Leek Questions.

B

BenHarris

Joined
Apr 30, 2014
Messages
524
I am looking for a new one hand opening knife. I love the look of the Leek; the Warncliffe blade, the thin profile, and the fact that I can get one in orange or purple is great too. I guess what I need to know is it for me?
1. How does it ride in skinny jeans?
2. How easy is it to sharpen?
3. How sharp can I get it?
4. Is the blade thin enough to be a good slicer?
5. How will it do for general hiking tasks? Like food prep, (hard sausages, cheese, fruit, etc...), rope, moleskin, packets of food, etc...
6. Rock climbing? Will I be able to deploy it quickly to cut rope in the case of a snag?
7. I have big, but skinny hands, should it fit well?

Keep in mind, I have no need for a tactical knife. I simply want a nice, sharp, EDC to ride with my SAK.
Thanks in advance!
 
1) The Leek has an extremely skinny profile, so this should not be an issue at all.
2) Just in my opinion on a Spyderco Sharpmaker, I find Warnfliffe blades hard to sharpen, the sandvik steel does help though. I am just so used to sharpening other blade designs I may just need some practice.
3) The Leek comes EXTREMELY sharp out of box, especially that piercing tip. After use, I can get it shaving sharp but not factory sharp. You can send it into Kershaw if this is an issue.
4) It can easily slice right through most food or what have you, but it is not a slicer blade.
5) I think it could handle it, however the tip on the Leek is delicate and will break if you are too rough with it.
6) Very fast deployment, if you are concerned about rope cutting you might look at the combo edge.
7) I have large hands and never had an issue.

If you are wanting a Leek for an all around EDC knife I would suggest to you the Random Leek in S30V. It is a reverse Tanto design and the tip is much more robust that the traditional Leek. I'll attach a pic below of a few of my Leeks. The Grey ones in the middle are the Random Leek.

Untitled by Danny Nystrom, on Flickr
 
The Leek is a nice, compact knife. But the handles are much too slick for me and I wouldn't want to rely on a good grip if I was rock climbing and needed it.
 
BenHarris said:
I am looking for a new one hand opening knife. I love the look of the Leek; the Warncliffe blade, the thin profile, and the fact that I can get one in orange or purple is great too. I guess what I need to know is it for me?
1. How does it ride in skinny jeans?
2. How easy is it to sharpen?
3. How sharp can I get it?
4. Is the blade thin enough to be a good slicer?
5. How will it do for general hiking tasks? Like food prep, (hard sausages, cheese, fruit, etc...), rope, moleskin, packets of food, etc...
6. Rock climbing? Will I be able to deploy it quickly to cut rope in the case of a snag?
7. I have big, but skinny hands, should it fit well?

Keep in mind, I have no need for a tactical knife. I simply want a nice, sharp, EDC to ride with my SAK.
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

1. I don't wear skinny jeans. Leek has a skinny profile, so you should be fine.
2. Very easy to sharpen.
3. You can get it very sharp, provided you know how to sharpen.
4. It is a good slicer.
5. I carry a SAK when hiking, and the Leek has a more substantial blade... so you should be fine.
6. Carry a serrated blade for cutting rope.
7. I have large hands and have zero issues with the ergonomics.
 
BenHarris said:
1. How does it ride in skinny jeans?
2. How easy is it to sharpen?
3. How sharp can I get it?
4. Is the blade thin enough to be a good slicer?
5. How will it do for general hiking tasks? Like food prep, (hard sausages, cheese, fruit, etc...), rope, moleskin, packets of food, etc...
6. Rock climbing? Will I be able to deploy it quickly to cut rope in the case of a snag?
7. I have big, but skinny hands, should it fit well?
Click to expand...

1. Never wore skinny jeans, and so I haven't a clue, but I know it's pretty slim so I imagine it would work out better then most.
2. Relatively easy if you know what your doing.
3. It's razor steel... And the blade is really thin so It gets razor sharp, litterally.
4. See #3. (Yes)
5. It will work, but I would recommend something a bit more stout for out doorsy stuff, like it's big brother the "Blur" would be better suited for hiking IMHO. (Though it would be a bit bulkier in skinny jeans if that's what you're hiking in, though they also make kydex neck sheaths for both the leek and Blur which would solve that issue altogether)
6. Kershaw's assisted opening design (speed safe) is one of the best in the biz. They snap open, though again, while the leek would work, I'd recommend something with a bit more "umph" behind it for this purpose.
7. It shouldn't be an issue if your hands are not too bulky.
 
I agree the Leek is not well suited for outdoors use. It is a sleek and sharp knife more suited to being a "gentleman's knife" in my opinion. My wife carries a Leek. Its small and thin and easy for her to carry. Girls pants have pretty uselessly sized shallow pockets so she needs a small and thin knife to carry. Its perfect for her.

For outside the city limits a Leek would be close to my last choice of knife.

I really hope you were joking about the skinny jeans.
 
tokerblue said:
The Leek is a nice, compact knife. But the handles are much too slick for me and I wouldn't want to rely on a good grip if I was rock climbing and needed it.
Click to expand...

Totally agree with this. My hands are often really dry and when they are the leek can be hard to get a good grip on. Other than that my D2 version is great. Gets nice and sharp.
 
