Am I The Only One Who Can't Stand Thumb Studs?

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James Starr

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I find thumb Studs annoying as hell! They make using a pinch grip difficult, they make sharpening challenging and they look like warts! Yet it is difficult to find a good folding knife without them. Even flippers usually have redundant thumb warts. There are so many otherwise great knives that I won't even consider buying because they have thumb warts. My buying options are so limited that I want to cry, and I'm not even a millennial! They best option that I have found is the Civivi Elementum. I love the Elementum in S35VN, but I like to switch up my edc sometimes, and the only other option I own is a $20 Effinggrow in D2. By the by, it is the best $20 knife I've seen, for what it's worth, but it's still a $20 knife. I do also have a Gerber Gator in 154CM, but it's not exactly an EDC option. It is a really great knife for what it is though. If any knife makers are reading this, please help me spend my money!
 
YES! You are the ONLY person in the world who can't stand thumbstuds! I've researched this for years, and couldn't find another person anywhere who felt that way.

Glad I could answer that for you.

:)
 
stonproject said:
There's probably thousands of production knives without thumb studs these days.
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Well Spiderco probably makes a thousand models, so I guess you're not wrong, but I've never been a big fan of Spidey ergonomics. Nevertheless, 7 out of 10 of bladhq's top selling edc options in 2020 have thumb studs. The ones without are the Elementum, which I own, the Sheepdog, which I am considering and the Spidey para2, which I might give a shot. Perhaps I exaggerated a little, but I haven't found many options that appeal to me. I doubt that there are actually thousands of production folders in total, and I have only found a hand full of what I would consider "good" knives without studs. But thanks for pointing that out. I guess I should have looked under whatever rock you found those thousands of options you found before posting.
 
rje58 said:
YES! You are the ONLY person in the world who can't stand thumbstuds! I've researched this for years, and couldn't find another person anywhere who felt that way.

Glad I could answer that for you.

:)
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Believe it or not, I did search for others who felt the same way as I do. I found a short thread from eight years ago and another from thirteen years ago. But "lol" I guess.
 
James Starr said:
Well Spiderco probably makes a thousand models, so I guess you're not wrong, but I've never been a big fan of Spidey ergonomics. Nevertheless, 7 out of 10 of bladhq's top selling edc options in 2020 have thumb studs. The ones without are the Elementum, which I own, the Sheepdog, which I am considering and the Spidey para2, which I might give a shot. Perhaps I exaggerated a little, but I haven't found many options that appeal to me. I doubt that there are actually thousands of production folders in total, and I have only found a hand full of what I would consider "good" knives without studs. But thanks for pointing that out. I guess I should have looked under whatever rock you found those thousands of options you found before posting.
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On the blade hq website use the filter and go to the opening style selection, there's nearly 7000 flippers, I'd bet most of those don't have thumb studs.
 
jfk1110 said:
Depends on the thumbstud! I dislike most but love the ones Benchmade uses on their Winery models!!View attachment 1477657
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I was wondering if perhaps it was just the thumb studs I've had experience with. I've always wanted a Benchmade, but I never could find one I like without thumb studs. Maybe I will try the one you suggest, but it's a lot of money to spend on an experiment. Anyway, thanks for the suggestion.
 
If you can meet up with some local knifeknuts, or have a decent knife store nearby, maybe you can check them out that way - before you part with the money.

James Starr said:
I've always wanted a Benchmade, but I never could find one I like without thumb studs. Maybe I will try the one you suggest, but it's a lot of money to spend on an experiment.
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Some thumbstuds are worse than others. Some redundant ones you can even remove if you want to. I know I did that on an old Kershaw Cryo before I gave it away. If they arent pressed on you may be able to just unscrew them with some pliers.

On the other hand, there are tons of great production knives made now without thumstuds. Of course many people have already pointed out the entirety of the Spyderco catalogue as an option. On top of that I own a sheepsfoot Benchmade griptilian in 20cv which is excellent using an opening hole. I also have a Benchmade mini Loco that uses a similar opening hole albeit more oblong. Then there is companies like Giant Mouse and their ace line that has opening holes like the Ace Grand (fantastic knife) the Ace Biblio and a new knife that they are just dropping now.

Other than that, there are plenty Civivi models. The Praxis, Shredder, Elementum (as you mentioned) and Ortis are the 4 that i personally own and none of them have thumbstuds.

Additionally Ferrum Forge has started making production blades in conjunction with WE knives like the Stinger and the Gent both are great EDC blades with no thumbstuds.

If you hunt around some you can find some very compelling models without thumbstuds now. We really are spoiled with choice these days.
 
jideta said:
just grind em off
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Actually, that's a reasonable solution, or better still, just unscrew them. I still open old-school lock backs by pinching the blade between my thumb and middle finger to start the motion and finishing with just my thumb pressing against the blade. Quite easily done with an axis-lock Benchmade. Of course, you will still have a hole in your blade.

And by the way, I don't much care for thumb studs, either.
 
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