Does one really need one handed opening?

[Petunia D. Feeble]

So I've just spent the past few days with a Manly Comrade.

Our very own G2 has been championing them on the forum for some time now and it's his knife I've been carrying. He was gracious enough to loan me his for a light test.

I'd been interested in the knife since being introduced to it, but it's a strange beast. Not quite traditional while certainly not "modern" either. I've decided I quite like it, but it won't be my daily carry. I think I'm going to take it on as a project knife for "pimping."

I'd figured we'd been spoiled by one handed opening knives and didn't actually need them. Carrying the Comrade provided a convenient time to test the theory.

I never actually "needed" the one handed opening feature, but it was quickly apparent that I'd become accustomed to it. Many times a day I'd find myself holding something aloft and need to cut it only to remember I need both hands to open the Comrade. It's a STIFF back spring. I don't recommend trying to open it while holding onto something else. I cut my ring finger doing just that.

So I actually had to pause for a couple of seconds (lifetime), wander over to some elevated surface, set whatever it was I intended to cut down on said surface, open the knife and then finally resume my task. It's a wonder you old farts ever accomplished anything in a day. What with all the setting down and picking back up again. Ridiculous!

So, did I ever NEED the one handed opening? No, I never found myself tangled in parachute rigging and simultaneously the target of a hungry leopard. I did however find myself missing the convenience I'd become accustomed to.

The Manly Comrade is a fantastic knife and a great value. It seems, that in my hand at least, like other slip joints, it belongs to more civilized occasions where speed and convenience can be replaced by class.

Thanks again Gary for letting me borrow this little gem. Tomorrow it gets sharpened and then will find its way back to you.

Anybody else ever try giving up the Spydie hole, stud or flipper for a bit?

 

[GatorMedic]

Yes, I've needed one hand opening on quite a few occasions. I've never had the NEED for two-hand opening though, ever.

 

[Petunia D. Feeble]

When did you need it?

 

[DeadboxHero]

ive tried to carry nail nick slip joints

I find the deployment so inconvenient it would mostly stay in my pocket.

The manly comrade is a very attractive knife.

maybe enough to change my mind haha

 

[Knivesandreels]

I've had the unfortunate need of one hand deployment in a defensive encounter. Other than that, it's just fun to flick knives !


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[Inazone]

It's less about some urgent need than about getting a knife filthy. I often use whatever folder I have handy while working in my home, garage or garden, where I may be dealing with dirt, mud and other things. I'll often do the "dirty work" with one hand while using the other hand to manipulate whatever tool I need. If I can avoid using a dirty (second) hand to open my knife and thus keep crap out of it, all the better.

Otherwise . . . tactical? Yeah, baby!

 

[bdmicarta]

I need one-hand opening, and one-hand closing, and pocket clips. And sometimes I REALLY NEED these things.

If you are holding something in one hand that you need to cut, you only have on hand available to operate the knife. And this seems to happen a lot. And even when I don't need one-hand operation I want one-hand operation because I want to use the best tool available and not something that has fewer features.

 

[Insipid Moniker]

I happily carry knives that open either way. That said, if I was forced to choose one hand openers would win hands down (pun intended). Easy, quick one handed operation is frequently a benefit but, almost more importantly, it's never a detriment. I don't let the lack thereof deter me, though.

 

[Knivesandreels]

I've carried both as well; but that one time that I needed it, I had a PM2 on me and I'm glad I did.


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[deltaboy]

It more out of speed and convenience than a real need. Fact is I rarely use any of my flippers but carry one out of a need for another level of personal defense.

 

[mqqn]

I happily carry knives that open either way. That said, if I was forced to choose one hand openers would win hands down (pun intended). Easy, quick one handed operation is frequently a benefit but, almost more importantly, it's never a detriment. I don't let the lack thereof deter me, though.

Great answer right there.

best

mqqn

 

[GatorMedic]

When did you need it?

Wedged into a pickup truck on it's side in a slanted ditch in the middle of an ice storm in the pitch black night with an unconscious patient trying to pull him out while him and his clothing was caught on various things. I was bear hugging him with one arm holding his entire weight, trying not to lose my foot holds inside the mangled wreckage so we didn't both go down, while cutting him free with my knife in my other hand. Extremely obese patient in cardiac arrest that we were trying to move from our stretcher onto hospital bed but unbeknownst to me a firefighter had used a restraint to tie his wrist to our stretcher. Of course none of us realized this until we were in the middle of moving him so I grabbed my knife and sliced through the restraint real quick with one hand so I could help support his weight with the other. Holding a just born slippery baby in one hand while cutting open the OB kit to get out the clamps and scalpel to cut the umbilical cord. I could go on and on... Paramedics never have enough hands for all the tasks that need to be accomplished.

