One important reason I own firearms is BECAUSE MERICA. I don't edc any of them— I follow the "avoid stupid places and stupid people at stupid times" rule— but I treasure the right to choose to edc (in my state, anyway). It rankles me that a responsible adult isn't allowed to carry even an unloaded handgun, or a loaded toothpaste tube, aboard a plane.
John Farnam's rule against stupid people, places, and times is a splendid rule. It will keep you out of a lot of trouble. It's also worth noting that Mr. Farnam...the man who coined the phrase you're using...also carries multiple firearms and knives on his person at all times. The man nearly clanks when he walks. He doesn't move fast, but in his late 70's now he's not going to outrun trouble should it find him and hasn't really been able to for quite some time.
I have a Kershaw Leek and a Turbulence that I keep around the house that I use all the time. My EDC is a Benchmade 940 though which I would replace with a Leek if I ever lost it. All great knives. I've taken the clips off every one of them because, in my experience, the only thing they're good for is to get caught on something and pull the knife out of my pocket and lose it forever. I'd rather fish around in my pocket than to risk losing another knife.
I've got a friend I've given three Leeks to. She lost the first two, but has managed to hang onto the one I equipped with a deep carry clip. (No, I wasn't dating her. Yes, you may question my sanity.)
Common scam now is to accept payment on eBay then never ship the product; some percentage of buyers will never demand a refund, and even if they do it's like getting a no-interest loan for a couple months. Happened to me a few times.
The Leek is probably one of the first two knives I bought myself(along with a tanto Griptilian, which I also never carried) and I just never liked it. It feels so delicate, which is fine for some things, but for a knife to EDC, I simply couldn't get comfortable with it. Granted, at the price point, there is not a whole lot of great USA-made stuff, but I was always partial to the Kershaw Skyline, which has unfortunately been discontinued. It feels much more solid to me, granted with a slightly more fiddly deploy. There's some very nice Japanese-made stuff at a bit higher price point, but realistically, I don't know who else has the manufacturing economies of scale to make knives here at that price point. Maybe Gerber, but they seem to only recently be coming back to more quality oriented knives. I am jealous of people who can buy one decent knife and be done with it - a couple cheaper knives quickly degenerated into several dozen significantly more expensive knives.
The leek is affordable, until you buy the lynchNW clip, which is also affordable, and the custom finish LNW titanium prybar, which is not affordable, but which is cool and useful. It is also not likely to slice through a finger.
An acquaintance of mine sometimes does runs of prybars.
Aside from the usual features he drills and presses magnets in to hold bits and a friction fit cut to hold the bit for use; however, the ti material wears the bits so that the friction fit stops working over time.
It is a bit long at over 8" open and 4 5/8" closed. I haven't seen reviews for it other than on the Filson site. It is only $65 with a deep-carry clip. Plus Filson claims made in the USA.
That sure looks like a re-badged Kershaw. It also must be the least expensive thing Filson sells. I was in an outdoor shop around Christmas and saw the Moroccan-made Alaskan guide flannel shirts are well over 100.00 now!
Order is a backlock while the "Filson" is a linerlock flipper. Based on price point, design, and ambiguous details (e.g., blade is "high-carbon stainless"), I'd guess this was made by Bear & SonsBear Ops. In my experience, their quality is a step below Gerber and a couple steps below Kershaw. It doesn't match exactly any current knife of theirs, but they are changing designs all the time. This was probably something in their Swipe assisted range. Bear & Son also has a history of letting others rebrand their product without attribution (e.g., McKoy Knife Co., Moore Maker). I can't recall ever seeing a Kershaw or Gerber knife being repackaged without their branding.
As of the beginning of this year, Automatic knives are legal in Pennsylvania. I’ve never owned one and don’t know that I will, but does anyone have any recommendations?
I love the leek. I've lost a few of them over the years. But if I'm doing ken onion stuff it's gotta be the blur. The grip-tape - ala skateboard - on the scales is oddly satisfying. I have a black one in s30v and I bought my wife a green one with the
cheaper blade steel. It's her purse knife.
That said, you're completely right about the leek being so good that it gets shit from internet experts for not being unique enough or whatever. That's poppycock of course. Just look at a Sabenza for instance, there's nothing revolutionary going on there, it's just fantastic. That's what the Leek does. ...at least it looks that way from my foxhole.
And I also fully endorse anything from pro-tech. High quality stuff.
Heartache... I lost a d2 leek in my late father's back yard while I was trying to yank old motorcycles around in the months after his passing. I'm comforted that it's in the loamy soil of my childhood home.
