1/2 stops, needed, liked, disliked...?

I prefer half stops myself. I think this is partly because most of my EDC slip joints have them and I've grown accustomed to them. When I carry one without half stops it feels strange when I use it.

I have a few knives that have springs like a bear trap. I'd be afraid of them if they didn't have half stops.
 
I don't much care for them either. I just don't like having to open my knives twice. One fluid motion- that should be all.
 
I prefer half stops, they've saved my skin (literally) more than once. Like last week when I was installing a front door at a customer's house. I needed to punch a mark in the fiberglass to drill, and didn't have my awl handy, so I opened my jack and pressed the point to the door, rotating the knife a bit to make a mark. Of course I pressed a bit too hard and the knife snapped shut, stopping at the half stops. If it weren't for them I'd have likely been working the rest of the day with a piece of duct tape holding my index finger together. It's when you do stupid things that they really come in handy:o:D
Seeing as I use use my knives hard and regularly, I really appreciate the extra work that goes into 'em.

Eric
 
I like half stops for the added complication in construction but I don't find it useful in knives with proper spring tension. If the tension is too strong I like it, if it's a smooth opening blade it is distracting. My Rough Rider Whittler (worth every penny of $10) doesn't have them and I'd give the blade tension at maybe 6-7 nor does my K.R. Johnson which is a 5+ but comfortable.
 
I just can't open a knife fully starting from completely closed using a nail nick in one motion. My wrist just doesn't rotate that far around and I suspect most peoples don't. I think even without a half stop people start with the nail nick and once open part way stop and shift to a pinch grip. When doing this I have had blades slip on me and snap closed...the half stop prevents this from happening.
 
Some great comments & some I didn't really give as much thought to, until now. Thank you.

After hearing some of these, I've come to some conclusions, but admit, they strictly are "my" observations & opinions.

Especially after having 2 GECs, one being a Scout, I agree that 1/2 stops seem to help & are nice on larger & stiffer springs. In a knife w/o stiff springs & especially smaller blades, it isn't necessary & "seems" to get in the way. However, I do appreciate the 1/2 stop on the 1 GEC I ended up keeping, a wharncliffe Barlow. While the 1/2 stop isn't needed so much on the main blade, it sure helps on the little clip-point. That one's STIFF.

I also agree that 1/2 stops are nicer on collector models that don't really see use. Again, just my opinion only.
 
I like them alot. Knives without them don't bother me but if I had my way all my knives would have them.
 
I have 3 custom slippies, and all have 1/2 stops. I like them on the knives I have.
 
I have some with half stops, honestly I don't have much of an opinion. I don't mind them most of the time, although on some of the smaller ones they do seem a little obtrusive. I guess I don't have any slippys with heavy enough springs that I worry about it closing on me in an out of control fashion. When I need a knife I open it, and if there is a half stop ok, if not still ok. When I close a knife, same thing. I just hold onto it all the way, both directions, don't really think about it. I do appreciate the extra attention to detail it takes to do the half stop and get it right but operationally I guess I just don't have much of a preference.

Syn
 
I find even when making them (what knifehead said) you need to be extra careful when a knife has them. I've been bit more by knives with them than without, just the other day I had a 3 1/8" swayback give me a nasty deep one by not being "extra careful".
From a makers point of being more difficult yes but not much. If the knife is designed with one it will usually be fairly close at fit up and its not a lot of trouble. There are certain patterns I almost never put them on.
Ken,
 
Absintheur said:
I just can't open a knife fully starting from completely closed using a nail nick in one motion. My wrist just doesn't rotate that far around and I suspect most peoples don't. I think even without a half stop people start with the nail nick and once open part way stop and shift to a pinch grip. When doing this I have had blades slip on me and snap closed...the half stop prevents this from happening.
Click to expand...

You know I tried opening a knife today and watched my hand to see how I did it just to see if that was true. I found that I maintained the same hold on the nail nick all the way through. I found that I move both hands so that I don't perform the entire rotation with one hand. Ah well, there's one in every crowd, I guess.
 
Question: Are there any stockmans with half-stops? I especially wouldn't like that. I appreciate the absence of them on my case medium stockman.
 
Capt. Carl said:
Question: Are there any stockmans with half-stops? I especially wouldn't like that. I appreciate the absence of them on my case medium stockman.
Click to expand...

None of mine do, but one of the fellas that has a better collection would be able to give you a more complete answer.

I have stockmans made by
Buck
Camillus
Camillus-Buck
Queen
Schrade
 
Hi,

I owned, (and lost), a lot of Schrade stockmen back in the day when I was growing up. I can't recall ever having half-stops on one.

Out of fun, I opened and closed a Buck Trapper without half-stops, and like knarfeng, I do a two handed motion also. And my grip never changes either. So there is at least two of us oddballs.:)

dalee
 
The only slippie in my small collection that has half-stops is my red bone SS Case Peanut, I actually like them, it gives the knife a more precise, finished feel

as far as opening and closing a slippie goes, I tend to use the nail nick through the entire arc of the blade for opening, and as far as closing goes, I've never been bitten when closing a slippie, my old Boy Scout totin' chip training reflexes are heavily ingrained....

with the slippie open, I hold the handle scale in one hand, fingers holding just the edges of the handle, far clear of the closing path of the blade, with the edge facing down towards the ground, I place my other hand flat against the spine of the blade, both hands flat, I then carefully pivot my palms down and towards each other, allowing the knife to snap shut on it's own

in my 29 years of knife use, I have never been bitten by a closing slipjoint, that old Scout training works well.... ;)

I have, however, been bitten plenty of times by being slightly careless around locking knives, the Spyderco Dodo is extra nasty, especially because the ball lock allows you to drop the blade closed by simply pulling back the ball, there have been times when I left my pinky just barely inside the blade's closing arc, and the Dodo has a rather vicious bite....
 
I generally like them. I do think the Douk Douk would be a pretty scary knife to use without them.
 
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