The Knife
The Kershaw Leek 1660 OL is an outstanding knife for everyday carry (EDC). It has a shaving-sharp, three-inch, hollow-ground, drop-point blade made out of 14C28N stainless steel with a four-inch, anodized-aluminum handle. The spine of the blade is 0.09 inches thick at its widest point.
The assisted opening mechanism accelerates the blade decisively into engagement with the liner lock with a satisfying snap when the flipper is activated. A tip lock secures the blade whenever it is important to ensure against accidental opening.
The knife is made in the USA, and was on sale for $99.99 at the time of this writing at https://kershaw.kaiusa.com/leek-olive.html
The Clip
One significant upgrade that can be made to the Kershaw Leek is the addition of a Lynch Northwest Deep Carry Titanium Pocket Clip. The Lynch Northwest pocket clip is lighter and stronger than the factory original clip and allows the Leek to sit deeper in the pocket. The clip is available in a wide variety of finishes. In the Dark Abyss finish, it cost $30 at the time of this writing at https://www.lynchnw.com/kershaw-leek-blur-deep-carry-titanium-clip . The photo at left shows a Lynch Northwest Deep Carry Titanium Pocket Clip, installed.
The clips are made in the USA in the state of Washington, and are guaranteed for life: “if you bend or tweek it, we’ll replace it, no charge.”
The Counterfeit
This whole story really begins with the counterfeit knife. I saw a used “Kershaw Leek 1660CKT” on eBay. It looked like it was in reasonably good condition, with signs of wear on the scales but no discernible structural defects. It only cost $23.99. That is a great price for a good American-made knife, even used. So I bought it.
When the knife arrived, there were a couple of issues that cropped up right away. The first was that the blade was incredibly dull. The second was that the knife was missing a pocket clip.
I went to the Kershaw website to buy a new pocket clip, and found out that they don’t sell them. They provide them for free as part of their warranty. So I ordered one.
In the meantime, I tried to sharpen the knife. My initial session with an AccuSharp Diamond Pro Two-Step Knife Sharpener failed to produce a decent edge. The next session was just as unsuccessful. As was the next, and the next, and the next.
Kershaw offers a lifetime sharpening service. I considered sending the knife in so that they could sharpen it for me. But I was a little disgruntled at the time because I had not received any acknowledgment of my pocket clip order. I wondered if there was some secret handshake or something of which I was unaware. Since I was not sure that I could trust them for a pocket clip, I was a little hesitant to entrust them with the entire knife. I decided to instead sharpen it with the EdgePro Apex 4 Knife Sharpening Kit. (Spoiler alert: my disgruntlement with Kershaw would be banished by subsequent events).
Two extended session with the EdgePro still did not produce a satisfactory edge. I began to wonder if I was losing my knife-sharpening touch.
I also requested a pocket clip sample from Lynch Northwest for testing and evaluation. They quickly agreed to my request, and the clip arrived in short order.
When the clip arrived, I tried to install it on the knife, but the screws would not go in. A closer examination revealed that the holes for the pocket-clip screws were not threaded. Suddenly, the lights went on. Unthreaded pocket-clip screw-holes are a common characteristic of counterfeit knives. That also explained my inability to get a decent edge on the blade. The blade on the counterfeit was made out of some kind of second-rate steel that would not take an edge well.
Now I was in a quandary. I was honor-bound to test the pocket clip that Lynch Northwest had so kindly provided, but I did not have a suitable knife to use as a test platform for the clip. As a result, I went to the Kershaw website, looked at the wide variety of Leek models that were available, and placed an order for a genuine 1660OL. I chose the OL model because I liked the stonewashed finish on the blade, and the olive-colored finish on the handle.
I also contacted the seller on eBay to give him a heads up about the “1660CKT” being a counterfeit. After a short discussion, he offered to pay the postage for me to return the knife for a full refund. I gladly accepted.
I recently had another experience with buying a counterfeit knife on eBay. That experience will be the subject of another article. As a result of those two experiences, I now recommend against buying knives on eBay.
The Knife, Revisited
The 1660 OL arrived via USPS Ground Advantage 2-Day in a 8 x 5.13 x 2.25 inch box from Kai USA LTD, 9636 SW Herman Rd., Tualatin, OR 97062.
The same day, a 9.13 x 5.88 inch padded envelope arrived via First Class Mail from the same address. The padded envelope contained the Kershaw pocket clip that I had requested a couple of weeks previously. The arrival of the pocket clip, and the guilty knowledge that I had unknowingly requested it for a counterfeit knife did much to make me more favorably inclined toward Kershaw Customer Service.
The shipping box contained a 4.75 x 1.38 x 1.25 inch product box containing the 1660 OL. The product box was imprinted with some helpful information, the most interesting piece of information being the confirmation that the knife is indeed made in the USA.
