wharncliffe

Gerber Flatiron Review

What’s with the rise in popularity with cleaver knives? It just seemed like one day they were everywhere. We had options from Spyderco, Boker, Kershaw, CRKT, and of course the Gerber FlatIron. The FlatIron made a big showing at SHOT, and it makes sense why. Gerber is a massive company, the FlatIron looked cool as hell, and Gerber promised a low price tag. Once the FlatIron hit the streets, they were tough to find, and in December I got my hands on one. For 31 bucks I didn’t have massive expectations, but I have plenty of budget knives that perform beyond their price tag.

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The Gerber FlatIron comes in two different grip styles, a hunter green aluminum grips and FDE colored G10 grips. The knife is a folder and pushes full size to its limits. Gerber makes lots of knives at lots of different price points, some hit, some miss, but how does the FlatIron come out?

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The Gerber FlatIron gains its unique name from the flat, cleaver blade it has. The blade is 3.8 inches, with an overall length of 8.5 inches. It’s a big knife and weighs 5.6 ounces. That’s a bit heavy for a folding knife. As a cleaver the blade is quite broad, it sits at 1.125 inches wide and is .15 inches thick. It’s a big knife, and a cleaver has to be.

Cleaver knives have become quite popular these days due to their robust blade design and just how thick they are. The cleaver blade is designed for cutting, slicing and chopping and the Gerber FlatIron has a very sturdy blade. The lack of a point is a downside to some and limits the knife’s versatility. The benefit is the knife less aggressive looking and lower profile in case that is a concern. In some situations, you may not want a point. I know a few first responders who carry Sheepshead blades to cut and slice near people while reducing the chance of stabbing someone if the knife slips.

The blade is made from the always fun to type 7Cr17MoV steel. This is cheap steel, and the FlatIron is an affordable, Chinese produced, knife. It dulls relatively fast but sharpens easily. This is good because Gerber has dull blades when purchased. I’ve put it through my Smith’s Pocket Pal a time or two, and it edges right up. From what I’ve read this steel is pretty tough and resists corrosion well.

Once sharpened it cuts well. My use for a cleaver has always been the kitchen, and the FlatIron separated meat from bone pretty easily. It cuts smooth and deep through meat and might make an excellent field kitchen knife. Additionally, as a cutting blade, it does excel when sharpened for cutting through tougher materials like thick cardboard, and plastic straps. The FlatIron was my go-to for opening Christmas present boxes for the kids this year.

The blade has a worn, stonewashed finish that’s plenty attractive from a purely aesthetic standpoint. The whole knife looks cool, and that’s likely one of its most significant selling points. It’s like a straight razor that locks.

The knife has a hollow grind, which isn’t a problem itself. However, the grind is very uneven. Looking down the tip of the blade shows a highly irregular and crude grind.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

The FlatIron sports an odd, but comfortable handle. One side features a grip panel, either aluminum or G10, and the other side is stonewashed aluminum that incorporates the frame lock and pocket clip. It’s a big handle that fills the hand which I do enjoy. The G10 grips provide more of a gripping surface, and the aluminum grips are smoother and better looking.

The blade has a large choil that allows you to choke up on the knife for increased control and leverage for tougher cuts. It’s certainly deep enough to keep your finger from slipping out. The handle is also completely open. This makes it easy oil and clean. It is a small, but a nice feature I appreciate it living around sand and salt water. The rear of the blade has zero jimping which is odd.

The pocket clip has a lot of good to it, but a bit of bad to go with it. First off, I like the short, but thick design. It’s low profile and also subtle. Best of all it doesn’t get in the way of your grip on the knife. It looks good too. It’s pretty tight though, and it’s difficult to get onto my jeans. Also, its right side, tip up only. You can’t reverse it in any way due to handle’s design. A bit of a downside in my book.

Lock and Deployment

The frame lock is simple, and in my experience, these locks are robust and handy. When you squeeze the grip, the lock is reinforced which means its a safe knife for hard work. Once opened the blade is locked in solid. There is no play left to right or back and forth. The frame lock is robust and does its job well with the big blade. The lock has a full inch of texturing where the thumb naturally falls, and this makes it easy to defeat the tight lock and fold the blade.

The blade opens via a thumb hole. This design isn’t bad, but the blade is a bit tight when new. A little blade oil helped as did some use and now I can flick it open with ease. The blade will open smoothly, even when stiff. There is no grit or stop and go feeling as the knife opens. The thick blade makes the thumb hole easy to use. It’s a deep hole, so your thumb isn’t likely to slip out.

