Recently bought 2 BM minis for me and Mrs. jtt.
Just curious, what do the Leek and Mora costs? Thanks in advance.
Kershaw Leek vs. Benchmade Mini Griptillian
- Thread starter DarylCoda
- Start date
Just curious, what do the Leek and Mora costs? Thanks in advance.
Stainless Leek with a plain blade cost me $42, and I saw it for that the other day on Amazon. You can pay more if you shop around. Mora 612, $13.
I think I paid $105 for my boy's Mini Grip; the full-size can be had for about $85. I think Cabela's wants about a buck and a quarter for the Mini.
Fleshwound
Member
Ive had the same Kershaw Leek for 3 years. Sharp as a razor and keeps its edge very well. Fast to open as too. My vote is for the Kershaw.
Fastbolt
Member
I've owned a Mini-Grip for several years (154CM). Handy. Thick-ish, but that can be good when hands are wet and/or cold. Excellent blade grind and edge/geometry and good fit & finish. Mine is pink. Why? Easy to see, for one thing ... and nobody else at the cop shop where I bought it apparently wanted anything to do with a hot pink folder, so it was priced right, compared to the black/tactical blades. 
I've been the owner of a Leek for about an hour. It's a black 1660CKT model with the DLC finish. I've wanted a Leek for my collection for a long time.
I just finished packing it back up and affixing the return shipping label (Amazon) to return it as being unsatisfactory. Hopefully, it's just an aberration, but the frame lock consistently has very minimal engagement behind the blade. Rough surfaces involved, too. Looks like it's just corner-to-corner engagement between the involved surfaces. I can manually push it over for good engagement, but that shouldn't be necessary, even for a $50 folder. Nowhere near the smooth and generous engagement of the several imported (Chinese) Kershaw Speed-Safe folders I've picked up the last couple of years.
Maybe the replacement I requested will be better.
I have some Kershaw lock-blade folders from the 70's. They're beautifully fit, finished and polished for standard production knives. Probably unfair to compare newer examples of Kershaw knives to them, though.
I've been the owner of a Leek for about an hour. It's a black 1660CKT model with the DLC finish. I've wanted a Leek for my collection for a long time.
I just finished packing it back up and affixing the return shipping label (Amazon) to return it as being unsatisfactory. Hopefully, it's just an aberration, but the frame lock consistently has very minimal engagement behind the blade. Rough surfaces involved, too. Looks like it's just corner-to-corner engagement between the involved surfaces. I can manually push it over for good engagement, but that shouldn't be necessary, even for a $50 folder. Nowhere near the smooth and generous engagement of the several imported (Chinese) Kershaw Speed-Safe folders I've picked up the last couple of years.
Maybe the replacement I requested will be better.
I have some Kershaw lock-blade folders from the 70's. They're beautifully fit, finished and polished for standard production knives. Probably unfair to compare newer examples of Kershaw knives to them, though.
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luigi1031
Member
i use to carry a leek but was a tad too slippery, i switched to a kershaw cryo II which i really like, then for the heck of it i bought a benchmade mini grip 555hg, man i wish i would have bought one sooner cant say enough good things about it. my favorite edc for sure
hangnoose
Member
LEEK VS BENCHMADE
I've been edc a leek for several years, it has all of what I'm looking for in an edc/around town knife, thin overall/ light wt/ comfortable to carry/ opens & closes with 1 hand/ a thin blade/great for opening letters and boxes/ fine for cleaning trout & birds, I remove the pocket clip & blade lock on mine & had a kydex sheath made for it to keep out pocket lint, that also fits just right in a vest pen pocket, or as a neck knife. After losing 2 of them, I wish they would make 1 in blaze orange. For any jobs bigger or heavier, it's just not made for heavy work like prying etc. For the woods/field, I prefer a large handled sheath knife with a thicker blade. Aside from being stronger & easier to keep clean & free of sand in the works, it will handle many more tasks the leek was never meant to do. 2 I like & recommend right around 20$ are the Gerber 3 3/4" rubber handled drop point (sorry no name on it but 17$ at walmart), & the Morakniv, from Sweden for app 23$ on e-bay etc. If the Schrade sharpfingers were still of the same quality and made in the USA for under 10$, I'd recommend 1 of them. So given your parameters, for you I'd go with the griptillian, I'd hate having such a thick knife in my pocket 24/7.
I've been edc a leek for several years, it has all of what I'm looking for in an edc/around town knife, thin overall/ light wt/ comfortable to carry/ opens & closes with 1 hand/ a thin blade/great for opening letters and boxes/ fine for cleaning trout & birds, I remove the pocket clip & blade lock on mine & had a kydex sheath made for it to keep out pocket lint, that also fits just right in a vest pen pocket, or as a neck knife. After losing 2 of them, I wish they would make 1 in blaze orange. For any jobs bigger or heavier, it's just not made for heavy work like prying etc. For the woods/field, I prefer a large handled sheath knife with a thicker blade. Aside from being stronger & easier to keep clean & free of sand in the works, it will handle many more tasks the leek was never meant to do. 2 I like & recommend right around 20$ are the Gerber 3 3/4" rubber handled drop point (sorry no name on it but 17$ at walmart), & the Morakniv, from Sweden for app 23$ on e-bay etc. If the Schrade sharpfingers were still of the same quality and made in the USA for under 10$, I'd recommend 1 of them. So given your parameters, for you I'd go with the griptillian, I'd hate having such a thick knife in my pocket 24/7.
