My new ZDP Leek

thanx thomas-but its to much of a pita-ill sharpen it myself-
i understand that these are the first ones made ,so perfection is for the next batch-lol

for those who think its a sebenza killer-its not,nor should it be at this price-
i dont want to put down the leek because its a nice piece and a hell of a deal at this price

fit and finish cant be compared to a sebenza,my leek has some deep cut marks in the ti on the lock bar ,you would never see this finish qc with a sebenza- handle screws threaded into the handle,not a 2 piece heavy duty setup like a sebenza- not nearly as stoutly built-smaller pivot thats not bushed-

but it also has a nicer blade shape than a sebenza-imho- the blade grind is dead perfect,sebenza like quality(if not sharp-lol) -
lighter weight than a sebenza-
and its a ao knife,sebenza isnt-

for 120$ it might be the most killer deal available-but its no sebenza killer
 
Thomas thank you for taking a hands on approach with your products and offering to resharpen for me. I already put mine on the wet stone and reduced the angle myself down to about 13 degrees with a 15 degree microbevel. It's a razor now.

I did not post my experience to whine or get something. I did it because this is the place to discuss these products. It gives others a warning about the dull blades and to let Thomas know that somebody is not doing a good enough job sharpening. As a business owner I cannot buy this kind of feedback, they are lucky to be able to see what the end users say about their products and make adjustments where necessary.

Overall I'm very happy with the knife, feel lucky to have one, and I won't let a little problem like a dull blade ruin my opinion. You guys are making great products so keep em comin and I will keep on buying. I posted because of all of the Kershaws I own(Leek SS, Leek G10, Spec Bump, Chive) this one arrived the dullest.

As far as my reply to Kohai. Sorry for the attack buddy, but please try to lay off the sarcasm when addressing Noob's like me. I don't know near as much as you do, but I want to learn. You acting this way could run people away from this site / this hobby because Noob's may view knife collectors as the afformentioned a-holes. I like this hobby and most that I have run into on this site. I love that the companies here take the time to interract first hand with their customers and adjust their products accordingly.

You probably do drive a better car than me, I drive a 2004 Chevy Silverado Z-71 four door. I would not trade my truck for anything shy of a Z06 Vette, Porsche Caymen or a Ferrari F430. You do have me curious though, what does a fat, balding guy drive. Probably something flashy like an SLR Mercedes....Am I right?

Can't we all just get along?
 
rosconey2 said:
for those who think its a sebenza killer-its not,nor should it be at this price
Click to expand...

Yes Leek ZDP price is kind of "disadvantage" in comparison to Sebenza (3 times cheaper!). I hope Kershaw will keep this that way. But otherwise - fit and finish, quality? I doubt it. Leek quality is on the top - may be some blades are not sharp, but in my case it was able to shave and only was "duller" then Spyderco Callipso Jr ZDP, whichdefenetely set a record.

So for those who keeps worshiping Sebenza - bad news. There is a new star raising. With proven design and topest materials.

Thanks, Vassili

(please, don't call me "those")
 
I'd like to see Kershaw make a Ti framelock Leek a regular production item if this sells well enough. It wouldn't have to have ZDP steel. Kershaw could even just put some of the S30V blades on regular steel framelock handles.
 
Bayoublaster said:
I'd like to see Kershaw make a Ti framelock Leek a regular production item if this sells well enough. It wouldn't have to have ZDP steel. Kershaw could even just put some of the S30V blades on regular steel framelock handles.
Click to expand...

It will be great addition to existing viriety! And steel may be CPM S30V, CM 154, CPM 154, BG42, SRS15, ZDP247, YXR7 (it should not be a problem for Kershaw to get those japanese steels)... There are - Golden Leek, Black Leek, Rainow Leek, Jeep Leek, Black&White Smoke Leek... Why not to have it with titanium handle and viriety of steels? It seems like it is usual bussiness practice for Kershaw to deversify model line.

Design is amaizing and if it will be with premium steels it will be killer. And it may be some info on steel on the handle with composition etc - like exclusive steel sample set for collectors...

Thanks, Vassili.
 
CM and rosconey2, I appreciate your understanding on the edges with your Leeks. It is also very valuable for us to hear input back from our customers, positive or negative. We are not perfect in what we do, but we would never get there either, if we didn't hear comments like yours. Thanks.

CM, was wondering how the reprofile with ZDP went? How did you find the steel to work with?

Now I'm a huge fan of Chris Reeve, and we go way back. To compare the Sebbie with a Leek I think is a bit of a mismatch IMO. The two knives seem to me like they are in separate categories, with the Sebbie being a Lion, and the Leek more of a Cheetah. It is cool to be labeled in the same breath as Chris's work though.

It will be interesting to hear back on how many folks are using these Leeks, and report back on ZDP's performance.
 
CMSpeedy said:
As far as my reply to Kohai. Sorry for the attack buddy, but please try to lay off the sarcasm when addressing Noob's like me. I don't know near as much as you do, but I want to learn. You acting this way could run people away from this site / this hobby because Noob's may view knife collectors as the afformentioned a-holes.

You probably do drive a better car than me, I drive a 2004 Chevy Silverado Z-71 four door. I would not trade my truck for anything shy of a Z06 Vette, Porsche Caymen or a Ferrari F430. You do have me curious though, what does a fat, balding guy drive. Probably something flashy like an SLR Mercedes....Am I right?

Can't we all just get along?
Click to expand...

Yes, we CAN all get along.

