Assisted opening knives...

Maximumbob54 said:
This is me assuming so I could be 100% wrong but I bet Reswob's statement was kind of tongue in cheek level of serious. I have high enough quality manual, AO, and auto knives and I prefer all of them! 😎
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Honestly I made this post for me. My first "high quality" knife was a Kershaw Clash I bought at the department store $35 and I thought I was crazy for spending that much of a knife (lol). However, at the time my mind was blown by the increased quality of the experience compared to the gas station knives I enjoyed. I was hooked on assisted opening for everything. Well, I didn't know what I didn't know at the time. Lots of mind blowing over the years until I got to where I am now.

My post is kinda like wisdom from my future self to my old self.
 
I own MANY side opening & OTF automatics.

There's no way that an automatic can work w/o the use of a fully tensioned spring that is released to "assist" in opening the blade.

I also MANY side opening "assisted" folders.

I've never had an automatic or assisted side opening folder open by itself in my pocket. I could happen which is why some autos & assisted folders are made with blade locks but it's never happened to me.

Side opening assisted folders use a torsion bar -- not a spring -- to assist in opening the blade &, as mentioned above, such knife will not work properly when the bar is removed. The lack of a detent to hold the blade in place being the main problem created by the removal of the torsion bar.

The torsion bar is not under sufficient "tension" to break under "normal" use. Unless there's a defect in the metal, you'd have to work that knife 100's of thousands (and perhaps millions) of times for that to happen.

My main complaint about the use of torsion bars is that they will rattle when not properly fitted, which only happens occasionally. The fix? Coat the bar w/some multipurpose grease.

I also own MANY "manual" (unassisted) side opening folders that use various devices -- such as flipper tabs, holes, wave hooks, discs, studs, & nail nicks -- to enable opening the blade. My favorites are the flipper tab, holes & wave hooks (in that order).

I also own MANY balisongs which are unassisted folders in an entirely separate category.

Given that I own so many different types of knives, it's apparent that I don't give a :poop: whether it's assisted or not.

I like them all. Otherwise I wouldn't own any of them. 🤷‍♂️
 
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Assist open always seemed like a gas station knife feature to me. I have a few Kershaws with this feature and one or two Benchmades, but these were all purchased years ago for cheap or were gifts. I certainly wouldn't carry any of those today. A proper flipper or well tuned bronze bushing knife with decent studs can be flipped open with the same speed, so I don't really see the need for the feature, honestly. It's probably why so few knives on the market still have it.
 
DeadboxHero said:
Honestly I made this post for me. My first "high quality" knife was a Kershaw Clash I bought at the department store $35 and I thought I was crazy for spending that much of a knife (lol). However, at the time my mind was blown by the increased quality of the experience compared to the gas station knives I enjoyed. I was hooked on assisted opening for everything. Well, I didn't know what I didn't know at the time. Lots of mind blowing over the years until I got to where I am now.

My post is kinda like wisdom from my future self to my old self.
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If old me would have ever thought current me would buy a Sebenza old me would have punched current me in the throat... :p
 
Reswob said:
There's TONS of hate for AO on this forum (although it's obviously popular in the real world). Commonly parroted reasons:
1. "A good manual is better". Why? No one really knows.
2. "You can't close it one handed". You absolutely can, it's not even difficult. Also, this complaint is never uttered against "real" autos, which are typically more "difficult" (but again, not really) to close.
3. "The spring will break!". Sure, EVENTUALLY. Except that axis locks are extremely popular, and their lock springs are far more fragile. If an assist spring breaks you have a manual knife, if a lock spring breaks you have a broken knife.
4. "It's just a poor replacement for an auto". A good AO will open just like an auto, only with a more intuitive opening motion. One could even argue that with bias towards closure, AO is safer...
5. "It will open all by itself and slice off things!". No it won't. At least, it certainly won't any more than an auto. If this mythical self opening problem is so prevalent on this forum, I really wonder what people are doing? Or how much other crap do they have in their pocket? I believe one of the reasons Kershaw used to ship all their AOs tip- down was to keep the spine of the blade secured against the pocket seam anyway, assuaging this non-problem...

Fact is, no manual, no matter how "high quality", will open as easily and reliably as a good AO. Everything should be available in speed safe! 😁
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1. Some people definitely know why a non AO is better, you can appreciate the feel of a well tuned action when you don’t have a wonky bent piece of metal kicking your blade open haphazardly, also because adding complexity to a design with no practical benefit is just catering to the masses who are easily amused by gimmicks, I sometimes fall prey to market gimmicks myself, but not to the extent that apparently a large portion of the buying populace does.

It’s a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist, the only thing an AO does better is provide entertainment for those so inclined.

2. You can absolutely close it one handed, but it does add a bit of complexity to a task many seem woefully inept at without drawing blood, the average person barely escapes using a fixed blade without cutting themselves, let alone fighting a sprung blade in. This is a dramatized statement made for my own entertainment, but I think it still makes my point, AO certainly doesn’t make closing any easier.

3. A non assisted knife has no additional and unnecessary spring to break, ever. While it’s not a big deal, I have broken my share of kershaw speed safe torsion bars, never have a broke a benchmade omega spring, despite some of my longest owned higher end knives being axis locks.

