Friday, March 25, 2011

A Look At The New CRKT Ken Onion 'Unusual' Skinner Knife


           Here I take a look at the new for 2011 CRKT Ken Onion Skinner. It caught my eye @ a local shop & I had to get it.  It can likely be found most-everywhere for under $50 USD.  The printing on the box calls it the "Onion Unusual Hunter", though you'll see it marketed more commonly simply as the "Onion Skinner". Hawaiian knife-making legend Ken Onion supposedly passed prototypes of this design around to various professional hunters, guides & outdoors-people for 5 full years before "perfecting" the design you see in my hands in this video.  (At one point, in regards to "knife names", I incorrectly make reference to "Kershaw", but after Onion's association with Kershaw for so many years, who wouldn't be tempted to accidentally say "Kershaw" instead of "CRKT"?)  There's even a video on the CRKT website where Ken Onion is talking about one of his new CRKT knifes and he says "Ker...uh.. CRKT".  Interesting. Seems as though Knife People, including Mr. Onion himself, have come to verbally associate his name with "Kershaw" knives, though that chapter is closed, & he is now partnered with Columbia River Knife & Tool in Wilsonville, OR, USA.


Technical Specs:
*Onion Skinner
*K700KXP: Razor-Sharp (Plain Edged) Cutting Edge
*Blade: Length: 3.75" (95 mm)
*Thickness: 0.142" (3.6 mm)
*Steel: Bohler K110 Tool Steel, 58-60 HRC (Rockwell Steel Hardness Scale)
*Knife: Overall length: 8.00" (203 mm)
*Handle length: 4.375" (111 mm)
*Weight: 3.7 oz. (105 g)
*Made in Taiwan*
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*Onion Skinner Sheath
*Overall length: 6.75" (171 mm)
*Width: 4.00" (102 mm)
*Weight: 2.1 oz. (60 g)
*Made in Taiwan*

-Video Intro music is: "Forgive Us Our Trespasses", by A Storm of Light, on Neurot Recordings http://www.neurotrecordings.com/
-Video Outro chant music is from Alejandro Jodorowsky's brilliant 1973 film "The Holy Mountain" or "La Montana Sagrada"


2 comments:

Unknown said...

Great review! I am really interested in this knife, and I didn't know about it until now. I can definitely see how the shape of the blade leads to a skinning utility; this design puts the round portion of the blade towards the hand, which is the opposite of skinners in general. I think this shape is for several different roles, like gutting which it seems like it would work well for.

For people who don't use a gutthook, you have to cup your hand under the blade to protect the animal's guts from being cut, and having the curve of the belly close to the grip vice the tip would make it more ergonomic. Well, if disemboweling an animal can be considered ergonomic.

Aaron said...

thanks c tone! sorry for the delayed publish, was in Hawaii for my buddy's wedding... still trying to sort out "shaky cam" issues on this stuff, the webcam is mega low-res, and I don't have a good tri-pod for the flip...i guess it's time to invest in a gorilla pod! Yeah this is a really, really nice piece for the price, the grip is yuck proof, tried with dish soap & water, not to mention various nasty crap from the kitchen sink drain strainer, really positive grip for sure! Hope all is well on your end man, I have some reading to do to get caught up on legion's Fate!
-A