The Kershaw Leek 1660 is a Ken Onion design that has sold in huge numbers for two decades and still defines the slim, dressy assisted flipper. Its 3-inch Sandvik 14C28N blade rides Kershaw's SpeedSafe assist in a 4-inch closed, 3 oz package that disappears into a pocket. KnifeInformer scored it 79%, praising the slicing geometry and the price-to-performance while flagging the knife's one universal weakness: a needle tip fragile enough that owners report snapping it. It is the most elegant and affordable knife here, well suited to light office and EDC tasks, but that delicate point keeps it out of hard-use territory.
Full review
A three-inch blade in a four-inch handle
Two decades of sales have not dulled the appeal, and it is obvious the moment the knife is in a pocket. KnifeInformer, which scored it 79%, described the slim profile as minimalist design at its best, and the proportions are why: a 3-inch blade folding into a 4-inch closed handle at 3 oz is slim enough to vanish in dress slacks. BetterPocketKnife, at 4.5 out of 5, and BladeReviews both treat that refined outline as the knife's signature.
It is fundamentally a slicer. The blade stock is thin and the grind thins it further, so out of the box it bites hard into cardboard and packaging. For mail, boxes and general light carry the geometry is difficult to beat, and the understated stainless finish makes it one of the few knives equally at home in an office.
SpeedSafe, the frame lock and a legal grey area
The assist is Ken Onion's SpeedSafe. KnifeInformer noted it makes the knife so easy to open that it comes close to skirting the line between legal and illegal assisted mechanisms, which is worth checking against local knife law before buying. BladeReviews reported the action still opens with a satisfying snap after thousands of flips. A push on the thumb stud or a pull on the flipper tab and the blade is out and locked.
Lockup is a frame lock that KnifeInformer found works perfectly: secure when open, easy to close one-handed. The all-steel handle gives the Leek its dressy character and is also what makes it slipperier than a textured G-10 grip when wet.
Sandvik 14C28N at well under eighty dollars
The current Leek runs Sandvik 14C28N, the same Swedish steel as the CIVIVI Yonder. KnifeInformer places it in the upper mid-range and calls the result a formidable price-to-performance ratio, which is the whole proposition: a refined, USA-made assisted folder for well under $80. The steel takes a keen edge, resists corrosion in a pocket and sharpens easily, all of which suit a precision slicer. It trails the CPM-S30V in the Benchmade Bugout 535 and the S35VN in the Knafs Lander 2 on edge retention, which is the expected trade at this price.
The tip snaps, and every reviewer says so
The Leek's defining weakness is its point. KnifeInformer warned the tip can be incredibly fragile, snapping off under even moderate pressure. BladeReviews called it very precise but somewhat fragile. BetterPocketKnife observed that the tip has very little steel and seems like it will be very fragile for anything other than light use. Owners break it doing mundane things; this is not a prying knife, and side load will cost you the last few millimetres of blade.
KnifeInformer also found the edge prone to rolling under tougher cutting, so the knife wants care rather than force. Against the Spyderco Para Military 2, whose point is already thin, the Leek is still the more delicate of the two, which makes it the least suited knife in this group to anything beyond light work.
A dress knife to carry alongside a tougher one
The Leek makes most sense as a complement rather than a replacement. Where the Bugout 535, Para Military 2, Lander 2 and Yonder are all do-everything folders at various weights, the Leek is a specialist in slim elegance and fast deployment, and plenty of people own one alongside a workhorse precisely because it fills the dress-carry slot the others cannot. If you are hard on knives or need to pry, buy the Para Military 2 instead; if you want something similarly priced but tougher, the Yonder has the sturdier blade shape.
Strengths
- +SpeedSafe assisted opening flips the slim blade open fast and one-handed
- +Sandvik 14C28N blade offers an excellent price-to-performance ratio
- +Very thin slicing geometry bites into cardboard and packaging with ease
- +Slim 0.31-inch stainless handle and 3 oz weight make it pocket-friendly and dressy
- +Frame lock holds a rock-solid lockup and is hard to defeat once open
Watch-outs
- −The needle tip is notoriously fragile and can snap off under modest side load
- −Edge can roll, so the blade needs care during tougher cutting
- −All-steel handle is slipperier than G-10 in wet conditions
- −Assisted opening sits close to the legal line for some local knife laws
How it compares
The Kershaw Leek 1660 is the slimmest, dressiest knife in this group and the only one with spring-assisted SpeedSafe deployment. Like the CIVIVI Yonder it uses budget-friendly 14C28N steel, trailing the Benchmade Bugout 535's CPM-S30V and the Knafs Lander 2's S35VN. Its needle tip is far more delicate than the Spyderco Para Military 2's already-thin point, so it is the least suited here to anything beyond light cutting.
Rating sources
“Sandvik 14C28N stainless steel sits firmly in the upper mid-range category. Basically, it represents a formidable price-to-performance ratio.”
“The Leek's tip has very little steel and seems like it will be very fragile for anything other than light use.”
“The knife opens with a satisfying 'snap', even after thousands of flips.”
Our 4.1 score is the average of these published ratings. Ratings marked * were derived from the reviewer’s written analysis or video transcript — the publisher didn’t print an explicit numeric score, so we inferred one from their own words. Click through to verify. More about methodology.
