Aside from briefly having an Opinel, Kershaw Speed Safe knives are the only serious folding knives I've owned (also got a couple SAKs which I consider everything but knives, and a fixed blade). My collection has been small, but since early 2003 I've had 3 of them.
First one was a Blackout, second a Scallion and third a Mini-Mojo.
The Blackout is in for replacement now, for the fourth time. I must say I love Kershaw's no-nonsense lifetime warranty, and House of Knives' handling of it. They certainly stand behind their knives, and as a company I'll happily recommend them, but the fourth time having the opening mechanism break is a bit disappointing.
The Mini-Mojo will be going in soon, and it'll be the second time it's going in for replacement.
The Scallion has never broken on me, aside from the bar at the bottom that's supposed to keep it shut. It's also the only one I don't have easy warranty support for since I just bought it second hand, although I'd assume if I went to Kershaw directly theyd be helpful.
Basically, on the Blackout, the opening mechanism breaks after about 2 years of use. On the Mini-Mojo it actually busted right before I bought it, and about 2.5 years later it went out again, and since I had 2 other knives to use I just didn't get around to bringing it in for replacement.
By comparing the differences between the 3 of them, I've got a hypothesis as to why 2 are busting and 1 isn't.
The Blackout only opens via thumb stud, and only on one side. It's a right handed opener. The blade is also longer, so there's more torque on the mechanism. I figure every time it's opened, pressing on the thumb stud pushes the blade in two directions, and when it's opened it's probably torquing a bit too. Over time this would put stress on it.
The Mini-Mojo has the thumb stud opening, but also the flipper opening with the lock. The lock just makes me think more points of failure. I'm not sure how much lateral stress is going on it, or how much torque is going on it, but it's a pretty basic principle - the more moving parts you have the more chance there is of one breaking and making the whole thing stop working.
The Scallion has ambidextrous thumb stud opening, as well as the flipper. What I noticed is that I've subconsciously only used the flipper. The thumb stud opening is just really hard to get working, with how short the handle is, and my index finger naturally rests on the flipper anyway. So you've got a short blade, and no lateral pressure during opening. On a side note, I find it much more solid, it doesn't open accidentally and only gets stuck halfway if opened with the thumb stud, and that's because the index finger is in the way. I've dropped all 3 knives numerous times, and the only one not to flip open on hitting the ground from waist height is the scallion. I'm not sure why this is, but I figure it's worth mentioning.
Obviously 3 isn't that great of a sample size, more would help a lot more, but based on that, if it's a Kershaw Speed Safe knife, I'd only go for one that's similar to the Scallion. Small blade, small handle, flipper opening. If it doesn't have the thumb stud opening that's cool too, and I wouldn't concern myself with the lock tab either. If it's a bigger knife like the Blackout or the Blur, and without a flipper, I'd pass on it, and if it's got the flipper lock like the Mojo I'd be concerned about multiple points of failure.
I guess there's also the question of the utility of it. I think for a lot of people it's more of a novelty feature than anything, as you can do fine without it, and when it breaks you've got a loose knife that's unsafe and illegal - if you have a simpler opening mechanism it probably just won't break. The reason I initially got one is because I'd injured my middle finger, so one handed opening was pretty damn hard. The speed safe made it easy. One handed opening is definitely useful, and if you've got a hard time doing it normally, might as well get one.
As for the blades, I'm not sure I've got much point of comparison here, as it's one Kershaw compared to another. I prefer serrated blades as they offer more utility, and I think I like the Blackout's serrations more than the Scallion's, but that's more an issue of preference than superiority. They don't make good substitutes for screwdrivers, but other than that they've cut whatever I've brought them to, including slicing through aluminum cans, and the blade didn't seem terribly dulled. I don't take particularly good care of the blades and they seem to work fine.
The pocket clips are a different story. The Mini-Mojo one is way too tight, and actually wore out the stitching on the pocket of one of my pants, which only had the convenience of making it really easy to hide it in my pocket as the clip went between two layers of cloth, rather than over them. The Blackout and Scallion clips I haven't had any problems with. They work fine, although the Scallion is a bit tighter. Overall everything on it seems to be tighter than the Blackout and I like that. While the Blackout has occasionally come out of my pocket by accident because a string from my jacket or bag caught on it and pulled it out, that's never happened with the Scallion.
Handle wise, I liked the Blackout the best, it's curved and large enough to fit comfortably in the hand. The Scallion and Mini-Mojo are decent, and I don't have problems using them, but the Blackout is just a bit better.
