Assisted openers, what the point?

I think that for people who have arthritis and other hand difficulties find them VERY useful! I have heard many people who have hand issues that are grateful for AO. It is just another perspective.
 
AO make sure the bade gets into the locked position, many find it the just flicking out a knife that u might not always get it into the locked positon and renders the knife useless, this also gos for autos, plus AO are legal almost any where and be lagerge than the little two inch auto that is allowed in most states, i think the AO are cool but not a needed feture, so for an inexperienced knife handler than the AO would work well to be able to open and use it kinda reminds me of my day hes not that into knives and abuses the heck out of them he has the bm infidel and uses it as a utility knife wich makes me laugh he likes knowing it has quick acsses and he doesnt have to do anything fancy to use it
 
kgriggs8 said:
They have more parts and tend to break more often. They cost more and in general, they are not made with as good of steel as non-autos and non-AOs.
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Yes, by definition, they must have more parts. However, that in itself is no basis for the rest of your statement.

In order for anyone to make an informed decision based upon your statements, please reference in detail all your experiences with the issue of AO's breaking versus the total number of AO's you have owned and/or had personal experiences with. Also, as your statement implies inherent knowledge, please provide the numbers for the ratio of AO's that break versus the number of AO's produced, including all makes and models from all manufacturers.

It would be interesting to see your analysis of the retail costs of all makes of AO's versus non-AO's.

As for the quality of steel, again you imply an inherent knowledge, so please reference all AO's and their blade compositions versus all non-AO's.

Until you can provide this information in a clear and concise factual manner, I must take your statement as pure speculation/opinion/sour grapes...
 
Nice debating tactics, SPXTrader -- but you obviously don't know as much as you're asking him to provide. :)

(This IS the General Knife Discussion, not Shop Talk.)
 
Esav, exactly my point! I don't have this knowledge, and there's no possible way I could gain it, so it would be foolish of me to make those claims.

Sorry about the forum arena issue...
 
I agree with your post and do not adore assisted-opening knives but there are some that do and autos may be illegal so they tend to opt for an assisted-opening knife. I just carry a fixed blade or a regular one-handed opening folder as I can open them just as fast and do not have to fumble with the assisted-opening lever.

:jerkit:
 
Possibly one overlooked positive with a well designed AO mechanism is safety, but I think much depends on the particular AO design . As an example, the blade cam and (really beefy) bar spring implemented in the Hissatsu Folder makes it all but impossible for the blade to accidentally hang open in your pocket...worry free tip up carry, no auxiliary safety to engage/disengage. It's more like a traditional slipjoint, except there is less danger the blade will suddenly guillotine down on your fingers when closing the knife, due to the AO spring resistance. Firing this blade initially requires a very deliberate action, which I rather like. There is no way you are going to deploy this blade without absolutely wanting to do so. Once the AO kicker takes over, however, it opens really fast and hard...even with a fairly snug pivot and fouled with sand and other crud, it still fully deploys the blade every single time. There is nothing to mess up, no intricate parts, the whole thing is very, very simple and strong. When it comes down to it, it's more fool proof than any auto I am aware of, and compared to your average folder, it has only one additional part. *If* the heavy AO spring in this knife were to fail, you would simply thumb the blade open manually, so I guess there is not much to lose by having it there.

But yeah...in the end, I guess autos and AOs could die a cruel death tomorrow and life would probably go on it's merry way just the same.
 
It's funny how passionate folks get over them. If you just like them, isn't that enough justification?
 
I got my AO because i go mountain bike riding a lot, and I could very easily get in sticky situations where i have one arm pinned or hurt or something, and I wanted something that can open fast with one hand. I just figured if I am in the worst case scenario, the easier opening can make a difference.
 
Assisted openers, what the point?
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I like AO for small knives like my Kershaw Chive. I find small knives akward to open without the AO. I have a larger Kershaw Blackout that I do not like having AO because the blade is heavy and jerks the handle when opened. For bigger knives I prefer manual opening.
 
Im not really a fan . I think they are quite likley to cause legal complications in some areas . They are cool , an fun to play with . I love my ZT 301 , but would prefer in to be manual . In some ways I think I would prefer the ZT 200 .

Chris
 
T.K.C. said:
I think that for people who have arthritis and other hand difficulties find them VERY useful! I have heard many people who have hand issues that are grateful for AO. It is just another perspective.
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TKC beat me too it. My grandfather has athritic hands and can no longer open his slippies with ease, but the AO kershaw cyclone I bought him and the AUTO Stryker I gave him make it easier. He defenetley likes the auto's as all he has to do is press a button to open an close.
 
I agree with the original post that I don't see the point in AO. I do not like the characteristic that when opening with the thumbstuds, once the blade is pushed about 1/3 open, it suddenly jumps to full open and can move ahead of the thumb, leaving the thumb right at the sharp edge. The increased possiblility of opening inside the pocket is unacceptable to me. And while the similarity to a switchblade is admittedly cool, it also invites unwanted judgement from sheeple and possible legal problems. I doubt that the technical difference between AO and auto would impress a jury nearly as much as the similarities. And I find them harder to operate. So I have no use for them at all.

But at the same time, I have to admit that a lot of people who carry no knife or only a slipjoint could make similar (valid) criticisms of my choice to carry a one-handed, locking folder. So in the end it just boils down to personal preference. As successful as AO has been, there must be plenty of people who have reasons to like them. More power to them!
 
kgriggs8 said:
I have tried about half a dozen AO (mostly Kershaw and BM) and I don't see the point of them.

After fumbling for the safety switch and then trying to find little nub that you need to press or push to get the blade open, I could have opened a Spyderco or BM axis lock and still had time left over.

Closing tends to be slower as well. So, what exactly is the real advantage to AO?
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I happen to be a big fan of AO’s, in particular Kershaw AO’s. In terms of opening speed, I’m willing to bet you I can draw and open my Blur faster then your BM with axis lock. But then again that’s what I’m used to using; from the sound of things it looks like you use and prefer your BM axis locks and Spydies to your AO’s. To each there own, but to say there's no point to AO’s and auto, well that’s just wrong:)

By the way, I’d be more then willing to take all those pointless AO’s you have off your hands;)

-sh00ter
 
My dominant hand is damaged and I have restricted movement in it. So, I like the auto's and assisted openers. The ones I own are of good quality and made of good materials. I have not had any qc issues or any failures.
 
It sounds like the common denominator among people who do not like AO knives is a personal inability to effectively operate the mechanism. While that's okay, I don't really see it as anything other than a personal issue.
 
I like most knives- and this includes AO's. As far as price and quality issues are concerned, I have a CRKT Wild Weasel in 154CM, a Leek in Damascus, and a SOG Flash II in AUS8. All of these are quality steels in my opinion, and all of them cost well under $100 Canadian, which I feel is a good price (in fact the SOG was $55 local). I have never had any knife open in my pocket so that is not a concern to me, in fact I am not sure how people have point up knives open in pocket as the blade is always against the pocket edge when I carry them. As well flipper operated AO's are very quick to act out of pocket as long as you grip them accordingly.
I understand that they are not for everybody, but they have their place and work their way into my EDC rotation.
As an aside my mother had many of her fingers partially and completely amputated and AO's were pretty much the only folder she could use.
Waved knives are still faster opening though.
 
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