The Gerber FlatIron Review – Final Thoughts

The Gerber FlatIron’s greatest strength is its looks. It’s not particularly special outside of looking nice. You can’t demand much from a 30 dollar knife, but I’d expect at least an even hollow grind. I do see one solid purpose for this knife, and that would be for a younger, new knife owner.

Follow my logic here:

The blade lacks a point which reduces the risk for young and new knife users.
The 7Cr17MoV steel is sturdy and corrosion resistant, so it can take the abuse, and since it dulls fast they’ll be learning to sharpen it, and it sharpens easily enough.
The frame lock is very safe for heavy or clumsy work.
While the knife can be flicked open it’s still slower than a Kershaw with speed assist or anything crazy. It’ll never be accidentally opened.
The FlatIron is tough and robust so it will resist abuse.
It’s easy to clean.
It’s affordable in case it is lost or broken.

For people who are used to nice, high-end knives, the FlatIron might be a disappointment. I like the knife personally, but that’s because of my inner mall ninja. It doesn’t do one any one task well, but it is affordable, safe and tough.

Gerber Flatiron - Folding Cleaver Pocket Knife - Desert Tan G-10 Handle [30-001495]

List Price: $37.54

Price: $28.87

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Editor: I recommend purchasing the Gerber Flatiron at Gerber Flatiron or BladeHQ. Please consider that buying anything through any of the links on this website helps support BladeReviews.com, and keeps the site going. As always, any and all support is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

Spyderco Delica 4 Wharncliffe Review

by Benjamin Schwartz 7 Comments

I’ve been vocal in my dislike of the Delica. I’ve been critical of its ergonomics, its steel, its price point. I was convinced that it was overrated, past its prime. I implied that it only continued to sell because of the years’ worth of mythology that surrounds it. In short, I said it was a bad knife, and I was wrong.

Buy the Spyderco Delica Wharncliffe at BladeHQ

As I have slowly learned in recent times, the Delica was and is a truly great knife. It’s still a benchmark for quality and utility in the mid-price bracket. So when Spyderco revealed the Delica 4 Wharncliffe I snapped one up to review. It was an opportunity to approach the Delica from a critical perspective and formalize a lot of the good things I have come to think about it.

–Well, assuming that the Wharncliffe blade wasn’t a total catastrophe, of course. Does the new blade shape make the classic EDC option better, worse, or just different? Let’s take a look.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The D4W has a cutting edge that is 2.5” long and a total blade length of 3”. Its handle is 4 1/8” and it has an overall length of 7”. It weighs 2.4 oz. and is made in Seki City, Japan. Like the standard Delica it is designed for EDC, and all of its dimensions are well-suited for that role except one, which I’ll discuss later on.

The Wharncliffe provides an interesting shift in cutting attributes. It’s less a matter of performance than of control. A synergy between the angle of your grip in relation to the point means that it always goes exactly where you want it to, opening packages and boxes with surgical precision. It feels as responsive as if I were aiming with a laser pointer. In that same “normal” grip the straight main edge is angled upwards too, pre-situated for an aggressive cutting approach.

There’s a bonus grip that the Wharncliffe shape especially excels at. Because the blade itself is so wide, you can move up it in a modified pinch grip that gives you supreme control. You can use this grip on the standard Delica too, but it feels better here with the extra steel in hand. And there’s something very people-friendly about it (probably because you’re palming most of the knife), so if you’re opening something around others this may become your grip of choice.

I’ve been dismissive of VG-10 in the past but I’ve come to appreciate it. It emphasizes ease of maintenance and in an EDC blade that’s great. Rust resistance is superb, edge retention is reasonable, and sharpening isn’t too much of a chore. Be forewarned: it does take more time than AUS-8 or 8Cr13MoV. It might not feel like you’re improving the edge at all, at first. But stick with it and all of a sudden you’ll notice it getting very sharp. I also find that straight edges are easier to sharpen than curved ones on a rod-based system, so if you have a Sharpmaker or similar setup you’re in luck.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

We’re all familiar with the Delica handle shape: a simple curve with three separate finger grooves sculpted into the FRN scales. Bi-directional texturing, nested and milled stainless steel liners: a familiar construction, but a stable, durable, and proven one.

It took me a long time to appreciate the Delica’s ergonomics. The three grooves seemed restrictive; there was basically only one way to hold the knife. But that one way is comfortable and effective.

