This article will provide a short review of the Kershaw Launch 4 from my perspective as an admirer, but not a user, of automatic knives. Unfortunately due to ludicrous, unreasonable, impractical, unjust, immoral, and vague laws I’m not willing to carry automatic knives. I could write a whole article on why restrictive knife laws in general, let alone the federal switchblade ban, are wrong and should be repealed. That, however, is not the purpose of this article. This article will give you my thoughts on this particular knife thanks to the generosity of my friend Joe, who loaned me the knife.
Specifications
The Kershaw Launch 4 is a small out the side automatic knife. It is made by Kershaw in the United States. It has an anodized aluminum handle and CPM 154 blade. It comes with a typical Kershaw pocket clip. This particular model is all blacked out, with black anodization on the handle and a black diamond like coating on the blade. The blade is 1.9″ and the handle is 3.2″. It has a push button lock that both actuates opening and unlocks the blade for closing.
It is not a large knife 
Ergonomic in the highly practical pinch grip 
Disappears in a hammer grip
Build Qualities
Upon first opening this knife my mind was immediately sent to the “Noisy Cricket” from Men in Black. This thing might be small, but it’s snappy! It opens with a quite audible “THWACK” as quickly as any other automatic knife I’ve ever handled. The centering is pretty much perfect. There’s no blade play to be found. The grind and edge seem to be even. I appreciate the extra machining touches of the swedge and the chamfered edges on the handle. It has an integrated backspacer that is formed by extensions of each handle scale.
Well centered 
Integrated backspacer 
Not deep carry, but easy to access
Reflections
I just plain like this knife. I like the design and look of it a lot; it has an extremely classic spear point blade shape that would work well for all kinds of small cutting tasks, and it has a nice simple handle shape that (as I often say) lends itself to comfortable ergonomics. The handle and blade shapes put together vaguely remind me of a paleolithic knife, but miniaturized and (obviously) modernized. I think a button lock is a good choice on an out the side automatic, which is evident in how frequently it is used on such knives. I also like mini knives for their ease of carry and simple funness, despite definitely preferring a larger blade on my main carry and use knife. This would be a good option if you want to carry a knife in your watch pocket. Another interesting thing related to its size is that this knife is actually legal in California. As crazy as it seems, automatic knives with blades under 2″ are legal to carry in California (of all places) but not where I live. The clip doesn’t lend itself to deep carry, with a little under an inch showing above the pocket, but it does make it easy to pull out of the pocket. I can’t be sure, but I think the pocket clip for the Zero Tolerance 0560/0561 would fit and Kershaw/ZT (both under KAI) are usually willing to send out a clip.
Conclusions
If you’d like to venture into American made automatic knives the Kershaw Launch series is a great way to go. They’re well made knives with some interesting designs backed by Kershaw’s great service and warranty. The Launch 4 is a small offering, but it packs a lot of style and a whole lot of snap into the small frame. You can find it at several dealers, but Northern Knives has three of the versions at great prices: They have the ALL BLACK, GRAY / BLACK, and BLUE / BLACK versions (respectively linked) each for $79. BladeHQ also has a version with an uncoated blade and TEAL handle linked here on sale for $70.
