Columbia River Knife & Tool (cont'd)CRKT has added some more Ken Onion designs this year.
Shenanigan Aluminum and Shenanigan PPS 
A pair of flipper opening liner lock folders from Ken Onion expands his offerings from CRKT. These are essentially the same knife offered in both a value priced model and a higher end model. Both feature at 3.25 in. classic Ken Onion drop point blade with a recurved edge.
AUS 8 stainless is used on the PPS, the higher end model uses CRKT's premium Acuto+ at 59-60 HRc. The PPS model features molded handles of polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) organic polymer with an inset liner. The Shenanigan Aluminum has a cold-forged 6061 T6 aluminum alloy handles, beadblasted and with a clear anodized coating. Injected molded grippy soft textured scales are inset into the handle.
Both are set up with a removable right hand carry clip and a lanyard hole. Both plain and combo edge is offered on both models. MSRP is $50 for the Shenanigan PPS and $100 for the Shenanigan Aluminum.
Onion Skinner
Ken Onion is a enthusiastic big game hunter and helps organize hunts for
Paralyzed Veterans of America. For half a decade he's been perfecting his vision of the ultimate hunting/skinning knife, sending dozens and dozens of prototypes to guides, professional hunters and hunting buddies for testing. The result is not your father's hunting knife.
I'll let CRKT explain:
Here’s an explanation of its unusual features and their functions:
First, the knife has a thin tip, with a slightly convex grind near the tip that minimizes drag. No caping knife is needed for detail work.
Second, the top of the blade has a pronounced “camel hump”. This allows the hunter to insert the tip under the skin and rock the hand back, which raises the tip up and away from the paunch.
Third, the tip has a straight section at an offset angle. This makes the knife a useful utility and cooking tool around camp.
Fourth, is the short 3.75” blade length. This is just the length of the average finger, which has proven perfect for the pencil grip favored by many hunters.
Finally, the Onion Skinner features a handle which has a deep finger choil, which greatly improves grip in slippery conditions. The thin cross section allows for less obtrusive carry while still locking in the fitted sheath.
The blade is Bohler K110 stainless steel with a satin finish, hardened to HRc 58-60. The very grippy handle is Thermal Plastic Rubber over-molded on a Zytel core with a textured finish of Onion's own design.
A lanyard is included, along with a very nice fitted leather deep insert sheath. MSRP is $80.
Shakaula
Ken Onion's take on a multi-function hunter's tool, the Shakulu combines two hunting blades that reach back to antiquity, a cleaver and the ulu palm knife. The 0.267 thick blade of 65MN high carbon steel, black powder coated, has a fairly high grind, providing a good slicing edge while retaining plenty of strength. A gut hook is incorporated into the spine.
You can hold the tool in a variety of grips, depending on what you want to use it for, skinning, gutting, chopping, etc. The ergonomic handle is polypropylene with over-molded dark green TPE plastic inserts. The polypropylene sheath is one of the best I've seen for this type tool, with a secure lock to hold it in, regardless of how it is carried. The lock on the sample we saw needs a bit of work to make it easier to use with cold hands or gloves on, which I am sure it will get.
CRKT notes, "the Shakaulu should not be confused with a brush cutter or hatchet. It is a much more sophisticated skinning tool, and the Razor-Sharp edge is not intended for such use." MSRP is $90.
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