I’ve already talked about how on this Wharncliffe model it helps align the cutting edge, but in general Spyderco has done a lot with a relatively narrow handle. Once you get the hang of it, it feels roomy and right. I used to have trouble getting my fingers to align with those grooves, but now that rarely happens; I guess I developed some kind of muscle memory or something. It’s also worth noting that the grooves aren’t sharp enough to be uncomfortable even if your hand isn’t perfectly aligned on them. This design could be improved with a true finger choil. As it is, with the D4W in particular the modified pinch grip on the blade makes up for this somewhat, and you can put your index finger underneath the kick in a rough approximation of a choil if you want.

The classic spoon clip is still the best clip Spyderco makes. I like the increase in durability over the wire clip, and I don’t think the lack of deep carry is much of a loss – I like having a little bit of knife exposed to grab onto. It’s a perfect fit for the Delica, too, with the pinch point being near the center of the knife to keep it from swinging around in your pocket.

There is one issue of note with the D4W and that is its width. It’s as wide as a Paramilitary 2 in the pocket. That’s a significant deviation from slimness of the standard Delica 4 and worth being aware of before you make the purchase. I like being able to reach into my pocket and not have my knife blocking up the passage, and while the D4W is by no means terribly wide it is definitely noticeable, and definitely worse when compared to the vanilla model.

Spyderco could have changed the blade profile, making it less bulbous, but it was kept this way by design. The D4W came to be after a Spyderco forumite drew it up to meet his specific needs during the workday. One of his requirements was to have a wide enough blade so that it could be easily opened with two hands if need be, and the extra material helps with that. It also helps with the modified pinch grip. Taken in context, the wide blade is actually a “feature,” albeit one that comes with a serious drawback, so be aware.

Deployment and Lockup

The Round Hole works as good here as it has on every other Spyderco knife since the dawn of time. Comfortable and ambidextrous, it doesn’t really get any better than this. As a lockback, the Delica 4 Wharncliffe isn’t going to have the fastest deployment in the world, but it is certainly adequate, and over time as the parts wear against each other it will get smoother and smoother. My five year old Delica is nice and buttery. This is a knife that will age gracefully.

Durability and reliability will be high with the D4W’s lock. In my example there is no side to side or up and down play, and no lock flex except in the heaviest cuts. Lockbacks are also naturally ambidextrous – a nice synergy with the Round Hole and symmetrical handle design on the Delica. I also appreciate that disengagement is not overly stiff – some lockbacks are real thumb bruisers, but this one is nice and easy, without being dangerously loose or anything.

Delica 4 Wharncliffe Review – Final Thoughts

The Delica 4 Wharncliffe is a great addition to the Delica corral. A new blade shape is a meaningful change and one that will, I think, work for certain types of users better than the normal drop point. The additional width in the pocket is a bummer and is the biggest flaw I can see in what is otherwise a pretty spectacular EDC.

Truth is, a lot of users won’t care about the additional pocket space required. They’ll relish the extreme control and precision of the Wharncliffe blade shape, qualities that are enhanced by the time-tested Delica handle design.

So I’m glad of the opportunity to talk some sugar about the Delica in general, and also happy to report that this new version is entirely worthy of your attention on its own. It doesn’t make a great design any better, but it’s a different, valid interpretation of one of the best EDC knives in the world.

Spyderco C11FPWCBK Delica 4 Black FRN Plain Wharncliffe Folding Knife

List Price: $74.72

Price: $74.72

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Kizer Ki3480 Dirk Pinkerton Rogue Review

by Dan Jackson 10 Comments

The Kizer Ki3480 Rogue is a series of firsts for me. It’s the first Dirk Pinkerton design I have ever reviewed, it’s my first review of a mid-tier Kizer knife, and it’s the first wharncliffe I have reviewed in a while.

The designer, Dirk Pinkerton, is an interesting guy. He is a custom knifemaker from Huntersville, North Carolina, and his focus is on purpose built knives for self defense applications. He even did a collaboration with our very own Chad McBroom, the Active Response Kerambit.

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Using knives defensively is well outside my wheelhouse, but I have been curious about Dirk Pinkerton’s designs ever since reading RoadKill’s review of the Meyerco Wharning back in 2012.

