Assisted vs. Manual Opening 2018

Non knife people like AO for some reason I handed this guy a damn Ball bearing ZT he tries to push it like its AO and when it doesn’t spring open he goes eh not springy enough for me tf

AO is alright at a low price point but after owning higher end knives don’t like AO ones anymore and won’t buy them. Only two I currently have are the Leek and Cryo
 
Back in my younger days I absolutely loved the AO Kershaws as the Leek was my intro to more expensive knives. After the sickness got ahold of me and I started buying Spydercos, Benchmades and ZT's I no longer had any use for AO knives.

That said, I still do occasionally carry my first Leek. It's still such an awesome knife and has some sentimental value because it led me down this hole I can't climb out of.....
 
Comeuppance said:
AO always feels like a bandaid for poor pivot action. A well-designed and well-manufactured manual knife opens just as quickly and easily as AO and doesn’t fight being closed.

The only AO knife I’ve ever liked the feel of was the Cold Steel Swift.
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And, I did not purchase the Swift because of the AO feature.

Although AO knives are fun to play with, I try not to buy them. I have found that a well built non-assisted knife meets my needs and I avoid the drama from people that don't know the difference between AO and auto knives.

It's a shame that some companies feel that everyone wants an AO knife. There are some really great designs out there that would be even better if they were not AO. Picture a non-assisted Kershaw Blur with G-10 scales, for example.

Just my 2 cents.
 
anthonycastorena2014 said:
I have learned to accept the fact that I do not like assisted openers or flippers.
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I have learned that as well until I handled the SteelWill Mini Cutjack flipper. Love this knife! My knife buying lines (preference parameters) I don't cross have seemed to mostly have disintegrated with the purchase of the Benchmade Mini Presidio II (manual knife) with metal handles, and the Mini Cutjack last fall which was the first flipper I have purchased in years. I did the flipper and AO thing about 10 years ago. That said, I bought a little Benchmade #585 AO that gets some pocket action from time to time (last year or was it the year before?) and the ZT 0770CF. I like both of these knives, but I don't routinely carry either anymore.
 
SpySmasher said:
I don't want my knife fighting me on the close.
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This is the bit that bugs me, too. I don't mind a nicely executed assist, like on the ZT 0350, but it just feels so inelegant to have to force it closed against the spring tension.
 
I might add that I am perfectly comfortable carrying and using a manual opening knife. Speed is not particularly important to me in terms of opening. Nor is one hand opening. Sharpness is important. I really like my GEC slippies, and Spyderco's like the Native 5 and Delica to name a couple. The Benchmade mentioned above was a new purchase this year to try out and I feel it's a great knife. I like the Benchmade axis lock. Pretty tough to push any of my regular carries out of my pocket these days. So far, the Benchmade Mini Presidio II has not accomplished that feat, but I have been using it at my desk for mundane cutting chores.
 
I agree with many statement made against AO but I will say to each their own and that AO have their place in the market and I'm fine with their presence but perhaps not their prevalence.

Issues I have w/ AO
A quality manual will open just as smooth and fast as an AO if not smoother and maybe faster
The AO mechanism is another complication to potentially break
AO to Manual Conversion is rarely a simple option disabling preference and limiting fixes if AO mechanism breaks
The added resistance to closing the knife making it almost a 2-handed close
The added opening force only to have the AO mechanism suddenly take over
 
Hate assisted aka speedsafe. Its 2018...sell or trade a bunch of your speedsafe Kershaw and get a zero tolerance. You'll love it even more. Though zt does have a handful of speedsafe models they are older models that are still popular today but would be welcome if they updated them
 
22-rimfire said:
I have learned that as well until I handled the SteelWill Mini Cutjack flipper. Love this knife! My knife buying lines (preference parameters) I don't cross have seemed to mostly have disintegrated with the purchase of the Benchmade Mini Presidio II (manual knife) with metal handles, and the Mini Cutjack last fall which was the first flipper I have purchased in years. I did the flipper and AO thing about 10 years ago. That said, I bought a little Benchmade #585 AO that gets some pocket action from time to time (last year or was it the year before?) and the ZT 0770CF. I like both of these knives, but I don't routinely carry either anymore.
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I have a horribly neglected ZT0095 and Cold steel swift. I don't know why but the swift has literally never made it in my pocket and the ZT rode once or twice.
 
