Knife Gear: Kershaw Leek

Make: Kershaw

Models:

Leek, plain blade, G-10 handle (model #1660G10)
Leek, plain blade, stainless handle (model #1660)


I really the Leek for an EDC (Every Day Carry) utility knife.  It's not so small that you have to fiddle with it like a pen-knife, but not so large that it would draw unwanted attention should you need to use it in public.

I'm also a big fan of Kershaw's SpeedSafe assisted opening function.  It's essentially the closest thing to a fully automatic knife you can legally carry in California (unless you limit yourself to a blade smaller than two inches).  Essentially you just give the blade a slight nudge using the ridged ramp or the thumb stud and it flicks out solidly and locks into place.

Handles: Stainless vs G-10

I bought the stainless version first and it immediately replaced the Boker Subcom that I'd been carrying for years as a general purpose "left pocket" utility knife (a larger tactical folder sits in the right pocket).  But it only rode the pocket for a few days as I got the kydex neck sheath for it just a few days later, and have been carrying it that way ever since.

At that point, I felt like I'd found my ultimate small utility folder: perfect size, slick assisted opening, solid lockup and a practical blade.  I was carrying it when I went to my storage unit one day to organize junk and sort boxes.  The knife got its first full day of work of slicing tape and cutting up cardboard.  But I hadn't carried a stainless handled knife in awhile, and as my hands got dustier and drier, I quickly remembered just how slippery that material becomes.  If you use your index finger to engage the SpeedSafe opening using the top ramp, it relies on keeping a good grip on the rest of the knife with pressure between your thumb and middle finger, and there was a point where I could barely hang onto it.

At that point, I had to downgrade the stainless Leek from "ultimate" status.  If only it came in a grippier handle material...

I'd actually bought the stainless Leek on a whim (a birthday gift to myself) and hadn't really done too much research on the different versions it came in.  So it was only after the storage unit experience that I went back, did some hunting, and realized that the Leek came in a G-10 handle version.  The Leek was back in the running for Ultimate Utility Knife.

I placed an order and got it a few days later.  As soon as I took out of the box, I knew it was pretty much exactly what I was hoping for.  The handles are almost "sticky" and grip is a non-issue.  But there was one completely unexpected and tragically disappointing downside, although this had nothing to do with the knife itself...

By this point, I'd become a big fan of the kydex neck sheath, and had sworn to never again let a knife clutter up my left pocket.  But while the G-10 Leek is much lighter than its stainless cousin, it's also substantially thicker, and the kydex was form fitted to that thinner stainless version.

So unfortunately, each morning I'm forced to choose between bringing the near-perfect-for-me G-10 version Leek but having to carry it in my pocket like a chump - or using the elegant, you-almost-forget-it's-there neck sheath, but with the sometimes slippery stainless version.

At the end of the day, though, I'm glad to have them both.  And if you don't care for neck carry anyway then you probably can't go wrong with the G-10 Leek. 

I like them so much in fact that I'm tempted to get a third.  Kershaw sells a rather attractive version of the Leek with a composite blade.  It's been calling to me...