• Preorders are LIVE for the 2024 BladeForums Traditional Knife

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    Requirements: Be a Gold or higher member or have been a member of the forums since 6/2023 with at least 100 posts in the Traditional Forum. Preorder is for people who live in the continental US only, international orders will be separate.

    Delivery expected in Q4 2024, hopefully before the holidays.

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Ken Onion "Chive"

W

Will.223

Joined
Mar 1, 2000
Messages
459
Yesterday, the small package from Bayou Lafourche came via UPS. Thanks Roger. (I knew it would be here on the day he said, it's always been that way.) I purchased it to "back-up" my Sebenza. It's a very small (and neat!) folder. I flicked it open a couple of times and the Chive is a little folder that works very well. However, it's a little slick. The third time I tried to open it, I decided to use the thumb stud and not the "hump" on the backside of the blade. Well, right in front of my wife, as I attempted to flick the blade open with my thumb, it turned sideways and cut a very deep gash in my right thumb. My wife lost it a little as blood squirted on the wall of our den. (I take Coumadin.)
I would be VERY happy to listen to anyone who has a technique for using the thumb stud safely. This is not an experience which I'd like to repeat any time soon!

Will
 
Don't use the thumbstud. Use the flipper that pokes out of the back of the knife to open it.

Kevin
 
Sorry to hear about you thumb.:eek: The Chive is too small to open with the thumbstud. Would not recomment trying that, but you already know better, unfoutunatly. Perhaps you should try the Scallion. It is a tad bigger, but not much. You can open either way - thumbstud or "trigger".

You should try just pushing the thumbstud out a little and stoping your thumb without ridding the stud all the way out.

Hope this helps. If not maybe you can figure it out before a blood transfusion is necessary.
 
Blood transfusion, HAHAHA!!
I have a wife who, every time I damage myself, shouts: "My God, you need a stitch. We have to go to the EMERGENCY ROOM!!!" Usually, I gently push her back and close the bathroom door as I prepare to apply direct pressure to the wound. I just listen to her pace up and down the hall.

Will
 
I did get to play with the Chive at Blade Show. I opened it a few times with the thumb stud without cutting myself, and then I discovered the hump which I liked using a lot better. I love this little knife and I've ordered 1/2 dozen to give away as gifts. I'm wondering now if I should remove the thumbstuds before I hand them out? If you're not supposed to use the thumbstud or if they could cause a cut why do they have a thumbstud? :confused:

BTW Will, it sounds as if you have a very loving and caring wife.
My wife on the other hand doesn't think there's anything funnier than to see me cut and bleeding. Which is one of the reasons I'm so careful while playing with my knives and why I seldom cut myself. ;)
 
The Chive is a hot and dangerous little item.

When we finally got them in the showroom I ran down the steps from the office to get a look at them. We had already sold all but one and one of our employees was going to buy the other one. I talked him into to letting me see it and fell in love more deeply then I was at Blade Show.

In the process of looking at it one of our assistant managers wanted to see it, used the thum stud and cut himself.

LMAO when I read this thread.:)
 
I've been considering getting a Chive myself, but I think I would prefer a larger version. Is the Scallion available yet, and if so, who has them in stock?
 
The Chive is a neat little machine, I picked one up at a local gun shop last week.

The thumb stud seems to do double duty as a blade stop if so removing it is not an option.

Being left handed I can hit the stud with the tip of my middle finger and get a nice clean opening. I just tried right handed, no luck. The pocket clip blocks access.

At any rate, the little trigger that projects out the back of the handle is so slick in either hand the thumb studs are really only a single duty - blade stop


MNH
 
I know that I have seen on at least two sites the same same text... I paraphrase:

Do not use to thumbstuds on the Chive to open the knife, they are blade stops only, not a way to open the knife.

I like this cute little knife. :)


Steve-O
 
I have a Chive and I love it. I can open it with the thumb studs by (wait, lemme try it....) pushing ever so slightly on the stud (I'm righthanded) until the spring kicks in. I actually haven't cut myself on it yet! I don't use the thumbstud to open it on a regular basis because the flipper is so much cooler (I can make the blade shoot out of my closed fist if I do it right) but it is definitely possible.