As far as the Sheeple factor goes, the speed safe scares a lot of people, but the all black Blackout with the sharp serrations is probably the worst. I've taken it out to cut open an avocado and people get scared. The Mini-Mojo and Scallion are silver blades and silver and red handles respectively. Obviously handle colour will change that, and a black handle Scallion will probably have more sheeple freak out than a yellow handle one.
The Mini-Mojo and Blackout both have utility and safety problems. Having the opening mechanism bust is a safety concern, and having it come out of your pocket accidentally is a safety concern. So the Blackout is clearly at the bottom there - it's the least safe. It's also the least interesting one. The Mini-Mojo has a busted opening mechanism problem, but while it'll tear up your pocket, it doesn't come out accidentally. It's also quite interesting with the stud lock and flipper lock. Multiple points of failure, but not quite as bad.
The Scallion is the clear winner. No safety concerns, even with the lock tab broken it's never accidentally opened. It can't be flicked open no matter how hard I try, and it doesn't start getting momentum until it's open quite a bit. It doesn't tear up my pocket, but it's tight enough that it takes some effort and deliberation to pull it out. The flipper also provides a pseudo cross bar so it's less likely to slip while using it. It's nice and compact so it doesn't create a serious bulge.
While I haven't used a Chive, I think I'd probably like the Scallion over it due to size. I hypothesized that the shorter blade made the opening mechanism less likely to fail, but the Scallion's short enough as is, and I found the handle on the short side of what I liked, and my hands aren't much bigger than my 5' tall Asian girlfriends, so the Scallion might be fine for a lot of women, but I figure quite a few men would find it to be already too small. That's really going to be a personal preference issue though. From what I've been able to gather from the Baby Boa, the pocket clip is the same stitching destroying design as the Mini-Mojo. I'm really not sure with the Leek if the blade length would be an issue, but the rep at HoK said I could possibly get a different knife instead given the Blackout has gone in for the 4th time, so I might try getting to just see if it is blade length or if it's just overall design. The other one I'm eyeing is the Needs Work. It doesn't have thumb stud opening, and the grippy handle looks useful as well. No serrated blade but I can live with that.
Main reason I'm mentioning the ones I'm eyeing is that I'm doing a fair bit of assumptions here, so experiences with knives I'm looking at might give an indication of how on or off base I am. And some feedback on which knife would be good to get is also cool.
First one was a Blackout, second a Scallion and third a Mini-Mojo.
The Blackout is in for replacement now, for the fourth time. I must say I love Kershaw's no-nonsense lifetime warranty, and House of Knives' handling of it. They certainly stand behind their knives, and as a company I'll happily recommend them, but the fourth time having the opening mechanism break is a bit disappointing.
The Mini-Mojo will be going in soon, and it'll be the second time it's going in for replacement.
The Scallion has never broken on me, aside from the bar at the bottom that's supposed to keep it shut. It's also the only one I don't have easy warranty support for since I just bought it second hand, although I'd assume if I went to Kershaw directly theyd be helpful.
Basically, on the Blackout, the opening mechanism breaks after about 2 years of use. On the Mini-Mojo it actually busted right before I bought it, and about 2.5 years later it went out again, and since I had 2 other knives to use I just didn't get around to bringing it in for replacement.
By comparing the differences between the 3 of them, I've got a hypothesis as to why 2 are busting and 1 isn't.
The Blackout only opens via thumb stud, and only on one side. It's a right handed opener. The blade is also longer, so there's more torque on the mechanism. I figure every time it's opened, pressing on the thumb stud pushes the blade in two directions, and when it's opened it's probably torquing a bit too. Over time this would put stress on it.
The Mini-Mojo has the thumb stud opening, but also the flipper opening with the lock. The lock just makes me think more points of failure. I'm not sure how much lateral stress is going on it, or how much torque is going on it, but it's a pretty basic principle - the more moving parts you have the more chance there is of one breaking and making the whole thing stop working.
The Scallion has ambidextrous thumb stud opening, as well as the flipper. What I noticed is that I've subconsciously only used the flipper. The thumb stud opening is just really hard to get working, with how short the handle is, and my index finger naturally rests on the flipper anyway. So you've got a short blade, and no lateral pressure during opening. On a side note, I find it much more solid, it doesn't open accidentally and only gets stuck halfway if opened with the thumb stud, and that's because the index finger is in the way. I've dropped all 3 knives numerous times, and the only one not to flip open on hitting the ground from waist height is the scallion. I'm not sure why this is, but I figure it's worth mentioning.
