This week we reached out to Microtech for comment on the new Kershaw Natrix, the latest salvo in a clash between KAI-USA Ltd, maker of Kershaw and Zero Tolerance Knives, and Anthony Marfione’s Microtech that dates back to at least 2011. Yesterday, Microtech Knives provided KnifeNews with a written response to the Natrix and the subsequent social media reaction. Here is the complete and unedited statement.
When KAI posted its online catalogs the first morning of SHOT Show 2017, along with a long list of other surprises, it announced a new model called the Natrix. The knife is Kershaw’s version of the popular Zero Tolerance 0770, which itself was an offspring of the ZT 0777, winner of Overall Knife of the Year at BLADE Show 2011.
Upstaging news of the new Kershaw itself is the story behind its name. The Natrix takes a rhyming jab at Microtech’s Matrix model, which even Microtech now acknowledges was an imitation of the ZT 0777. The Natrix’s ad copy also alludes to Microtech’s Matrix. “The design has—apparently—been the envy of certain other knifemakers. And now we’re taking it back. .. Now the next time you see this famous knife profile, it will be from a manufacturer that has a right to the design: us.” We reached out to KAI yesterday with more questions, but they chose not to provide further comment.
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