Today's review is for Kershaw's Leek with composite blade. It's an interesting take on an old favorite... take the Leek and give it a blade made of two different steels fused together. It will cost you about 455 to $65 in stores, and the model number is 1660CB. This knife is USA-made. It also comes with a nice black and red zippered pouch, lined with sheepskin. This pouch is made in Mexico; it houses the knife very nicely when not in use. The knife weighs in at 2.9 ounces. Here are the details...
Handle Details: The new Leek has the same handles as the original. They're made of 410 stainless steel in a kind of brushed stainless finish. The handle is 4.15" long, and has the Kershaw / Ken Onion logo on the left side. The right side is blank, and it houses the pocket clip, the tip lock, and the release for the frame lock. There is a hole for a lanyard, if you wish. The frame lock engages the blade very nicely and positively every time. You hear a distinct "click" when you open the blade to let you know it's locked open. Mild (reasonable) use of the knife wasn't enough to get the lock to fail. The tip lock is a slide on the butt of the knife that, when engaged, prevents the knife from opening. It simply blocks the blade tip's path with a piece of plastic. The pocket clip is removable, and can be placed in the right-hand tip up or tip down position. It has the same finish as the handle, and is held in place with two Torx (T-8) screws. It carries the Kershaw logo etched in.
Blade Details: This is what makes this knife not just another Leek. It's standard Leek length of 3.1" and thickness of .09" makes it great for general use. The left side of the blade is blank; the right side is marked 1660CB above the KAI logo. MADE IN USA is below this. Near the edge is the steel "CPM-D2". On the tang is the month and year of manufacture "MAY 08". There is a thumb stud on each side of the blade, plus the "kick" extension. I think Kershaw calls it an Index Finger Ramp or something like that. Deployment of the blade is both fast and safe due to the SpeedSafe mechanism. There's a nice, subtle thumb ramp with jimping. What separates this from other Leeks, however, is the blade steel.
The spine of the blade is made of Sandvik 12C26 stainless steel at about 58Rc. The cutting edge is made of CPM-D2 at 59-61Rc. This gives you a very tough, hard steel for the edge, while maintaining a relatively soft spine. The combination of steels is a very nice aesthetic touch. The two steels are separted by a a tiny layer of bronze or copper, probably from where they were fused together. The blade came extremely sharp, and hasn't needed a touch-up through regular use.
Try out the composite Leek if you can; it's a great inexpensive improvement on a classic.
EDITED TO ADD: The pattern of the composite blade is exactly the same, no matter which Leek you get. The pattern doesn't vary, like damascus.
Handle Details: The new Leek has the same handles as the original. They're made of 410 stainless steel in a kind of brushed stainless finish. The handle is 4.15" long, and has the Kershaw / Ken Onion logo on the left side. The right side is blank, and it houses the pocket clip, the tip lock, and the release for the frame lock. There is a hole for a lanyard, if you wish. The frame lock engages the blade very nicely and positively every time. You hear a distinct "click" when you open the blade to let you know it's locked open. Mild (reasonable) use of the knife wasn't enough to get the lock to fail. The tip lock is a slide on the butt of the knife that, when engaged, prevents the knife from opening. It simply blocks the blade tip's path with a piece of plastic. The pocket clip is removable, and can be placed in the right-hand tip up or tip down position. It has the same finish as the handle, and is held in place with two Torx (T-8) screws. It carries the Kershaw logo etched in.
Blade Details: This is what makes this knife not just another Leek. It's standard Leek length of 3.1" and thickness of .09" makes it great for general use. The left side of the blade is blank; the right side is marked 1660CB above the KAI logo. MADE IN USA is below this. Near the edge is the steel "CPM-D2". On the tang is the month and year of manufacture "MAY 08". There is a thumb stud on each side of the blade, plus the "kick" extension. I think Kershaw calls it an Index Finger Ramp or something like that. Deployment of the blade is both fast and safe due to the SpeedSafe mechanism. There's a nice, subtle thumb ramp with jimping. What separates this from other Leeks, however, is the blade steel.
The spine of the blade is made of Sandvik 12C26 stainless steel at about 58Rc. The cutting edge is made of CPM-D2 at 59-61Rc. This gives you a very tough, hard steel for the edge, while maintaining a relatively soft spine. The combination of steels is a very nice aesthetic touch. The two steels are separted by a a tiny layer of bronze or copper, probably from where they were fused together. The blade came extremely sharp, and hasn't needed a touch-up through regular use.
Try out the composite Leek if you can; it's a great inexpensive improvement on a classic.
EDITED TO ADD: The pattern of the composite blade is exactly the same, no matter which Leek you get. The pattern doesn't vary, like damascus.
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