I have occasion to use Leeks quite a bit as a few friends of mine have them as well as being a favorite knife of one of my local knife shop owners. I wouldn't call it a hard-use knife but it's been up to anything I've ever needed it for. My friends really like them.

I always recommend it to people with questions such as yours because, even though I'll never own one, it is one slick knife. The ones I have experience with are composite blades.

You wouldn't want it as a primary 'outdoor' knife. But for an urban or office carry I think it's a great little knife...have for a long time.

btw, IMO yes to everything.
 
As mentioned, the Leek is definitely NOT up to outdoors related tasks. If you're looking for a light folder for outdoor use and while climbing, look at the serrated versions of the Spyderco Salt series. They will eat rope alive, won't rust at all, and are light and slim so they will fit in your girly man pants.
 
wow, those random leeks look awesome and sound almost perfect... a quick search leads me to believe that they are a bit hard to come by though...
 
The G10 and Random Leeks are discontinued, so they are more difficult to find and more costly.

I always thought the Leek was an office knife, i.e. - letter opener. While I own a bunch, I never carried one.
 
BenHarris said:
Also, is there an alternative with similar features in the same price range?
Click to expand...

The Leek is a nice knife, but it does have a tendency to open in your pocket. Try a Spyderco Delica. It has the same size handle as the Leek, is lighter, and won't open in your pocket. The bi-directional texturing will keep the knife from slipping from your hands while climbing and cutting. Plus, it comes in your colors.
 
^that is one down fall to flippers, ESPECIALLY those which are also assisted opening. If you bump the flipper it can open the knife, and if it activates the a/o function it can open more forcefully (ie. In a pocket).

A pro to the leek is the small saftey lever to lock it closed, helping to cutail such an event, a con is you can't deploy it as quickly when it's latched, as it's a bit tricky to disengage with one hand (though can be done with a long pinky finger and a bit if practice). Also, this is one of those areas where the linir after market neck sheath come in handy, as the flipper and pivot are encased within the sheath so it won't open without being removed first.
 
While it doesn't come in purple, i'll give a great orange option;

Kabar Dozier

3" blade like the leek, but It's more stout and sturdy drop point design, much better suited for hiking & outdoor carry,
aus8 is easier to sharpen the the leeks sandvik 14c27n, and still gets razor sharp!
It's not assisted opening, or a flipper, (no risk of premature pocket opening) but still easy to open one handed via the thumbstud.
0.05" thicker then the leek, so slightly bulkier in your skinny jeans, but 0.03oz. lighter, so should still carry quite well.
http://www.bladehq.com/item--Ka-Bar-Dozier-Orange-Folding-Hunter--11229
It's only about $20

For another $25 you can buy a little purple Buck Apex,
http://www.bladehq.com/item--Buck-Apex-Frame-Lock-Knife-Purple-2--27471
its just shy of 3", but also 0.05" thinner then a leek, and 0.5oz. lighter then a Dozier (less then 2 oz.) So agaon, while I've never in my life wore skinny jeans, (but my wife does carry an orange leek i bought for her, so i kniw how it profiles in tight pockets), I would guess that it would be about as perfect a small EDC knife for skinny jeans as you can get. Plus it has the caribiner clip on the heel to clip to a belt loop, your key chain, or wherever. 420hc is another very easy to sharpen steel as well, that takes a razor sharp edge, and Buck does a great job with it, (especially their USA models).

So there for $45-50, less then the cost of a new leek or delica, you get yourself not one, but 2 solid, yet completely different basic folding Knives; one orange AND one purple. So you can acessorize with whatever you're wearing or where ever it is you're going.
 
Inspiribomb said:
I like the Leek, but love my Shallot! Doesn't get much easier to sharpen than a Leek, and it slices great! The size and shape of the handle make it much easier to grip as well.
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I agree, you have to hold and use the Shallot to realize how nice they feel in the hand during use. I have an inexpensive black ballistic nylon sheath with a Velcro closing flap that has a loop to put on my belt. I find it easier to use this lightweight sheath than to be rummaging around in my pants pocket or yanking it out by the pocket clip. It adds a large element of safety to any assisted folder or automatic. These ballistic nylon sheaths are inexpensive, less than $5 and come in a bunch of different sizes and colors. They will not corrosion like a leather sheath will.
 
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John_0917 said:
As mentioned, the Leek is definitely NOT up to outdoors related tasks. If you're looking for a light folder for outdoor use and while climbing, look at the serrated versions of the Spyderco Salt series. They will eat rope alive, won't rust at all, and are light and slim so they will fit in your girly man pants.
Click to expand...

While I agree the Leek is not an outdoor survivalist piece, the OP did state that the hiking tasks he needed were slicing fruit and cheese, and opening food packets. These are typical uses for a knife on hiking excursions. The need to baton down a tree or hack through barbed wire and devil's club simply never arises.

Many of us hikers typically take a small SAK for these "outdoors related tasks", and it works just fine. So would a Leek.

Honestly, I leave the Leek on the table when heading out for a hike because I opt for something lighter. But if it was my EDC and the lightest knife I had, I'd take it and be well served.
 
On the subject of the leek, how does the tip on the leek compare to a tip like the PM2? just me wondering and I'm sure others would find the answer sorta interesting!
 
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