Are autos dead ?

[Nathan Ihrke]

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

I would not say that's true, I have a microtech daytona double edge and I use it for plenty of utility task... I trust it more than my TI frame lock DPX Hest which almost cut my finger off last week when the lock failed. It's a solid knife, you just have to realize it's not a bruiser of a knife.

 

[whetrock]

Thanks for all of the responses guys this made for some interesting discussion and debate, as for me I believe I'll stick to manual openers and flippers ( I'm not too crazy about Assisted Openers ) while I won't condemn or belittle anyone who carries an auto I just am a bit to paranoid of Murphy's Law to trust any knife with a spring or complex opening mechanism for EDC use even though I suppose that with a side opening auto or AO you could still open the knife if the spring failed I still just like the simplicity of flippers and manual openers. With all of that being said I feel that the dated laws associated with autos are nothing more than emotionally driven feel good BS introduced by a bunch of nannys heck even in the good state of OK we can own them but aren't allowed to carry them. I guess if I had a bit more free time I could be a lobbyist for the AKTI and try to get that changed just because I love freedom but I digress.

 

[anthony cheeseboro]

To paraphrase Frank Zappa, autos aren't dead, they just smell funny.

 

[Planterz]

With all of that being said I feel that the dated laws associated with autos are nothing more than emotionally driven feel good BS introduced by a bunch of nannys

Pretty much. The laws are a result of association with crime, exacerbated by Hollywood portrayals.

To paraphrase Frank Zappa, autos aren't dead, they just smell funny.

They've been hinting at the Roxy video being released on DVD for several years now. The day that finally happens will be a a great one indeed.

 

[Joshua J.]

Dead? Naw, but they are in a bit of a lull. Like everything, they will come back around. You do make some valid points. IMHO, some of the name production makers have inferior knives for the cost.

We do live in a democracy, all it takes is enough squeaky wheels. (It's just too bad that Canadians are like a bunch of koala bears, hard to wake up and even harder to get moving.)

 

[CWL]

I sure hope autos aren't dead, I just bought my first one yesterday!

 

[ToneGrail]

I think that AO knives are a superior alternative to autos. There's no safety to fiddle with and they have much less chance of opening in your pocket even without the safety since the spring keeps the blade closed.

Aside from the traditional stiletto types and the Benchmade Auto Axis knives, once an auto is deployed, the safety needs to be engaged to prevent accidental pressing of the deployment button lock, especially if it's not recessed. That's too many steps.

An AO knife locks open securely without the need to engage a safety.

If AO knives were invented in the 50s I have no doubt that they would have been considered just another type of auto alongside leverlettos, stilettos, button locks, or whatnot.

 

[Planterz]

I think that AO knives are a superior alternative to autos. There's no safety to fiddle with and they have much less chance of opening in your pocket even without the safety since the spring keeps the blade closed.

Aside from the traditional stiletto types and the Benchmade Auto Axis knives, once an auto is deployed, the safety needs to be engaged to prevent accidental pressing of the deployment button lock, especially if it's not recessed. That's too many steps.

An AO knife locks open securely without the need to engage a safety.

Assisted and autos both exist with and without safties. There's too many different auto mechanisms to lump them all together, while assisteds are almost entirely liner/framelocks, with a few exceptions (like the Spec Bump).
I have carried plunge-lock autos without safties for years without worry of them opening in my pocket or closing accidentally. The one auto I owned that I didn't feel safe carrying (A MT LCC with a worn-out sear) had a linerlock, just like many assisted knives.

If AO knives were invented in the 50s I have no doubt that they would have been considered just another type of auto alongside leverlettos, stilettos, button locks, or whatnot.

That is most likely true.

 

[djjonny]

Think the benchmades are awesome

However, where I'm from the cops hassle you if they suspect you gonna use a knife for illegal purposes

Having an auto does little to convince them otherwise

 

[Charlie Mike]

Trends come and go and then come again as retro chic. That being said, I'm practical in my collecting and carry. If it's not a bali or fixed blade, it gets wave modded if it doesn't wave already.

 

[carlito]

It might be dead to us, 'civilians', but I'm sure that among the military, law enforcement, firemen, etc..., they're quite popular.