I tend to be pretty protective of my friends, I am sure you are the same. I just didn't like seeiing the hard work the Ti/ZDP Leek took to bring to market get slammed the way I percieved it. Too touchy? Maybe(probably)

Some of us are a-holes, but we certainly don't want to run off new collectors. They are the life blood of this hobby, so I do wish you an enjoyable and prosperous time while you are collecting. I am sorry for my sarcastic tone, it really didn't help anything.

THIS fat, balding guy drives a 2002 Dodge Dakota SLT, hah! How funny is that? I am a truck guy, and a mid-size truck guy at that, I got the best one that I could find. My wife is the one that drives the german sedan(BMW 530i).

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Thomas the reprofile went as expected - Pretty Hard but not impossible with the right equipment. I tried to remove as little metal as possible. I used a new DMT Xtra Coarse stone after I judged the angle using a coarse stone on my Edgepro. The Edgepro was moving pretty slow and it would have taken forever. About 20 minutes on the coarse stone then back to the Edgepro to refine the edge. I used 120,220,320 then 600. I then removed the tiny burr and put on the microbevel with sharpmaker fine rods. I will take this a step further later in the week when the Ultra Fine rods arrive. Thanks for asking Thomas!

Kohai, I'm in the car business and it seems to always be the case that the woman wants the german status symbol car and the man just wants utilitarian transportation. Some people are different, but it usually works out this way. My wife wants a new BMW 3 series of course even though I just bought her a 2005 Altima V6. She will have to wait as we just built our dream home and Hurricane Katrina put us WAY over budget.
 
I received my Ti/ZDP Leek yesterday and was somewhat surprised it wasn't really very sharp. This is my 9th Kershaw Onion and 6th Leek (Scallion, a couple of Chives, a Boa and SS, rainbow, boron, gold & polished G10/S30V Leeks) and the Ti/ZDP Leek was the dullest of the bunch. I'd say the S30V Leek was the sharpest.

I used my Sharpmaker today and was able to get a much more acceptable edge with surprisingly little effort. I thought the ZDP blade would be harder to sharpen. Still isn't quite as sharp as my two-month old S30V Leek which I've never needed to sharpen, though. Other than that I'm quite happy with the knife.

I'd also like to see a Ti framelock with an S30V blade. My only complaint about my other Leeks was edge retention and the S30V took care of that, but I prefer the frame lock of the regular Leeks. The light weight and strength of the Ti frame would be a big plus.
 
Ranman I agree about the S30V being scary sharp out the box. Personally I really like the G10/S30V Leek. The blade holds an edge well, gets scary sharp, and touches up easily. Not to mention I can grip it like none other. Even after the Ti/ZDP arrived I am still carrying the G10 version.

I think that this speaks volumes for the design of this knife. Even though I have the suposedly better knife, I still carry the "dated" one - It just feels right. The Ti/ZDP will probably grow on me, but I have already bonded with the G10 version. The Ti's thinness is definately an advantage and works far better with slacks.

I too would like to see a SS/Ti handled / S30V version in regular production.
 
Thomas W, I have really enjoyed reading your comments about your Kershaw knives and would like to thank you for taking the time to do so. You are a credit to Kershaw.

I have one of the zdp leeks enroute to me. Speaking purely from a collectible point-of-view, I have noticed that the blades are marked with a date of "JUL 06". Now you have mentioned that there were only 300 or so shipped to date and that the other 600 or so will be shipped about 3 weeks later. Does this mean that the other 600 or so knives will have a different date on them, such as "AUG 06"? Or will they all have the "JUL 06" date on them.

Just curious. Thanks.

This is purely speculation at this time, but it seems to me then that if the dates will be different, that would make this first batch of "JUL 06" marked knives a sort of "first run production" and may, over time, make this first batch more collectible than the second batch.
 
70chevelless,

I'll start by saying I'm a Mopar R/T guy, but hey, don't hold that against me. ;)
Thanks for the compliments, it is enjoyable participating with everyone.

That said, the remaining balance of the Ti Leeks will have the Aug. 06 "born on date". I'm not sure there would be too much of a perceived difference between the July and August versions IMO.
 
i drive alot for work-im in the trades-
06 corolla-stripped 5spd-40 plus on the highway-

still have my first love-1962 dodge polara 500- bought it in 82-
its a basket case right now as i collect parts for the rebuild-
484 ci stroker motor-
 
Rosconey, I have never seen a Polara until you mentioned it. I did a search and WOW what a cool looking car. After seeing how long it was produced I can't believe I've never seen one.

I would love to see some pics if you have any. What a motor!! I've driven a Dodge with a 440 and it is an awesome motor. There is nothing like a big block V8.

I did drive an SRT8 Charger last week and I just about wet my pants. 425 hp sure is fun. If I only had $40,000 to blow.
 
Got my ZDP Leek yesterday from GPK. I oiled up my rainbow leek before putting it back in the drawer, as it may be there for a while. This one is both lighter and with better steel and with a dull pocket clip instead of the polished one. Awesome combination- just ideal!

Mine was perfectly centered, and very sharp- as a bald patch on my forearm will attest... Flipped open easily, and closed with no clicking.
 
Just ordered mine. Can't wait! It was hard to resist the tempation of doing overnight shipping but somehow I managed. :):thumbup:
 
Boy, you guys are keeping me in check! I almost put mine up for sale today, but I think that's out of my system... Keep the positive feed back up!:thumbup:
 
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