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De-assisting, why?
- Thread starter n8swag
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I do it because it is not needed imo, and I think it is dangerous. I have come close many times when closing an assisted knife (only speed safe actually) to slipping off the blade and cutting myself because the resistance to closing an assisted knife can be a bit much, especially for someone not used to it in the case of letting someone use my knife. To me, it is a selling point to non-knife people who think it is the coolest thing in the world, and it will come in handy when they need to stab someone. A non-assisted flipper (Skyline comes to mind) is much more pleasurable to use than an assisted knife. I de-assisted my Echelon and Packrat, but did leave my Speed Bump assisted. For the Echelon, it was way too stiff, the Packrat, I took out the back spacer and added pillars, so the torsion bar had to go (better un-assisted as well), and the Speed Bump stays assisted because I do not carry it, and did not want to mess with it.
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Aside from the 'danger' factor mentioned above (which is legit in my view), assisted knives are often seen by law enforcement as 'illegal' knives in some jurisdictions, just like switchblades. The written laws in many areas don't distinguish between the two. Having the option of disabling the assist on a particular knife might reduce the risk of being hassled over it. Even if/when it's later determined it may not be illegal, that often doesn't stop local authorities from making a court case out of it. (Edit: The state of Texas re-wrote their law to specify the differences between switchblades and assisted knives. This came as a result of someone suing the state because they'd been arrested & prosecuted for carrying an assisted opener, which previously fell under the definition of a 'switchblade' there).
Some of my own assisted openers do seem to open a little too easily, and when not expected (my ZT-0350 is one of these). If the thumbstud snags on clothing, or if the 'flipper' on knives that have it gets inadvertently bumped, sometimes the blade tries to open. In the case of my 0350, it also has a tendency to partially open up if the knife is 'swung' like a 'gravity knife' (which are also illegal in most places). Part of this is due to the detent being a little weak, which should otherwise prevent accidental opening. I don't particularly like to carry A/Os anymore, because I got tired of worrying about it.
Some of my own assisted openers do seem to open a little too easily, and when not expected (my ZT-0350 is one of these). If the thumbstud snags on clothing, or if the 'flipper' on knives that have it gets inadvertently bumped, sometimes the blade tries to open. In the case of my 0350, it also has a tendency to partially open up if the knife is 'swung' like a 'gravity knife' (which are also illegal in most places). Part of this is due to the detent being a little weak, which should otherwise prevent accidental opening. I don't particularly like to carry A/Os anymore, because I got tired of worrying about it.
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I remove them because they are an extra system that can fail. I like having control over the opening. Ever follow through with your thumb and it runs into an open and locked edge?
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I cant say that I ever have..I do it because cops around here are sheep when it comes to knives. They wont understand that a knife is a tool it just a weapon in their eyes. Even the chicago cops are cooler about it.
I haven't done that specifically but I'm sure it's possible.
Same here.... I'm actually fairly happen with it! I like the fact I can toss my knife to someone now whereas before I was afraid to because I thought they would hit the flipper. The only thing I don't like is how easily it opens without the torsion bar, but at least it doesn't fly open when it hits that point.
Hey where and what size pillars did you get for the 350? That sounds really cool.
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Wow! Great reasons and explanations!
I bought a rainbow Kershaw Leek that was AO. It was just a beautiful knife. The AO was kinda cool too, I thought, never having owned one.
I don't think I realized it had a safety switch until I got home.
Like normal, the first thing I did was sharpen it. When I put that exceedingly sharp knife in my pocket, I realized that there were some important parts of my anatomy around there, and thought about an accidental deployment. For a second, I thought, "Good thing this knife has a safety!"
The first time I pulled the knife out, and had to release the safety to open it, I threw it in the cupboard, where it has resided ever since.
I've since played with other AO knives, and as was stated earlier, I find the difficulty in closing them outweighs speed of deployment a bunch.
I also second the statement that they are kind of scary to sheeple. We don't need that.
I bought a rainbow Kershaw Leek that was AO. It was just a beautiful knife. The AO was kinda cool too, I thought, never having owned one.
I don't think I realized it had a safety switch until I got home.
Like normal, the first thing I did was sharpen it. When I put that exceedingly sharp knife in my pocket, I realized that there were some important parts of my anatomy around there, and thought about an accidental deployment. For a second, I thought, "Good thing this knife has a safety!"
The first time I pulled the knife out, and had to release the safety to open it, I threw it in the cupboard, where it has resided ever since.
I've since played with other AO knives, and as was stated earlier, I find the difficulty in closing them outweighs speed of deployment a bunch.
I also second the statement that they are kind of scary to sheeple. We don't need that.
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usaknifemaker has pillars, although I had to change the height with grinding wheel a bit to make it work. I did the same thing for my Skyline and just took some pillars from some knife (Gerber maybe) that I never used. Not a big fan of back spacers at all, so I do pillar swaps anytime I can.
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I took the assist out of my BM 581, originally I was just trying to adjust the pivot, then ended up taking the whole thing apart because the centering was off and it developed play I couldn't adjust out, but once I too the whole assist mechanism out, it went together perfectly centered and with no play, and once I started using it like that, I liked it a lot better, still just as easy to open, and now I can one hand close it instead of having to close it like a stiff slipjoint. So my main reason, easier to close, and I find the assist unnecessary.
Sounds legit! Do you have any pics? Any particular reason you dislike back spacers? Good mod.
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Not of the Packrat, but here is the Skyline. I had some other mods done to it as well.
I like the pillars mainly for looks. It is also easier to clean out pocket lint (or blood and guts of course), well maybe just pocket lint
Not of the Packrat, but here is the Skyline. I had some other mods done to it as well.
I like the pillars mainly for looks. It is also easier to clean out pocket lint (or blood and guts of course), well maybe just pocket lint
Not too shabby! I'm debating whether to do it to my 0350.... I'm really liking it de assisted! It's a lot more user friendly for one handed closing.