Great video as always, Aaron. Question could you just swap out the KVT bearings for bronze washers since you have a preference for the washers? I’m just wondering if you could just disassemble it. Remove the bearings and replace them with washers.

I've been eyeballing a Leek for quite a while. I like unique colorways, and that mint chocolate looks pretty sweet to me. I finally got magnacut knife, going with the Launch 15. Works like a champ for what I need, and I'm a sucker for symmetrical knives and dagger style blades.

Aaron-now THAT's a haircut! 👍

OMFG! Swap pocket clips, no way!!! I honestly can't believe this is real... Wow!!! What an upgrade! Unbelievable!

Nice work!

Looking at this and stuff from Ruffwear for my lab mix

$420 cough cough 😂

M390 is my favorite blade steel but depends the blade it's on. I like M390 for a thin slicer and s35v more for bit thicker blade because it's easier to sharpen. If the blade is thin the M390 is easy to sharpen and out performs the s35v.

M390 and cru wear for me

I had a Leek way back when, found the blade too light and pokey for my tastes, ive gotta be able to clean my fingernails without tourture. Switched to a Cryo2 for a while and still pull it out as a beater sometimes. Really loving the sheepfoot Iridium though.

Bronze and day of the week.

The Heist always was a bargain basement version of the Iridium. Never appealed to me at all, mostly because of the FRN and D2 steel. However, by going upmarket very slightly, with G10 and S35VN - now I'm very interested! Just a smart move by Kershaw, to fill the 'hole' as far as price point/ materials between the old Heist and the more premium versions of the Iridium, imho.

It's funny you mentioned the tip-flare. One of the first things I usually do is remove the clip & bend the tip down more, still enough to ride over my pocket enough but not so much as to be a scratch magnet or catch on other things.

I absolutely prefer bronze washers for the reasons you mentioned. The majority of my knives have them and not once have I wished those knives had bearings, especially with my CQI Spydercos that drop shut as good as any bearing pivot knife.

Nice!

We need a remake of the skyline with a crossbar lock. I have an OG skyline that is one of my favorite edc knives. Anyone have thoughts? Yay or nay?

Good washers beat EVERYTHING. change my mind

All the tooling is in 🇨🇳 so they won’t because of that cost I prefer the style of the dividend but I own the link

TY for sharing . You are like the only one who provides info on all EDC gear from blades to backpacks.

Inprefer the M390 ifor a show case knife. For an our doors user .... S35vn for sure.

Yup.....no wonder you choked, so did I when I heard the price....💵💵💵💵 ( ZT ) hell no...brilliant video as always....cheers...👍👍👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🍺🍺🍺

The Leek has never impressed me much beyond being Made in the USA, but the style of that mint chip finish is pretty slick. As for inexpensive, made in the USA, good blade steel, the Link with 20CV or now with Magnacut, is still a steal (even if the handle needs a little more grip height for the middle fingers).

The Dura-Lock Kershaws are all pretty great.

This system has problems. I was 36 in line to get the first limited edition and was excited to try it. They fixed a lot of issues but new ones have popped up. The bigger stones create one , you'll have trouble getting to the back of the edge near the plunge grind. The angle changes when you flip sides , anywhere from 1/4 to 3/4 of a degree. It's enough to see a difference in width of the edge bevel, one looks thicker than the other. Also there is flex in the piece that the blade clamp fits into , as well as the shaft opposite of the threaded height adjuster. Both of these problems can be fixed with a zip tie. All in all I wished I would have bought a ts prof or a hapstone system instead. Stones wear out but I rather have a system without stones than one with that has all these problems. As with anything , you get what you pay for.

...now... if we could just convince these knife makers give us a NON-DEEP CARRY, LEFT HANDED OPTIONED POCKET CLIP! ...hey knife makers- first off, not everybody likes struggling to get a stupid deep carry clip equipped knife outta their pocket, & secondly, (& this may come as quite a shocker to some of these windowlickin knife makers) LEFT HANDED people DO EXIST & have money to spend on knives! ...rant over, thank u sir

Awesome

Where is the Iridium titanium? Haven't seen anything about one since they were hyped.

