Kershaw Launch 16 Auto – 3.45″ Damascus Tanto Blade, Black Anodized Aluminum Handle USA Made

The Kershaw Launch 16 Damascus Tanto is a USA-made side-button automatic folder with a 3.45-inch Damascus tanto blade on a black anodized aluminum handle — the Launch platform’s premium blade material in the geometry purpose-built for penetration, on the most refined automatic folding knife mechanism Kershaw produces.

The Kershaw Launch series represents Kershaw’s highest-tier USA-made automatic folder production — side-button deployment from a KVT ball-bearing pivot, glass-filled nylon or aluminum handle depending on variant, and blade steel that has evolved from premium stainless to Damascus at the top of the lineup. The Launch 16 Damascus Tanto sits at the top of that hierarchy: Damascus steel produced by forge-welding two or more alloys in alternating layers, manipulated through twisting, folding, or patterning before grinding to final geometry, and acid-etched to reveal the contrasting layer pattern across the finished blade face. No two Damascus blades carry an identical pattern — each is unique. The tanto geometry on the Launch 16 concentrates the chisel-ground secondary edge at a reinforced tip for maximum penetration force on the smallest possible contact area — the geometry that earns its place in the Launch lineup for hard-use and tactical applications. In a side-button automatic, the tanto deploys instantly from a closed position at the press of a button on the spine, locking open in the Kershaw KVT ball-bearing pivot for a smooth, fast deployment that the tanto geometry meets at full extension pointed directly forward. The black anodized aluminum handle delivers a premium-feeling carry piece that keeps the visual story on the Damascus blade — plain black against layered steel, the pattern isolated and legible without competition. All assembled at Kershaw’s production facility in Tualatin, Oregon.

• Blade: Damascus steel, tanto profile — layered construction with a pattern unique to each blade, in the reinforced tanto tip geometry that concentrates deployment force for maximum penetration; the black anodized handle isolates the Damascus pattern as the visual centerpiece
• Handle: Black anodized aluminum — a carry-ready practical housing that frames the Damascus blade against a plain black surface, letting the layered pattern carry the full aesthetic story
• Deployment: Side-button automatic — press the button on the spine to deploy; KVT ball-bearing pivot delivers fast, smooth, one-hand deployment from a closed position; locks open via liner lock
• Carry: Tip-up, tip-down, or reversible clip (confirm configuration), USA made

Collectors and carry enthusiasts who want the Launch platform’s premium USA-made automatic deployment in the Damascus tanto configuration — the highest-material, most tactically specific combination in the Launch 16 lineup, a Damascus tanto automatic that carries as functional hardware and reads as a premium collector piece simultaneously. Buyers upgrading from the stainless Launch 16 variants who want the Damascus pattern as the statement piece in their automatic knife carry. First responders and tactical carry professionals who want the reinforced tanto tip on the most refined side-button automatic Kershaw produces, in a Damascus configuration that is extremely rare in the production automatic knife market.

Damascus steel tanto, black anodized aluminum, USA-made side-button automatic, and Kershaw Lifetime Warranty — the Launch 16 Damascus Tanto is the premium blade-material automatic folder in Kershaw’s Launch lineup.

Specifications