Design wise, it's not anything too flashy. It's a simple design that works well for EDC. I haven't had any quality issues with it at all. I like that the design is on the slimmer side, since it's much easier for me to carry. The Skyline has one of those classic designs that will probably still be appealing in years to come.
Getting onto the most important part, the blade. With this knife, you're getting a blade that's a little over 3 inches. That's a great mid-sized blade for EDC tasks. If you prefer larger blades, they do have the XL version with a 3.75" blade if that's more your size. The steel is 14C28N, which I've really liked. It's been sharp and has held its edge well. It's probably not the highest end steel anymore, but it's good enough for basic EDC tasks. I do believe I've seen special edition versions that have had upgraded steels. I haven't had any issues with corrosion, so that's good. I know that some of Kershaw's cheaper blades always have weird finishes that lead to the blades rusting out. Luckily that hasn't been an issue yet. As I said earlier, the design has functioned well during my usage.
This knife can be deployed with the flipper or the thumb studs. I like that the thumb studs are actually usable instead of just being for show or only functioning as blade stops. They're not the easiest to deploy, mostly due to the fact they're a little too close to the handle so you can't get enough clearance on them. That's not a major issue though. After all, this knife's primary opening method is the flipper. I'm happy that the Skyline is a manual flipper over using Kershaw's SpeedSafe. However, I almost wish it was assisted, as the action on it is not very good. To get it to flip well at all, you pretty much just have to throw a ton of wrist action at it. This is not one of those knives that can cleanly opened by only flipping it with your finger alone. Sometimes you can manage to open it without any wrist action, but that's pretty rare. As a flipper, that's a huge failure in my opinion. You should be able to flip any flipper well, despite using wrist action or not. This is not one of the those flippers that you could sit and flip all day. The action is probably the biggest flaw and something I can't overlook. It's a shame, because it's a pretty good knife other than that. If you're going to market something as a flipper, it needs to flip as well as the competition. CRKTs and even some of the newer budget Kershaws flip better than this knife.
Enough about the action though, let's get onto the handle. Like I said at the beginning, I like that this is a slimmer knife. The Skyline is very comfortable in the hand. I have no complaints about the ergos. There are no hot spots, and it's a full-four finger grip for me. I like that there's only one finger groove for your pointer finger and then you're free to place the rest of your hand wherever you like. I also like that the edges of the handles are rounded. The lock on here is just a simple liner lock. There's a little bit of side-to-side play, but other than that, it's solid overall. I haven't had any major issues with the lockup. The handle material is G-10, which is what you'd expect. I don't like that the scales are black, but that's just a personal preference. There have been various editions over the years with different scale colors and/or materials. I even think there's after-market titanium scales out there.
The clip is something minor I'm not a fan of. It's an ugly looking clip, and this particular one is way too tight. I can't clip to any pants that are of a decent thickness. It's right hand tip up or down only. Since it's not that heavy of a knife, it does carry pretty well. When I've been able to clip it in the waist band, I've had no problems. It carries well enough, yet the design and tightness of the clip are issues to me.
Price wise, these are going for $50 on Blade HQ. I think that's a ridiculously high price for what you're getting. It is cool that they're made in the USA though. If it flipped well, I might be able to get that price. However, since it's an awful flipper, it's nowhere near worth the $50. I've also seen them new as low as $40ish, so you just have to look around. Still, I see this as more of a $30 knife. If you want to try one out, go the used route if you can. I've been loaned this particular one but haven't been impressed enough with it to want to buy after I send it back. I'm sure it was a good knife when it came out years ago. These days there's so much great competition in this size and price range.
All in all, the action is what ruins this knife for me. I like the design and the ergos enough that it would've been a solid option for EDC. If you're looking for a mid-sized flipper, there's so many better ones out there. Kershaw has newer competition for this in the Atmos/Fraxion, which are both around $30. CRKT's IKBS flippers are much better as well. Plus there's an endless amount of options from practically every knife company out there. This knife is a flop to me, but I'm glad I got to try out such a classic knife. I wouldn't recommend it personally. Thanks for looking!
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