Do You Trust Half-Stops?

Thanks to this thread, I just spent a good 5 minutes analyzing the ends of different traditional knives to see the rounded vs flat tang, and opening/closing them to try to figure out which I prefer. :D

Verdict: I think I'm in the no half stop camp, but it seems like more of styles I like have them than don't, so it's not a deal breaker. The only time I like half stops is when trying to photograph a multi blade knife in a way that shows more than one blade open at a time. 'Course the last time I tried to open more than one blade at the same time on a multi blade knife, opening the second blade to the half stop made me nick the back of my knuckle on the blade already open.

I don't consider the half stop a safety feature when opening or closing, and I don't trust traditionals enough to ever close one with my fingers in the path of the blade.
 
I like half stops in general. There are a few knives, such as Douk Douks, that would be pretty scary without them. But I only find them useful when they're "hard" half stops.

As far as trusting half stops, I'm not sure what there is to trust. I trust every half stop to be a half stop.
 
I just learned how to build my first slip joint, it has a half stop
so I'm no expert.... but I can tell you that the spring is exerting alot of force in the half stop position
I believe it's not going anywhere, at least the one I just made, which has some pretty strong tension in the spring



ba19af3d5630d3e574793270e73b3b57.jpg
 
It has never occurred to me to put my fingers in the path of a closing blade. At least not on purpose :eek:

calvinw said:
Here's an example from a fellow member. Check out 32 seconds into the video:

[video]https://youtu.be/vLvSSIV-tcA#t=00m32s[/video]
Click to expand...

Just because you see someone do something on youtube, doesn't make it a good idea. :D I've even seen someone use their thumb on the sharpened edge to push the blade open from the half stop position. :eek:
 
r8shell said:
It has never occurred to me to put my fingers in the path of a closing blade. At least not on purpose :eek:



Just because you see someone do something on youtube, doesn't make it a good idea. :D I've even seen someone use their thumb on the sharpened edge to push the blade open from the half stop position. :eek:
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've seen Mike (aka knifeswapper, CollectorKnives.net) do that. It's just his thing:

[video]https://youtu.be/aWB1hiQnEto?t=4m28s[/video]


I'm starting to think maybe the YouTubers do push the spine to close for the sake of the video, so they don't get fingerprints on the shiny blades during the shoot. But maybe they pinch the blade in normal use.
 
rockgolfer said:
I trust them completely. Kinda have to when you add a liner lock into the mix :D
Click to expand...

When I close a liner lock, I release the lock with my right thumb, like in the gif. but I keep the blade pinched between my left thumb and finger to bring it to the half stop in a controlled manner.

Really, I always close blades in a controlled manner. I don't like to snap them shut.
 
I do close it pinching the blade sometimes. I guess I have gotten so used to one hand closing it against my leg that I have total trust in it now. That was my first gif! I can see more in my future lol

I just don't see how it would fail? I would need to fiddle with any new knife before I trust the mechanics of it. I can say I have never handled a knife with half stops and thought it wouldn't stop in the middle.
 
I've always been a little leary of Ron but he really is a nice guy:D:D:D

Ok, half stops don't pose a problem for me. Half stops or no half stops I've always been careful closing my knife:thumbup:
 
Just about the most dangerous thing I do with a knife (opening and closing), especially a two bladed jack knife design is open the blades up to the approximate half stop position to take a picture.
 
r8shell said:
When I close a liner lock, I release the lock with my right thumb, like in the gif. but I keep the blade pinched between my left thumb and finger to bring it to the half stop in a controlled manner.
Click to expand...

Me too :thumbup:

Congratulations on your first gif Jeff! :D :thumbup:
 
rockgolfer said:
I do close it pinching the blade sometimes. I guess I have gotten so used to one hand closing it against my leg that I have total trust in it now. That was my first gif! I can see more in my future lol

I just don't see how it would fail? I would need to fiddle with any new knife before I trust the mechanics of it. I can say I have never handled a knife with half stops and thought it wouldn't stop in the middle.
Click to expand...

Pretty much the way I am. I don't view closing a knife as a real significant issue. Just keep your fingers out of the way.
 
Harbeer, I borrowed your picture to illustrate a point. I have heard of custom makers who do a radiused half-stop, so that it has the best of both types. Your original is on the left, with the radiused half-stop on the right. By rounding the bottom edge of the tang, it opens smoothly and easily, but still offers the extra protection against closing. Does this make sense?

1c53a6d9-e6d8-4239-b885-f2ad03b2adae_zpsphtubdkr.jpg~original
58cbc392-bea7-4ac4-88bb-3cb1826d05e2_zpsrqr7qtwc.jpg~original
 
black mamba said:
Harbeer, I borrowed your picture to illustrate a point. I have heard of custom makers who do a radiused half-stop, so that it has the best of both types. Your original is on the left, with the radiused half-stop on the right. By rounding the bottom edge of the tang, it opens smoothly and easily, but still offers the extra protection against closing. Does this make sense?

1c53a6d9-e6d8-4239-b885-f2ad03b2adae_zpsphtubdkr.jpg~original
58cbc392-bea7-4ac4-88bb-3cb1826d05e2_zpsrqr7qtwc.jpg~original
Click to expand...

Hehe nice edit [emoji106][emoji2]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Isn't that radius option what GEC does too? At least on some knives? I think I've seen this commented on - makes the knife easier to open to the half stop position.
 
Just chiming in - the only half-stop I own is a Douk douk, which I greatly appreciate having on that knife. It's actually a two part movement for me, now that I think about it - I close the knife partway facing away from me (mainly to break the backspring tension, but the halfstop catches nicely) then hold it facing up and close the blade so the tip points at me. Just always did it that way, I guess.
 
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