So I ask this with genuine curiosity; what is the purpose of these types of knives and the whole “EDC” thing? Is it just gadget fetishism? I work a spreadsheet job and have never needed a knife in my day to day, and if I were to need something it is as easy as fetching a knife or Leatherman or other tool out of the kit I keep in each car. Is it a personal defense thing? I have (insert handgun) for that, and minimal confidence in my ability to win a knife fight. If it is just a gotta have it thing, cool, no judgement here, knives are cool and I have several, but they’re all for a purpose (hunting, box cutter, etc etc) and for EDC I always felt like a Leatherman or equivalent is more useful day to day.
I started carrying a knife in boy scouts (cub scouts maybe?). I even carried a small pocket knife to 6th grade. If you find me without a cutting tool in my pocket or on my kit, I'll buy you a beer.
You don't realize how often it comes in handy until you have one on you for a year or two non-stop.
My job is military, but I'm mostly an excel ranger, not an airborne one. That said, I still manage to find daily uses for my pocket knives.
All that being said, for me, a lot of it is a hobby. I like knives, I love the woods and doing woodcraft bullshit with gorgeous fixed blades. I like knowing I can make stuff with a knife (feather sticks, dead fall traps, shelter...). I like the craftsmanship that goes into a quality cutting tool. And I really like making them super sharp.
I use my pocket knife every day at work. I carried a multi tool on my belt for a few months: actually weeks, now that I think about it. I’m in a trade that requires large, heavy tools for the most part. I never used anything on the multi tool except the knife blade and having it on my belt drove me crazy.
I do like them though. I just got a Leatherman for a nephew in the military and they are definitely lovely pieces of work.
My "EDC" is a Spyderco Native. I've owned and lost a couple Leeks and really liked them, but chose the Spyderco simply because it was made and can be serviced (sharpened) at the Spyderco factory in Golden, CO., about 15 minutes away from my house (also, pretty much across the street from the Holidaily Brewing Co BONUS!).
My desk job mainly involves knife fights with boxes, packing materials and the occasional over packaged item in my lunch box. I almost always win but the victory is much easier with a decent knife on hand. As for personal protection? Much better to show up at a knife-fight with a (insert handgun).
re Leatherman I usually only need the knife anyway, either just to open a box or to cut a fool (just kidding, or am I?). If I need one of the tools on the Leatherman then I usually just get the actual tool, although I will say that the wire cutters are better than 90% of the Chinese crap on the shelf at the big box stores.
The whole EDC thing is definitely an attempt to masculinize the white-collar life and/or possess some sort of tools and items in a world where we can't carry swords or guns or heraldic shields.
But a good knife is better than nothing in many cases.
I have a couple of walking sticks made by Brazos, a twisted sassafrass Brazos and a cheaper Trail Blazer made from an unidentified wood and sold by Walmart for just $15. Both are Made in the U.S.A.
When people ask me why I use a walking stick I either mention tendonitis and a tibial plateau fracture, the fact that using a staff is an old Jewish tradtion going back before Moses, or, if they aren't weenies, that you can carry a walking stick places where they won't let you carry a weapon. A 55" hardwood walking stick should be able to keep anyone who isn't carrying a firearm at bay and there are actual martial arts related to staffs and walking sticks like the French La Canne. https://www.nycsteampunk.com/bartitsu/manuals/TheWalkingStickMethodOfSelfDefence1923.pdf
I've carried a leatherman c33Tx (knife) daily for almost 20 years but it has screwdrivers and a bottle opener. Feel naked withouth it. The blade is almost exclusively for opening boxes.
They're just a widely useful tool to use and abuse from food prep and sharing (hey can I have some apple?), to opening packages of all sorts, to breaking boxes down (which I do use my EDC Delica for and it always sharpens up right quick on the SpyderCo SharpMaker I got to assist my unskilled self in sharpening), to being used as an inappropriate prybar or lever point, to quickly trimming something, etc.
That carrying a multiuse and flexible tool, not even for defense, that has been with mankind for thousands of years is considered odd might be more of a $CURRENT_YEAR America convenient life sort of thing.
I have and like my Leek, but for the past 15 years I've carried Scallions to the office and 95% of the rest of the time. I've given 10 as gifts as well; they're useful and tiny and wear quite well.
Ordered one of these last month when you wrote about it splurging on the carbon fiber model. Was surprised that it's not much bigger than the Buck 55 I've been carrying for years. Very happy with it.
