One more knife, which I got out of pure curiosity. At this time though, the major cause was rather the blade material - CPM 440V than the knife design itself, however have to admit I find BOA to be a interesting one. As you have probably already guessed, BOA is a collaboration between Kershaw and a custom knife maker Ken Onion. There are quite a few things in BOA design that make it different from other production blades.
CPM 440V
- #1 interest in this knife for me, was the steel it is made of - CPM 440V from Crucible. Today it is considered to be a exotic, high-end knife blade steel. Until recently only Spyderco was using it in their blades, hardened at 55-57 RC. Interestingly enough, the pre-production run of Spyderco Starmate in CPM 440V was hardened at 59-61 HRC. Spyderco lowered hardness to 55-57 RC afterwards, for that 55-57 has been found to be an optimal hardness for CPM 440V, well according to Spyderco that is. As we can see Kershaw has chosen the same hardness, however same Rockwell hardness doesn't mean same heat treatment by any means. I know some custom knifemakers use CPM440V, but I don't have the information about the hardness. In short CPM 440V is based on 440C stainless steel, though has high Vanadium content in the alloy. Theoretically this should be improving the edge holding ability very significantly, as Vanadium carbides are very hard. Once again, provided that the maker does a good job with the heat treatment. However things are not that simple.Before I bought this knife, I've heard different opinions regarding CPM 440V knives, however all of the were about Spyderco products. Opinions varied quite a bit, from almost impossible to grind/sharpen to - my biggest disappointment, that was regarding the edge holding ability. All this was interesting & intriguing enough, so I have decided to get one blade myself and experiment some with it. In general I don't really like Spyderco knives, so I've decided to get something else, that else came out to be BOA, since like I have already mentioned there are not too many blades made in CPM 440V.
Sharpening, to be more exact grinding the CPM 440V was not hard, at least to me, using edge-pro sharpener, though it required more time and efforts then grinding ATS-34 or 154CM for example. Most difficult part was putting the real sharp edge on the blade. Don't know exactly why was it, but I've had to switch back to coarser stones twice(!) during the sharpening process. Finally I made it. BOA was able to shave without irritating my skin and push cut through the thin paper. As I have learned later, this is not the best thing to do for this steel though :) Since Vanadium carbide grains are quite big, they just chip off the very fine edge, thus reducing the edge holding ability. It's better to leave an utility type edge, i.e. a little bit thicker, it will last much longer.
Blade
- Blade geometry on BOA is quite interesting :) Officially BOA is a tactical knife, but to me personally it is a well made utility folder as well. Probably better utility folder than a tactical as well. Drop point, recurve blade, saber grind, this all contributes to it's cutting ability. BOA is an aggressive cutter for sure. By the way it was the very first production knife that had an 24 degree (measured using edge-pro) angle on it. It was very sharp right out of the box, though wouldn't push cut through the paper. In my opinion BOA is a fine utility knife, for skinning and slicing it's just great, besides CPM 440V is quite stainless, so for certain areas or those who don't want to pay too much attention to their knives it can be more desirable :)Speed-Safe
- Another interesting design detail in BOA. Speed-Safe is Ken Onion's brain child. Based on torsion-bar technology it allows fast deploying just by pushing index finger against a raised part on the knife back. Speed-Safe been the subject of many controversies, pretty usual thing with innovations. Some hate it, claiming that it's quite possible to cut your thumb while deploying the blade, others seem to be just fine with it. After a little practice I think it's fine. At least I find it Ok. At the design stage there were some concerns that Speed-Safe would open unintentionally while in the pocket, so Kershaw added a safety lock, when engaged this lock prevents the knife from opening.Handle
- Made of 6060 T6, hard-coat-anodized and textured aluminum, with the Lanyard hole. Quite comfortable. Thanks to the texturing and geometry provides secure grip. The grip is secure during both, cutting and stabbing. Haev to mention separately that the handle was very friendly durign the prolonged use. I was cutting cardboard during 2 hours with it, and then for testing proceeded with some carpet and linoleum. No sore spots on my palms. I think that's a very good result, considerign that my palms aren't exactly rough. Other than that I don't have something special to say. What I don't like about BOA is the blade/handle proportions. IMHO the blade is too short, don't know about you, but sure looks like that to me :)- Specifications:
- Model: Kershaw Ken Onion BOA;
- Blade: CPM 440V stainless steel hardened to 55-57 HRC;
- Length: 3.5/8" Thickness: .125";
- Open: 8 " Closed: 4 3/4"
- Handle: 6060 T6, hard-coat-anodized and textured aluminum;
- Lock Mechanism: Locking-liner with safety;
- Weight: 5.0 oz. Warranty: Limited Lifetime
Last revised - 07/02/05
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