Are autos dead ?

They aren't legal where I live so I don't want to mess with owning any. Kershaw Speedsafe is legal here as far as I know, so if I want assisted opening that's what I go for.
 
I want a switchblade but they are illegal here. :( I like spring assisted knives cuz they are the next best thing and they are legal in the US. :D
 
I have a couple of autos that work their way into my rotation occasionally, overall though I wouldn't trust them with certain tasks though, especially since the one is an OTF.
 
SpringAssisted said:
I want a switchblade but they are illegal here. :( I like spring assisted knives cuz they are the next best thing and they are legal in the US. :D
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To paraphrase Bill Shakespeare, a switchblade by any other name would fire as hard. How the industry managed to get spring-assisted flippers declared legal is beyond me. Aside from the location of their firing mechanisms, I really can't tell spring-assisted flippers and side-opening switchblades apart. And I also don't know how manufacturers can get away with charging so much for moving the firing mechanism from one location on a knife to another. So I don't mind that side-opening switchblades are illegal here in LaLa Land. I'm perfectly happy with my SAO flippers. :)
 
I really enjoy autos, and I'm able to purchase and cary them legally. That said, they really aren't worth the money to me. Several have come and gone, and the only one I have left is a Microtec which I never cary because it's too heavy.

I think it's absurd that auto knives are illegal. They have no "tactical" advantage over any other knife for hurting someone, though they do have some advantages for accessibility in everyday use. If you look at the old Shrade Walden catalogs you'll see a large number of switchblades marketed as "safety knives"...back before people thought of a switchblade as a weapon.
 
I could legally own/carry an auto in Utah but why? I think they're cool and I think about buying one every now and then... ...thought long and hard about a Spyderco Citadel. But besides being cool to play with I can't think of a reason to buy one.

Under stress especially I think I can pull out and deploy a Para 2 faster, maybe much faster, than pulling out a Citadel, deactivating the safety (which I would carry engaged) and deploying it. Fine motor skills, like the ones you use to manipulate safety switches and tiny buttons tend to go bye-bye under stress.

I still like autos and there are places to buy them without much hassle but so far I've resisted getting one. I do like Assisted Opening knives, not sure why people don't care for them but they seem to have the speed of an auto without the small controls and risk of pocket deployment.
 
I don't quite understand the comments about overly high prices for autos and low quality steel.


Granted, MTs are absurdly expensive, no news there.

Protechs can be had for under $200 and are quality products. Most made with 154-CM. Sure, if you want more exotic materials, the price will be a lot higher.

Spyderco's Embassys and discontinued Citadels can be had for $120 or less. S30V, made in the US, and typical Spydie quality.

Even SOG has the TAC series, AUS-8A, around $100.​


As to practicality:


Personally I've got questions about how practical autos or even AOs are in emergency and/or defensive situations. They both seem to violate the KISS principle and assume Murphy was an optimist.
There are an awful lot of folders that can be brought into service one-handed without worrying if a spring or button will fail.
For reliability and ease of use, something like a Street Beat would seem a better choice.​


Hard to buy? Not really. Unless you're in New York, its pretty easy to get what you want.

Knife laws in general are confusing, conflicting, and basically silly.
Auto prohibitions came into existence because a few senators and reps wanted some press time and folks were getting skeered by what they saw in West Side Story, Rebel Without a Cause, and other teen delinquent "horror" films back in the day.
Fortunately, assisted openers now are more acceptable, due in large part to a lot of work by industry groups that made the effort and incurred the expense, to get those changes made by a few more reasonable politicos.
What the practical difference between an AO and an auto is eludes me, but I'm not going to complain, at least we are making progress.
 
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Thank God Florida doesn't regulate owning them, although you do need a Concealed Carry license to have any knife hidden on your person. The biggest problem I'm finding is that every one I like is sold out everywhere :-(
 
I would be all over the auto/Bali forums if I could carry one. I can open any of my one handed knives faster than a Bali and just as fast as an auto it's stupid.
 
i would say otf knives are dead because they have 1 function and that is to walk up behind a guy and stab him in the neck when he is not looking. their not strong enough to actualy fight with and their far from a utility knife. i still like a well made auto like the benchmade 9050 or the 5000 the problem is their thick and heavy so i almost always choose a good manual knife. any speed you gain in opening you loose in closeing the knife. i would say the best reason to cary an auto is for your week side cary since it is easy to operate with your off hand
 
After reading this thread, I played with a Kershaw Breakout I have tried to sell and trade off for a while. Realized I absolutely love it and can't part with it lol. Weighs 2.5 oz, it's thinner than any knife ive ever handled, well built, and when it comes out you better be holding on. It comes out faster than everything but my waved knifes. It's amazing how simple the design is, and that allows it to carry so well. Only down side is the 60-70 price, but given the design and steel it's not bad, compared to a lot of non autos even.
 
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imbryan715 said:
i would say otf knives are dead because they have 1 function and that is to walk up behind a guy and stab him in the neck when he is not looking. their not strong enough to actualy fight with and their far from a utility knife. i still like a well made auto like the benchmade 9050 or the 5000 the problem is their thick and heavy so i almost always choose a good manual knife. any speed you gain in opening you loose in closeing the knife. i would say the best reason to cary an auto is for your week side cary since it is easy to operate with your off hand
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Most OTFs aren't actually strong enough to open against someone and cause serious harm. Most would jam after going in about an inch or less.
 
