Can there be an improvement over the Hole?

golok

golok

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Oct 20, 2000
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Spyderco is world famous for its hole on the blade. It is probably revolutionary in terms of knife openings.

So will there be anything, something different from the hole in the blade, to top it?

Sometime in the future, I am sure there will come another kind method of drawing the blade smoothly into position.

Will there ever be another method to top the Spyderco hole? I wonder....
 
The hole is a simple piece of genius. Not even the cobra hood improves it IMO
 
Some people are already of the opinion that the studs and discs of the world are superior to the hole. It's all a matter of personal preference in the end.

Who can say what will happen in the future.

Personally, I can't think of a better system for me that the hole, but maybe someone will cook something up one day that I'll go ape over. That's the fun of this game: there's always room for improvement.
 
If the hole is the correct size for your thumb, I cannot think of a safer, more positive opening mechanism.

I find the serrated thumblug to be just as positive (unserrated is another story)and secure as the hole. However, you still have a lump gummed on the blade. The disks are generally secure and positive for use in opening, but again, you have a lump on the blade.

The hole in the blade is still the cleanest and best approach IMHO.

I don't have any experience with the "milled groove" openers such as in the original Spyderco Jess Horn, the Chris Reeve Mnandi or any of the Marzitelli folders. I have a CRK Mnandi on order, and that may sway me to the groove concept.
 
Spyderhole + Cobra Hood= Excellent manual opening.
Only the "Wave" is faster.
 
In some situations, the Wave tops the Spyderhole for ease and quickness of opening. That said, it also may be illegal in some jurisdictions as a device capable of opening a folding knife upon withdrawal (I know, silly law). The Spyderhole also provides a myriad of easy and safe ways of opening the knife (I can open my Military with every finger on either hand, how's that for a party trick?), while reducing or removing the chance of accidental opening open withdrawal from the pocket (won't catch on anything). The variants of the hole (square, diamond, oval) are all steps backward, in my opinion. They're less comfortable, less elegant, and usually rip-offs. Based on its simplicity and effectiveness, I don't think anything tops the Spyderhole for use in a wide variety of situations.
 
To anyone who thinks the spydie-hole can be improved upon... I say "Heretic!" stone the Bastid...
 
The Spydie-hole is good. The oval hole on the Buck Odyssey works quite well. The oval hole on the Gerber EZ Out didn't feel that good to me when I tried it in the store. Maybe it was the whole package with that knife, and not just the shape of the hole.
 
The only thing I don't like about "the Hole" is it is aesthetically not very pleasing. No, that's not true, it's plain UGLY! I love it for it's truely ambidextrous function, the lack of protrusions on the blade, and the simplicity of design. But I could never see myself with a "beautiful knife" with a big, old, hole in the blade. Wearing jeans and a sweatshirt I carry a Spydie. Shirt and tie gets at least a CRK mnandi, which come to think of it wouldn't look too bad whith an oval....it certainly would open easier!
 
I think it's the best opener period, and I have a waved Emerson, thumbstud openers of all shapes and sizes, and the deformed hole openers of those companies that don't want to infringe on the Spydie hole trademark. Not sure how they were able to trademark a round hole, but hey, what a concept :D
 
Originally posted by marcangel
The only thing I don't like about "the Hole" is it is aesthetically not very pleasing.
Click to expand...

For me, at least, the beauty of an item is in its function, and this is no less true with the Spyderhole than with anything else. However, if you don't like the utilitarian "hunchback" look of the Delica or Military, I think Spyderco offers a wide range of different styles, including the dressy Viele, which is a very sharp looking knife (no pun intended), or the exotic Shabaria. Both of these knives use the hole, but integrate it into a design which would also work well (though less efficiently) hole-less.
 
Well, I'm an advocate of the wave, so I'm partial, but as I've posted elsewhere, Spyderco was my first ever real knife, and so holds a special place in my heart. I suppose if I were to wish for anything, on a dream blade, it would be a waved hole on a spyderco, but I doubt that would ever happen. IMHO, I really don't actually like the hood. Nice idea, very unnecessary. Half the reason I like the hole is because it keeps the blade flat. The hood is like a disc, which I guess is nice. but it's amazingly redundant.
 
The Cobra Hood is a great improvement to the Round Hole.. Check it out on the Salsa! :D

Sam
 
Are two holes better than one? Nah, that only works for heads. For quick and secure opening, I don't think it gets any better than the Military and its hole.

Now for the controversial part: Never felt waved Emerson's could be reliably opened 100% of the time without eventually tearing up your pants pocket. Thumb studs and discs create stops that prevent full penetration of the blade into "things" (and of course, the screws that hold them in place could loosen up and come off or even possibly break off). Harder to clean around those horns (studs) and ears (discs) too.

Back to the A-Hole (in a complimentary manner--"A" is better than "B"; "B" is better than "C"; etc.). My suggestion: Could a hole be designed such that it is large enough to fit an index finger (ala La Griffe) for a secure grip but yet small enough to function as an opening device for a folder?

Great topic for discussion. :)
 
Men have been drawn towards the hole since the time of Adam and Eve. ;)
The round hole offers better purchase than anything else i've come across, and it seems that there are a lot of makers and manufacturers making their own inferior versions of it. IMO Spyderco set the standard for opening devices, and no-one has been able to do better. :D
 
marcangel,

Funny, to me the Spyderhole is an integral part of the attractiveness of a knife...if not the focal point. The hole in the blade and the blade shape represent beauty incarnate.

Jeff/1911.
 
The round hole is really hard to beat as to opening comfort and – first of all – security. It is always possible to slide user’s thumb from the opening stud onto the edge when opening knife not enough carefully or under stress/hurry. Especially if the knife has narrow blade and puts up somewhat more resistance at the first stage of opening.

This is near impossible if opening device is round hole. Since I’m rating safety (especially my own one ;) ) at very first place and the comfort (naturally my own again :D ) at the second – the SpyderHole is just right for me!

About improvements – hard question...
I can’t say with clear cut do I like the hole plus CobraHood more than simply hole. Sure, someone should be completely drunken, drugged and inherently manually handicapped at the same time to miss such combination with his or her thumb... But there are some drawbacks also, for example my Ti-Salsa tends to come from the pocket partially opened because CobraHood catches on the pocket edge in draw. Probably this shouldn’t be an issue on tip-down carry...

Kit Carson’s flipper on CRKT M16 and M18 series and Ken Onion’s index trigger on KERSHAW SpeedSafe equipped knives (Boa, Chive, Scallion) are at least not slower, not less safe at opening, not less comfortable in comparison with SpyderHole. But can they be considered as improvement – I really doubt, they are very different and also not completely snag-free...

Greatly probably this is the question of individual preferences and entire knife evaluation...
 
To each is own, I personally think the hole is functional. I like it from a functional perspective, I just think it's ugly. I haven't seen any "Art Knives" with a hole. I'm sure there are a few, I just haven't seen them. Thumbstuds, flippers, hoods, nicks, pads, certainly, lotsa those. Holes? Nope, I can't recall seeing a hole in an art knife. Custom tacticals, sure, lotsa holes there. Why must people get bent out of shape because I think the "hole" is ugly? I think it's a great concept from a functional perspective, especially since I'm left handed! Pirella/Elishwitz have a tactical with a hole that looks O.K., but it's not an art knife. Osborne has a hole in a tactical, but not in his fancy folders. Nope, face it guys, the hole just ain't pretty to look at. It's akin to the A-10 "Warthog", no other fixed wing aircraft can do it's job better, but it ain't gonna win a beauty pagent!:rolleyes:
 
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