, the other is stainless, I wish both were G-10, that way they could save more weight, but it still comes in very light, good buy.
Super light with snappy action, love the deep carry clip!
This is my first Kershaw so First off I want to talk about how sharp this knife looks. (Pun intended). The red back spacers pair off with the Al-Mar logo on the pocket clip give the knife a sexy contrast with the black frame. The size for me is a perfect EDC. It’s super lightweight, and small enough to where I don’t feel it in my pocket. The spear point blade looks unique and has a very sharp point for piercing. My only complaint? What in the heck are thumb studs doing on this knife? They really aren’t functional. You have to put a Lot of pressure on them to get the blade to swing open. Maybe on the AM-4they are easier to use? I don’t know but the flipper works perfect albeit it’s a little stiff until you break it in but in my opinion if they got rid of the studs on this knife it would almost be perfect for the price. Bottom line: You really can’t afford to not have this knife in your collection. It’s sweet if you ignore the thumb studs.
Nice thin, slicy blade. Great ergonomics in the handle. Fit and finish was fine for the price.
I'm a relative newcomer to knives and was looking for a knife to complement my Spyderco Ambitious. At first I was a bit hesitant due to the AM-3's longer, thinner blade, but it was complementary to the Spyderco's stouter blade so I gave it a shot. Pretty quickly, the Kershaw Al Mar AM-3 became my favorite EDC knife for a few reasons. It's relatively inexpensive, so I'm not too worried about losing it. It gets out of the way in my pocket due to the thin, lightweight design and deep carry clip. It covers my daily needs well, slicing through cardboard, plastic, tape, and food with ease. What would I change? I'd love to see a skeletonized liner lock and slightly textured G10 scales on both sides for decreased weight and increased grip. The clip could be a little deeper carry, so it would completely disappear in my pocket. I'd also lose the thumb studs which aren't really functional for me, which would clean up the design. Icing on the cake would be an upgrade choice with higher quality steel. Overall, a very recommended knife. After using it, I'm highly considering purchasing it's big brother, the Kershaw Al Mar AM-4.
Fit and finish wasn't perfect but not super surprising considering the price. There was obvious wear on the one side of the pivot screw where paint chipped off. Functionality wise it's just fine and I love the swedge on the blade. Red spacers are a nice touch. Snappy action is just fun.
This is a classy looking, slim and great in pocket knife especially with slacks. However, I have dislikes about it that keeps it out of rotation, slipper g10 grip, thumbstud is almost impossible to use, detent is way too stiff or the flipper has 0 leverage, deep carry pocket screws stick up too much and backspacers came scratched up. It was a little bit of a disappointing knife, it's worst than lutefisk, it's like 2 week old lutefisk.
Beautiful knife for the price, but meh. Movement felt sandy, and flipper tab felt too small. Blade shape seems useless other than as an envelope opener. Just did not see the point of carrying this one.
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