Are Flipping knives a fad?

Cjwknives

Cjwknives

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Apr 27, 2016
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I have only been collecting knives a little over a year now, my first knife of my collection was a Benchmade Barrage but what got me interested was a Todd Begg Bodega flipper it was owed to me direct from Todd and after seeing vids of that knife the fun started.
My question is when did flipper knives become so popular,what maker was the first to start making them that turned into a big success, also if people think this "fad" (as I have heard some people call it) has harmed or helped the knife world, and if you think flippers will always be popular.
I love all my flippers but have noticed my taste has changed to non flippers don't get me wrong I still have some flippers on my list that I have to get but for the most part my list consists of non flippers when before almost my whole list was flippers.
Thanks CJ




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Considering the flipper has been around since 1999. I wouldn't say it's a fad that is going away any time soon.
 
I doubt it's a fad. It's kinda like asking if the axis lock is a fad or if the spydie hole is a fad. They are all effective ways of blade deployment. It's all about user preffence.

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Flippers started with Kit Carson from what I can find, the M16 was an early if not the first mass market flipper and came out in 1999.

In the end its just another opening method, it reached its peak recently and many of the higher end knives are flippers, so its a bit of a fad for sure. But I dont think flippers will disappear anytime soon. Companies make what sells, if they stop selling then companies will move on.

Personally im not a huge fan of the hard detent flipper only knives that are popular now, but many people do.
 
tussery said:
Considering the flipper has been around since 1999. I wouldn't say it's a fad that is going away any time soon.
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Oh wow I didn't know they have been around that long. Do you know who was the first successful maker with them?


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42pixels said:
Flippers started with Kit Carson from what I can find, the M16 was an early if not the first mass market flipper and came out in 1999.

In the end its just another opening method, it reached its peak recently and many of the higher end knives are flippers, so its a bit of a fad for sure. But I dont think flippers will disappear anytime soon. Companies make what sells, if they stop selling then companies will move on.

Personally im not a huge fan of the hard detent flipper only knives that are popular now, but many people do.
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Thanks for the info on the maker. It seems like flippers are sometimes double what the same knife would be without a flipper. Is a flipper that much harder to make?


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Cjwknives said:
Thanks for the info on the maker. It seems like flippers are sometimes double what the same knife would be without a flipper. Is a flipper that much harder to make?


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Getting the detent right and using materials that hold up to repeated hard openings is a lot of issues with a flipper. Getting the geometry of everything right is important as well.
 
I don't think they're a fad. As 42pixels mentioned, I do believe they're at or just past their peak right now.

They tend to be fairly intuitive to anyone that picks up a flipper. Yet it's also very easy for makers and companies to have their own preference per model of detent strength, feel, flipper design. This level of easily accessible variety means 2 knives that are different in every other way can use a flipper as a method of deployment.
 
42pixels said:
Getting the detent right and using materials that hold up to repeated hard openings is a lot of issues with a flipper. Getting the geometry of everything right is important as well.
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So you would say the usually higher price tag for an almost identical knife flipper non flipper would be because of the extra work on a flipper?


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Cjwknives said:
So you would say the usually higher price tag for an almost identical knife flipper non flipper would be because of the extra work on a flipper?


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ehh, in a lot of cases its cause they just can charge more. The flipper stuff is extra work compared to a stud opener, but not that much more.
 
Flippers are more of a preference than a fad. They are nice in that they are an integrated opening mechanism, and the flipper serves as a guard. When I first got into knives I was obsessed with flippers, but now I own zero. I have found that opening via thumbstud or hole is much more natural for me. Opposable thumbs set humans apart for a reason I suppose.
 
Mo2 said:
its here to stay and wont ever go away. it might evolve tho.
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I like that saying about how it will evolve. I often think about the state of knife evolution that we are currently living in and I think it is a great time to be a knife fanatic.
We are seeing some great things being done with knives: from new steels, handle materials, lock types, and special additions such as flippers and "wave" actions. The knife is truly being re-invented. Shoot, even something as common as adding a clip to a knife is a huge step in the evolution of the pocket knife.
 
There will always be a market for flippers.
They've already been around too long to be called a "fad"

I think we are definitely at the height of their popularity though....

I personally hope we start seeing more "front flippers"
 
Cjwknives said:
So you would say the usually higher price tag for an almost identical knife flipper non flipper would be because of the extra work on a flipper?


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This depends on the knife. If you just were to take a sebenza for instance and just add a flipper it really shouldnt cost more. Most flippers are expensive when you start adding things like bearings. It requires more parts more mchining and the machining needs to be accurate or you will have issues. Many think bearings are a self correcting system and is a sloppy method of manufacturing to sidestep tolerances. This is not the case. In fact the opposite is true. With washers as long as they are flat and the right thickness you usually are good as the blade stock is precision ground flat as are the handle slabs. Now remove the washers and decide to add bearings. Now you need to cut a cup into he blade or handle or both. And those cups need to be perfectly flat. A bearing system needs to be perfectly flat in line with the handle and blade. Otherwise you can have binding or you can have a blade that will never center. Bearings really leave no margin for error without a visual and physical sign you screwed up. And the detent also needs a lot more work.
 
Ken Onion has designed flippers for a while, and KAI picked up his designs for Kershaw, with the Chive, Leek and Scallion quite a while ago. Not sure if that pre-dates Carson's designs, though.

Here's a link to something that showed up in a google search. Looks like Les Robertson credits Mel Pardue. There may be earlier.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/93650-Flippers-who-makes-them?s=&highlight=flipper

The first production knives I remember:
Kershaw Chive: 2000 or 2001, IIRC (Won Blade US KOY in 2001)
Kershaw Whisper and Leek: 2001 or 2002

As it is such a relatively easy way to make a fast-opening knife, I don't think they are going away anytime soon. Like the pocket clip and thumb stud, I think they will be around for a long time to come. Just add in assisted opening, and you have 4 of the greatest inventions of the last 20-30 years in pocket knives, and I'd bet the majority of junk knives being sold these days include at least 3 of the 4, if not all of those design elements and are what keep junk knives selling so well to the average knife-ignorant Joe Schmoe.

So, what is the next new advancement?
 
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Flipper is just another opening mechanism just like the various locking mechanisms.

It's a matter of choice and it has been around for quite a while now. It doesn't really cost any more than alternatives.

A good flipper opening mechanism riding on trusty bearings can be just as fast as an automatic to deploy.
 
I would say the surge of flippers started as a fad. It has settled down to just being a form of deployment. The flipper now has its place cemented along side the thumb stud, spyder hole, emerson wave, push button auto etc.
 
Pro is that you can have blade without any thumb disc/hole/stud and flipper is also a guard.
 
I prefer a flip to a thumbstud.

Like someone mentioned, it's a preference thing.
 
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