can a kershaw speedsafe be made NON AO?

Yes you can. Take off the front side scale (opposite side clip) and there will be a little bar that kind of looks like a bent paperclip. Take that out and stash it somewhere, also if you want while it's off take off the safety if it has one. I did that to my brothers scallion.
 
SuzukiGS750EZ said:
Yes you can. Take off the front side scale (opposite side clip) and there will be a little bar that kind of looks like a bent paperclip. Take that out and stash it somewhere, also if you want while it's off take off the safety if it has one. I did that to my brothers scallion.
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:thumbup::thumbup: thanks
 
Short answer, yes.

However, it's tricky and not without risks.

It's simple to remove the torsion bar, thus making it non-AO. The problem is that the torsion bar also aids blade retention when closed. Without it, only liner friction keeps the blade closed. Manual liner-locks solve this problem by creating a ball-detent. This is simply a small ball in the liner that sits in a hole in the blade. Kershaw liner locks already have the ball, (to reduce friction, I suppose), but not the hole in the blade (the Needs Work is an exception).

Drilling the hole is simple in theory, but difficult to get perfect. First, remember that blade steel is hardened. A steel drill bit will not work. Your best option is an expensive and brittle solid-carbide bit. You then must drill the hole precisely, or you will have a bit (or a lot) of wiggle when the blade is closed. This modification is permanent.

You also need to keep in mind that these were never designed as manual flippers. It's unlikely that you will have good manual flipper action. The flippers aren't usually long enough.

I did this mod with a Baby Boa, and I'm happy with the results. I now have a nice, little, manual folder. It doesn't flip without some wrist, though.

Phillip Dobson
 
I wonder how difficult and cost prohibitive it would be to make manual versions of some of the AO knives.

There are several Kershaw knives that I'd really like to have but I just really don't like assisted openers.

But the time it would take for tooling, R&D and packaging would probably so far exceed any profitable level that it just wouldn't be possible.
 
I don't think the tooling or production would be too bad. I could set up an assembly process in my home shop if I knew I was doing a lot.

The worst part would be for marketing/distribution. They'd have to keep track of another, very similar model.

The other question is why make a bastardized knife that was designed for AO, work as a manual. You'd have to completely redesign/remove the flipper on most models. Otherwise you'd be releasing a design with a useless flipper. Not good for Kershaw's reputation.

If you want it bad enough, it's easy to simply modify existing knives. There's nothing in it for Kershaw.

Phillip
 
open and close it non stop for about a day and the torsion bar will break :) your hand Might get tired though :)
 
Good Lord it was a joke. I have had Kershaw AOs that have never broken that I have had and put to use for years that have never broken their torsion bars. But I have had one that I foolishly opened and closed non stop for about a day and it did break, but I dont blame it on the knife. A few of our display Kershaws (the non sharpened blades that were set out for customers to see how speedsafe worked) and after a few days of customers opening and closing them non stop, they too also broke. But again I dont blame the knives. If you take care of it and use it only when you need it (like all knives) they wont break.
 
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