I’m sure it’s the heat treatment but my older Benchmade 806 in M390 is noticeably better (like 1/3) in edge retention than my ZT 0640 in 20CV.

If Kershaw would come out with an updated Leek 2.0...say, de-assisted without the safety lock an a “Tip Up” Deep ride clip...I’d be a player again.

Never had either knive since i just started getting into pocket knives a couple months ago. However, i have Leatherman Arc with MagnaCut blade which i fell in love with immediately so i'd pick Leek.

G'day Aaron, the Heist reminds me of the BM Freek, which I get on "very" well with, (and didn't have such a disproportionate "butterfly tax"), so no reason to think the upgraded Heist wouldn't be a great value choice. Also, not absolutely necessary, but concur, I reckon the understated accents are a nice touch. Personally, S30 and 35 are the sweet spot. Sure I'd find it interesting, though I've never found the need to "up the ante" in terms of price and sharpening of S20 or M390. Likely Magnacut will become more and more affordable as time goes on, ...... if that comes to fruition, a dabble with it is on the cards ; ) Pocket clips; well, why didnt they just do it right first time, or at least early on. In fairness, they are now addressing the error of their ways ; ) And furthermore, plenty of others could do with the same "catch up" strategy ; ) Cheers Duke.

I always loved the Kershaw Knockout and carried one for years. It got lost on a hunting trip and then went out of production. I ended up picking one up secondary again and just love it. USA Kershaws specifically are great knives and don't get the credit they deserve!

Thays a great knife. Been carrying for 5 years now and can get that cpm d2 screaming sharp. I own the Leek in composite as well. Noticed a marked difference between the D2 and the CPM D2. The CPM will take a much keeper edge.

Used to be, they'd just mail out a bag of those safety replacements. If you didn't want to use it, just leave it off. If the knife's "loose" though... ug

I believe the 2024 version of the zt 0308 comes in magnacut

Gideon, can you please tell me, if I'm correct in my original choice of the Heist vs. the Iridium because it was on washers vs. KVD Ball bearings. My thoughts were, since I know I'm not one for pulling apart my knives and servicing them like others, washers would be a better choice for durability and carefree EDC use. Was I wrong?

I just wish they would put out a 3.75 inch crossbar lock knife. Don't forget us big knife people!

Would you take the reif f5 or lionsteel t5 if they were equal in price and steel. Just which works best for bush camping? Designwise

I personally love the Leek. It was my first pocket knife that I actually got and carried every day. I believe I carried it exclusively for around 5-6 years. I did have the SpeedSafe break about halfway through those 6 years, but I actually prefer it non assisted, so I never sent it in for warranty. It even got washed in the washing machine by accident and gave the aluminum scales a pretty neat wear look, too. Lol. It did bend the blade slightly though, but not enough to change performance. I have since moved onto other knives, but the Leek will always be one of my favorite designs. I ended up giving it to my sister about a year ago, and I’ve found myself looking at them again. With that said, I bought the exclusive Heist, but I’d love to win that Leek 🤣

Kershaw has always been my favorite budget/mid-tier brand. I hope they do a similar model in the Iridium. I got the topo aluminum 14C28N Iridium and it's pretty legit. I do wish they'd just use washers all-around, though. Might get some Skiff thick washers to replace the bearings on my iridium, though, if they have the right size.

That is a very good looking leek

If I get one of the Kershaw with bearings I will just switch them out with Skiffs. I used to hate when knives used bearings and now it just gives me a chance to put Skiffs in it. They are the best of both worlds and I love my knives with them.

Good review, just does not do it for me.

Kershaw is really stepping up their game ‼️

I think washers have a better feel than bearings.

Great video

I'd becdown to won that leak. Kershaw has always been a fun brand to me.