 

[Petunia D. Feeble]

ive tried to carry nail nick slip joints

I find the deployment so inconvenient it would mostly stay in my pocket.

The manly comrade is a very attractive knife.

maybe enough to change my mind haha

It's certainly worth the price, even just as a "special occasion" knife.

 

[Petunia D. Feeble]

Wedged into a pickup truck on it's side in a slanted ditch in the middle of an ice storm in the pitch black night with an unconscious patient trying to pull him out while him and his clothing was caught on various things. I was bear hugging him with one arm holding his entire weight, trying not to lose my foot holds inside the mangled wreckage so we didn't both go down, while cutting him free with my knife in my other hand. Extremely obese patient in cardiac arrest that we were trying to move from our stretcher onto hospital bed but unbeknownst to me a firefighter had used a restraint to tie his wrist to our stretcher. Of course none of us realized this until we were in the middle of moving him so I grabbed my knife and sliced through the restraint real quick with one hand so I could help support his weight with the other. Holding a just born slippery baby in one hand while cutting open the OB kit to get out the clamps and scalpel to cut the umbilical cord. I could go on and on... Paramedics never have enough hands for all the tasks that need to be accomplished.

Yep, you really do need one handed opening. Thanks for responding. I was just opening a package of bacon.

 

[bt93]

I've only used a one hand opener sparingly and found, yes it's great but no screwdriver. I gave up the convenience for the tools on my SAK. I will say though that my next knife will probably be one of Vic's one hand opening 111mm knives. I'm just not in a hurry to get it though.

 

[knarfeng]

Does one really need one handed opening??

I carry and use all sorts of knives. One handers, traditionals, and even a Manly Comrade, which I find terribly satisfying. I am a dyed in the wool knife knut and have been for decades.

IMO, whether you need one hand opening knives is going to depend on the individual and how he uses a knife. As our paramedic friend demonstrated, some folks desperately need it. Others, not so much.

Personally, I can't remember any time I really needed one hand opening. But I don't use a knife for my job, I just use it on a daily basis as a tool for the little maintenance tasks every homeowner of a 30-year old house faces. So it isn't a bother to take a knife out of my pocket and use both hands to open it.

As the saying goes YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary.)

 

[Jens Schuetz]

I need it as much as a lock remote for my car.
I can work around it if I have to and go all primal and slow with manual keys or nail nicks but I'd strongly prefer not to in EDC.

That doesn't mean I don't appreciate traditionals for cool or unique looks or simply to connect more to ancestors or to see how primitive one can go and what impact such little things can have. Kind of like experimental archealogy

I still like my SAK for all the memories but for EDC it's just too inconvenient.

Squating down cutting things in the garden with dirty hands a knife which quickly opens and closes easily disappears and reappears when needed, hello pocket clip, is very useful. A traditional I'd probably open once and keep it open until everything is done. That's a safety issue and keeping it ready while doing other things means placing it on some available surface, probably soil. Yucky.

 

[SFW]

I use the one handed opener on my knives all the time at work. Sometimes taking your weak hand away from holding something is not an option. There's nothing tacti-cool about being a service technician. I cant always let go of a bunch of cabling above my heard in a ceiling to open a knife. Just sayin...


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[dalefuller]

An example of a non-emergency need... back when I was working I worked in a sporting goods warehouse. My cutting tasks would involve me being in between two very high stacks of boxes strapped to pallets working my way down a very narrow man-lane. I had to turn sideways to get into the lane and move down it. When I needed to remove the stretch wrap, cut the pallet strapping, or open the boxes, there often was not enough room to get two hands & arms where they needed to be. OHO knives or small FBs were the things that worked.

Also, some of my work was done from man-up cherry pickers 30 feet off the concrete floor. When I was stretched from the cab over into the racks to cut something loose, I was holding onto the rack posts with one hand even though I was in a strong safety harness. That left only one hand to get a knife out, use it, and replace it.

Nowadays... I've just gotten used to them and continue to prefer them over traditional two-handed folders.

 

[Peter Hartwig]

I carried two handed opening knives for many a year, and got by fine. Then again I lived without calculators, computers, and cell phones, and got by fine also. I prefer one handed opening knives and find them very useful.