Anyone ever have an assisted opening knife open accidently?

orca8589

orca8589

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Jan 27, 2007
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More specifically, anyone here ever have a flipper-type assisted opener (like a Kershaw Shallot) open accidentally in your pocket?

~Chris
 
I have a leek and it's never opened on me. Knife would need to open to about 30º before assist would open it any further. It's unlikely to happen IMO.
 
Absolutley and it drew blood and cut through my pocket - I got rid of it pronto - CRKT Tiny Tighe - I blame a poor design more than assisted opening in general - some MFG's make very safe AO knive mechanisms.
 
a buddy had an assisted opener open up in his left pocket one day and cut his thumb and cut a hole in a brand new pair of pants. i'm not sure of the brand.
 
The way I carry my AOs is tip down against the back of my pocket. As an experiment I actually tried to open my ZT0350 in my pocket once (While holding my pocket out far from my leg of course!) and failed. The material of my pants keeps the knfie closed. I think the only one I would have to worry about is my Needs Work since it's stuck tip down only, but Kershaw's Speedsafe has pretty good detent so it's not an issue.
 
I dropped my Kershaw blackout from about waist height over the carpet once. The bounce it got managed to open it up. Luckily no one and nothing was injured or damaged.

Other than that instance, I've had no problem with it. That said, I prefer non AO knives.
 
I one had a kershaw blur fall out of my pocket when I was running full tilt and opened when it hit the ground. in my pocket? no.
 
I carried a leek for quite a while, and never had it open accidentally. I torqued down the lock so it wouldn't move. I carried it clip-down too, even though it was less safe that way, because it rode lower in the pocket. FWIW, I only had an auto open in my pocket once (a Microtech LCC that I played with so much that the sear wore, causing it to open on its own), and even though it was tip-up carry, I still sliced the $#% out of my pinky finger putting my hand in my pocket when it opened. At least it didn't slice my more tender bits (if you know what I mean).

These days I only own one auto and no assisted knives. The novelty wore off, and if I want a quick knife, I like the (manual) AXIS lock which is not only quick and easy to open, but just as quick and easy to close. An automatic or assisted knife is really only "safe" in the pocket if you have a lock on it, and IMO having a lock on a knife that's supposed to be quick is like buying a nice stereo for your car to listen to talk radio.
 
I've had my Bump open in my pocket a few times, but the nature of the mechanism and carry kept it from doing any damage.

I think it's a characteristic hazard of the design, but because of the "assisted" nature, a minor one. it's not like it's a spring under constant pressure.

The time the button on my Magnum auto got bumped - that ripped a hole in my pocket.
 
I don't think I've ever had a problem with an assisted opening knife accidentally deploying but the possibility concerns me. I don't think I would choose an assisted knife anymore as I really don't see
any advantages for my intended uses. Spyderco's spydie hole allows me to deploy my blade just as quick as an assisted opening knife without the potential safety issues.
 
CRKT Badger, with the Fire-Safe mechanism. Caught myself before it did any damage, when it opened in my pocket.
 
Even a one hand opener can open accidently . My knife sits at the bottom of my pocket and my keys ,on a simple ring got into the same pocket. I've had two knives open when the key ring caught the thumb stud as I withdrew the keys ! Easy fix , just shorten the stud .
 
Reeek said:
Absolutley and it drew blood and cut through my pocket - I got rid of it pronto - CRKT Tiny Tighe - I blame a poor design more than assisted opening in general - some MFG's make very safe AO knive mechanisms.
Click to expand...

Mine did that too... I just took out the spring bar and it works pretty well as a manual. I also had a Kershaw Leek open in my pocket once from a bike accident, but I've never had a Kershaw A/O open in my pocket accidentally under normal circumstances.
 
With tip up and blade spine at the edge of the pocket, it should be impossible. with tip up and handle spine at the edge of the pocket, it's very likely.
 
I've never had an assisted knife open in the pocket, although my manual Tenacious did that to me on a couple occasions.
 
I rotate quite a few AO knives just dropped in my pocket and have never had an issue. Leek, Speed Bump, Boa...tip up, tip down, whatever it happens to do while riding in my pocket. I don't see how any of these would "accidentally" open.
 
Yup. Had a Kershaw Leek open up in my pocket. I reached in to grab the knife (it wasn't clipped to my pocket at the time) and got bit by the tip. It was a deep cut. Lesson learned.
 
I had a cheap gun show tip-down-only AO flipper open up in my pocket multiple times and cut me before I ditched the sucker. The flipper kept on pressing up against the seam of my pocket and opening the knife.

I've had a Kershaw Whirlwind open up when I dropped it on the floor, but it's never opened up in my pocket.

In my experience, the cheap gun-show knives are designed poorly with a weak detent to keep the blade closed, which is why they tend to open up accidentally more so than quality AO knive.s
 
I carry a Blur a lot and a speedbump and never had them open. My dad had a Chive open in his pocket and he sliced his pinky pretty good. I have a feeling he was fiddling around with it, it opened and it scared him so he reacted by pulling his hand out of his pocket.
 
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