Damascus Steel Kershaw Leek Assisted Opening Knife (3" Wharncliffe Blade) with Gray Stainless Steel Handle Scales and Frame Lock

I'm not a knife guru, but I have been very pleased with this knife after carrying it daily for a year and a half. It still looks mostly brand new (see exception below). The fit and finish is superb. Everything feels very precise. The assisted opening is the best thing I've ever experienced on a knife. Its quick and easy and I haven't had it misfire in my pocket yet. The blade, for me, is a perfect balance between sharpening ease and a long lasting edge. Some notes about care. If you scrub the blade with soap and water, you will lessen the etching effect that really shows off the Damascus folds. The blade may also be more prone to some light surface rust if you wash it a lot. I mostly wipe clean with a damp cloth and keep just a touch of oil rubbed on the blade. Its not fussy and you really only need to apply oil if you wash it vigorously. I don't know if its an indication of brittleness, but I did accidently knock the knife off onto the floor. It landed point down into the hardwood floors (thankfully not my foot). As it hit, it flipped and broke the tip off the end - about 1/16-1/8". My guess is a less hard blade would have bent the tip, but not being a knife expert, I don't know. The good news is, a few bumps with the grinder and I just rounded the tip up a little at the point and it sharpened up nicely. I actually think I like the new shape better. The bladed edge curves up at the tip more like the Chive.

Love the Damascus blade keeps an edge way better than stainless and also really like the slimness of it you don’t even feel it in your pocket

I have a collection of kershaw leeks in many colors and carry one daily. The Damascus blade on this one was very rough and grainy. Kinda looked like a cheap made in china acid etched blade. The function and edge was as expected, razor sharp. I would have liked to seen it made with more folds to make the lines look tighter. I have 15 leeks and this was the first that I felt was not up to par. Just one collecters observations and I like Kershaws knives. I wish they still made the breakout or blackout. It was a automatic that was slim, well made and very fast.

All features of the roduct are correctly addressed with 5-Star precision, including the"Made in USA" statement etched into the Damascus Steel knife blade While I do not live near ocean water, the humidity here is always 85 percent or more high, so I do not have a problem rubbing a little oil on the Damascus Steel knife blade periodicall,y to prevent the possibility of rust occuring on the knifeblade.

I am really impressed by this knife: I’ve never owned a Leek, so i’m just as enamored with the knife design as I am with the materials (Damascus blade; stainless handle)... Very fun blade opening action - and I love the blade lock in case I pull it out of my pocket incorrectly - and compact design.

One of the best knives I have had, it stays sharp a long time, takes an edge easily and looks cool. The assisted opening is a nice feature and makes it a snap to open and use. Even my boss at work likes my knife. Great quality and reliability from Kershaw.

Damascus? Yeah right. It looked beautiful when I first got it, but when I put a coat of oil on it, as other reviewers said it rusted easily, the coating literally balled up and came off. Now instead of a dark blade, it looks like I’ve had it for 3 years not 3 hours!. The knife is nice otherwise, but come on, 75 bucks for a bs coating? So disappointed. DO NOT BUY THIS.

I work around the ocean a lot. Also around a lot of dirt.The Knife portion rusts quite a bit and has to be oiled pretty regularly to prevent it. I feel this is due to the highly saline area it is in a good portion of the time. The assisted opening also requires oil or else after a while it will not function for me properly this might be due to it getting dirt and dust getting in to the crevices of the knife. I have found that in my situation if I clean the knife with hot water, and a little soap sometimes, about once every 2 days and blow it out with compressed air to dry it to insure no rust will form in the parts of the knife that cannot be seen and oil it every 4 or 5 days the problems to not arise. I have used the all stainless version of this knife for much less of a price and these problems did not happen just wash it with soap and water every once and again. I just use olive oil on the knife I pour it into the pivot point of the knife and open it a couple time to spread it around all the moving parts in the knife and i just rub some of the oil on the blade then wipe it off with a paper towel. The knife holds an edge very well. I have not sharped it since I got it about 2 months ago. Still quite sharp but it is over due for sharpening as I like my knifes like a razor. I use it a lot and it is hard use for it to still be sharp this long I am surprised. Unless you want it for looks I feel the all stainless version of this knife is superior: holds and edge better, doesn't rust really, still stylish, much much cheaper. I do not regret buying the knife though. All in all very good knife for me a bit pricey though.