Alann45 said:
I don't quite understand the comments about overly high prices for autos and low quality steel.

Granted, MTs are absurdly expensive, no news there.

Protechs can be had for under $200 and are quality products. Most made with 154-CM. Sure, if you want more exotic materials, the price will be a lot higher.

Spyderco's Embassys and discontinued Citadels can be had for $120 or less. S30V, made in the US, and typical Spydie quality.

Even SOG has the TAC series, AUS-8A, around $100.
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The issue I have with this is that AUS8 for $100 and 154cm for $200 are overpriced. AUS8 isn't very good steel and certainly not worth $100 in any form. You can get an Ontario RAT folder in AUS8 for $30. Why spend over 3 times as much to get the same steel in an auto? You can get knives with superior VG-10 for $50 - half the cost of a SOG auto in AUS8. Same goes for 154cm. Why spend $200 on the auto when you can get folders (ZT for one) or even custom fixed blades (I'm thinking of Snody knives for example) done in 154cm and made in the USA for way less than $200. The Spydercos are a decent price for s30v, but when you get down to it there aren't really any advantages to having an auto over other knives except that you can deploy them with one hand. It's easy enough to open Spyderco or Kershaw knives with one hand and you can get steel equal to or better than what you can get in an auto for less money.

I legality or illegality is a huge reason why people don't buy or use autos, but I think materials used and concerns about blade play, etc., are what keep people who could legally own autos from purchasing them. I don't see any people on here all excited to blow $100 on an auto knife with AUS8 steel to use for EDC tasks.
 
I have given up on butterfly knives & autos long ago,where i live they cant be carried so ive ignored them completely.One thing that is going to cause trouble for the auto world is the cheap knockoffs that more & more criminals are getting arrested with .Those cheap junk copies of microtechs & others, & they are easily affordable.if theres enough of an epidemic of these bad apple knives & people, laws will change for the worse....
 
I own two autos, not counting a couple cheapie Mexican switchblades I got ahold of in the '70s that don't work anymore. The real autos I own are both "California legal," meaning the blade is 2" or less. One is the Runt made by Pro-Tech and the other is the semi-custom(?) "Shark's Tooth" by DKD. The Pro-Tech's blade is 154CM, and the DKD's is ATS-34. Their actions are very strong and both are high-quality.

However, I don't carry them. Even at legal length, I'm not sure some cop wouldn't make a big deal out of it, if he somehow found it on me. Besides, even with their quality, I prefer to use manual one-handers; less to possibly go wrong. I enjoy having the autos for the novelty and the 'fun factor', and I sometimes use them around the house. I also own some AO knives, but I carry manuals over them, too.
Jim
 
Having carried, used, and can legally carry and own them (mil.) my opinion is that they simply fall into a niche like anything else. They tend to either be very cool pieces for the collector or casual user or unique tools for a specific use. I usually carry an Emerson folder because they are robust and rugged, not something most autos are known for. However, when in very cold and/or wet conditions I have opted for an automatic at times.
 
Fanglekai said:
AUS8 isn't very good steel and certainly not worth $100 in any form.
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Nonsense. AUS8 is very good steel, regardless of how much people want to bash it. I do agree that a $100 knife in AUS8 would have to be something pretty special to justify the expense vs. the materials to remain a good value, though. But there are lots of knives out there that accomplish just that.
 
Autos dead, "Hell no"!!. There are more quality autos available now than in recent history. I've looked at and handled a lot of Micro Tech's, Protech's, Benchmade's, Piranha's, and others.
There is still a huge demand and it seems to be increasing.
 
good point...compare the zt or others that open quicker than the side openng autos...what a outdated law.

otf i'm not sure...i do know they are not cheap...how crazy is it that you can carry a firearm but not a knife like that?
 
imbryan715 said:
i would say otf knives are dead because they have 1 function and that is to walk up behind a guy and stab him in the neck when he is not looking. their not strong enough to actualy fight with and their far from a utility knife.
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It's been a while since I've read anything as ignorant and absurd as this. A knife is a tool, and an OTF auto is merely a knife. A knife can be used as a weapon, and any knife can be used as such. It's clearly obvious that you've never held an OTF auto in your life. If you have, you would know that your "scenario" is completely ridiculous. There are 2 kinds of OTFs, single action and double action. S/A autos are fully sprung along its action, but the strength of the spring, while certainly enough to cause injury if you're dumb enough to put flesh in the way, is a small fraction of the force a motivated individual can do with his own muscles. Put more plainly, if a guy is going to stab someone with a S/A OTF, he'll just stab him, rather than expecting the spring to do all the work. Then there's double action OTFs. These "coast" along the action after the initial spring, and stop if anything substantial is put in front of it. Most won't even lock up if you put a single piece of paper in front of the blade. They'll put a neat little hole in you if you're dumb enough to fire it into flesh, but again, using your actual muscles will do many, many times more damage.

You clearly have absolutely no clue what you're talking about.
 
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