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Fastbolt
Member
Yeah, from previous handling of a Leek at a store, and today's brief examination before returning the one I ordered, I felt the Leek was more of a smooth Gentleman's Pocket Knife than anything.
The smaller Cryo, Volt II, Chill and Rambler all seem less likely to slip in my hand, while the larger Volt I bought is still a bit smooth, with rounded edges. Fortunately, the size of the larger Volt gives a bit more to grasp and position in the hand.
All of my assorted CRKT & Spyderco folders have good gripping textures, as well as some acceptable blade materials and edge profiles. Some better than others, of course.
Now, some of my larger Benchmades, like the 300SN AXIS Flipper and the 810BK Osborne Contego, have a lot of solid gripping surfaces, along with some heft, width and blade length. Unfortunately, they also have longer blades than are allowed in a couple places out-of-state where I travel, so a 2.75" - 3" blade length is attractive to me for being able to carry on my driving trips to those places.
The pink Mini-Grip 154CM, a blue Spyderco Delica VG-10 and the smaller Cryo are my common choices for those visits to areas where larger locking pocket folders aren't permitted. I'm hoping the replacement Leek will be fine, in which case I'll add it to my road-trip travel choices.
Naturally, I also place a lot of emphasis on a collection of SAK's to serve as everyday practical pocket tools.
The smaller Cryo, Volt II, Chill and Rambler all seem less likely to slip in my hand, while the larger Volt I bought is still a bit smooth, with rounded edges. Fortunately, the size of the larger Volt gives a bit more to grasp and position in the hand.
All of my assorted CRKT & Spyderco folders have good gripping textures, as well as some acceptable blade materials and edge profiles. Some better than others, of course.
Now, some of my larger Benchmades, like the 300SN AXIS Flipper and the 810BK Osborne Contego, have a lot of solid gripping surfaces, along with some heft, width and blade length. Unfortunately, they also have longer blades than are allowed in a couple places out-of-state where I travel, so a 2.75" - 3" blade length is attractive to me for being able to carry on my driving trips to those places.
The pink Mini-Grip 154CM, a blue Spyderco Delica VG-10 and the smaller Cryo are my common choices for those visits to areas where larger locking pocket folders aren't permitted. I'm hoping the replacement Leek will be fine, in which case I'll add it to my road-trip travel choices.
Naturally, I also place a lot of emphasis on a collection of SAK's to serve as everyday practical pocket tools.
Fastbolt
Member
How orange would you like?
Kershaw 1660OR Leek Folding Knife (Orange) with SpeedSafe
http://www.amazon.com/Kershaw-1660O...424738781&sr=1-1&keywords=kershaw+leek+orange
Nico Testosteros
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Of the two the OP listed, I would go with the Mini Grip. That being said, a Swiss Army Knife is all you need for hiking. If you are going to build a shelter, take an axe. And that's not hiking anyway. Leave no trace.
Benchmade Mini Grip or Regular for great all around carry. If you want a great do all knife that will take what you can dish out look at the Zero Tolerance 350. Very fast deployment and you can use it without worrying about it. When I am on a tractor or in the woods, that is in my pocket.
Fastbolt
Member
Just received the replacement Leek.
Engagement between the locking bar and the blade is still very slight and unacceptable (to me) for a Speed-Safe folder costing almost $50.
I own many imported liner & frame locks that have significantly better fit and engagement, and for much less cost. I'll make do with a different steel in order to get better fit & finish.
This one is being returned, like the first one, but this time for a refund instead of another replacement.
This reminds me of how I had to return some American-made Case pocket knives because of fit & finish problems a while ago. That was surprising and disappointing, too.
Engagement between the locking bar and the blade is still very slight and unacceptable (to me) for a Speed-Safe folder costing almost $50.
I own many imported liner & frame locks that have significantly better fit and engagement, and for much less cost. I'll make do with a different steel in order to get better fit & finish.
This one is being returned, like the first one, but this time for a refund instead of another replacement.
This reminds me of how I had to return some American-made Case pocket knives because of fit & finish problems a while ago. That was surprising and disappointing, too.
Paper Maker
Member
Just bought the Mini-Grip yesterday. It appears to be a great EDC knife, got it for $88 at LGS. I have had Kershaw knives before, not the Leek, but this Benchmade appears to be the cat's ***. Really love the AXIS locking system. I got the 555HG, which has the Spyderco thumb hole.
Fastbolt
Member
Congrats.
The AXIS lock takes a little time to get used to using, but it's fast, smooth and positioned pretty well for finding it (with practice).
The AXIS lock takes a little time to get used to using, but it's fast, smooth and positioned pretty well for finding it (with practice).
The liners (frames, really) on my Leeks do not center on the heel of the blade; about half the liner engages maybe 2/3 the thickness of the blade. The liners on my other liner locks generally center on the blade. Those separate liners are likely to be much thinner than the frame of the Leek, so the the off-center Leek frame still engages he blade with more metal than the thinner liners on the other knives.
What's the point? I dunno, but your post made me curious.
gwpercle
Member
My liner locks engage on all three that I own. One did the 2/3 engagement thing and I just bent the liner over a tad, problem solved.
None have ever closed up while in use, so I'm happy.....
Gary
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Fastbolt
Member
I'd have been very satisfied with the amount of engagement you describe, and quite satisfied with 50% engagement behind the thin blade. I'd even have been happy and kept one of them if either had exhibited even 30% engagement behind the blade.
I'll simply stick with their imported Speed-Safe models I've tried, all of which, thus far, have provided really good engagement (50%-80%) the first time tried, right out of the box.
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