If any of you knife enthusiasts would like a graphic or some lettering etched on the blade or handle. my new laser can etch stainless. https://rokemneedlearts.com/images/knife.jpg BTW, that's a bread knife, not a mohel messer. Contact info: rokem@netzero.net
somewhere around here i have a 10" approx flip-open knife and scabbard i got in toledo, spain, in '57. horn or bone handle in the frame. you flip a little tab on the side and then push it against a spring to sling the knife open. it's got a scene in enamel on the blade. the seller got a half-dollar off me and drove the point of his house demonstrator just through my coin. he wanted me to do the same thing with my new purchase but i demurred. cost nearly $60 back then
One important reason I own firearms is BECAUSE MERICA. I don't edc any of them— I follow the "avoid stupid places and stupid people at stupid times" rule— but I treasure the right to choose to edc (in my state, anyway). It rankles me that a responsible adult isn't allowed to carry even an unloaded handgun, or a loaded toothpaste tube, aboard a plane.
John Farnam's rule against stupid people, places, and times is a splendid rule. It will keep you out of a lot of trouble. It's also worth noting that Mr. Farnam...the man who coined the phrase you're using...also carries multiple firearms and knives on his person at all times. The man nearly clanks when he walks. He doesn't move fast, but in his late 70's now he's not going to outrun trouble should it find him and hasn't really been able to for quite some time.
Yeah the ancillary, "better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it," applies .
Good point.
I have a Kershaw Leek and a Turbulence that I keep around the house that I use all the time. My EDC is a Benchmade 940 though which I would replace with a Leek if I ever lost it. All great knives. I've taken the clips off every one of them because, in my experience, the only thing they're good for is to get caught on something and pull the knife out of my pocket and lose it forever. I'd rather fish around in my pocket than to risk losing another knife.
I've lost probably 3 leeks this way. One of them with the fancy d2 composite blade in blavkwash... upsetting.
Take a look at the LynchNW clip, it won't completely solve the issue but it WILL help.
I did have a deep carry clip on one of them. It wasn't the lynch nw you mention. I was something off of etsy if memory serves.
I've got a friend I've given three Leeks to. She lost the first two, but has managed to hang onto the one I equipped with a deep carry clip. (No, I wasn't dating her. Yes, you may question my sanity.)
50 bucks plus USA quality is such a sweet spot for a knife to really use for its intended purposes.
any more details forthcoming on the razor testing process?
I'm waiting for my second shipment of blades off eBay. The seller is now a month behind schedule.
can’t wait!
Common scam now is to accept payment on eBay then never ship the product; some percentage of buyers will never demand a refund, and even if they do it's like getting a no-interest loan for a couple months. Happened to me a few times.
The Leek is probably one of the first two knives I bought myself(along with a tanto Griptilian, which I also never carried) and I just never liked it. It feels so delicate, which is fine for some things, but for a knife to EDC, I simply couldn't get comfortable with it. Granted, at the price point, there is not a whole lot of great USA-made stuff, but I was always partial to the Kershaw Skyline, which has unfortunately been discontinued. It feels much more solid to me, granted with a slightly more fiddly deploy. There's some very nice Japanese-made stuff at a bit higher price point, but realistically, I don't know who else has the manufacturing economies of scale to make knives here at that price point. Maybe Gerber, but they seem to only recently be coming back to more quality oriented knives. I am jealous of people who can buy one decent knife and be done with it - a couple cheaper knives quickly degenerated into several dozen significantly more expensive knives.
A man after my own heart.
The leek is affordable, until you buy the lynchNW clip, which is also affordable, and the custom finish LNW titanium prybar, which is not affordable, but which is cool and useful. It is also not likely to slice through a finger.
My LNW prybar collection is starting to be evidence of mental illness.
one of us, one of us
to say nothing of the guitars...
An acquaintance of mine sometimes does runs of prybars.
Aside from the usual features he drills and presses magnets in to hold bits and a friction fit cut to hold the bit for use; however, the ti material wears the bits so that the friction fit stops working over time.
https://www.instagram.com/luna_precision/
I don't know if he's still doing it or not as I'm not active on fb or ig.
I ordered one of these Kershaws for EDC. I am currently carrying this: https://www.filson.com/assisted-opening-knife.html#sku=20165028-fco-013066901
It is a bit long at over 8" open and 4 5/8" closed. I haven't seen reviews for it other than on the Filson site. It is only $65 with a deep-carry clip. Plus Filson claims made in the USA.