The Rogue shares some obvious design similarities to the Wharning. Namely, the aggressive wharncliffe blade. It’s different from what I typically review, and different from Kizer’s other designs, which is exactly why I wanted to check it out.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The Rogue has an overall length of 7.125″, a 3.00″ blade, and it weighs 3.92 ounces. Like all Kizer knives, the Rogue is made in China. I like that although the Rogue was likely designed with self-defense in mind, this is still a practical size for Every Day Carry (EDC). In fact, it almost resembles a folding box cutter. An obvious comparison would be with the Spyderco Yojimbo 2, a knife designed by Michael Janich. In addition to being a designer for Spyderco, Michael Janich is a martial artist and fellow enthusiast of the wharncliffe.

The dramatic wharncliffe blade is what makes this model stand out. You are going to either love it or hate it, and it is different from anything else in my collection. The 4mm thick blade has been given a partial flat grind. There is no swedge but the blade still comes to a needle-fine tip. The blade has been given a fine tumbled finish.

The benefit to a wharncliffe blade is that it excellent for slicing cuts. Power is applied uniformly to the edge whether you are at the tip, or by the ricasso. Combine that with an excellent tip for thrusting, and you have a very capable blade shape. For these reasons it is easy to see why guys like Michael Janich and Dirk Pinkerton prefer the wharncliffe.

The flip side is that there is no belly, which makes tasks like skinning near impossible. This is not my favorite knife to use in the kitchen.

Kizer chose S35VN for the blade steel. S35VN is excellent stuff. The more I use S30V, the more I like my S35VN blades. They are easier to sharpen and less brittle, but still hold a good edge like S30V. S35VN is an American steel, and Kizer had to import it in to China to make their knives. We often think of products being exported from China, so it’s an interesting point to consider, and speaks to Kizer’s dedication to making high end production knives.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

The Rogue has full titanium handles. Unlike the Intrepid, the handles of the Rogue are not 3-D contoured. Instead, they have been milled with a series of reliefs to provide texture and visual interest. The handle was then given a black coating and then the face of the handles were surface ground to provide a brushed titanium texture. The two-tone finish is unique, and so far it has held up well. Everything has been screwed together, and there are 2 barrel spacers and a decorative pivot.

Fit and finish is excellent. Everything has been completed to an eerie level of precision, much like a Taichung, Taiwan Spyderco.

The ergonomics of the Rogue benefit greatly from a simple handle design, and good use of jimping. The handle shape is about as simple as they come, which means that it will feel great for most people. There is flat top jimping on the spine of the blade. This offers good traction without being overly destructive. There is some additional light jimping / millwork on the spine of the handle, and also where your pinky and ring finger rest. These features, combined with the millwork on the handle slabs, offer a good deal of traction for the end user. The end result is a knife that feels secure in the hand without being obnoxious.

The blue titanium pocket clip offers a splash of color while being a good pocket clip. It’s a fold over deep carry clip, that has been placed so that about a quarter of an inch of the knife is left exposed. This was probably done to provide easy access in the event you needed the knife in an emergency situation. Personally, I’d prefer an even deeper carry, but the knife is still discrete.

The Rogue carries well. It’s not an overly thick or heavy knife, and the titanium clip offers plenty of retention. The knife stays in your pocket until you need it, and then it’s ready to go. No complaints with how this knife carries.

Deployment and Lockup

The Rogue is a dual thumbstud knife. I have always liked thumb studs, and the ones on the Rogue are nicely done. They are prominent and easy to access. The blade rides on phosphor bronze washers; my washer material of choice. Here the action is smooth and easy. There is a fairly strong detent, and the blade flicks open with a push of the thumb.

For lockup we have a titanium framelock with a stainless steel lockbar insert. The knife locks up early, and is secure. There is no blade play in any direction. There is also no lock stick. This is an excellent fame lock and rivals the Zero Tolerance framelocks I have owned over the years. Top shelf stuff.

Blade centering is good, but not perfect. That is about the only fit and finish nitpick I could find.

Kizer Rogue Reviews – Final Thoughts

The Rogue is solidly designed and perfectly executed. I have a hard time finding fault with this knife. Maybe I would move the pocket clip up a quarter of an inch, and the blade over a millimeter. Beyond that I don’t have much to say. Some may not care for the aggressive wharncliffe blade shape, or the 2 tone handle, but that is more personal preference than anything. If you are a fan of the design, then I would recommend it without reservation.

What you get for the money is also worth mentioning. As of the date of publication of this review, the Rogue can be had for just under $120. At that price you are getting a full titanium handle, a S35VN blade, a thoughtful design, and a near perfectly executed knife. The fit and finish is excellent, and the frame lock is among the best I have handled. I can’t think of much that touches it at this price point.

