I used Kershaw knives almost exclusively for over a decade. I’ve had a bunch of different models over the years. They tend to offer consistent quality and they have excellent customer service. I rather like the Dividend. It feels like a superior successor to the Leek but I’m not crazy about 420 HC at that price. Due to recent changes in the market, it runs into some stiff competition in the $30-50 range. Once you get around $30 and up, I’d definitely recommend checking out Tangram, Civivi, and some of the other new quality budget makers from China.
As far as classic Kershaw designs in 8Cr13Mov, my favorite is still the Clash. It cuts well and is quite comfortable in my hand. It suffers the same problem as a lot of other Kershaws in that not everyone is going to love that clip. If you want a more streamlined deep-carry clip, you can call Kershaw. I’ve found that the clip from the Kershaw Brookline fits the Clash perfectly.
I’m not super into your list, only because I prefer having fewer knives with better steel choices, but I did recently run across one that checks a lot of my boxes and is Kershaw (your specialty):
:+1: … I know what you mean. I have not bought a new one in several years. Then I innocently looked at their site the other day… :person_facepalming: Low & behold I find the Sebenza has progressed to 31 lately. It has been a struggle of resistance ever since. :money_mouth_face:
They are honestly fantastic knives. A rare combination of simplicity & well thought out perfection.
I carried a fancy version of the Leek for years. It was my “office carry” and served well enough in that role. However, there are three things about the Leek that I don’t like.
1. First is the little safety doodad. It shouldn’t have been a necessary feature but mine also had a weak detent and could be edged out slightly before the assist became active. Given the blade shape, that could mean just enough to bite if the safety wasn’t engaged. I came to hate this.
2. Second is the pocket clip. For the kind of carry and situations where I wanted the Leek, this was the wrong kind of clip. I often ended up carrying it loose in a pocket, which isn’t always very comfortable.
3. This is the fancy anodized aluminum that I was always worried about scratching. This is only a problem on some models of the Leek.
At the end of the day, I feel like the Dividend in decent steel is a good replacement for the Leek. Unless you really love the blade shape on the Leek, the Dividend will often a better choice. The Dividend can also be had with a deep-carry loop-over which makes carrying it a dream. It works well either tip-up in a pants pocket or tip-down in a sturdy enough shirt pocket or inside breast pocket of a suit or jacket.
I have a CF/Alu version with just a plain satin blade and it’s awesome. I carried it for years. My only gripe is either I suck at sharpening it or the blade is profiled at such a sharp/thin angle that it dulls too fast if I carry it every single day.
I ended up getting another Protech in thicker blade and different steel and it fixes that problem but it’s WAY too thick and bulky for anything but jeans (IMO):
I’ve had a Cryo II and a Spline in the past, both were fantastic knives. I’ve since upgraded to a ZT0456CF Sprint run, don’t think I’ll find a better knife to replace this one in my pocket everyday.
I’m going to continue hijacking this thread cause I got some good suggestions.
I decided against the Leek because of the tip lock, frame shape, and clip. It did come in good steel options and other ergos seemed very good and the price was right.
I was still on the fence with the Dividend but it’s hard to tell how wide that blade is when closed.
I ended up with a Zero Tolerance 0450 ( ) cause it made even better use of space with a smaller footprint and larger blade with Ti handle and instant gratification and low price on Amazon.
The fun starts and stops there.
The second I unbox I instantly think “this is the size i’m looking for”. I had also read that if you call and ask nicely Kershaw/ZT and many other brands will send deep carry pocket clips if they have one that fits your non deep carry knife (for free usually).
Well the fun stops there. I couldn’t even flip open the blade. It fits so snugly inside the handle I couldn’t manually pull it either and there is no thumb stud for the 3rd option. Needless to say the harder I tried to open it the more it would not budge. The reason was because I was pressing on the F’ing frame lock. The harder I tried to open it the more I pressed on the lock, lol.
I did finally mostly train myself to hold it in such a way as to not interfere with the lock and it flips right open quickly but it’s not where my hand wants to go casually and the knife is so thin there’s not much room for error.
Will carry it and practice opening it some and see if I can get used to this.