 

[SpookyDriver]

It might be dead to us, 'civilians', but I'm sure that among the military, law enforcement, firemen, etc..., they're quite popular.

Not really. I was in the military for 30yrs and have owned a law enforcement consulting firm for 15 years. I've probably seen less than a dozen automatic knives in military/LE service during that time.

 

[Alann45]

It might be dead to us, 'civilians', but I'm sure that among the military, law enforcement, firemen, etc..., they're quite popular.

Not really. I was in the military for 30yrs and have owned a law enforcement consulting firm for 15 years. I've probably seen less than a dozen automatic knives in military/LE service during that time.

I've always thought the Mili/Leo usage was largely over-stated. I've known a lot of LEOs and most barely had an interest in guns, much less knives. They usually carried a knife, but to them it was just another tool of their job...necessary for routine tasks or cutting a seatbelt off an accident victim.

The firmen and EMTs I know seem more interested in something like a Spyderco Rescue or Assist.

I would guess an auto would be one of the last things a soldier would want to add to his loadout.

Plus, a decent dependable auto is pretty darn expensive on a LEO, fireman, EMT, or soldier's pay.

I'd really love to see some stats on what percentage of sales from auto makers go to Mili/Leo. I'd be willing to make a pretty sizeable bet that it is a very small percentage of the total sales.

 

[carlito]

That's interesting, cos in the line of duty for, let's say a fireman or a police officer, or any good samaritan who's just walking by and has to rescue someone from a burning car who's trapped by his/her seatbelt, I'd say a good Benchmade AFO 9051 auto or a Microtech LUDT would come in handy right then.

 

[SpookyDriver]

A cheap pair of rescue shears or a shroud/belt cutter is faster and safer to use for those tasks. And most cost less than $5.

For instance:

No complicated mechanism to break or malfunction, no need to open or close, and little to no risk of injuring yourself or patient when the adrenaline is pumping. And if you lose or break it, you can buy another one at any medical supply shop for less than the price of a decent cup of coffee.

 

[Charlie Mike]

My command were real dicks. During deployment as an infantryman in Mosul Iraq during the initial invasion 03-04, I ordered a dagger logo hand ground Microtech CFO2 and I was promptly ordered to stow it in my B Bag. Something about me being an ambassador and that I shouldn't be carrying such a nasty weapon (even though I usually carried a SAW or M4).

 

[Smaug]

Yeah, I think they're pretty much dead. I have several of them, but I never carry them, as it isn't worth the risk. I figure if I have to stick someone with it, I will be in a world of shit and it will not stick someone any better than a assisted opener or even thumbhole opener would.

Ditto with balisongs. I love them, they're the most fun to play with out of any knife style, and are pratical too. But they are heavily regulated, and without any good reason. On the off chance I use it for defense, I will be in for a good reaming when I get to court, and it is just not worth it.

As you said, the assisted openers open just as fast, without the cost or red tape.

I only hope the idiots in Congress don't find a way to outlaw them too.

 

[carlito]

OK, so if anyone wants to give me their protech tr3 auto, I'll take it. I'll even throw in one of my AOs.

 

[Shotgun]

I just never saw the point.

I never saw the point to flippers and AO's either.

 

[jdm61]

I think that the current automatic craze may have started when some custom makers discovered muc to their surprise that automatics were not, in fact, illegal in their state and some others. Unlike the balisong, "switchblades" were pretty thoroughly described by Federal law, so if it didn't have a button or lever, then you were okay as far as a flipper or AO was concerned unless you lived in a state that outlawed "gravity" or centrifugal opening knives and really enforced it. It also made it easier for the knife rights folks to convince some government agencies that flippers, assisted openers and one handed openers are NOT switchblades because they do not fit within the LONG established legal description of such a knife. The advantage in Florida is that you cannot carry an automatic in your pocket without a CCW as far as I can tell but you can carry a "common pocketknife" conceal or darn near any type of knife exposed. As such, when you go to a knife show in Florida, there are tons of autos for sale. One thing that may have happened with automatics is that they may have saturated the legal market. I am not sure how many states still allow them, but I am sure it is not the majority.