Current-Manufacture Non-Flipper Assisteds. Help make a list!

I

Ike

Joined
Sep 7, 2004
Messages
23
Okay, I've learned my lesson and I'll keep it brief. Not a recommendation thread. Want to know what I'm missing in terms of thumb-stud/disc-only AO folders with no flipper/Wave/bump/etc. features, all across the spectrum. Full-custom makers don't seem to make AOs (that I've seen); quality makers (here I can only really cite BM) only really make fine stuff on the platform in really limited runs (that people snap up to resell in 3mos. for too much), and just when I thought I'd finally found a trend that worked, made sense, didn't compromise the mechanism, suggest additional controls (to sane mfgs.) and even if busted didn't compromise opening (in most cases), it's gone like a fad. Maybe it was, I don't know, but I love 'em. Trouble is, outside of holdout Kershaw and a couple lesser contenders, I just don't know the whole range of what you can get in a non-flipper AO anymore. BM makes so damned many knives anymore I can't keep up; I have no concept of how CRKT quality is holding out, etc. etc. Bottom line, if it's being or been made the past year or two, and it's AO, just post it, mention it, tell me to go f███ myself or whatever, below.
 
Warning for insulting/ rude behavior
I'm not quite sure as to why you want us to do the legwork for you. Please feel free to ask questions but don't hand jobs out to people on the forum. Take your personal time to go to the big knife stores such as Blade HQ put in your search parameters and if you like something go to YouTube and check out the reviews. Just like we all do.
 
Using the above example, go to BladeHQ's site. Select Knives. Select Spring Assisted Knives. Scroll down, select your desired opening mechanisms (there are 660 under thumbstud - and you think we're going to list them for you??)....then narrow it down by cost, brand, and whatever else. Then look at the knives.
 
To be a bit critical, please use paragraphs for your text or less run-on sentences. I struggled a bit to figure out what you're looking for.

SOG has the aegis and Aegis mini that are pretty decent knives even though I didn't like the strength of the detent personally but they carry superbly. I think SOG has a few other thumb-stud opening AO as well. Gerber should have some too but they're more in the kershaw price/quality bracket than the slightly elevated level of SOG.

I don't know many high-end assisted, let along high end assisted non-flippers. At the point of high-end knives I see it going completely to the automatic or the pivots are so smooth that assisted just takes away of the engineering and execution.

emjay4248 said:
I'm not quite sure as to why you want us to do the legwork for you. Please feel free to ask questions but don't hand jobs out to people on the forum. Take your personal time to go to the big knife stores such as Blade HQ put in your search parameters and if you like something go to YouTube and check out the reviews. Just like we all do.
Click to expand...

Sure, why would anyone ask people about different knife options that are out there? Heck why even ask questions about knives at all? What is this, a knife forum?

There's no reason someone can't ask for assistance to see what's out there. This is no different than someone asking for what's available in a 3" EDC folder, which comes up almost everyday. Maybe skip a response if you don't have anything to add to the topic.
 
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bikerector said:
To be a bit critical, please use paragraphs for your text or less run-on sentences. I struggled a bit to figure out what you're looking for.

SOG has the aegis and Aegis mini that are pretty decent knives even though I didn't like the strength of the detent personally but they carry superbly. I think SOG has a few other thumb-stud opening AO as well. Gerber should have some too but they're more in the kershaw price/quality bracket than the slightly elevated level of SOG.

I don't know many high-end assisted, let along high end assisted non-flippers. At the point of high-end knives I see it going completely to the automatic or the pivots are so smooth that assisted just takes away of the engineering and execution.



Sure, why would anyone ask people about different knife options that are out there? Heck why even ask questions about knives at all? What is this, a knife forum?

There's no reason someone can't ask for assistance to see what's out there. This is no different than someone asking for what's available in a 3" EDC folder, which comes up almost everyday. Maybe skip a response if you don't have anything to add to the topic.
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If you feel that it is OK to ask us to list 200-300 knives without any parameter's then please by all means go ahead. The OP has been a member since 2004 and I would think at this point the OP knows how to do a search
on one of the major vendor's sites and narrow it down so that we could be helpful. I put in a similar request early on after joining and got my A## reamed for the same reason.
Oh by the way I will be more careful from now on to only post comments and reply's that you approve.
 
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Not high end, but cold steel has the Swift, an assisted opening knife with a Demko back lock
 
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emjay4248 said:
If you feel that it is OK to ask us to list 200-300 knives without any parameter's then please by all means go ahead. The OP has been a member since 2004 and I would think at this point the OP knows how to do a search
on one of the major vendor's sites and narrow it down so that we could be helpful. I put in a similar request early on after joining and got my A## reamed for the same reason.
Click to expand...

Parameters:
non-flipper
assisted open
current model

emjay4248 said:
Oh by the way I will be more careful from now on to only post comments and reply's that you approve.
Click to expand...
Thank you.
 
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How about we whittle it down? You want a Kershaw Blur, a Benchmade Barrage or a Benchmade 590 Boost.

They're all high quality, thumb stud opening assisted non-flippers made in the USA. The Blur is a liner lock that is readily available in Sandvik or s30v steel and is under $100. The Barrage and Boost are more expensive, but have more premium features, the axis lock and are available in a variety of steels.

The Barrage is also available in custom configurations via the Benchmade custom shop.

