Are Flipping knives a fad?

ourgon said:
Pro is that you can have blade without any thumb disc/hole/stud and flipper is also a guard.
Click to expand...

Lack of thumb stud/disc which can get in the way is a plus to some but others like multiple opening methods.

There's a trend in low profile and hidden flipper tabs which takes away from the flipper tab as a guard when opened.

Once again, these afford more choices for users.
 
Like the other users, say it is not a fad. The primary reason I enjoy it over other methods... is because it acts as a guard so your fingers won't slide forward, and also if the lock fails the flipper tab will hit your finger not the blade... so it protects you fingers also. That is why I prefer it.
 
Nfd538 said:
Ah the Bodega, what a flipper
Click to expand...

I still want to see a nicer bodega. I had a field grade but i hated it. Very rough action that didnt smooth out. I also sent it back and they screwed it up worse. Plus at the time i purchased they didnt even do the classic bodega blade with te holes and fuller. I stupidly picked the dagger blade. With the rough stonewash and lighter blade it was not smooth and just didnt feel like how i thought it should based on all the feedback i read. I wish they had masked the detent track or polished it afterwards as the knife felt good but you just expect more from a bodega. I still love the design. Id love if the reate mini would go on sale. More my size.
 
While I wish it was a fad, I don't see it fading away. There seem to be a large number of people that really like them. I am not one. I have nothing against alternatives and choice, but in this case I wish some of these fine makers would offer a few alternative non-flippers.
but I am sure I'll survive somehow :)
 
PURPLEDC said:
I still want to see a nicer bodega. I had a field grade but i hated it. Very rough action that didnt smooth out. I also sent it back and they screwed it up worse. Plus at the time i purchased they didnt even do the classic bodega blade with te holes and fuller. I stupidly picked the dagger blade. With the rough stonewash and lighter blade it was not smooth and just didnt feel like how i thought it should based on all the feedback i read. I wish they had masked the detent track or polished it afterwards as the knife felt good but you just expect more from a bodega. I still love the design. Id love if the reate mini would go on sale. More my size.
Click to expand...

I haven't seen a nicer one. That one is not a field grade it's the first blacked out Bodega Todd did and it's action is smooth.
 
Will be flipping mad if the flipper should suddenly disappear altogether.
IMO it's a step up from the generic thumb stud
So I figure it's not about to go away
As it serves a highly functional purpose.
 
PURPLEDC said:
I still want to see a nicer bodega. I had a field grade but i hated it. Very rough action that didnt smooth out. I also sent it back and they screwed it up worse. Plus at the time i purchased they didnt even do the classic bodega blade with te holes and fuller. I stupidly picked the dagger blade. With the rough stonewash and lighter blade it was not smooth and just didnt feel like how i thought it should based on all the feedback i read. I wish they had masked the detent track or polished it afterwards as the knife felt good but you just expect more from a bodega. I still love the design. Id love if the reate mini would go on sale. More my size.
Click to expand...

I have the Todd Begg Steelcraft Kwaiken and Mini Bodega flippers made by Reate in S35VN and using loose IKBS bearings instead of the usual Reate caged bearings.

The Steelcraft Kwaiken was super smooth from day one and recently the price went down from $445 to $356 which is much more reasonable.

My first Steelcraft Mini Bodega wasn't terribly smooth so I sent it back to Begg Knives in California and they basically created the circular channel for the detent. It came back super smooth. When I got a second Mini Bodega it was super smooth from day one. Now, all they need to do is drop the price from $445. It's a great EDC flipper. Cuts well, looks good and is very tough. In 2016 it was my most carried folder.
 
The flipper tab with no thumbstuds at all is definitely a fad, and it can't go away soon enough! Too many new releases the past couple years without thumbstuds.
 
Reswob said:
The flipper tab with no thumbstuds at all is definitely a fad, and it can't go away soon enough! Too many new releases the past couple years without thumbstuds.
Click to expand...

Very much disagree with this. I love not having thumbstuds render part of my knife unusable and limiting my sharpening angle.
 
They were already pretty popular back when I turned 18 and started buying knives. M-16, Leek, early ZT models, and so on. They weren't as popular back then because manual flippers needed a big wrist flick to open so most people just used the thumb stud, anyway, and the flippers that worked were assisted openers, which a lot of people dislike for a lot of reasons. They still held a spot in the market, but they weren't the favorite that they are today.

Ball bearing technology is what made the flipper the most popular current opening method. I don't think it's going anywhere, but I think a lot of people are ready for big manufacturers to start releasing more hole and stud openers as new designs to restore the balance.
 
True bearings are an easy way for a manufacturer to make a smooth firing flipper, but two of my best are on washers - my Medford Viper is a awesome flipper on phosphor bronze, and my Hinderer XM-24 on teflon. Both of those are excellent flippers without bearings to clog up. I think one of the key things makers have figured out is positioning the tab as far forward relative to the pivot as possible, which I believe gives better leverage for deployment. A lot of Russian flippers, like my CKF MILK, are designed that way.
 
Officer's Match said:
Very much disagree with this. I love not having thumbstuds render part of my knife unusable and limiting my sharpening angle.
Click to expand...

Same here. ZT0452 comes to mind, that's a beast flipper.
I get you on the studs and sharpening. On my griptilians I remove the studs when sharpening.
 
42pixels said:
Personally im not a huge fan of the hard detent flipper only knives that are popular now, but many people do.
Click to expand...

Hear, hear. I (strongly) prefer flippers, but I have a biased thinking that if the knife is designed well and executed well, it doesn't need a ridiculous detent to fire consistently and satisfyingly.

To address a casual question/comment posed above in another post: Flippers are more difficult to design than non-flippers. That isn't to say that they are difficult to design overall, but there are more design considerations and restrictions to the pivot area (to accommodate the flipper and the stops and the lockup) than there are on non-flippers.
 
RamZar said:
A good flipper opening mechanism riding on trusty bearings can be just as fast as an automatic to deploy.
Click to expand...
My thoughts as well. A good flipper has a better lock up and no load to overcome when closing . No spring to break or replace because of fatigue. Most auto's that I've tried tend to have a little blade play. Imho , flippers are more than just a fad.
 
Nfd538 said:
I haven't seen a nicer one. That one is not a field grade it's the first blacked out Bodega Todd did and it's action is smooth.
Click to expand...
I was simply saying i had a field grade and didnt like it. I wasnt saying the one in the pic was a field grade.


RamZar said:
I have the Todd Begg Steelcraft Kwaiken and Mini Bodega flippers made by Reate in S35VN and using loose IKBS bearings instead of the usual Reate caged bearings.

The Steelcraft Kwaiken was super smooth from day one and recently the price went down from $445 to $356 which is much more reasonable.

My first Steelcraft Mini Bodega wasn't terribly smooth so I sent it back to Begg Knives in California and they basically created the circular channel for the detent. It came back super smooth. When I got a second Mini Bodega it was super smooth from day one. Now, all they need to do is drop the price from $445. It's a great EDC flipper. Cuts well, looks good and is very tough. In 2016 it was my most carried folder.
Click to expand...

Nice. Ill have to check them out. I really want a kwaiken. May just need to be my next purchase.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top