That sure looks like a re-badged Kershaw. It also must be the least expensive thing Filson sells. I was in an outdoor shop around Christmas and saw the Moroccan-made Alaskan guide flannel shirts are well over 100.00 now!
Yeah. I got as a gift. I was shocked at the price for Filson.
I think but cannot confirm that it is a Gerber Order:
https://www.knifecenter.com/item/GB31002733/gerber-31-002733-order-folding-knife-black-combo-harpoon-blade-black-rubberized-frn-handles
Order is a backlock while the "Filson" is a linerlock flipper. Based on price point, design, and ambiguous details (e.g., blade is "high-carbon stainless"), I'd guess this was made by Bear & SonsBear Ops. In my experience, their quality is a step below Gerber and a couple steps below Kershaw. It doesn't match exactly any current knife of theirs, but they are changing designs all the time. This was probably something in their Swipe assisted range. Bear & Son also has a history of letting others rebrand their product without attribution (e.g., McKoy Knife Co., Moore Maker). I can't recall ever seeing a Kershaw or Gerber knife being repackaged without their branding.
Update: Here it is: https://bearandsoncutlery.com/product/be112/
Well done! I feel silly now.
As of the beginning of this year, Automatic knives are legal in Pennsylvania. I’ve never owned one and don’t know that I will, but does anyone have any recommendations?
Pro-Tech and Microtech are the best places to start.
Depending on where you are in PA, you can play with my pro-tech or Buck 110 auto. I'm in Montgomery County and work in Philadelphia.
That’s very kind, Thomas. I’m in Chester County, myself. One never knows when our paths might cross.
Think nothing of it. If you're here you're already a friend.
West Chester here! We’ve got our own SE PA contingent.
I’m in West Bradford Township, not far from the State Police Barracks. I’ve definitely gotten your power on over the years.
Have you ever gone to the Coatesville gran prix? So fun to see old cars and bikes actually operated in a small amount of anger.
I’ve been to it once. An acquaintance, one of the world’s most interesting men, was involved in organizing the first Coatesville Gran Prix.
I love the leek. I've lost a few of them over the years. But if I'm doing ken onion stuff it's gotta be the blur. The grip-tape - ala skateboard - on the scales is oddly satisfying. I have a black one in s30v and I bought my wife a green one with the
cheaper blade steel. It's her purse knife.
That said, you're completely right about the leek being so good that it gets shit from internet experts for not being unique enough or whatever. That's poppycock of course. Just look at a Sabenza for instance, there's nothing revolutionary going on there, it's just fantastic. That's what the Leek does. ...at least it looks that way from my foxhole.
And I also fully endorse anything from pro-tech. High quality stuff.
Keep these USA posts coming. They're fun.
Birds of a feather and whatnot...
Want to hear something sad? I own TWO of the green Kershaw Bumps from the original anodized run.
And have lost them both.
Heartache... I lost a d2 leek in my late father's back yard while I was trying to yank old motorcycles around in the months after his passing. I'm comforted that it's in the loamy soil of my childhood home.
So I ask this with genuine curiosity; what is the purpose of these types of knives and the whole “EDC” thing? Is it just gadget fetishism? I work a spreadsheet job and have never needed a knife in my day to day, and if I were to need something it is as easy as fetching a knife or Leatherman or other tool out of the kit I keep in each car. Is it a personal defense thing? I have (insert handgun) for that, and minimal confidence in my ability to win a knife fight. If it is just a gotta have it thing, cool, no judgement here, knives are cool and I have several, but they’re all for a purpose (hunting, box cutter, etc etc) and for EDC I always felt like a Leatherman or equivalent is more useful day to day.
Genuinely curious here.
I started carrying a knife in boy scouts (cub scouts maybe?). I even carried a small pocket knife to 6th grade. If you find me without a cutting tool in my pocket or on my kit, I'll buy you a beer.
You don't realize how often it comes in handy until you have one on you for a year or two non-stop.
My job is military, but I'm mostly an excel ranger, not an airborne one. That said, I still manage to find daily uses for my pocket knives.
All that being said, for me, a lot of it is a hobby. I like knives, I love the woods and doing woodcraft bullshit with gorgeous fixed blades. I like knowing I can make stuff with a knife (feather sticks, dead fall traps, shelter...). I like the craftsmanship that goes into a quality cutting tool. And I really like making them super sharp.
I use my pocket knife every day at work. I carried a multi tool on my belt for a few months: actually weeks, now that I think about it. I’m in a trade that requires large, heavy tools for the most part. I never used anything on the multi tool except the knife blade and having it on my belt drove me crazy.