Of the 3, I'd go with the 590 Boost. I just like it. You can' really make a wrong choice of the 3 though.
 
hhmoore said:
Using the above example, go to BladeHQ's site. Select Knives. Select Spring Assisted Knives. Scroll down, select your desired opening mechanisms (there are 660 under thumbstud - and you think we're going to list them for you??)....then narrow it down by cost, brand, and whatever else. Then look at the knives.
Click to expand...

Look, I really appreciate this sort of suggestion, and hope that someone else who might be in need of this advice takes it, but if I spend another minute on sites of this nature I'm going to burst!
Two quick points:
  1. (somewhat unrelated to your suggestion) The internet's just as bad as a catalogue or (most cases) knife-mag for actually buying a folding-knife. These aren't merely tools to us anymore, or we'd just grab the cheap two-pack of (ʏᴏᴜʀ ʟᴇᴀsᴛ-ᴅᴇsɪʀᴀʙʟᴇ ʙʀᴀɴᴅs ʜᴇʀᴇ) at the feed/hardware/parts/surplus store as often as we needed, like sensible people. Which we are not; we're, to some degree, fetishists, and that's not pejorative, it fits.
  2. I didn't bother prefacing my question with the sources/resellers I've already been through, because I want something new. Whether this means personal experience/recommendation, dream blades/crazy one-offs, or something doesn't get the hype/distribution it deserves, that's all I'm after. Show me something new, or at least something you can vouch is worth checking out.
 
Kershaw Blur. There are several models of Kershaw that fit the bill.
 
unwisefool said:
Not high end, but cold steel has the Swift, an assisted opening knife with a Demko back lock
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I really dislike AO knives generally because they resist closing and it feels unsafe and awkward closing one-handed but I think if I was leg-closing a back lock I wouldn't mind.
 
[QUOTE="bikerector, post: 17733621, member: 464870"
I don't know many high-end assisted, let along high end assisted non-flippers. At the point of high-end knives I see it going completely to the automatic or the pivots are so smooth that assisted just takes away of the engineering and execution.[/QUOTE]

I appreciate the feedback as well as the suggestions, and have to admit I've never owned a SOG or Gerber folder, for me both were primarily boot-knife/dagger-manufacturers, some twenty, thirty years ago now. Jeez. I need to handle them, is what it boils down to, in a perfect world, with anything, but now at least with something in a similar line.

Hell, truth be told (I won't turn it into a version of my other indecipherable thread) I'm most interested in blades of steels with qualities similar to M4, VG-10, S110V, even S35VN/S60/S90 etc. (or an exotic like REX 121 or ZDP-189, but I'm not looking to spend that much) or anything comparable that'll both take as scary an edge as possible and retain it (far away from humidity) through non-working light use. If it's hard to get an edge on, so be it; I'll pay to ship the damn thing if they can replicate a full-length factory edge (assuming that edge takes advantage of both grind and steel, one reason I've lost confidence in Kershaw [sample size 5 knives over ~12Y]) but I've had it with softer budget steels, and while I'm at it, all Japanese profiles and grinds.

Obviously, I'm looking here to find something new for myself, but I've just about given up on that for the time being. Flippers and similar gimmicks absolutely have to go; at least for me. I thought AO mechanisms would have caught on better than they did; though I've only had a very early pair of Leek/Blurs I've roughed/trimmed stickers with a buddy's assisted-Axis ('boost' or something now?) BM and at least a couple other buddies carry some form of AO; maybe I overestimated market saturation or some other form of bullshit. Either way, I love 'em, and I guess that means I'm just not the target demographic; it stands to reason that might make me a specialty case, and just possibly suggest a bunch of under-the-radar choices, but, hey, whatever.
 
Warning for insults
emjay4248 said:
I'm not quite sure as to why you want us to do the legwork for you. Please feel free to ask questions but don't hand jobs out to people on the forum. Take your personal time to go to the big knife stores such as Blade HQ put in your search parameters and if you like something go to YouTube and check out the reviews. Just like we all do.
Click to expand...

Hey, pal, you haven't noticed this is a public discussion-forum. I'm sick and goddamned tired of people who wet their pants when they see more than a couple lines of text at one go and use the opportunity to add to that discussion their fatuous, curmudgeonly, unhelpful and unfriendly "me too… NOT!". You got something to chew me out about, by all means go and do so in a private message. Otherwise, keep your goddamned mouth shut.
 
Easy there. You invited people to tell you to STFU in your first post and then get indignant when someone doesn’t even go that far? Chill Winston.

On topic: any reason you can’t have an auto? Your options would broaden considerably.
 
I am pretty sure protech makes at least the tr 5 as an assisted opener maybe more too.

Benchmade torrent also might be an option.
 
ps0CY2J.jpg
OP, you can get a Benchmade 581 for around two hundred bucks:

1) Designed by Warren Osborne.

2) M390 steel.

3) Axis lock.

4) G10 scales with aluminium bolsters, milled out steel liners.

5) Powerful assisted mechanism.

6) Lifetime warrantee.

All in all, it’s a hell of a knife. Pictured above next to a Crooked River:



Oh, and maybe relax a bit?
 
Insisting on an AO knife limits your choices significantly. AOs typically are found on cheaper knives where the spring action can hide poor tolerances. The exceptions would be Benchmade and domestic KAI offerings. Have you looked at the old Onion ZT's; 0303, 0350 or 0200?

Why do you need AO? If you could succinctly share that, we might be able to suggest manual knives with acceptable action.
 
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