Kershaw Ken Onion Blackout

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OMEGA5

Joined
Nov 24, 2001
Messages
9
Anyone have one of these. A friend of mine who is left handed had one he didn't like cause you couldn't change the pocket clip to use in the left pocket. I had a Buck that had the half serated blade that I didn't like but you could change the clip to work in the left hand pocket. He wanted to trade, so I did. I've never owned a Kershaw period but I like the feel of this blade and the Speed Safe opening device works great too. Years ago, long before Spyderco put a hole in their blade, I would use a dremel tool and cut completely thru the blade and open it up to use my thumb on to open one handed. This wasn't an original idea with me, I learned it from an old black gentleman in Washington DC who was damn good with a blade. He could go into his pocket and come out with a Hawkbill knife, have it open and to my throat before I could draw my service .38.(I was a cop in DC).. He taught me a lot about blade work. He was well into his 60's then but I wouldn't and anyone who knew him didn't want to mess with this man.
Anyway, back to my original question. What do you think about Keshaw's and the Ken Onion's?
Thanks
 
I've owned one and have given several as presents and they're an outstanding knife. When you first handle one it feels cheap because of the handle material, but it does make it light. And I've never heard of one not being able to stand up to some pretty heavy abuse. They're an outstanding knife for the money.
 
Thanks for the info BurkStar. Let me ask you something. On the thumb side of the blade it says KERSHAW Ken Onion USA in gold lettering but in front of that, it has XXX in gold lettering. I've looked at a bunch of them on internet sites today and none have the triple X on the blade, at least not the pictures I could find. Does this mean anything to anyone?
Thanks
 
Go over to the Ken Onion's Forum and ask. Ken does stop in here now and then, but you might get a quicker response there.

Ken's a great guy and Kershaw's a quality company. I'm one of those guys that doesn't really like the plastic handles on the Blackout (or Whirlwind, etc.), but I love the non-plastic handled speedsafes. My Boa, Leek, and Chive are among my favorite knives. If you like the speedsafe, I recommend trying out one with the index trigger/flipper.

ps...welcome to the forums...:D
 
Omega,

Thanks for the story about the older gentleman. I love hearing stories from DC. When were you on the streets? Perhaps you have some other good tales? ( guess this is the wrong forum to post them in )

Dan
 
lesoleilnor, I was a cop in DC from 69 - 72. I didn't start out to be a cop. When I got back from Nam I couldn't find a job. Seen a notice in a local paper for Cops in DC and applied. The rest is history. Been a cop ever since.During the time I was there, DC was one continuous riot. Everybody was protesing something. The war, teacher pay, Jews vx the Russians, Blacks, the KKK, you name it and someone was protesting about it or against it. It was some wild times.
BurkStar, that's what I thought. It may have been a prototype for the Blackout. Think I'll do as Zenghost said and try Ken Onions Forum.
 
The Blackout was the first knife I ever bought for myself.

I still love it, it's not the greatest handle material or steel or lock or anything, but it is comfortable to carry, big enough to be comfortable using but not "massive", easy to deploy and SHARP.
The Kershaw Blackout is essentially everything an EDC knife is really supposed to be, and nothing more.

I think you will enjoy it.

As for other Ken Onion speedsafes, the only other one I own is a Scallion (which is also very nice), I plan on getting a Chive sometime in the future though, the speedsafes are a very cool line of high-quality american made knives and Kershaw has customer service that can't be beat!
 
I bought a Boa, bc coated, partial seriated, about 2 months ago.

I totally love that knife....it fast became my favorite edc.

I also highly recommend Ken's website....this dude and Kershaw Mfg, both seem to sincerely care about their users. Four Stars for excellence.

Regards,

Philthy
 
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