I do like them though. I just got a Leatherman for a nephew in the military and they are definitely lovely pieces of work.
My "EDC" is a Spyderco Native. I've owned and lost a couple Leeks and really liked them, but chose the Spyderco simply because it was made and can be serviced (sharpened) at the Spyderco factory in Golden, CO., about 15 minutes away from my house (also, pretty much across the street from the Holidaily Brewing Co BONUS!).
My desk job mainly involves knife fights with boxes, packing materials and the occasional over packaged item in my lunch box. I almost always win but the victory is much easier with a decent knife on hand. As for personal protection? Much better to show up at a knife-fight with a (insert handgun).
re Leatherman I usually only need the knife anyway, either just to open a box or to cut a fool (just kidding, or am I?). If I need one of the tools on the Leatherman then I usually just get the actual tool, although I will say that the wire cutters are better than 90% of the Chinese crap on the shelf at the big box stores.
The whole EDC thing is definitely an attempt to masculinize the white-collar life and/or possess some sort of tools and items in a world where we can't carry swords or guns or heraldic shields.
But a good knife is better than nothing in many cases.
That’s both blindingly obvious and something that never occurred to me. Speaks volumes about my powers of perception.
I have a couple of walking sticks made by Brazos, a twisted sassafrass Brazos and a cheaper Trail Blazer made from an unidentified wood and sold by Walmart for just $15. Both are Made in the U.S.A.
When people ask me why I use a walking stick I either mention tendonitis and a tibial plateau fracture, the fact that using a staff is an old Jewish tradtion going back before Moses, or, if they aren't weenies, that you can carry a walking stick places where they won't let you carry a weapon. A 55" hardwood walking stick should be able to keep anyone who isn't carrying a firearm at bay and there are actual martial arts related to staffs and walking sticks like the French La Canne. https://www.nycsteampunk.com/bartitsu/manuals/TheWalkingStickMethodOfSelfDefence1923.pdf
I'll take a look at these.
I've carried a leatherman c33Tx (knife) daily for almost 20 years but it has screwdrivers and a bottle opener. Feel naked withouth it. The blade is almost exclusively for opening boxes.
They're just a widely useful tool to use and abuse from food prep and sharing (hey can I have some apple?), to opening packages of all sorts, to breaking boxes down (which I do use my EDC Delica for and it always sharpens up right quick on the SpyderCo SharpMaker I got to assist my unskilled self in sharpening), to being used as an inappropriate prybar or lever point, to quickly trimming something, etc.
That carrying a multiuse and flexible tool, not even for defense, that has been with mankind for thousands of years is considered odd might be more of a $CURRENT_YEAR America convenient life sort of thing.
I have and like my Leek, but for the past 15 years I've carried Scallions to the office and 95% of the rest of the time. I've given 10 as gifts as well; they're useful and tiny and wear quite well.
I'll take a look at the Scallion.
Ordered one of these last month when you wrote about it splurging on the carbon fiber model. Was surprised that it's not much bigger than the Buck 55 I've been carrying for years. Very happy with it.
Under Made in USA, has anyone yet mentioned Wright tools? Sockets, ratchets, and wrenches that they say are forged and manufactured here.
I've got a couple of Wright breaker bars and extensions and every one of them looks like it could crack a skull. Very impressed by the quality.
U guyz r bad inflooences.
I think it was mentioned in one of the tool time posts. It wasn't on my shopping list before ACF.
If any of you knife enthusiasts would like a graphic or some lettering etched on the blade or handle. my new laser can etch stainless. https://rokemneedlearts.com/images/knife.jpg BTW, that's a bread knife, not a mohel messer. Contact info: rokem@netzero.net
somewhere around here i have a 10" approx flip-open knife and scabbard i got in toledo, spain, in '57. horn or bone handle in the frame. you flip a little tab on the side and then push it against a spring to sling the knife open. it's got a scene in enamel on the blade. the seller got a half-dollar off me and drove the point of his house demonstrator just through my coin. he wanted me to do the same thing with my new purchase but i demurred. cost nearly $60 back then
Toledo, home of the swordmakers!
Holy Toledo, what a sword.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/154094549135
in nyc, we can't even order pocket knives from amazon anymore. they refuse to deliver them.
Just part and parcel of living in a major city. I wonder if I could make a living smuggling dangerous items like Kershaw Scallions into Manhattan?
Knife smuggler sounds like an honorable profession to me. It also sounds like a euphemism for sodomy.
"I was smuggling knives in my... prison wallet."