Leuku Review

[Southern Gent]

I agree with Swo and Mist for a couple important reasons I learned in a field survival class where I was up for about three days with very little food or sleep.

1. A striker can save your hand, fingers, arteries, ect. when doing tasks with a knife that could potentially cause severe damage to yourself and medical assistance may not be readily available. Especially important when you are fatigued, hungry, thirsty or otherwise distracted from the task at hand.

2. You are more likely to be using your knife in the field much more for other tasks, many of which require a thumb on the spine for either control or comfort. A sharpened or squared spine can unnecessarily cause wear and fatigue to a digit you can't function without.

if you don't have a striker or other item you can strike a spark, use the edge of the blade. The hardness of the blade should be capable of striking the rod with no damage. If it doesn't, you need a new knife.

In closing, if you read this post and are the owner of the Doublemint Jade Leuku that was purchased from KSF give me a shout if you decide to part with it.

 

[Fiddleback Outpost]

This is a really interesting review. I've wondered what it would be like to compare two very similar knives (similar in terms of the specs anyway). We have a Bushcraft Sr. here with the same handle length, handle material and color, blade length, steel type, steel thickness, but with the tapered tang, so the balance point is more forward (see picture below) and the weight is a little less (6.6 oz.). It would be interesting to a long-term field use comparison against two knives that are so similar.

 

[Comprehensivist]

I never thought my first knife review from 2-1/2 years ago would be back on the front page again, but here it is. I guess I will use this as an excuse to add a small epilog.

I have learned a lot trying and comparing other models since then. After all that, I am still a big fan of the Leuku. In my review of the original 5/32” SFT Ruby knife, I stated that I wished it had a tapered tang for improved balance. I later acquired another Leuku in tapered 5/32” in Emerald burlap to replace it. The result was a weight reduction from 7.0 to 5.8 ounces and the balance point shifted forward very close to neutral. Those are both nice improvements in my opinion.

Here are few photos of my Emerald Leuku.

Balance Point:




Tapered Spine shot:




In hand:




I recommend tapered 5/32” steel as the ideal choice for this model if you decide to get one. I would recommend the same tapered 5/32” for the Bushcrafter Sr. like the nice one posted above by Fiddleback Outpost. Both of these models are good choices for a lighter 5” knife. I encourage you to check them out.

Phil

 

[Fiddleback Outpost]

I recommend tapered 5/32” steel as the ideal choice for this model if you decide to get one. I would recommend the same tapered 5/32” for the Bushcrafter Sr. like the nice one posted above by Fiddleback Outpost. Both of these models are good choices for a lighter 5” knife. I encourage you to check them out.

Phil

I've got agree with the steel thickness and tapered tang for these 5" blades. I'm a huge fan of STF on smaller knives - particularly where there is more blade than handle - it just gives a solid feel and grip to the knife for me. With these large knives the balance seems to be more critical to me and I like that balance point right near the first set of pins as you show above. It just seems to provide more comfort over extended periods of use (at least for me).