Asha'man
 
We carry both the Chive & Scallion where I work, they are both cute little knives. BUT DO NOT REMOVE THE THUMB STUDS!!! They are blade stops and it would be VERY bad news to remove them. Personally I like the size of the larger Scallion, but I do not like the handles (and prefer the lock on the Chive). But I think that they are great knives for the money ($49.95 MSRP).

I have found that they are both easy to open using the thumb stud with a slight flick of your thumb/thumbnail. They are extremely quick, and it does not take much practice to open them this way (even thought the trigger/flipper is fun)!

Be safe and good luck,
mmtmatrix
 
I really like the chive I have. One thing I would like better is double the size and double the price and I will be first in line to get one. :D
 
As has been mentioned more than once, the thumb studs are actually the blade stop. IMO for a speed safe, the framelock/thumb studs-as-blade-stops are a better combination because they seem less likely to become as loose or worn over time. Besides, pushing on the blade guard is so easy I see no reason to need to push on the studs.

The only time I cut myself, was not opening the knife but minutes after I bought it, I was closing it and the blade tip just touched my finger as I carelessly closed it. I barely felt it because it was so sharp.
Jim
 
I recently went to my local knife dealer to see a chive and see what all the fuss was about. When he showed it to me I started laughing! That thing was so small I doubt I could do anything with it.

I picked it up and played with the neato speed safe feature, but the handle was so small I just couldn't get a grip on it! Don't get me wrong, it IS a cool little knife, but it is just way too small to be of use to me. I just bought my wife a Boa, and it feels great in the hand. I wish they would make the chive double the size with the same blade steel as the boa, and a titanium handle - now THAT would be schweet!! :D
 
I haven't *played* with the chive yet, but I am qutie devoted to my Black Out.

Anyway, I can offer that using the stud on the Black Out (which of course also uses speed safe) is not like using the stud on say a Cold Steel Voyager.

The key is not to let your thumb follow the stud. Your thumb should remain parrel to the knife handle and only push the stud a quarter inch or so. When a freind of mine wanted to see the Black out, I of course explained this to him. And said very clearly "DO NOT FOLLOW THE STUD WITH YOUR THUMB OR YOU'LL CUT YOURSELF!" He said "ok ok ok, i know" So what does he do? The exact opposie of what I say and he cuts his thumb. Well he tends to do his things his own way anyway.

But i'll repeat myself, if you use the stud the way you do on a normal knife your liable to cut yourself.

How this applies to the chive, I dont know.
 
..with "New Skin". This is a product every knife
collector should have "close at hand". My small
bottle is right beside me here as I sit in my
recliner typing this post. My WIFE put it there.
Really subtle hint, eh? Anyway, it's like that
thick "Crazy Glue Gel", only with antiseptic.
After you stop bleeding (which in my case took
hours!), you slather a thin coat of this clear
stuff on your cut and it seal's it up. No
bandages are required. I can even play with my
"Chive" again. This is such a great little knife
that I ordered another one last night for my
travel gear, but I didn't tell Nancy. I've hid
out in the bathroom so many times trying to stem
the flow of blood or cover up some other type of
little wound, I'm thinking of putting in a small
TV and a magazine rack. It's hell to have a wife
who wants you to go to the emergency room EVERY
time you come in with blood streaming from some
little boo-boo! :p
"Oh no!! Not again"!, seems to be her favorite phrase.

Will
 
By the way, you're right. My wife is a very
loving and caring woman. She can hardly bear it
when I hurt myself. The very unfortunate thing is
that I hurt myself a lot! It seems that when I
turned 50 and retired, I sort of went into a
second childhood phase. Motorcycles, airplanes,
pickup trucks,...just ANYTHING to have some fun.
(She found out about my plan to "Base Jump", from
a big-mouthed friend, and so that one had to be
"tabled".) She called me an "old FAR...", well,
you know, and told me she was leaving if I
insisted on killing myself right in front of her.
SHHhhhh! :) We're going to Switzerland this fall
and (so far) she hasn't found out about the
Paragliding school. :) She probably will, though.
How DO they get wind of these things? It's like
you're married for 20 or 25 years and they know.
THEY JUST KNOW!

Will:p
 
I got my chive and commented how small it was. I had a hard time getting a comfortable grip and tried to use the thumb stud and man it was close. Well I have been training with it and its a sharp little sucker and fits anywhere. I was not sure it was a keeper but once I figured NOT to use the thumb stud I now like it!!!!!!!
 
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