The Yojimbo 2 can be had at that price, but you won’t get S35VN or a titanium frame lock. That is an interesting comparison. I am sure some will prefer the thumb hole and compression lock, and find those to be worthy trade offs, but if Spyderco were to make the Yojimbo 2 as a titanium framelock, it would easily be a $200 knife.

The Rogue is another solid offering from Kizer. Between the high end Intrepid, and the value oriented Vanguard Gemini, the Rogue shows that Kizer can also play in the middle market. This is a company to continue watching. Their strategy of offering both high quality and high value is tough to ignore.

Kizer Cutlery 3480 Rogue Framelock

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I recommend purchasing the Kizer Rogue at Amazon and BladeHQ. Please consider that purchasing anything through any of the links on this website helps support BladeReviews.com, and keeps the site going. As always, any and all support is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

CRKT S.P.E.W. Review

by Dan Jackson 22 Comments

Last updated: May 13, 2017
Ah, the CRKT S.P.E.W.… would a knife by any other name sound so sweet? Clearly, the name of this knife is a little funny.

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With that out of the way, lets get down to business because I really like this one. The SPEW (really, the S.P.E.W.) stands for Small Pocket Everyday Wharncliffe, and it is a really interesting design from custom maker Alan Folts. Alan makes his knives in a small shop on the Florida coast (a couple hours away from me actually) and he is an exceptionally nice guy. He is a classically trained artist, and has been refining his approach to knife making for many years now.

In addition to crafting beautiful custom pieces Alan partnered with CRKT and released a production knife, the Folts Minimalist, in early 2010. I reviewed that knife a while back and was extremely impressed so I was really excited to learn about the SPEW. The SPEW fills a similar niche to the Minimalist. It’s a small fixed blade, designed for every day carry.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The SPEW has an overall length of 6.25″, features a 3″ blade, and it weighs 3 ounces. As I mentioned earlier, this would make a great fixed blade for EDC. This knife is also small enough to be used as a neck knife. Personally, I like to just carry this one in my pocket (in the sheath of course – more on that later).

The blade is a wharncliffe shape with a high hollow grind and an extremely sharp tip. This tip is perfect for detail tasks and will make quick work of whatever it is applied to. Now, a tip this thin is useful, but it’s also delicate. The SPEW is a knife you will want to be careful with if you expect that needle fine tip to survive daily use. Dropping this knife on concrete could end it all and you will not want to pry with this tool either. But since I knew that this tip could be an issue, I took it upon myself to thoroughly test. I put this knife through a fairly rigorous cutting test that included stabbing the knife through a stack of cardboard about 50 times. The tip held up really well.

Columbia River chose 5Cr13MoV stainless steel for this one, which isn’t my first choice, but it actually worked out really well. During my little cut test I created a mountain of cardboard shavings, and stabbed with the knife dozens and dozens of times. After the entire ordeal was over the SPEW was still held a paper cutting edge, which frankly came as a surprise since this is a soft steel heat treated to around 56 HRC.

My only issue is that the 5Cr did not want to take an edge easily and I was never able to get my knife absolutely hair popping sharp. While I’m no sharpening wizard, I attacked this thing with both diamond stones and Japanese water stones and was never able to get the edge quite up to spec. I know I’m not alone in this discovery, and I suspect it’s because of the low carbon count of this particular steel.

Handle and Ergonomics

The handle on the SPEW is G10 over a full stainless steel tang. The G10 is red and black it is a nice material to see on a knife at this price point. The G10 has been machined to offer enhanced grip and visual interest and the corners have been nicely rounded. Everything screws together, and I am very pleased with how well all the pieces line up. The handle is definitely well made.

The ergonomics of the SPEW really interested me because the Folts Minimalist is one of the most comfortable edc knives that I have ever held. While the ergonomics of the SPEW aren’t as aggressive as the Minimalist I was not disappointed with the way this model felt in hand. Like the Minimalist the SPEW is designed for a 3 finger grip, and it also features a small lanyard for your pinky. This is a comfortable way to wield a small knife and I am very pleased with how well that lanyard performs. Alan also included a nice finger choil in the design along with a jimped thumb ramp. The jimping that lines up with the G10 doesn’t offer any traction, but the jimping at the top of the ramp works as advertised. All in all I am very pleased with the “ergos” of this little knife.