sXePhenomenal said:
Non knife people like AO for some reason I handed this guy a damn Ball bearing ZT he tries to push it like its AO and when it doesn’t spring open he goes eh not springy enough for me tf

AO is alright at a low price point but after owning higher end knives don’t like AO ones anymore and won’t buy them. Only two I currently have are the Leek and Cryo
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Lol !!!!
 
I have a few AO's, the only one I really dig is the Benchmade 581. Don't care that it is an AO, it's a damned fine knife in my book, one that I use. Pictured here with a Crooked River:

4vFkQCm.jpg
 
BilboBaggins said:
What is it and give it to me.
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LOL

Kershaw Whisper. You'd love it.

Designed by Ken Onion, so it features his Speed-safe AO. Also features his "Vault Lock." I contacted him about it on Facebook and he told me that after Kershaw produced the first limited edition/numbered run, they decided it was too expensive to produce and cancelled it. As a result there have only been 250 made. I bought it recently right here on the forum.

The knife is interesting. Construction-wise it's the mixed bag that you would expect from a limited edition Kershaw -- really nice 440V(S60V) blade steel and titanium frames with what appears to be some absolutely cheapo thermoplastic bits. Appears to have bronze washers.

The lock is REALLY interesting. It's pretty clear that at some point, Onion was interested in integrating the thumb stud into the locking mechanism. He did it, for example, on the Kershaw Speed Bump. This is the better design, IMHO. The blade locks between a stop pin (blue arrow) preventing positive (opening) pressure and the thumb stud (red arrow) preventing negative (closing) pressure. Despite how it looks in the picture, the thumb stud doesn't work against the frame. To unlock, you pull back on the mechanism in the direction of the green arrow. It is spring loaded and slides in a slot in the frame. In principle, it's like a bolt lock that acts against the thumb stud instead of the tang. The details of construction are, of course, really different between the two locks. Locks up solid with no detectable blade play.

Kershaw_Whisper.jpg

Pictured is #247, stolen from the internet. I own #248.
 
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I prefer traditionals, but when I had to start using a cane, I needed a OHO. Tried several assisted (fun, but a novelty to me). Finally settled on a simple thumbstud or flipper linerlock. Suits all my needs. Of course I still carry my Vic Deluxe Tinker in a belt pouch all the time.
Rich
 
SpySmasher said:
LOL

Kershaw Whisper. You'd love it.

Designed by Ken Onion, so it features his Speed-safe AO. Also features his "Vault Lock." I contacted him about it on Facebook and he told me that after Kershaw produced the first limited edition/numbered run, they decided it was too expensive to produce and cancelled it. As a result there have only been 250 made. I bought it recently right here on the forum.

The knife is interesting. Construction-wise it's the mixed bag that you would expect from a limited edition Kershaw -- really nice 440V(S60V) blade steel and titanium frames with what appears to be some absolutely cheapo thermoplastic bits. Appears to have bronze washers.

The lock is REALLY interesting. It's pretty clear that at some point, Onion was interested in integrating the thumb stud into the locking mechanism. He did it, for example, on the Kershaw Speed Bump. This is the better design, IMHO. The blade locks between a stop pin (blue arrow) preventing positive (opening) pressure and the thumb stud (red arrow) preventing negative (closing) pressure. Despite how it looks in the picture, the thumb stud doesn't work against the frame. To unlock, you pull back on the mechanism in the direction of the green arrow. It is spring loaded and slides in a slot in the frame. In principle, it's like a bolt lock that acts against the thumb stud instead of the tang. The details of construction are, of course, really different between the two locks. Locks up solid with no detectable blade play.

Kershaw_Whisper.jpg

Pictured is #247, stolen from the internet. I own #248.
Click to expand...

You're right. I love it.
 
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