OKnife XEN-OAL designed by Ken Onion

[Grant Lamontagne]

This review is also posted on the Main Site with a couple of extra pictures.   

I recently received these two versions of the upcoming XEN-OAL knife from OKnife and designed by Ken Onion.  Anyone familiar with Ken Onion’s designs with Kershaw and Columbia River Knife and Tool should be interested in any new designs with his name on them.

OKnife sent me a press kit with the knives that include information on the new aluminum alloy (called OAL) used in the handles of these knives, as well as on their new flashlight line.  On paper it looks pretty good, but we will see how it holds up in time- for now this is just my initial impressions of this new knife.

OKnife sent me one of each color- this particular aluminum alloy only allows for an olive drab and black anodizing, and frankly the OD one was the one that interested me the most.  What can I say, I like a little bit of flair, and the OD version has a red and black pivot pin and a red spacer to really set it off.  The aesthetic (color wise, not form wise) is kind of reminiscent of the CRKT Tuna that I am a big fan of.

The Olive color is (to me at least) a little more gold than olive- maybe a greenish gold?  I asked Multitool Meg to describe it and she says “golden with an olive undertone.”

The grip of the OAL handle was also very reminiscent of the Gerber Air Ranger, although I do like the feel of the XEN-OAL better than the Air Ranger- although that should be expected at such a different price point.

On the other hand, the black version is… well… black.  Black handle, black blade, black spacer, black screws, black clip.  It is about as black as a knife can get and should appeal to those who like black on black on black on black.

On to the knife itself- the blade steel is CPM- S45VN which is a powdered steel, which I really appreciate.  I have been a fan of CPM steels since Spyderco started using it in the 90’s or early 2000’s, whenever it was.

The XEN-OAL features a frame lock, pocket clip, ambidextrous thumb studs and a flipper, which is good, as it brings me to my first concern about this knife.

I received both the OD and black versions, and there is a significant difference in the way both knives open.  The black version opens much nicer with the thumb studs than the OD version.  I cannot say why that is, but the OD version is much more resistant to being flipped open by the thumb stud.

This means that there could be a noticeable difference in quality from unit to unit, and that is a bit concerning.  I do, however, have a very small sample set, and there is a possibility that the OD version will “wear in” at some point and function normally, but that’s something we will address in our long-term review.

Fortunately the blade also has a flipper and can be flipped out just as easily by the use of it as it should be with the thumb stud.

Another thing I don’t like about the XEN-OAL is that the cutaway for the frame lock bar is in almost exactly the same place as the inward curve of the pocket clip.  The clip forces the lip of your pocket into the cutaway and causes it to snag when you are trying to draw it.  This is a design issue and not a production issue.  And, as the clip isn’t relocatable, there’s not much you can do about this.

As Ken Onion is an experienced designer I wonder if the clip is part of the original design, or merely an off the shelf type design that was “close enough.”

Summary:
Overall I like these knives.  They aren’t perfect, but then very few are.  I think that the OD version is going to become my EDC for a while, not because I need to carry it to do a proper review, but because I like it quite a bit.  It very much matches my personal style, and I am glad they did this color and not just black.  If they had, I would have probably had little interest in yet another all black tactical knife.

Things I like:
1-   The OD color combo with red accents is a very refreshing change from the standard varieties of black.
2-   Extremely lightweight
3-   Grip texture and jimping are significant without being uncomfortable

Things I don’t like:
1-   Pocket Clip snags on draw
2-   Blade may not deploy properly when using the thumb stud
3-   Personally, I find the black version very boring

Def

[Farmer X]

Good write-up! I'm just not seeing anything "olive" there; to me it looks much more like Lime Gold.

[IMR4198]

Nice report and pix.  I always heard the US Army made Olive Drab paint by mixing black and yellow in equal proportions.  I think I would pick the lighter color knife every time over the black?  Makes for a much more eye-catching carry and easier to find if you drop it or leave it somewhere. Best wishes.  G
 

[Grant Lamontagne]

I agree with the color comments.  However one would choose to describe it, I like it for both practical and aesthetic reasons too.  And the red accents really sets it off nicely.

This one isn't going to be cheap though- I believe it is going to be greater than $150 USD, and there are a lot of good knives to choose from for a lot less, so I'm glad they made a cool color.  Even the Ken Onion name isn't enough to make it stand out at the $150 mark.

Def