Kershaw Leek?????

T

tulsa772004

Joined
Apr 8, 2009
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I handled one of these kershaws at cabelas the other day and was interested in buying one. I really like the a/o. I checked on e-bay through a few dealers and come to find out the blade comes in different compositions such as sandvik13c26,440A, and sandvikcpm-d2 with a copper line. My question is which metal to go with. I'm interested in the composition cpm-d2 but not sure if the two disimilar metals together might cause an issue down the road. Do any of you LEEK owners have any suggestions?
 
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The Composite Blade Leek in CPM-D2 is an excellent user. The CPM D-2 edge is welded (for a lack of a better term) to a spine of 13C26. The copper acts as an additional bonding agent between the two steels. You can also get the G-10 handled versions in S30V, too.

As for the strength of a CB, I have used a CB Shallot (cutting edge ZDP-189) for a while and no problems to date. If for some strange reason you should encounter a problem, Kershaw will back up their product 100%.
 
SPXTrader said:
The Composite Blade Leek in CPM-D2 is an excellent user. The CPM D-2 edge is welded (for a lack of a better term) to a spine of 13C26. The copper acts as an additional bonding agent between the two steels. You can also get the G-10 handled versions in S30V, too.

As for the strength of a CB, I have used a CB Shallot (cutting edge ZDP-189) for a while and no problems to date. If for some strange reason you should encounter a problem, Kershaw will back up their product 100%.
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Is that CPM D2 or regular D2? If it's CPM that's interesting, I wasn't aware any more of that steel was being produced.
 
It is CPM D2. Kershaw uses it on a number of their knives. IIRC Spyderco is also using it. There are probably others using it too. The current Leek is made with 14C28N.
 
SOLEIL said:
It is CPM D2. Kershaw uses it on a number of their knives. IIRC Spyderco is also using it. There are probably others using it too.
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Spyderco used it on the sprint run of Militarys/Paramilitarys and that was it. Word from Crucible is they aren't making any more, or last I heard.

Wonderful improvement over standard D2 though. A finer edge, easier to sharpen, benefits benefits! Can't go wrong with a composite Kershaw.
 
The new G-10 Tyrades (black, tan and orange) have CPM-D2 edges fused to 154CM spines. That's a big, long hunk o steel!
 
By the way, you'll only get the 440 if you buy old stock. All new Leeks use 13C26, if not 14C28 by now.
 
I have several leeks, The old 440 was alright, the new ones are better. The black one I have has been the best so far.

I don't have a Damascus or a composite yet though, so I don't have any input as to those.

If you do get one, I'd suggest also get yourself a neck chain from J's on here too. One of the best accessories I've gotten for a knife.
 
I own a Black, Damascus Leek. Its a nice knife, easy to keep sharp, no problems with the action, and solid lock-up. Good blade.
 
I don't own a CB blade, (yet), but I love CPM D2. I used in my personal fixed blade, and it's performing wonderfully. I'd get the CB version, personally.
 
I have the titanium oxide coated "rainbow" leek. I don't know whether mine is 440a or 13C26. It has Apr 08 or 09 (can't tell if that's an 8 or a 9) stamped on the blade. Does anyone know what steel this is?

I'm really thinking about buying the s30v leek with G-10 scales, but how is Kershaw's heat treat on it?

The leek is among my favorites of the folding knifes I've seen. I love the way the blade looks. Some people have complained about the blade shape because they say it makes the point vulnerable to breaking off, but I still like it. The overall quality of the knife itself, the frame lock, assisted opening mechanism, etc, seem very good. It came very sharp out of the box too.

Whenever I use the rainbow leek in front of people they're like "wow, that's neat. where did you get that?"

And I've heard they make really good skinning knives for small game, which is great for if society collapses and you have to hunt squirrels and rabbits to survive.
 
April 08 would be 13C26. The 440A was stopped with born on dates beginning July 07. In 2009, all Leeks (except as otherwise marked) started shipping with 14C28N.
 
Get the composite blade with the d2 edge or my favorite (probably because it's new) the stone washed SV30 with G10 handles.
 
Thanks for the info SPXtrader.

The s30v leek looks awesome. I've never owned a s30v knife before, I did hours of research shopping around and from what I've seen Kershaw has the best value on s30v knives.

This is a great company. From what I've read they will replace the knife no questions asked if anything happens to it. I even read one review on amazon of a guy who was using his leek as a throwing knife on a tree and the tip broke off, even though this is clearly abusing the knife they still sent him a new one. I don't think it's good that the guy did that, I'm just saying it to point out how good the company is.

I'm going to buy a lot of Kershaw knives now because I don't think they'll be able to keep offering such high quality knives at these prices for much longer. Winning all those awards in 2005 really helped them. I think it made them care even more about making good knives before they thought about making a profit, but that mentality could wear off soon. Plus, I've heard that certain laws are being proposed to make the kinds of assisted opening knives they sell illegal in the near future.
 
Kershaw is a great brand, I'm sure you will love a Leek, there are many other great models too that you might like.
Some of their best models IMO are:
Leek
Blur
G10 Tyrade
Chive
Junkyard Dog Series
Od-1
Shallot
RAM

It's a long list but there are a lot of great models to choose from. :D
 
SPXTrader said:
April 08 would be 13C26. The 440A was stopped with born on dates beginning July 07. In 2009, all Leeks (except as otherwise marked) started shipping with 14C28N.
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What is the difference between 13C26 and 14C28N?

thanks
 
neeman said:
What is the difference between 13C26 and 14C28N?

thanks
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14C28N has nitrogen being used in the making process IIRC.
It is an upgrade to 13C26, which is already a great steel that many users rank above VG-10 in edge holding capabilities.
 
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