Sheath

The SPEW comes with a very nice molded plastic sheath. The blade slides in with a firm snap and retention is very good. There is a little rattle, but this knife is not coming out unless you want it to. I like how a place for your thumb is included on this sheath, it means that you can easily pop the knife out with your thumb. I like carrying this one in my pocket, and it’s great to be able to deploy the knife with one hand and not have to remove both the knife and sheath from the pocket.

If you would rather carry the SPEW another way, the design offers a couple other options. CRKT includes a piece of paracord so you can lash this knife down or use it as a neck knife. I will say, if you want to use the SPEW as a neck knife, use a break-away chain or a cord lock so if the cord does get caught up you won’t strangle yourself! CRKT also offers a more traditional belt loop with this knife too – and you could mount the SPEW either horizontally or vertically. I like the sheath and the variety of carry options you get.

CRKT SPEW Review – Final Thoughts

The SPEW is another awesome knife from CRKT and Alan Folts. Fans of the Minimalist should be excited about this one, and I am happy to report that the SPEW does not disappoint. You get a wonderfully functional and compact design from Alan that has been well-executed by the folks at CRKT. I like the variety of carry options and just the overall package – it’s all been really well done.

My only issue pertains to the steel, and I think it is a pretty minor issue. Sure, I would love something that can take a finer edge, but the SPEW cuts, and it cuts surprisingly well. I gave the knife a series of hard tests and it passed them all with flying colors.

I think this is a good knife for the money and I recommend the SPEW if you are interested in the design, or want a little fixed blade for daily use.

CRKT S.P.E.W. EDC Fixed Blade Knife with Sheath: Compact Utility Neck Knife, Bead Blast Blade, Textured G10 Handle, Nylon Sheath, Belt Loop 2388

List Price: $26.17

Price: $19.98

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I recommend purchasing the SPEW from Amazon or BladeHQ. Please consider that purchasing anything through any of the links on this website helps support BladeReviews.com, and keeps the site going. As always, any and all support is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

Kershaw Needs Work Review

by Dan Jackson 12 Comments

Last Updated: December 27, 2016
In my opinion the wharncliffe is one of the most under-appreciated blade shapes out there. Many may write the shape off as a novelty, but in my experience a wharncliffe blade can be incredibly useful for a lot of every day tasks. That’s why I wanted to make sure I eventually got down to reviewing one of my favorite production knives with a wharncliffe blade, the Kershaw Needs Work.

Buy the Kershaw Needs Work at BladeHQ

At first glance this knife appears to be more at home on the set of an “Aliens” sequel than in your pocket. This is another Ken Onion design, and one of his more radical blades. I’ll admit, the look of the Needs Work had to grow on me a little, but I quickly warmed up to it. Today I really like the looks of this knife and the performance as well. I think Ken and Kershaw did a great job representing the “wharnie” here.

Purpose

To provide a little context, I would mainly classify this as a utility knife. That is, a knife that is used to cut a lot of boxes, leather, carpet, etc etc – a dedicated work knife for your shop or tool box, or to be carried while working a physical job with a lot of cutting tasks. The wharncliffe shape essentially provides a 3 inch razor blade, and the fine tip allows for unmatched precision.

I am hesitant to classify (or recommend) this as a full blown EDC knife, mainly because it doesn’t carry particularly well. However, it all boils down to what you want to use the knife for.

General Dimensions and Blade Detail

The Needs Work has a 3″ blade, a 4 1/8″ handle and weighs 3.5 ounces. This is a stout little folder designed for light and medium duty use. As you are well aware by now, the NW has a wharncliffe shaped blade. The NW’s blade is .12″ (3mm) thick – this is a thick piece of metal for a small folding knife.

From a design standpoint, Ken Onion gave this blade some of his characteristic flair. The blade includes gentle sloping curves and a nice little swedge. It’s a simple design that I really like. A hollow grind begins about half way down the blade.

The tip on this knife is exquisite, and will let you make very precise cuts. If you go through a lot of boxes, or cut stuff like carpet I highly recommend this blade shape. The angled handle only accentuates this feature. On the flip side, the fine tip means it could break – if you do a lot of thrust cuts or want a “hard use” knife I’m not sure the tip will hold up.

My Needs Work came with that gray matte finish popular on a lot of Kershaw knives (like the Skyline). You may also be able to find this knife with a black titanium nitride coated blade as well.

