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.
Nice. Considering one as well. Looks like they are improving in several areas. Glad to hear they are offering stiffer detent.So...here's the new Leader LW, arrived a day late after a bit of angst on my part as it seemed to be on the wrong truck, unusually late in the day, and then showed up on the doorstep mysteriously with no sign of delivery and the tracking-linked truck a few miles away. Oh well, at least it got here safely.
Anyway, the construction is, as I'd hoped and gleaned, like my small Strizh, its handle composed almost entirely of two CF slabs with no liners. The long thin-ish lock bar is anchored by two screws under the clip, through the CF, and tapped inboard with its back end tucked under the butt spacer. The combo spring/sculpted clip has a generously rounded upturned leading edge with good insertion and retention. I love the M390 FFG blade shape with its longish straight run of cutting edge dropping slightly from the axis of the handle, broadening a bit into its deep, upsweeping belly just as the blade spine takes an angular downturn into what could almost be described as a clip point. The edge is wicked sharp and terminates in an amazingly fine point.
The knife is incredibly light at 3.4 oz for being a 4" (102 mm) bladed piece. The only downside is the opening detent which is incredibly stiff, making its snappy flipping action pretty hard on the old index finger. A dab of FinishLine flouro grease on the detent ball has eased that somewhat, and I'm trusting that action will break in before my finger breaks down. The grease spreading out along the detent ball track has made the closing arc freer already and the knife is close to drop shut now after just a short day of fidgeting.
I've had a few knives that have started the same and come around with use--most notably my ZT0452 which was even more difficult when new and is no longer any problem to open. The Leader's smallish flipper tab is both nice in pocket and attractive, but was designed, I should think, with the all-Ti version in mind. My guess is the detent was set stiffer on the LW model given it's comparative lightness vis-a-vis the framelock version. This knife would definitely benefit from a larger flipper tab.
It's interesting to compare the Leader to the Strizh as well as my Hudson, which is a taste larger and is of half CF/half Ti frame lock construction. I'll get some pics and share some thoughts on the three going forward. In the meantime...
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Oh, and one more like--the Leader has a cut-out in the butt-spacer with a lanyard-pin inserted there, unlike the other two Chebs mentioned above which are designed without the possibility of adding a fob.
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Thanks for sharing the breakdown, hopefully all will loosen up with usage. It is a great looking knife.
Great looking knife and thank you for the detailed info and pics. size wise very similar to the gudson. Does it have a similar feel in the hands like the gudson as well?
I'm a little behind in posting as it's been a bit of a whirlwind around here the last couple days.
K.O.D.
's above) and similar to what you'd find in a NorrthArm Skaha. The framelock's handle is an ever so slightly 2 mm thinner than the all-CF version which has thicker slabs, the Hudson noticeably broader at the pivot. and just a taste longer. That knife's handle grows progressively thinner toward the butt while the Leader's has a nice little palm-swell belly along the bottom edge and a downturned pommel.
Thank you sir for the detailed response. Personally I prefer ti/cf configuration. Noticed that with almost same handle length, the Hudson packs a much longer blade. I like the leader too. Will consider a ti/cf version.I'm a little behind in posting as it's been a bit of a whirlwind around here the last couple days.
There are definitely similarities between my Hudson (Gudzon) and Leader. First off, each of my two are are the Lightweight version. Both are long flipper knives with Cheburkov's typically gorgeous CF and M390 blade stock in the 3.5 mm range.
There number of differences as well, starting with the Hudson being a bit longer-bladed at 4.25" while the Leader measures in at 4". The former is a framelock with one all-CF side (think Shiro Hati) while the latter is CF both sides with no liners and the unusual housed lockbar shown above in Post 388, basically identical to the all-CF small Strizh (like mine or
All in all, both knives feel solid in hand with a slight edge, IMHO, to the Leader for a little more thickness, the palm swell, and pommel. It's a taste easier in pocket, too, given its extraordinarily light weight, narrowness toward the front, and generally slimmer--less broad--profile. The larger Hudson locks into my hand more at the finger choil and just behind with the Leader more evenly held through all digits.
No flies on either knife, though--I like both for their shared and individual qualities. Here's some comparison pics--
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Note that the Hudson is a 3/5th's grind with a swedge while the leader is a 9/10th's with jimping and barely any blade flat at all. Both came wicked sharp with incredible disappearing points.
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Chronovore
, but I think you meant to post that in the EDC thread. 
Not that I haven't done the same sorta thing myself more than once, my friend. 
Nice looking knife
Still a cool knife, just a little out of its league in this thread.
