Quick look: Leatherman Skeletool KB knife

PostedAug 20, 2017 at 11:02 am

I lost my Benchmade Griptilian pocket knife a couple weeks ago. That hurt. I’ve had it for years and it was my first choice for everyday carry and hiking. I didn’t want to spend $100 for a replacement to lose again and I knew I could get by with something smaller, lighter and less expensive and the search began.

I have a couple Leatherman products and came across the Leatherman Skeletool KB knife (see http://www.leatherman.com/skeletool-kb-832385.html ) and thought I would give it a try. $25 later I was an owner. it does also come in a semi-serrated version as the Skeletool KBx (see http://www.leatherman.com/skeletool-kbx-501.html )

The specs

It has the attributes I was looking for: a locking blade, stainless steel, pocket clip, small size for everyday carry, light weight and inexpensive. It serves it purpose to cut things. 99% of my pocket knife use is mundane chores like opening a box, trimming line, basic repairs and whittling a bit of wood. The light weight and slim profile make it barely noticeable it in my pocket and it folds to the length of a finger.

Construction is much like the Style and Skeletool family of tools. It has a frame lock, a large and adjustable pivot point, stainless clip with a bottle opener and the handle is made with what appears to be aluminum and rolled stainless steel. I like the grip and it feels secure with a good forefinger indent. The lock is right handed as any other frame lock knife I’ve seen. I’m a lefty and used to such things. My old Benchmade had the Axis lock that is very ambidextrous. Oh well. It does lock securely and makes this sort of knife one step up for simple slip-lock folder pocket knives like the Swiss Army knives, Sodbusters and the like.

The blade is 420HC stainless steel. It is a relatively soft steel and not considered a premium blade material. I equate it with a Swiss Army blade steel for quality and it is certainly serviceable and corrosion resistant and is far easier to sharpen than the 154CM steel of my missing Benchmade and of course at 25% of the cost. It is roughly finished with the milling/grind marks visible. It came out of the box sharp and ready to use. I did adjust the pivot tension a bit and added a drop of Trilflow oil.

So it’s a keeper. It will make a fine trail knife, opening dehydrated food packages, trimming line, making repairs and robust enough to shave a stick for tinder and scrape a firesteel.

I have a Skeletool multitool that is pliers-based and has interchangeable driver bits and a near identical blade design to the KB. at 5.2 ounces I find to too heavy and bulky of everyday carry and hiking, but I do take it along on back road bike trips.

I’ve had a Leatherman Style CS for years and carried it as a scissors-based tool on my hiking “survival keychain” with a firesteel, whistle, tinder capsule and a AA based LED flashlight. I think the KB is a perfect mating for this combination.

Leatherman KB knife: