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Ken Onion

Lawman

LockFramelock
ScalesAnodized G10
Ken Onion Lawman — open, full profile Ken Onion Lawman — open, upright

Ken Onion

Kaneohe, Hawaii  ·  Est. 1991

Ken Onion came to knifemaking through the Marine Corps and a machine shop — not a hammer and anvil. He learned bladesmithing under Stan Fujisaka in Hawaii, then spent the next decade doing what engineers do: solving problems nobody had thought to solve yet.

In 1996, he invented SpeedSafe, the first commercially successful assisted-opening mechanism, and handed it to Kershaw. Within two years it had transformed the production folder market. He held 36 design patents by the time he was inducted into the Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame in 2008 — the youngest living inductee in the award's history.

The customs are where the real work lives. Fewer than a dozen Lawman framelock flippers exist. Each one was made to a standard that no production run could replicate — titanium frames milled to tolerances that Onion's Marine Corps background wouldn't let him compromise on.

One of maybe ten Lawman style knives created by Ken Onion. Work like this is rarely seen out in the open.

Ken Onion Lawman — open, three-quarter Ken Onion Lawman — closed, handle profile Ken Onion Lawman — open with reflection Ken Onion Lawman — open, blade detail Ken Onion Lawman — open, blade and reflection Ken Onion Lawman — closed, handle scallops Ken Onion Lawman — closed, tang stamp Ken Onion Lawman — open on dark wood Ken Onion Lawman — blade and reflection Ken Onion Lawman — open on wood Ken Onion Lawman — IKBS handle macro Ken Onion Lawman — acrylic reflection Ken Onion Lawman — open, blade detail Ken Onion Lawman — G10 scale detail overhead Ken Onion Lawman — closed, handle end dark Ken Onion Lawman — closed on wood Ken Onion Lawman — closed, IKBS side Ken Onion Lawman — pivot and choil detail Ken Onion Lawman — open, full knife on wood