I bought one of these in green around 2002. It was always a solid knife that kept its edge very well in all of my camping, canyoneering and day to day use. I bought this one to replace the last one. The shape of the knife is perfect for my grip, the knife is not too bulky or heavy. It has a good hand weight and the texture of the knife is comfortable in my hand. It's sleek and fits inside my waistband when I need it to, and the belt clip is not too wide. The lock works well as well as the opening and closing action. I like that you can change the placement of the belt clip, but I haven't needed to because of how I carry the knife. I've bought this knife twice and I'll buy it again.

I am very disappointed with the black finish quality. I love black blades and black frames. I bought my SOG Flash II in black and the blade after years remains black. except for scratches - expected. And the polymer frame of course will be black until the sun burns out. But the Kershaw is wearing off after just a week of carry and light use. That includes the blade, which so far I have used to cut open a box and slice those little foil bubble packs my meds come in. Something the SOG never even noticed after many years of use. So the finish quality of this thing frankly sucks. But the blade is razor sharp and the opening is like lightning. I glued back the safety because seriously? I want to open this when I need it right now. I don't want to mess with groping for a safety. I did the same to my Flash. Frikkin lawyers. Anyway like I said - the blade is terrifyingly sharp. You will need to be careful of the tip. It's quite long and thin - it would be easy to snap off. So use your head. If you want a jamming into wood and prying tip, get a heavier blade with a tanto form or at least a drop point. The frame is extremely well made and the knife works like a swiss watch - not that THAT term means much to anyone under 40 anymore :) It feels like a finely crafted tool. So yeah, buy it. Be aware of it's limitations and have a use in mind for that blade form. It's needle sharp at the tip. Just reconsider buying the black blade if you are sensitive to the finish coming off really fast.

This very same knife was gifted to me about 5 or 6 years ago. It had been my EDC and was used and abused on a daily basis. Opening beer bottles with the handle, turning flathead screws with the tip, opening Avocados while camping, and typical zip-tie cutting and package opening. My favorite feature of this knife is it's slim profile, it can fit easily into any pocket and you will not even know its there. I was so sad to have lost it that I bought the very same knife again and was not disappointed! My new Ken Onion Leek came very sharp, and the speed assist open was flawless. Let me help to dispel a few things that I have read in other reviews.

The blade lock is weak: I read that some people are nervous about the blade lock not engaging entirely. I did notice that on the first day of use, the blade lock could be pushed further under the blade for a tighter lock. However, after about a month of regular use, the blade lock has begun to seat itself squarely under the blade edge and cannot be forced closed with any amount of pressure I can manually apply. I have never had this knife fold back on me during use and it only seems to get better with age.

Safety Lock engages by itself: While this may not be the best design, it serves its purpose well for me. If you have found that the safety lock engages by itself the screw on the lock may be too loose. However, adjusting this screw will not fix the problem entirely. I believe the screw is secured with lock-tight, so if you adjust it, you will need to remove it entirely and re-apply some blue lock-tight.

Knife opening in your pocket: Read the manual, simply make sure the the blade opening direction faces the edge of your pocket and you do not have to worry. I would not suggest carrying any knife without clipping it to a pocket so if you carry it in the bottom of your pocket with your loose change and receipts, easy retrieval and fast open is obviously not one of your concerns so use the Safety lock. For everyone else, I have never had an accidental open with this knife over my 6+ years with it, so no need to be paranoid.

What else can I say? I friggin' love this knife. Treat it well, and it will last for years to come, treat it poorly, and it will still last for years. For 40 bucks, you cannot find a better deal. It makes a great gift for anyone with an active lifestyle. It will be my Every Day Carry forever.

Oooh Boy this is a neat little flipper. It is *very* compact with an overall length of 7" (4" handle, 3" blade) when opened and has an extremely thin profile. Barely even notice it when I'm carrying. I have about 7 different knives now, most with different types of steel and brand, and I gotta say, this blade came the sharpest right out of the box out of all my stuff. Sandvik 14C28N steel is American made, so that's always a nice little plus (if you're American).

The SpeedSafe technology is quick and snappy when used with the flipper. DON'T USE THE THUMB STUDS TO OPEN! They are not there to open it with, they are used to catch the blade on the handle when deployed. I tried to use the studs as the opener and very nearly sliced my thumb open. If you want a thumb stud assisted opener get the Blur. The handle is too small on the Leek to get a good purchase on when using your thumb to open it. I have average sized hands and lost my grip on the handle when the spring kicked in, and my thumb was forced into a position right below the blade.

Another big thing about this knife ----- it comes out of the box in the TIP DOWN position. I don't like tip-down carry, so obviously that was a problem for me. It doesn't tell you what screwdriver bit to use so I had a bit of trial and error testing, but it worked using the T6 star bit if you want to switch it from tip-down to tip-up. Right hand carry only.

The frame lock is sturdy, no blade play, blade is razor sharp right out of the box, and if you like sleek and sexy knives, do yourself a favor and buy the Leek.

This knife has been my edc for over a year. The finish looks great and the knife holds a great edge. I sharpen every 2-3 months based on need and am always happy with the edge. This knife isn't babied, but it's not abused either and it treats me very well. I love the low profile of the knife in my pocket too.

First photo was taken today, after 17 months of carrying it.
Second photo was taken after 25 months of carrying it.