Obviously 3 isn't that great of a sample size, more would help a lot more, but based on that, if it's a Kershaw Speed Safe knife, I'd only go for one that's similar to the Scallion. Small blade, small handle, flipper opening. If it doesn't have the thumb stud opening that's cool too, and I wouldn't concern myself with the lock tab either. If it's a bigger knife like the Blackout or the Blur, and without a flipper, I'd pass on it, and if it's got the flipper lock like the Mojo I'd be concerned about multiple points of failure.
I guess there's also the question of the utility of it. I think for a lot of people it's more of a novelty feature than anything, as you can do fine without it, and when it breaks you've got a loose knife that's unsafe and illegal - if you have a simpler opening mechanism it probably just won't break. The reason I initially got one is because I'd injured my middle finger, so one handed opening was pretty damn hard. The speed safe made it easy. One handed opening is definitely useful, and if you've got a hard time doing it normally, might as well get one.
As for the blades, I'm not sure I've got much point of comparison here, as it's one Kershaw compared to another. I prefer serrated blades as they offer more utility, and I think I like the Blackout's serrations more than the Scallion's, but that's more an issue of preference than superiority. They don't make good substitutes for screwdrivers, but other than that they've cut whatever I've brought them to, including slicing through aluminum cans, and the blade didn't seem terribly dulled. I don't take particularly good care of the blades and they seem to work fine.
The pocket clips are a different story. The Mini-Mojo one is way too tight, and actually wore out the stitching on the pocket of one of my pants, which only had the convenience of making it really easy to hide it in my pocket as the clip went between two layers of cloth, rather than over them. The Blackout and Scallion clips I haven't had any problems with. They work fine, although the Scallion is a bit tighter. Overall everything on it seems to be tighter than the Blackout and I like that. While the Blackout has occasionally come out of my pocket by accident because a string from my jacket or bag caught on it and pulled it out, that's never happened with the Scallion.
Handle wise, I liked the Blackout the best, it's curved and large enough to fit comfortably in the hand. The Scallion and Mini-Mojo are decent, and I don't have problems using them, but the Blackout is just a bit better.
As far as the Sheeple factor goes, the speed safe scares a lot of people, but the all black Blackout with the sharp serrations is probably the worst. I've taken it out to cut open an avocado and people get scared. The Mini-Mojo and Scallion are silver blades and silver and red handles respectively. Obviously handle colour will change that, and a black handle Scallion will probably have more sheeple freak out than a yellow handle one.
The Mini-Mojo and Blackout both have utility and safety problems. Having the opening mechanism bust is a safety concern, and having it come out of your pocket accidentally is a safety concern. So the Blackout is clearly at the bottom there - it's the least safe. It's also the least interesting one. The Mini-Mojo has a busted opening mechanism problem, but while it'll tear up your pocket, it doesn't come out accidentally. It's also quite interesting with the stud lock and flipper lock. Multiple points of failure, but not quite as bad.
The Scallion is the clear winner. No safety concerns, even with the lock tab broken it's never accidentally opened. It can't be flicked open no matter how hard I try, and it doesn't start getting momentum until it's open quite a bit. It doesn't tear up my pocket, but it's tight enough that it takes some effort and deliberation to pull it out. The flipper also provides a pseudo cross bar so it's less likely to slip while using it. It's nice and compact so it doesn't create a serious bulge.
While I haven't used a Chive, I think I'd probably like the Scallion over it due to size. I hypothesized that the shorter blade made the opening mechanism less likely to fail, but the Scallion's short enough as is, and I found the handle on the short side of what I liked, and my hands aren't much bigger than my 5' tall Asian girlfriends, so the Scallion might be fine for a lot of women, but I figure quite a few men would find it to be already too small. That's really going to be a personal preference issue though. From what I've been able to gather from the Baby Boa, the pocket clip is the same stitching destroying design as the Mini-Mojo. I'm really not sure with the Leek if the blade length would be an issue, but the rep at HoK said I could possibly get a different knife instead given the Blackout has gone in for the 4th time, so I might try getting to just see if it is blade length or if it's just overall design. The other one I'm eyeing is the Needs Work. It doesn't have thumb stud opening, and the grippy handle looks useful as well. No serrated blade but I can live with that.
Main reason I'm mentioning the ones I'm eyeing is that I'm doing a fair bit of assumptions here, so experiences with knives I'm looking at might give an indication of how on or off base I am. And some feedback on which knife would be good to get is also cool.