• The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
    Price is $300 $250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
    Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.

  • Today marks the 24th anniversary of 9/11. I pray that this nation does not forget the loss of lives from this horrible event. Yesterday conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was murdered, and I worry about what is to come. Please love one another and your family in these trying times - Spark

S30V Framelock / G10 Leek

ginshun

ginshun

Joined
Apr 6, 2004
Messages
1,477
Here is this weekends little project. I bought a S30V / G10 Leek not too long ago. Great little knife. I always though that a framelock would be better than a liner lock though, and know that the cheaper normal steel Leek is a framelock. Got the idea from a thread last week, and confirmation from one of the Kershaw guys that the parts should indeed be interchangeable. So I went to Walmart and bought a framelock Leek, and switched the frame and liner locks on the knives. Now I two Leeks, one in S30V with a framelock, and one with 440A and a liner lock. Both are half steel, half G10 w/ steel liner.
Here are pics of the S30V framlock.

S30Vframelockleek002.jpg


S30Vframelockleek003.jpg


S30Vframelockleek004.jpg
S30Vframelockleek005.jpg
S30Vframelockleek006.jpg


Another added benefit, for me at least, is that now my S30V Leek can be set up for tip up carry, whereas the one with the G10 liner lock can't.
 
Well done to Kershaw for good QC on there parts. All I really did was take the knives apart and screw them back together.

I don't have pics of the other knife, but this one worked out a little better. On the otehr one the liner lock just barely engages. I have to do a little tinkering with it yet.
 
ginshun
That looks badass!!! Man, I think I'm going to have to try that. I love my G10 Leek but I have not been very comfortable with the liner lock. It just never looked very strong. I'm pretty mechanically inclined and it looks like you are too, how would you rate the difficulty of this little project?
 
Damn, that's cool. I was sharpening/rebeveling my all-steel Leek, and was thinking about doing something similar, great that you did it for real.
 
What a great idea!
Thanks for showing us the way.

Now I'm picturing G-10 on one side and the black or rainbow frame-lock on the other.

Cheers,
Allen.
 
That's freaking awesome man.

I think that I'd like the steel handle on both sides however. :D

I do think it looks good but I'm anal about things being symetrical. :D

Great work. :thumbup:
 
TxTroubleMaker said:
ginshun
That looks badass!!! Man, I think I'm going to have to try that. I love my G10 Leek but I have not been very comfortable with the liner lock. It just never looked very strong. I'm pretty mechanically inclined and it looks like you are too, how would you rate the difficulty of this little project?
Click to expand...

It was really pretty simple. All I did was take the screws out and take the knives apart and then mismatch the parts and put them back together. It can be a little tricky getting the spring and backspacer back in to put them together, but nothing terrible. I put a screw in through the non-lock side and through the backspcer to hold it in place. This is opposite to how the screws actually get installed. Then just put everything else together and last took the screw out of the wrong side and put it back in the right way.

One thing of note is that the G10 version of the Leek is thicker than the steel version, so the screws that hold them together are different lengths. When you put them together with half steel and half G10, the black screws are too long and the chrome ones are too short. I cut the black screws off to the right length and had some others that I cut to length to fit in the liner lock knife.
 
That is awesome! Looks like a possible factory variant, if they decide to do so (I vote yet again for Ti version ;) ).
 
If it wasn't so expensive to buy both Leeks and mess around with it, I'd be all over that. You know what would be cool? You got all those different Leek variations- wouldn't it be nifty if they'd make a few more scales and stuff and sell them by the pieces so that you can make your own? How sweet would that be? A modular knife system like the Typhoon balis.
 
-Rainbow blade in G10 handles.

-Polished G10 scales on pocket side and grippy G10 on other side. Hmmm...

-S30V blade in a standard Black Aluminum handle. Hmm....

Endless possibilities.
 
Glad my idea turned out well.:D

origionally this option poped into my mind right as my disapointment set in when Thomas told us that they would be linerlocks

im actually glad i diddnt keep this to myself. seeing as i dont have enough saved up yet for my own s30v.
 
This thing really is sweet. The framelock version just feels nicer than the liner lock.

It would be sweet if Kershaw would just sell the pieces and let us make our own versions, but I don't think I will hold my breath.

And yes, credit drano for the idea, I couldn't remember who it was.

A Ti framlock version would be awesome!
 
Do you all really think a limited edition (500-1000 pieces) ti framelock Leek with ZDP would sell for the monies it would bring? I'm on the fence with a possible $200+ Leek. Thoughts?

It would be sweet if Kershaw would just sell the pieces and let us make our own versions
Click to expand...

Don't you all even start.;)
 
I would love a Ti Framelock Lee with ZDP. However I am not a wealthy man and I would have to save up a while to get that kind of a knife.

I think the G10 Leeks with S30V are perfect. They have the best price point too. Where else can you get a G10 handled knife with S30V blade for $85? You can't.

Good Job Kershaw:thumbup:
 
Thomas, $200 + is stretching it, I feel. But $150-175, I think I could justify spending.
 
Thomas W said:
Do you all really think a limited edition (500-1000 pieces) ti framelock Leek with ZDP would sell for the monies it would bring? I'm on the fence with a possible $200+ Leek. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I am no analyst, but I think you'd be able to get rid of a 1000 Ti framelock Leeks in ZDP at a $200 MSRP without much of a problem. Peopls buy Buck/Mayo 172's, Benchmade Skirmishes, Bradley Alias's, Kershaw Bumps ect. for that price every day.

Ti framelocks with good steels from reputable companies sell.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top