The product box contained the knife and a desiccant pouch in a plastic bag as well as a two-sided card with English on one side and French on the other. The card encouraged the recipient to scan a QR code in order to receive information about the warranty, care and maintenance, usage guidelines, and similar information about the knife.
I was interested to note that the primary and alternate screw holes for the pocket clip were threaded on the genuine Leek. The jimping on the genuine Leek was also deeper and more finished than the jimping on the counterfeit. The OL version of the Leek has a liner lock with aluminum scales over a steel liner. The CKT version and its counterfeit, on the other hand, have stainless steel frames with framelocks.
The Leek has both a flipper tab and dual thumb studs for opening. The thumb studs are really too small and set too close to the frame to be truly useful. The flipper tab paired with the assisted opening, on the other hand, is so effective that it renders the ineffectiveness of the thumb studs irrelevant. A lanyard hole near the but of the handle it too small to accommodate paracord. I found the tip-lock a bit stiff and difficult to use. The extra time and awkwardness of unlocking the blade removes much of the rapid deployment benefit that the assisted opener provides. But it was nice to be able to secure the blade against accidental deployment during times when such deployment would be especially inconvenient.
I like the stonewashed blade finish of the OL version. That finish hides scratches and other signs of wear better than most other finishes.
Over the course of the following days, I used the knife for a variety of different tasks like the following:
Opening packages of smoked beef bones for the dog
Cutting some chicken meat that I was eating for lunch into bite-sized pieces
Opening boxes containing things like an airbow or a pellet gun that I would be testing for future reviews
Cutting cable ties holding two power strips to the bottom rail of the balustrade around the basement stairs. This allowed me to replace the two power strips with a single, larger power strip which could be fastened to the rail with screws.
Opening a package of USB thumb drives.
Opening a package with a Ting fire safety device from our insurance company.
Opening mail.
Cutting sections from a bike inner tube to hold boards together for use in ballistic testing.
Using the back of the blade to bend back retention tabs on the back of a picture frame.
Cutting tape holding a picture in place in a frame so that I could scan the picture.
Digging bullets out of boards for closer examination after ballistic testing.
Opening a package with an ink pad for a rubber stamp.
Opening a spindle of DVD+Rs for recording the worship services of our church.
Cutting a slice of pizza that I was eating for lunch.
Shortening flaps on a shallow cardboard box so that they could be folded inside. I used the box to secure a gas can, oil jug, and protective equipment for my chainsaws on a wood cutting expedition.
I quickly found the knife to be one of my favorites. I plan to give away one of my former “keeper” knives in order to replace it with the Leek.
The Pocket Clip, Revisited
The Lynch Northwest Pocket Clip had previously arrived in a 5.5 X 3.13 X 1 inch shipping box via USPS Ground Advantage from LynchNW, 5505 E. Broadway Avenue Suite 105, Spokane VLY, WA 99212-0909.
The shipping label said, “Designed in the USA for everyday hard use. Made in the USA. Guaranteed for Life.”
The box contained a number of items:
A LynchNW keyring with an American flag motif
two pocket clips
A couple of sets of spare screws in case the originals that came with the knife are missing or stripped
A Lynch Northwest decal
A Lynch Blades decal
A card noting that anodized titanium has a natural tendency to fingerprint and surface oxidize from the oils in one’s hands. It also notes that a splash of Windex and a soft cloth will clean the titanium up and restore it original color and shine
A business card with a nice note from Lynch Northwest owner Casey Lynch.
As noted above, I was unable to install the clip on the counterfeit Leek due to the fact that the screw holes were unthreaded. But when the genuine Leek arrived, it was a simple matter to remove the factory clip and replace it with the Lynch Northwest clip.
The Lynch Northwest clip is stronger and lighter than the original factory clip, and allows deeper pocket carry. When installed toward the front of the handle, it blocks access to the left thumb stud somewhat. Since the flipper works so well and the thumb studs are largely extraneous, this did not prove to be an issue.
I was fully satisfied with the performance of the Lynch Northwest Pocket Clip throughout the testing period.
Conclusions
The Kershaw Leek is an outstanding knife. I highly recommend it for EDC.The Lynch Northwest Pocket Clip provides a significant upgrade to an already outstanding knife. I highly recommend it as well.
Disclaimer
Lynch Northwest provided me with two samples of their Deep Carry Titanium Pocket Clip for testing and evaluation. Kershaw provided me with a genuine warranty replacement pocket clip for a counterfeit 1660CKT Leek that turned out to be a counterfeit. EdgePro had provided me with a sample of their Apex 4 Knife Sharpening Kit for a previous review. I did not receive any other financial or other inducement to mention any vendor, product, or service in this article.
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