Benefit of a half-stop?

[Ritt]

I understand what a half-stop is, but is there an advantage to it? Seems like it would cause a bit of a "bump" right in the middle of opening/closing. And if you don't have a half-stop is the back of the tang just rounded? I'd appreciate any education the forum could provide me on this point.

 

[Don Luis]

I believe it´s sort of a safety feature, so if you accidentally pull on the blade or hit something that may close it, there will be a tendency to stop a bit rather than closing all the way on your fingers, some Gerbers have a notch in the tang to make this half stop more pronounced.

Normally a half stop is just a flattened section on the back of the tang, otherwise it´s just rounded, sometimes not perfectly circular so that the spring puts a bit less pressure at the middle, not a full half stop but kind of a transition section between pushing to close and pushing to open (this is just my feeling from experience, I don´t really know if it is made on purpose but I like knives that have it). A bit off topic, I think a good tang is rounder in the bottom and more squarish on the top to allow easy opening but not so easy closing.

 

[Sword and Shield]

Also, if a knife with a half-stop is left in a case half-open, the stress on the spring is far lower, reducing the chance that you kill the spring.

 

[Pknives]

I use half stops on all the slipjoints I make unless someone wants a knife without them. With half stops the spring is under the same tension whatever position the blade is in. Also half stops become more important in a knife that has blades working on both ends of the same spring, such as a whittler or a stockman. Without halfstops the spring is under great stress when both blades are half open at the same time. This is unlikely when the knife is being used but happens often when they are being displayed.
Hope this helps
Bill Ruple

 

[Ritt]

Wow, didn't expect an answer from THE MAN. Thank you Mr. Ruple, love your work. Actually, it was a picture of a toothpick you made that recently re-kindled my interest in slipjoints.

 

[db]

I think a half stop also gives the blade a bit more snap when opening and closing. I'd take a half stop over without one any day. I've seen them done a few ways. Square tangs, square tang with rounded corners, round tang with flat spot, and oblonged tang. Don't know if one way is better than the other but I like the squared tang ones better.