Best flipper.

the ZT200 is a very nice one that I have handled, and also the Lahar and also the Junkyard Dog series.
 
I've got to agree with T.K.C. and spiral. RJ and Lee make some killer flippers.

As was mentioned, if you can't or don't want to pay for a true custom, Kershaw has collaborations with both of these custom makers at very affordable ($ 50 range) prices. Check out the Kershaw sub in the Manufacturers Forum. Offerings from RJ, Lee, Tim Gaylean, Grant & Gavin Hawk and Ken Onion are there.

I'm waiting on one of Jason Clark's custom flippers. I've heard from a very reliable source that his flippers are slick, too.
 
CL01 said:
Boy, that's a tough one. It's all so subjective. I honestly couldn't say what custom flipper's the best. I can say that, for the $, the Kershaw Groove isn't bad. However, I'd say that the best "production" flipper I've tried is the DDR Maxx Q1A. Although it's not a full production as I believe they call is a "mid-tech" knife. It's very similar in size to the Groove, but lighter & with better steel. Admittedly, it's also a bit more expensive.
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The Maxx Q is a very nice knife. I have had this DLC coated one for quite a while.

maxxq.jpg
 
Kershaw RAM by a huge margin.

I would be very curious to see if there are any people that have handled a RAM but think something else is better.
 
I kind of want to see the Hawks make a custom RAM with IKBS. I can't imagine there'd be anything faster.
 
Dekz said:
Kershaw RAM by a huge margin.

I would be very curious to see if there are any people that have handled a RAM but think something else is better.
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The RAM is great, but I still think Lee William's ENER-G is THE flipper to have. Once you get over the very short learning curve, this knife is lightning fast and locks up 100% every time. The OD-1 is fast catching up as my favorite, but I doubt it will knock off the ENER-G's top spot.
 
A flipper is a knife that has an additional piece sticking up from the spine, usually part of the blade. You use your first finger to open the knife. A sharp snap of your finger, pulling back, opens the blade.

The exceptions to this that I know of are Lee Williams piston drive (ENER-G) and lever drive (OD-1) and the Hawk's Hawk Lock found on the RAM and ZT0500 in production knives. They, along with other makers, also offer this feature on their customs.
 
Dekz said:
Kershaw RAM by a huge margin.

I would be very curious to see if there are any people that have handled a RAM but think something else is better.
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This is a strange thing to say. Why would you think that any knife is so impressive that everyone would prefer it hands down to all others? I certainly have not seen one yet. There will always be those that prefer something different from what you think is the best.

I think the RAM looks relatively nice fro a $49 knife, but I personally do not like the lock. I don't see anything that makes it special enough to go get.
 
Same here. I'm a symmetrical knife loving kind of guy. Having that lock only on one side puts me off a lot. I also don't like the g10 inserts. How hard could it have been to make a full g10 insert?
 
harkamus said:
Same here. I'm a symmetrical knife loving kind of guy. Having that lock only on one side puts me off a lot. I also don't like the g10 inserts. How hard could it have been to make a full g10 insert?
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I believe the idea there is that the custom has an onlay therefore the production has an onlay.

Kershaw has focused on really trying to please many of the custom makers by doing the knives as close to the custom as possible. I think in the end it is a good thing and everybody gets to expeience some of the little things that make the customs great. :thumbup:
 
vjb.knife said:
This is a strange thing to say. Why would you think that any knife is so impressive that everyone would prefer it hands down to all others? I certainly have not seen one yet. There will always be those that prefer something different from what you think is the best.
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But have those people TRIED the one that I think is best? If somebody has used my favourite and still thinks something else is better, then their opinion carries a lot more weight.

A year ago I would have said that the Groove has the best flipper, 6 months ago I would have said JYDII, now I say RAM. Because I kept experiencing better flippers, I had to keep redefining what I thought was the best.

I wasn't putting down other knives, what I was really saying is that if there is something out there that people think flips better than the RAM, I want to know about it!
 
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I suggest anything with a pivot bearing system such as IKBS (Ioma Korth Bearing System) or RJ Martin's bearing, or Darrel Ralph's Maxx-Glide. I have handled all of them out there except RJ Martin's, and Darrel Ralph's is hands down the best I've seen. IKBS is very good too, more than acceptable, just not quite as astonishing as DRMG.

I would not buy a flipper folder without a pivot bearing system anymore.
 
Dekz said:
But have those people TRIED the one that I think is best? If somebody has used my favourite and still thinks something else is better, then their opinion carries a lot more weight.

A year ago I would have said that the Groove has the best flipper, 6 months ago I would have said JYDII, now I say RAM. Because I kept experiencing better flippers, I had to keep redefining what I thought was the best.

I wasn't putting down other knives, what I was really saying is that if there is something out there that people think flips better than the RAM, I want to know about it!
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Yes, I've owned a couple different RAMs, a couple Grooves (Reg. & tanto), an Ener-G (Although it was admittedly the smaller one), of course the DDR Maxx, all the ZT folders that flip (All the folders actually, except the autos), & there's probably 1 or more that I'm forgetting.

I think alot of it is very subjective & the knife handle's "fit" to the operator. For example, I sometimes could not open the RAM fully every time & I know of at least one other person (Who works with his knives) that had a similar problem. Likewise, the "small" Ener-G wasn't as good, either. My DLC tanto Groove was no where as nice a flipper as my reg. Groove, but they all paled compared to the Maxx Q. &, of course, full customs such as by RJ Martin, Lee Williams & other custom flipper, I am sure, are phenomenal.

However, as I've said it's very subjective. My hands are quite large, so smaller flippers don't work as well. I also can see how the lg. Ener-G & the new OD-1 could be better than the aforementioned flippers.

Of course, I would think the best flipper is probably one of the customs by one who specializes in that mechanism & to that end, I'd think Lee Williams designs are probably the best, in the sense that they're more mechanically involved & utilize tension better.
 
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