Assisted Openers

M

m_calingo

Joined
Oct 13, 2003
Messages
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Has anyone here had the experience of an AO knife opening in their pocket? :eek:

I'm thinking that if it shares a pocket with keys and whatnot it may be possible for something to catch on the blade and fire the knife open.

Ok, maybe I'm just paranoid...
 
Yes.... and no longer own any A/O's because of it. Knife was a Benchmade Torrent in a cargo pocket. Also have witnessed a buddy drop a pint of blood after the surgical sharp Kershaw Chive bit him.
 
Big_Red said:
Yes.... and no longer own any A/O's because of it. Knife was a Benchmade Torrent in a cargo pocket. Also have witnessed a buddy drop a pint of blood after the surgical sharp Kershaw Chive bit him.
Click to expand...

Thats why Kershaw makes that handy little blade keeper that has to be disengaged before you open it , that is if it was engaged in the first place.


Tostig
 
The larger Speedsafe knives (like the Tyrade) require that the blade be opened quite far (1/2" exposed) before the OS kicks in, so they don't worry me. The little Chives are a bit touchy, though.
 
I've been carrying a Kershaw Blur for while, and a Speed Bump before that, and never had a problem.

Tom
 
I am not a huge fan of AO knives, but the one I do own (ZT350) has never opened unintentionally... even in a pocket full of everything from multitools, other knives, keys, chains, money, screwdrivers (you get the idea) - so I don't personally worry about it...
 
Never had a problem with any of them ever opening in my pocket. Then again I don't carry anything any smaller then a Blur with A/O. I would think that there would have to be considerable pressure applied to get them to open and when they did you'd diffidently know it.
 
Currently own 7 Kershaw AO knives and never have had a problem with any of them. Currently carrying a ZT 301:thumbup:
 
Ive owned 3 AO blades and have never had this issue. Once I dropped my Kershaw Whirlwind and had it open, but never in the pocket.
 
I haven't had a problem with it. The only knife that I can remember having a problem with, vis-a-vis opening in my pocket, was a non-assisted knife.

I've all but disabled the little blade safety on my Leek and it hasn't accidentally engaged on me yet, so I'm not too worried...

(*knock on wood*)
 
Yes, I have.

I had the thumb stud catch on the pocket edge when putting it in the pocket (tip down, Benchmade 907). It partially opened the blade.

When I got to work, got out of my truck, and headed across the parking lot, it opened. I felt it move and instinctively reached down to the outside of the pocket. I was immediately cut, because the blade sliced through my denium jeans and approx. 1/2" of the point was sticking through. Ouch.
 
They (AOs) don't seem worth the risk. Especially if you carry the knife in your front pocket: too close to some important parts!
 
AOs never gave me a problem I enjoy and carry several and will most likely continue to buy.
 
Tostig said:
Thats why Kershaw makes that handy little blade keeper that has to be disengaged before you open it , that is if it was engaged in the first place.


Tostig
Click to expand...

He still carries the little Chive and keeps it locked :D

I agree that the larger A/O's seem to be relatively 'safer', but I always found myself checking/thinking about "has it opened on me?"

Therefore, they all got sold. They were certainly fun knives though.
 
I personally have never had an assisted opener open on me, my gerber FAST draw never opened on me, nor did my gerber valotton, i did have a small problem with my kershaw leek's thumbstud getting caught on the corner of my jeans pockets.

if you'r worried about it theres a couple things you can do though,
1. get a gerber knife with an easily accessible safety.
2. carry the knife in your pocket with the spine of the blade resting against the side of your pocket.
 
I often carry a Kershaw Blur and Leek and have not had any problems with either of them opening in my pocket.
 
slasher667 said:
I personally have never had an assisted opener open on me, my gerber FAST draw never opened on me, nor did my gerber valotton, i did have a small problem with my kershaw leek's thumbstud getting caught on the corner of my jeans pockets.

if you'r worried about it theres a couple things you can do though,
1. get a gerber knife with an easily accessible safety.
2. carry the knife in your pocket with the spine of the blade resting against the side of your pocket.
Click to expand...

the first thing i did to all my kershaws was to flip the clip to tip-up carry so the blade is blocked by the side of the pocket. i prefer tip-up anyway, and the only complaint i have about my usual EDC is that i can't make it tip-up.
 
I've carried a leek for the last couple of years without issue. My wife was carrying a kershaw scallion in her back pocket and had it flip open on her - she's now carrying a spyderco dragonfly.
 
Whats the point in assisted opener if you have to unlock it? Same goes for autos. I prefer a "wave", personaly. Though autos and a/o do have the cool factor, Id rather not carry them.
 
I continue to be amazed by the popularity of assisted opening. It provides no speed advantage, no meaningful utility and yet it provides some negative safety issues and unnecessary complexity to the product. I've been scratching my head over it for years.

No, I haven't had an A/O open in my pocket because I've never put an A/O in my pocket.
 
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