Do you let your knives walk and talk?

[timberweasel]

:thumbup:

-Brett

 

[pertinux]

We often talk about walk and talk in our slip-joint knives but do you let your knife do it on a regular basis.

Absolutely!

Men after my own heart:

I'm a free bird! Let those puppies walk and talk.

Snappy, snappy!

I snap away.

I derive a lot of pleasure from the walk and talk of mine, so like they say, "Let the big dogs eat!" If the blade hits the spring, then out comes the belt sander followed by a sharpening session. I gotta let 'em sing!

Yep. I'm right there with ya!

And especially:

I let em snap away. The snap is one of the things that I like the best about traditional knives. I would be lost without it and my passion for knives would not be what it is today. Seriously, I like it that much.

I gotta have my snap. The louder the better.

Yup!

Just this past week end, wlfryjr and I backed into this very discussion (as opposed to being presented with the question) in the halls of GEC, as we happily found ourselves clicking and clacking and comparing together, letting our knives sing as a matter of course-- and then on purpose, to hear the different voices.

[Emphasis on, our knives-- one does not allow another's knife to shut unabated, without permission.]

~ P.

 

[Peter Parker]

On stag SJs with snappy springs I ride it in on closing; other wise I let it go.

 

[jkulysses]

I pretty much always ease the blade down quietly, and it annoys me if I show my knife to someone and they snap it closed. I doubt it really does any damage, but I can't help thinking it might if the blade is just a bit close to the backspring, or something. I probably look like my mom did when we'd slam the screen door. "You'll wear it out!"

This is how I am as well.

 

[Jack Black]

This is how I am as well.

Me too! If my other hand is full with something, I might let a blade snap, but otherwise the mere thought of a keen edge hitting the spring is one that makes me cringe!

 

[Thalestin]

Lots of great replies. Thank you .

 

[EyeDog]

At 71 anything that helps me snap back I am for. Snap away I say.

 

[bladeboss]

I let em snap away. The snap is one of the things that I like the best about traditional knives. I would be lost without it and my passion for knives would not be what it is today. Seriously, I like it that much.

I gotta have my snap. The louder the better.

Yeah. What he said.
I wouldn't say im quite as adamant about it, but that is one of the reasons I like traditionals.

 

[RDaneel]

[Emphasis on, our knives-- one does not allow another's knife to shut unabated, without permission.]

~ P.

+1 :thumbup:

 

[arizonaranchman]

I let it snap shut. Doesn't harm a thing. My knife gets used multiple times a day, from slicing the morning bagel to opening the mail, packages, cutting down boxes, etc. I don't slam it, but I never ease it down either, I just let it snap closed.

 

[Jolipapa]

I guess that the mountain shepherds did not snap their knives for fear of seeing the whole flock running away.
Another reason maybe that in the old times the springs were not so wide (sometime they would put two side by side) and could break more easily. Knives were also more rustic and the blade could touch the spring and loose the edge.

 

[supratentorial]

If it's a properly made knife, I don't think there's much risk of damaging it by letting the blade fall closed. But I usually would guide them at least part way. As far as personal safety is concerned, it's probably best to lower the blade instead of letting it snap shut. But in all honesty, for me it depends on the knife as well as what I'm doing. If I'm examining a new knife or a rare antique, I typically guide the blade most of the way and let it fall when almost closed. If it's a beat up user, then I do whatever is convenient.

...
[Emphasis on, our knives-- one does not allow another's knife to shut unabated, without permission.]

~ P.

Some folks have a tendency to push on the blades so I prefer that they drop them shut when they're close to the closed position. Unfortunately, there's no way to prevent someone from pushing on the blades when they open them.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

I used to like the loud snap in closing a blade, until I figured out that sometimes the blade overtravels from being closed so hard, and the edge can impact the inside of the backspring. I have a custom lockback that produced an awesome ring when allowed to 'walk & talk'; I eventually figured out that 'ring' was, in part, coming from the edge bouncing off the lockbar upon closing, leaving a dent in the thinly hollow-ground edge, and also a tell-tale divot on the lockbar. No more 'walk & talk' for that one...

I still sometimes allow a blade to freely snap shut from a very nearly-closed position (maybe an additional 0.5" of travel at the blade tip); but I'm no longer in the habit of allowing them to snap shut from half-open or even 1/3-open position.

Doing this to someone else's knife can often generate some 'stink-eye' looks as well; I've seen this from vendors at gun/knife shows, while watching browsers handle knives on display. Vendors usually DON'T LIKE IT.


David

 

[Jeff_R]

Greetings All,

Been reading your posts for years; wanted to pull up a chair, pick up a piece of scrap wood to whittle, lean back and take my trusty pocket knife from my pocket and join the conversation.

I too like to let my knives walk 'n talk. Snapping a knife closed is one of life's simple pleasures.

Like other gents here have said the only one that I don't is my Laguiole. It doesn't have a tall enough kick to keep the edge from contacting the back spring so what that one I do like a good Frenchman does - carefully (and with a little bit of panache) lower the blade back into it's handle. I saw one place that sells nylon strips that adhere to the inside of the back spring to protect the edge. To that I just push out my lower lip, raise my hands to shoulder height while shrugging my shoulders and say, "Mais non! Why would anyone want to do that?"

Cheers,
Jeff

 

[Railsplitter]

To those who touched on the subject of letting another person's knife snap while handling it, thank you for shedding some light on that. As I mentioned in my first post in this thread, I just let mine snap away. It's the way I've always done it. I never really considered that it could cause damage in some cases. I'm a little embarrassed to say that I never even gave any consideration to the possibility that someone might not like me doing that to their knife.

I'm sure I must have done this before while handling another person's knife. Probably more than once. I didn't even realize I was being rude. It won't be happening again unless I own the knife.

Thanks for the lesson.