All Kwaikens - love them or hate them?

cchu518

cchu518

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Mar 6, 2013
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So I wanted to have a discussion with folks and their opinions on kwaikens. Is it a model that you love or hate?

I have the Boker versions myself.
Pros:
Ultra nasty stabby blade profile
Super compact carry
Really good looking overall package
Different from what is out there
Thick blade allows you to do stuff you wouldn't do with a thinner edge.

Cons:
Ultra nasty shabby blade profile
Too thin to grip in the hand, tad slippery
I had to reprofile the edge to get it to slice ok.

I actually acquired mine as a Christmas present from my brother in law and his girlfriend and the other one from my wife aka I'm forbidden from ever trading them.


This thread is open to all Kwaikens and not just Bokers of course. So what do you about them?

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The CRKT kwaiken is on my list of future acquisitions. I find the slim profile appealing and the blade geometry cool.
 
I have a Boker Kwaiken and I really like the knife over all. It's slim, and I love the blade shape. The only thing I find really distressful is this:






The handle profile is so thin that when closed the blade edge is nearly completely exposed. I have cut myself more than once when my finger slipped off the flipper tab. I had to add jimping on the tab to prevent this from happening.
 
Huh I havn't noticed that it doesn't happen on the mini I have to check my regular tonight!
 
I love mine, but wouldn't argue that it doesn't have faults:

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The thick, solid liners make it a bit heavy. The pocket clip and ride height don't offer the greatest retention. The edge is perilously close to protruding when closed (but mine isn't as bad as some). I also feel the design would be improved from a utility perspective if the locked blade had just a couple degrees of cant instead of being completely straight when locked ...but I still carry it often and have no plans to get rid of it :)
 
Had the Boker Ti Kwaiken:

Pros:
Thick blade with a useful profile.
Flipper is smooth.
Straight back of blade is great for fine control

Cons:
Thick in pocket
Heavy
Pocket clip is too tight and rides too high.
Scales are slippery as a election promise
Flipper action felt like it needed a lot of force to get going.
 
I've never had a Boker Kwaiken, although I might like to try the mini sometime. I'm afraid it won't stand up to my Begg and I'll be ultimately disappointed with it.

I have the CRKT Ontanshi Noh Ken and Heiho which are basically a kwaiken style. I don't ever really carry them much because the Heiho is assisted and the Noh Ken is a little longer than I like and has the darn LAWKS system.

The best Kwaiken I've ever handled is my Todd Begg Steelcraft. It's just an incredible knife, even though it's a little bigger than I generally like to carry. I like the slim pocket profile of all Kwaikens, although the lack of much belly on the blade makes them not the best choice for many EDC tasks.
 
ebidis said:
The handle profile is so thin that when closed the blade edge is nearly completely exposed. I have cut myself more than once when my finger slipped off the flipper tab. I had to add jimping on the tab to prevent this from happening.
Click to expand...

That's crazy and definitely a design flaw IMHO; kinda akin to folders where the point is so close to the butt of the handle it sits above/and or beyond it... Makes for some nice injuries pulling it out of pocket LOL... :rolleyes::thumbdn:


Does this count as kwaiken or nah? :foot:

I've always just called it a tanto and left it at that LOL...

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If it does count; I love it. :thumbup::D It's my second one of this knife; vastly underrated little blade.
 
ebidis said:
I have a Boker Kwaiken and I really like the knife over all. It's slim, and I love the blade shape. The only thing I find really distressful is this:






The handle profile is so thin that when closed the blade edge is nearly completely exposed. I have cut myself more than once when my finger slipped off the flipper tab. I had to add jimping on the tab to prevent this from happening.
Click to expand...

yeah when I had one I looked at that and was like man this looks like it could cut your finder so of course I had to try it lol sliced my finger really good like a idiot. smh not one of my brightest moments
 
The Begg Kwaiken is ridiculous! I'd love one but I'd never carry it. Too many strikes against knives in open places in NY and NJ to contend with.
 
I like the slim overall profile of a kwaiken - the way the blade totally disappears within the handle is a great design. However, I find the typical kwaiken blade shape to be mediocre. The lack of a dropped point gives it a very uncontrolled feel when trying to guide cuts
 
LOVE the kwaiken design....there is something out there for everyone, in every price range. As far as the boker....its a great gateway drug:-) For those that think its slick, have the ti scales orange peeled or textured for added grip...or go with g10/micarta instead. Herre is a pic of my humble little kwaiken collection

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** The boker on the bottom just got sold, have the new Damasteel version on the way to replace it:-)
 
Nice!^
I'm more into the traditional kwaikens but I'd love to see Spyderco offer a kwaiken folder.
 
I have a titanium Boker Mini Kwaiken and love it. I read in another thread about the blade edge being exposed when closed but mine does not have that problem. I checked and actually applied some pressure with my finger but never contacted the blade edge. My only complaint is that it is a little heavy for a smaller knife but, to me, that weight seems to give it a solid feel in the hand.
 
Rival1314 said:
LOVE the kwaiken design....there is something out there for everyone, in every price range. As far as the boker....its a great gateway drug:-) For those that think its slick, have the ti scales orange peeled or textured for added grip...or go with g10/micarta instead. Herre is a pic of my humble little kwaiken collection

12825701_954660121278599_1504959777_n.jpg


** The boker on the bottom just got sold, have the new Damasteel version on the way to replace it:-)
Click to expand...
Did Steve do the thunderstorm Kevlar scales on that bottom one? Love it!
 
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What! Great job! They look great!

The nillaka is a bit of a pukko kwaiken lol.
 
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