Kershaw went with Sandvik 14C28N stainless steel for the blade here, a steel I am very familiar with. It holds a very nice edge and sharpens easily. My only advice would be to keep an eye out for rust, I’ve noticed a couple small spots form on my Skyline.

Handle Ergonomics and Pocket Clip

The Needs Work has a beefy handle with glass-filled nylon scales over full stainless steel liners. The thick handle offers good grip, but makes the knife a little harder to carry. The scales have been given a really unique pattern. It’s got a kind of organic alien looking vibe to it. I am not crazy about the pattern, but it’s not really seen as a negative either. There is a full backspacer and the liners have not been milled out.

The ergonomics on the Needs Work are pretty good. I noticed a lot of people raving about the ergos, but I found the handle to be a little small for my relatively large hand. I can squeeze all 4 fingers on the grip, but realistically, this is a 3 finger knife for me. It’s still a comfortable knife but my pinky does feel a little lonely there. The thumb ramp and choil are well defined and there is adequate jimping on both. The thick handle does feel good and the textured pattern provides some response. For some reason I really like throwing the NW into a reverse grip; the handle is well suited for it.

Perhaps the biggest ergonomic feature is the angle of this handle. This allows you to take full advantage of the fine tip. The Needs Work could be a great knife to cut dry wall, carpet or similar flat materials. I found it to be very convenient when I had to trim some posterboard for the background on my little photography studio. More conventional blade shapes (and handle angles) would make you rotate your wrist further to use the tip of the blade for precision cuts. The Needs Work is a much better design for those kinds of tasks.

Sadly, the pocket clip is something of an abomination. Right off the bat, you are limited to right-side tip-down carry only. Furthermore, the large (ugly) clip rides high in the pocket, adding insult to injury. In practice, I actually found the tip down carry to be OK given the flipper and assisted open. I’d much rather see some mounting options and a little more conventional looking clip. The clip and thick handle are the two main reasons why I am hesitant to recommend this as an EDC blade.

Deployment and Lockup

Deployment on the Needs Work is awesome. This is a speedsafe assisted opening knife, and the spring on this the NW shoots the blade of this knife out like a gun. This is a wicked fast deployment that makes an awesome cracking sound as the blade locks open. This is one of my favorite assisted openers; the cool blade shape and rapid deployment are too much fun.

Opening is only accomplished through the flipper – not an issue here at all.

Lockup on the Needs Work is equally impressive. The NW uses a very interesting liner lock that requires no stop pins. The tang of the blade locks into the liner at two different places. It’s hard to describe but very solid in practice. There is zero blade play in this knife, which is awesome when you consider how much force this lock is put under by the assisted opening.

Kershaw Needs Work – Final Thoughts

I really like this one. The unique blade, the chunky design, the lightening fast deployment and super solid lockup – these are all major plusses. Also, I found the wharncliffe blade to be uber useful. That tip allows you to do detail cuts like no other knife. I also love how the Needs Work was made in America, and can be found for right around $30. Also, the fit and finish on mine is great. Blade centering is perfect, the grinds are smooth and even – everything was well put together. This is a knife I am proud to add to my collection.

That said, I do ding the knife a little for it’s pocket clip – that’s my only real issue here, and to be honest it still carries pretty well considering. If you want a rugged utility knife, or are searching for something a little different I recommend the Needs Work.

I recommend purchasing the Kershaw Needs Work at Amazon or BladeHQ. Please consider that buying anything through any of the links on this website helps support BladeReviews.com, and keeps the site going. As always, any and all support is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

Kershaw Leek Review

by Dan Jackson 14 Comments

Last Updated: September 24, 2017

The Kershaw Leek is a popular EDC knife designed by legendary custom knife maker Ken Onion. Between the Zero Tolerance knives and a couple other Kershaw reviews I have done, Ken Onion’s designs knives have received a lot of attention on this site. This is for good reason as they are all awesome knives.

Buy the Kershaw Leek at BladeHQ

The Kershaw Leek is firmly planted in the EDC category. In fact, this is something of a gold standard for EDC. It comes in a great size and is a very durable design, perfect for every day carry. Additionally, the wide array of colors and finishes (many of which are limited edition) make this a very collectable knife. For these reasons the Leek has become a favorite both hardcore enthusiasts and casual owners.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The Leek has an overall length of 7″, a 3″ blade, weighs 3 about ounces, and is made in America. Like the vegetable it was named after, this is a very sleek and slim design. This is a slim and light weight knife, aimed squarely at the Every Day Carry (EDC) market.

