An almost dream come true knife......
As some may know I've been pretty enthusiastic about the Kershaw Ken Onion Leek
see:
Kershaw/Ken Onion LEEK (pics)
making it my at home EDC since I acquired it back in Feb/2003.
But ever since I had a Leek
D) I wanted a black boron carbide coated version - ala the Black Chive - not to be confused with the matte black TiNi coating.
Boron Carbide apparently is the hardest man-made substance, and the third hardest known - ie: in the ballpark of diamond hardness - so hard that it is commonly called "black diamond".
So Speed-Safe assisted opening, with frame-lock and black boron coating on a right-sized knife - that's like a dream......
Of course I immediately badgered Kershaw about a Black boron Leek - but I was told not to hold my breath......
Turning beyond blue - through purple to puce.......
and this is almost like serendipity -
I completely missed the introduction of the Black "boron" Leek -
just like I had missed the introduction of the Leek previously........
...probably simply due to the lack of oxygen to the brain
Even though boron carbide is very hard and reputed to be very durable - I still feel the real advantage (if any) over the regular solid stainless steel Leek is its looks - like the (Ti oxide anodized) Rainbow Leek.
The Rainbow Leek is spectacular looking - and attracts attention and admiration - but it's just a bit too "flash" for my own tastes - of course I have one because it is so pretty - but it sits in my collection - whereas the Black boron Leek suits my tastes better and will become my at home EDC.
Boron Carbide coating as done by Kershaw on their Black Chive and now Black (boron) Leek is glossy/shiney with the look of black chrome - but with a slight tint of brown.
Being deep gloss black it was going to be difficult to take pictures that did the subtle looks justice -
I consider these pics only moderately successful - being only 2 dimensional - I'm not too sure if it's possible to show a true representation - at least with my photo ability .....
nothing beats actually seeing the knife.
What's the downside? - the gloss black picks up and shows every finger print - and almost any Black boron Leek looked at is very likely to have all sorts of smudges - which obviously is not going to be attractive - to be fair to the looks, one needs to give the knife a quick wipe clean.
Frame-Locks -
Thumb-studs = Stop-pin
the thumb studs act as the stop pin - unlike a regular frame lock like the Vapor where there is a stop-pin in the handle - the Leeks use the thumb-studs against fitted contours on the scales as the stop-pins - an elegant and efficient solution to allow room for the Index-Open "flipper" or "fin".
Safeties -
simple slide to block safety stops any accidental opening of the knife - for my usage of well over a year of (at home) EDC - I have not used the safety - I have tried dropping the knife on the flipper, and even struck the flipper hard on surfaces and failed to open the knife. Of course if I were to jump around or do something (resembling) acrobatic - then I certainly would either remove the knife from my person or engage the safety.
Markings on the knife -
see also -
Kershaw Rainbow Leek - a pictorial review
can I breathe now?
--
Vincent
http://UnknownVincent.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVT.cjb.net/
As some may know I've been pretty enthusiastic about the Kershaw Ken Onion Leek
see:
Kershaw/Ken Onion LEEK (pics)
making it my at home EDC since I acquired it back in Feb/2003.
But ever since I had a Leek
D) I wanted a black boron carbide coated version - ala the Black Chive - not to be confused with the matte black TiNi coating.Boron Carbide apparently is the hardest man-made substance, and the third hardest known - ie: in the ballpark of diamond hardness - so hard that it is commonly called "black diamond".
So Speed-Safe assisted opening, with frame-lock and black boron coating on a right-sized knife - that's like a dream......
Of course I immediately badgered Kershaw about a Black boron Leek - but I was told not to hold my breath......
Turning beyond blue - through purple to puce.......
and this is almost like serendipity -
I completely missed the introduction of the Black "boron" Leek -
just like I had missed the introduction of the Leek previously........
...probably simply due to the lack of oxygen to the brain
Even though boron carbide is very hard and reputed to be very durable - I still feel the real advantage (if any) over the regular solid stainless steel Leek is its looks - like the (Ti oxide anodized) Rainbow Leek.
The Rainbow Leek is spectacular looking - and attracts attention and admiration - but it's just a bit too "flash" for my own tastes - of course I have one because it is so pretty - but it sits in my collection - whereas the Black boron Leek suits my tastes better and will become my at home EDC.
Boron Carbide coating as done by Kershaw on their Black Chive and now Black (boron) Leek is glossy/shiney with the look of black chrome - but with a slight tint of brown.
Being deep gloss black it was going to be difficult to take pictures that did the subtle looks justice -
I consider these pics only moderately successful - being only 2 dimensional - I'm not too sure if it's possible to show a true representation - at least with my photo ability .....
nothing beats actually seeing the knife.
What's the downside? - the gloss black picks up and shows every finger print - and almost any Black boron Leek looked at is very likely to have all sorts of smudges - which obviously is not going to be attractive - to be fair to the looks, one needs to give the knife a quick wipe clean.
Frame-Locks -
Thumb-studs = Stop-pin
the thumb studs act as the stop pin - unlike a regular frame lock like the Vapor where there is a stop-pin in the handle - the Leeks use the thumb-studs against fitted contours on the scales as the stop-pins - an elegant and efficient solution to allow room for the Index-Open "flipper" or "fin".
Safeties -
simple slide to block safety stops any accidental opening of the knife - for my usage of well over a year of (at home) EDC - I have not used the safety - I have tried dropping the knife on the flipper, and even struck the flipper hard on surfaces and failed to open the knife. Of course if I were to jump around or do something (resembling) acrobatic - then I certainly would either remove the knife from my person or engage the safety.
Markings on the knife -
see also -
Kershaw Rainbow Leek - a pictorial review
can I breathe now?
--
Vincent
http://UnknownVincent.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVT.cjb.net/