4. AO opens nothing like an auto, vastly different, it’s not even a middle ground, more like 25% an auto. I am not a fan of autos either for much of the same reasons as above.

5. Never was a worry or consideration for me, it’s a non issue, however, some of the safeties manufactures have added to autos to prevent that which rarely if ever happens do get in my way, sure takes away from the “deployment speed” of a leek for example when the stupid slide safety got moved as they do and prevents you from opening the blade at all, again another headache that doesn’t need to be.

In summary, unless you just really enjoy the gimmicky fidegty aspect that AO brings to the table, everything thing else is a negative.
It’s perfectly ok to like the thwack enough to offset the detractors, but I can’t be convinced it’s worth it for me.
 
It was revolutionary when Kershaw started making assisted opening knives, it was almost like having an automatic knife and that really kicked off the craze. As time has passed the assisted opening has become harsh compared to how smooth knives are now. I feel the big thing now is fidget factor which assisted knives don't do well. It's just part of the evolution of the pocket knife.

You have to at least have an assisted opening Kershaw or ZT in your collection to be a knife nerd. My tiger stripe ZT 0350 is so violent opening it scares people. I carried Kershaw leeks for 5+ years and it drives me to buy Ken Onion knives out of pure nostalgia.
 
DeadboxHero said:
Assisted opening is not a replacement for a quality hard firing auto. Very different feel and experience. Kershaw makes a pretty sweet double action otf auto now.
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BJE said:
4. AO opens nothing like an auto, vastly different, it’s not even a middle ground, more like 25% an auto. I am not a fan of autos either for much of the same reasons as above.,
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Hahaha, tell me you guys have never handled an AO or auto, without telling me you've never handled an AO or auto!

Some manufacturers are even using the same spring in their autos as AOs. They are literally exactly the same, except you push a thumb stud to open one, and button to open the other. But nice try guys.
 
Reswob said:
Hahaha, tell me you guys have never handled an AO or auto, without telling me you've never handled an AO or auto!

Some manufacturers are even using the same spring in their autos as AOs. They are literally exactly the same, except you push a thumb stud to open one, and button to open the other. But nice try guys.
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Well, that's too bad that the entire market and industry doesn't agree with you.

Maybe there is something unique that only you could see? Or maybe everybody else has a piece of the puzzle that you are missing?

Hey, who knows, maybe if you disparage enough of the opinions and experiences of others everything in the market and industry will change?

Anything is possible.

Cheers to opinions
🍻
 
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Reswob said:
Hahaha, tell me you guys have never handled an AO or auto, without telling me you've never handled an AO or auto!

Some manufacturers are even using the same spring in their autos as AOs. They are literally exactly the same, except you push a thumb stud to open one, and button to open the other. But nice try guys.
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🤔, now your telling me I have never handled AO or autos. Ok, you win the internet.

While I don’t buy many new AOs, I certainly have bought many back in their hayday, and still own a handful. I have three blurs, two leeks, a knockout, an oso sweet, a SOG flash and trident off the top of my head,
Had some ZTs, a Camillus heat, and a benchmade barrage I think it was, I’m sure I’m forgetting a few, but those are the AOs I have owned for sure, and I have handled many more.

Don’t have many autos, a couple Italian stilettos, a boker AK-47, a lightning OTF, ect. They aren’t my cup of tea, but I have handled some microtecs, spyderco, and benchmade autos, along with some classic out the side openers a few times enough to know that they feel vastly different than an AO.

Neither are of any use to me beyond the fidget factor. I was a kid once and recall thinking balisongs and throwing stars were cool, they still kind of are, but only for the entertainment value.
 
The True North said:
Lots of opinions being stated as fact in this thread.


There IS NO correct and incorrect answer here folks.
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Disclaimer:
All that I say is in reference to my own opinion and not to be taken as fact, except for the bits that are factual 😁.
 
I consider assisted open to be more reliable than a flipper with bearings as regards dirt and grit interfering with the action.
I avoid knives with bearing systems. I pretty much buy only assisted open or manual. But I prefer a manual open.
 
It was the Barrage that made my personal dislike of assisted knives apparent to me. With the AXIS lock in particular, it sacrifices ease of closing, while not opening any faster or easier than just depressing the lock (let's face it, a good AXIS lock doesn't even really require an actual "flick of the wrist"). Luckily removing the spring is EZ-PZ.

I think much of the dislike on the forums stems from the era when flippers were dominating the market, and knife companies used A/O as a band-aid for an inferior action. The fact that the cheapest of the cheapest (gas station/dope fiend/dirt bag) knives followed suit certainly doesn't help matters.

All that being said: Much of what I state about assisted AXIS locks could also apply to autos, and if there was a knife that I really liked that was only available in A/O I would get it and not care what anyone else thought about it...


and if at all possible de-assist it ASAP ;)
 
IMO, a quality flipper knife opens just as easily as an assisted thumbstud knife. Zero chances of any spring possibly deploying the blade in your pocket.

I don’t need my knives helping me open them. That’s my job! It’s their job to cut, darn it!
 
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