XEN-OAL Ultra-Lightweight Frame-Lock Pocket Knife

[Big Frank]

Oknife has this new XEN-OAL Ultra-Lightweight Frame-Lock Pocket Knife designed by Ken Onion. It's the world’s first frame-lock folding knife with OAL aluminum handle, the same tough alloy my Olight Arkfeld Ultras are made of. The OD Green knife looks like a good match to my cool white OD Green light. When I bought the Navy Blue Ultra I got the Neutral White, so I have one of each color temperature. This knife weighs 2.57 ounces. Compared to titanium handle folding knives of the same size, its handle is 37% lighter and overall weight is 20% lighter. Compared to steel alloy handle folding knives of the same size, its handle is 64% lighter and overall weight is 40% lighter. The blade is CPM-S45VN powder steel, 3.16" long. The black one has a DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon) coating on the blade, and the green one is pearlescent Stone washed. The CNC-machined 3D triangular pyramid array on the grip looks good and should work well. They have jimping on both the blade spine and handle, and a removable stainless steel clip with matte titanium finish. It's flipper with a thumb stud, but the knife has a few problems. It's $189.00, double what I paid for the flashlight (on sale), it's 1/8" too long for me to carry in the township, and it's not on sale. If it cost half as much I would consider it, but for now I'll just admire how good it looks.

https://www.oknife.com/products/xen?variant=50524118417572



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWlHOq7KN0g

[Big Frank]

I still don't have one of those knives. I don't buy many with a blade over 3" long. Otherwise I'd like to get one of those, a Duron Nitro-V Folding Knife with O-Aluminum Handle, and a Zombie Green AION Flipper Folding Pocket Knife, too.

https://www.olight.com/store/duron-nitro-v-folding-knife

https://www.olight.com/store/aion-flipper-folding-pocket-knife

In August I bought a Rubato 2 and a Mettle 2, neither of which is still available. A month ago, I got another Rubato 3, OD Green this time, and a Mettle 3. The Mettle 3 has a push-button lock, and no springs anywhere except the one in the button. You press the button and let gravity do the work, or flip it it open. If it doesn't quite close all the way, it has a projection on the blade you can press to click it shut. I think of it as a reverse flipper. Instead of using it to open the blade it helps to close it if it doesn't drop closed on its own. It's a weirdly shaped blade and handle, but very sharp and I really like it.

I got an Astral Cobalt i3E EOS Keychain Flashlight on sale too. I have a Halloween Ghost one on sale on the way here, and I got a Summer Palm version in June. I'm getting quite a collection of these little guys. No wonder they sold over 2 million.

https://www.olight.com/store/rubato-3-edc-pocket-knife

https://www.olight.com/store/mettle-3-folding-pocket-tool

https://www.olight.com/o-knife

[Big Frank]

The Olight Mettle 3 is VERY sharp. I carried it a lot this fall when I was up north. Here's a pic with it setting on the front rack of my ATV in the woods of Atlanta, MI. We used it to slice summer sausage when my friends and I went riding and camping for 3 days and 2 nights. We had summer sausage, cheese, and crackers, with a bag of chips as a snack where we camped. And we used a folding stove with fuel tabs I gave one of my friends to heat up cans of ravioli for dinner. We had a small snack before we went back on the third day. I can't remember what we ate the other day, but thought we heated up cans of chili mac or something. One hot meal a day is better than none, especially when you have to take everything with you.

[Big Frank]

I ordered a Duron Nitro-V Folding Knife with O-Aluminum Handle from Olight for 50% off. It's a 3.5" blade, so I can't carry it everywhere. But with the Olive Green OAL handle, it will make a great companion for my Olive Green Arkfeld Ultra made of OAL. The knife blade is Nitro-V steel with a PVD coating, and has and ceramic ball-bearing washers.

https://www.olight.com/store/duron-nitro-v-folding-knife

https://www.olight.com/store/arkfeld-ultra-3-in-1-edc-flashlight-with-o-aluminum-material