This Sleek New Knife Combines a Fan-Favorite Lock with an Ultralight Handle for the First Time Ever

The Kickstarter-crushing design, which can soon be yours, comes from master knifemaker Ken Onion.

Oknife XEN-OAL knife pivot closeup on black felt

Published January 16, 2025

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Even if you’re a true knife aficionado, we’d give you a pass for not ever having heard of Oknife. However, we’d be much less forgiving if the name Ken Onion didn’t ring a bell.

After all, while the former has been around for just over three years and has half a dozen blades to its name, the latter is an absolute icon in the knife world.

Th XEN-OAL is actually the world’s first frame-lock folding knife with an aluminum handle. Yep — to our knowledge (following some research), that’s never been done before.

The onetime premier knife designer for Kershaw Knives has also created knives for CRKT and Spyderco, holds 36 design patents and was inducted into the Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame in 2008 as the 45th and youngest living member.

Bona fides aside, the two teamed up on a new venture that raised a whopping $199,717 on Kickstarter to bring the project to life. But here’s the real kicker: Even if you missed the crowdfunding campaign, the Oknife XEN-OAL can still be yours.

oknife xen-oal ken onion duo — The new knife has two different OAL super aluminum handle treatments, one matte black and one olive green.

Handling their business

The way Oknife tells it, the team met Onion at Blade Show Atlanta last summer, and he was inspired by the Olight Arkfeld flashlight (another O brand in the “O-family”). This led him to design a knife with a unique, sharply angled handle.

As you might guess from the name, the handle is the big selling point of this knife. And not only the shape but also the material: OAL. Olight’s proprietary aluminum alloy is hyped for being as light as standard aluminum but has superior wear and scratch resistance, surface hardness and elasticity, similar to TC4 titanium alloy.

Extending out of that handle (available in both olive green and matte black colorways) is a 3-inch blade made of CPM-S45VN steel, noted for its blend of hardness, edge retention and corrosion resistance.

oknife xen-oal ken onion blade — The blade is made of CPM-S45VN powder steel, valued for its durability, edge retention and corrosion resistance.

Together, these two elements add up to what Oknife calls “the world’s lightest 3-inch blade folding knife [with an aluminum handle].” While we are aware of at least one 3-inch blade knife that is lighter than this one’s 2.57 ounces, we don’t know of any aluminum-handled options, so we can’t argue with that boast.

But it’s not just that. This is actually the world’s first frame-lock folding knife with an aluminum handle. Yep — to our knowledge (following some research), that’s never been done before.

The sheepsfoot blade has a generous belly and formidable point, ideal for everyday cutting and piercing tasks. It is deployed via ambidextrous thumb studs or a rear flipper and held in place with said frame lock.

okknife xen-oal ken onion half folded — The blade can be deployed two ways — via the ambidextrous thumb studs or a rear flipper.

Rounding out the features is a matte titanium-coated pocket clip that is removable and, it appears, reversible.

So what do we think? Based on Onion’s pedigree, the materials used, the design and the overall look, this one just might be worth the considerable coin required to procure.