The Kershaw Leek features a modified wharncliffe style blade (much like another great Kershaw knife, the Needs Work). It’s flat edge is almost completely devoid of belly which is great for tasks that involve the tip of the blade. The Leek’s blade comes to a very fine tip and it makes the knife great for piercing tasks and detail work. Basically, it’s like carrying a large pointy razor blade in your pocket. Another benefit is that wharncliffe blades are among the easiest to sharpen. The only downside with this blade design is the tip is somewhat fragile. I would not use this knife for prying or serious thrust cuts, you are very likely to bend or break the ultra fine tip. For most edc chores, I don’t see this being an issue

Although the Leek has been made in a number of steels over the years if you are going to buy one new it will most likely come in 14C28N. 14C28N is developed by Sandvik, a Swedish company that made the steel exclusively for KAI USA/Kershaw Knives. 14C28N is a high quality stainless steel and is an awesome choice for the price. In my experience I have found the steel to sharpen really well, have good edge retention and be very resistant to corrosion.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

The handle of the Leek will come in solid steel with a frame lock (shown here) or aluminum scales with a liner lock. Both models feel good in the hand for a smaller knife, and the solid steel handled version has a nice heft to it. Both handle types are constructed with screws rather than pins, so if you need to disassemble the knife, it can easily done with a T6 torx bit.

As far as ergonomics go, this is a very comfortable little knife that is geared towards light to medium use. I found I was able to get a 4 finger grip on the knife without much issue and my thumb found the thumb ramp easily. There is a little bit of jimping on the thumb ramp – it isn’t supper aggressive but it does grab the skin a little. All in all, for a small knife I liked the ergos.

The pocket clip of the Kershaw Leek is pretty good. It is long and somewhat normal looking (not always the case for Kershaw knives) and has good retention. It is reversible for tip up or tip down carry, but it is not ambidextrous.
The clip rides pretty low if you mount it tip down, but for tip up carry a good half inch of the handle sticks out. That said, this is a small and light knife, it still carries well and is unlikely to draw much attention.

Deployment and Lockup

The Leek is an assisted open knife and uses the Ken Onion designed SpeedSafe deployment system. This assisted open technology is super robust, and is used on a lot of Kershaw and Zero Tolerance knives. The Leek deploys very fast with a slight amount of pressure on the thumb studs or flipper. The knife opens with a really satisfying snap and the SpeedSafe is a very reliable opening mechanism. There is a second optional safety lock to keep the knife from opening accidentally. This lock can be screwed down if you decide not to use it. Additionally, for those that don’t care for the SpeedSafe, it’s easy to take the spring out and use this as a non-assisted opening knife.

Lockup on these knives is rock solid, regardless of the particular model of Leek you buy. I have found the frame lock and the liner locks to be more than adequate for the kinds of tasks the knife was designed for. My Leek has seen substantial use and the lock still engages securely with zero blade play. Smaller knives like these are Kershaw’s bread and butter, and I have a lot of confidence in the locks on these knives.

The Leek was designed to be a “1 hand” knife, which means you can open and close this knife with one hand. I’m left handed and found it easy to close this knife with one hand (despite the lock being on the “wrong” side) so that really says something. For a small EDC knife this is handy, and it’s almost a requirement for my EDC knives.

Kershaw Leek Review – Final Thoughts

The Kershaw Leek has most of what I look for in a small EDC knife. It’s light, slim, sharp and fast. I like the solid lockup and quality blade steel. The pocket clip is also nice and the knife feels good in the hand. The fact that this Kershaw is made in the USA certainly does not hurt either.

The biggest potential issues with the Leek are that there is not much texture on the handle, and the tip is thin and can break if you are not careful with the knife. However, for a little EDC blade I think these are both minor to nonexistent issues. Also, the sleek design makes this something of a gentleman’s folder, and I could see this knife doing just as well in an office as it would in a more demanding environment. Finally, the array of colors and styles offered make this a fun knife to collect.

Kershaw Leek Pocket Knife (1660) 3-In. Sandvik 14C28N Blade and Stainless Steel Handle, Best Buy from Outdoor Gear Lab Includes Frame Lock, SpeedSafe Assisted Opening and Reversible Pocketclip, 3 oz.

List Price: $44.25

Price: $44.25

Price Disclaimer

I recommend purchasing the Kershaw Leek at Amazon.com or BladeHQ.Please consider that buying anything through any of the links on this website helps support BladeReviews.com, and keeps the site going. As always, any and all support is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.