Kershaw a wholly owned subsidiary of Japans Kai Shun Knives is a knife manufacturer started in Oregon by Pete Kershaw forty some odd years ago.
Headquartered in Tualatin, Oregon Kershaw designs and manufactures knives in both America and abroad.
Kershaw made waves in the knife world by licensing speed safe assisted opening mechanism designed by Ken Onion.
Assisted opening knives allowed the company to sell an automatic like knife that skirted legality issues associated with fully automatic knives like switchblades and stilletos.
Recently Kershaw has focused a good portion of their american made portfolio of knives on both automatic marketed under the “Launch” category and balisongs.
Automatics and balisongs are a semi protected niche of the knife market due to protections from chinese competion afforded by the US Switchblade Act which prohibits the import of balisongs and automatics.
Current Balisong Models
Model 5150 Lucha Balisong
Model 5150CF Carbon Fiber Lucha Balisong
Model 5150TR Lucha Balisong Trainer
Other Balisongs
Bradley Kimura – previous OEM manufacturer
Kershaw is a considered one of the most respected cutlery companies producing knives in the united states. They stand behind their products and while their balisongs may not be completely flipper focused they are typically more available due to Kershaws manufacturing capacity.