Leek upgrade

T

Tim Piatenko

Joined
Nov 11, 1998
Messages
130
So I bought an S30V Leek blade from a broken 1660G10 on eBay and stuck it on my old all-stainless Leek to get a one-of-a-kind (well, maybe someone else did this already):

before:

IMG_0035-vi.jpg
IMG_0034-vi.jpg


and after:

P1010307-vi.jpg
P1010308-vi.jpg

P1010309-vi.jpg
P1010310-vi.jpg


While at it, I decided to remove the spring and make it a conventional folder - I love the speed safe mechanism, and I'll keep it on my other Kershaws, but this one will probably be one of my most often carried knives now, and when you flick one open, it needlessly scares many sheeple around ... :)

Anyway, for $20, this was quite an upgrade! I wanted to get a new G10 Leek, but was reluctant to spend the $$ and was not too happy about the liner lock ... now I got an S30V framelock instead!
 
Thanks guys :) I'm quite happy with how this turned out so far. Stonewashed S30V has been my favorite ever since I got a Sebenza. Granted, Kershaw's blade is much rougher than CR's, but it's still very nice.

I haven't used the knife much so far, so I'm yet to find out if taking it apart and cleaning out the grease (which I guess was there for the torsion bar to slide in without scratching the hell out of the handle scales) did any damage to it, but so far so good. Everything seems to be lined up and smooth enough for my tastes. We'll see how it goes.
 
Was it difficult at all to remove the torsion bar (spring), and how is the action without it?
 
Just some info regarding the speed-safe on a Ti Bump of mine:
I too was interested in disabling it, so I did just that....and after reassembly, it seemed that though there was a detent ball in the lockbar, there was no corresponding detent hole in the blade. That said, there was nothing to aid in holding the blade closed in the "closed position". Because of this, it could kinda just fall open which seemed a deterent when in the pocket. SO, I reassembled it with the spring bar, as that works on the blade in such a way when closed that it puts some tension on the blade that keeps it in the handle. Anyhow, not sure if this is true with any other A/O Kershaws, as the Bump is my only one!!

For slow opening, I just nudge the flipper with my index finger, and hold my thumb (on the same hand) in front of the spine to "catch it", and then use the thumb to open the rest of the way with the stud.
Slag
 
speed647 said:
Was it difficult at all to remove the torsion bar (spring), and how is the action without it?
Click to expand...

It's very easy to remove the bar - it's just a little twisted wire that you take out. I have to say that without it the blade is not kept in the handle as well, which would be a problem for Kershaws w/o a safety. But since my Leek does have a safety, it's not a big deal. I'm paranoid enough to always have it on when it's in my pocket. Also, I tightened the pivot screw a bit, as I like tighter action more - I'm not a big fan of flicking knives open (well, once in a while, for fun :)) The action is not as smooth as it was, but I like it enough to keep the torsion bar out. What I do now is to push the blade out a tiny bit with the flipper and then push it open the rest of the way using the thumb stud. Works fine. Better this way, since all my friends, even the outdoorsy types, are not comfortable with knives. The A/O action tends to freak people out a bit, as does flicking the knife open.
 
doh....the safety...I forgot all about that!!! Yeah, the Ti Bumps did not have one, so I guess what I posted above is really of most significance when referring to one of them.
 
I am a noob and have never seen that knife before. But I wanted to say, truly beautiful. Clean lines, flows so smooth... beautiful knife.
 
Applejacks said:
I am a noob and have never seen that knife before. But I wanted to say, truly beautiful. Clean lines, flows so smooth... beautiful knife.
Click to expand...
And there are several types of finishes available. The rainbow leek is pretty cool, IMO.
 
A great thing about the Leek line these days is that it spans a large range of prices/materials. They used to be more of a cheaper, intro-level knife, but now, with S30V/G10 and ZDP-189/Ti versions, they go from $40 to $120 range. Now, I think Kershaw should make my S30V/SS version a regular production item as well ;) I'm sure there are other people out there who would like an S30V leek, but are not too thrilled about a linerlock.
 
You made me long for my old Leek. I lost it and replaced it with a Minicyclone, I wish I still had it though.
 
FLYBYU44 said:
You made me long for my old Leek. I lost it and replaced it with a Minicyclone, I wish I still had it though.
Click to expand...

The mini Cylcone is a great knife too. But you can easily pick up a new Leek on eBay for dirt cheap ;) On the other hand, you could save up a bit and get the Ti/ZDP one :eek:
 
Grat job on the Leek. The A/O spring onmine broke and I keep wondering if it makes it illegal because there's no detent on it now. The blade doesn't fall open, but there's no detent at all.
 
ignoramus said:
Grat job on the Leek. The A/O spring onmine broke and I keep wondering if it makes it illegal because there's no detent on it now. The blade doesn't fall open, but there's no detent at all.
Click to expand...

Interesting thought :) I did not realize A/O could become illegal AFTER the mechanism is disabled ... Are there states where this could really be an issue?
 
Nice upgrade here man. I used to despise the stonewash finish, but after a while I started to like it more and more haha. I guess it's because I wouldn't feel guilty about marring the finish on a stonewashed blade.
 
Tim Piatenko said:
Interesting thought :) I did not realize A/O could become illegal AFTER the mechanism is disabled ... Are there states where this could really be an issue?
Click to expand...

I'm in Oakland, man. I'm thinking it's an issue here in the Bay. Also, It's not so much that the A/O mechanism has failed as it is the lack of a detent. I'm not sure how the other A/Os work, but if they still had a detent after the mechanism breaks, it should still be okay.
 
a leek without the torsion bar still has the safety so at least in california it's technically legal.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top