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Does one really need one handed opening?

Until I got my imperial jackmaster Barlow I had no clue how little I actually needed one handed opening.
I could never see myself really edcing and using a 2 hand opener as my primary folder, but that Barlow just begged to be used, and I carried and used it enough to become comfortable with having a 2 handed non locking blade.

I now love carrying the 2 handed folders that I have, but every time I switch back to my buck 482 I realized how much o love the one handed convenience.
 
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When I cut something I hold in my left hand, then I take my knife out of my pocket with my right and open it. Then I cut the object, close the knife and put it away.
 
DapperDan said:
Good answer. I'll go with this.
Click to expand...

There's no real way to specifically need a two hand opening knife, but you can certainly have no real need for a one handed knife.
In the end it all boils down to what we like to carry over what we actually need ,but I think a lot of people haven't even taken the time to assess what they actually do or don't need though .
 
I've never been is a situation where my life, or anyone's life depended on me being able to open a knife with one hand. And although I've had jobs that required me to have a knife, my job never depended on me being able to open a knife quickly or with one hand.

However, when I was carrying a knife capable of being opened with one hand, I was willing to put myself in situations where I would need a knife that could be operated with one hand. But if I had a two-hand knife, I could have performed the same tasks, I just would have performed them differently to accommodate my need to open my knife with both hands.

I've made a living using knives, but I wouldn't say that I absolutely NEEDED a one-hand opening knife.

One-hand opening knives are an extension of mans technological evolution- we are always looking for ways to make things faster and easier.
 
I don't. Job may consider it a "weapon", which is a no-no. Why take a chance at losing my job?
 
Having been a mechanic for 35 years it only makes sense to carry a one handed opener. As far as the untangling of parachute lines I always carried a fixed blade. There may be no time to open any knife.
 
I don't see the point of 2 hands opening...
Actually for me the question will be the other way round: "when do you need two hand opening?".
Two hands opening is fine when you sit, maybe when having some picnic....

I use my knives at work, at home, most of the time standing and holding something in the other hand.
Having onehand opening is just easier for me, I don't have to care about when/how I have/want to use my knife, it will works.

And also it is much more fun for me.... so even when I have the opportunity to open it with two hands, I prefer to do it with one hand.

so for me, it is one hand opening and that's it.

I understand there are aot of nice and usefull two hands opening knives, but I don't have any interest in them.
 
There's no way I can cut Parietaria from the electric systems in the rock walls while hanging 3 to 20 ft from the floor, with a two handed knife, unless I hang from the metallic net using my teeth.


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A fixed blade or OHO folder do the job while wearing gloves and using the other hand to strongly grab the metal wire.

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The time I truly NEEDED (and had) a one-handed knife:

Several years ago, about 2 months after getting into rock climbing, I was trying out a new way of backing up a rappel. Essentially, I was using a small length of rope (a prusik loop) to tie around the main rope, which, if I let go of the main rope, would cinch down and stop me from falling. I was going over a large roof, or undercut area, about 70ft off the ground. When negotiating such a roof, it's best to go fast for a few feet to clear the roof, otherwise you can smash your face on the edge once your feet are under the lip. I tried to do this, went too fast, my prusik loop was too short, and it locked up on me, hard. I tried to get the knot loose, but couldn't. To make a long story short, I didn't know how to get out of the situation by any other means than to cut the prusik loop. I now know several ways I could have avoided this. Anyway, I had to cut the prusik loop while holding the brake strand of the main rope, otherwise, once I cut the prusik, I would have fallen to the ground. So, that was one situation in which I really NEEDED a one-handed opening knife. Now, I could get out of that situation without a one-handed opener, or even a knife at all, but at the time, that's all I could do.

I have many other examples of times when I didn't necessarily NEED, by the strictest definition, a one-hander, but it's not really about necessity. It's about convenience.
 
Hi. I rotate a number of knives in my normal use. I’d say I feel comfortable with EDCing a SAK and a PM2 the same way :).

As someone said already, I also find the one hand opening feature really handy for all those trivial jobs of mine around the house or in warehouses/production lines. You know, like having that masking tape stretched out, which I can’t let go from one hand without screwing up the right length; that paracord to cut while hanging from a tree branch, that cutting/scraping job to carry out while holding the ladder rail, maybe with a screwdriver already between my teeth, etc.

One thing I really like from the two hand opening knives are those two/three seconds of time I get before the cutting. Might seem silly but, sometimes, this “micro pause” is very useful for me, both in terms of deciding if really cutting or not and as far as cutting precision. I appreciate both knives features. Kind of different tools for different jobs.
 
One hand opener, because i haven't found a nail nick big enough to use while wearing gloves. Or should i put down what I'm doing and then remove my glove ipen the knife then put down the knife and put my glove back on then continue what im doing.
 
killgar said:
I've never been is a situation where my life, or anyone's life depended on me being able to open a knife with one hand. And although I've had jobs that required me to have a knife, my job never depended on me being able to open a knife quickly or with one hand.

However, when I was carrying a knife capable of being opened with one hand, I was willing to put myself in situations where I would need a knife that could be operated with one hand. But if I had a two-hand knife, I could have performed the same tasks, I just would have performed them differently to accommodate my need to open my knife with both hands.

I've made a living using knives, but I wouldn't say that I absolutely NEEDED a one-hand opening knife.

One-hand opening knives are an extension of mans technological evolution- we are always looking for ways to make things faster and easier.
Click to expand...

This pretty much explains things in a nutshell. Does one really need one handed opening knives? For me, No. Have I EVER needed a one hand opening knife? Probably. Does 1 in a 100 hundred need force me to carry a one handed opening knife? No. You adjust your methods and procedures to accommodate the tools we use. If you use tools commonly, you know their limitations almost intuitively and adjust before you need to use them. You don't choose a opened ended wrench when you can comfortably use a ratchet and sockets. But you can. Another one of those damned "modern" conveniences and almost akin to one handed opening knives.

Other tools.... corded electric drill vs battery operated drill. Nut drivers versus screw drivers? Ever try to screw/unscrew 20 or 30 metal screws with a regular screw driver? You can, but a nut driver set up works a lot faster and is easier.

I generally carry a large SAK and depend on it for the majority of my daily cutting needs. But I could carry a one hand opener.... a fixed blade. They are the original one hand openers and still in use today. But I enjoy one hand opening (OHO) knives too (especially assisted openers). I frequently open my OHO Spydies with two hands because that is what I am used to. But I can open them one handed if I choose to. I even own and use OHO SAKs, but for me that are not one hand closing knives.

One needs to reflect on the entire knife need versus only the opening when choosing a particular style of knife.

Generally speaking, I think in terms of using two hands to open a knife and my actions reflect that. If I was used to carrying only a OHO knife, then I would probably intuitively adjust my tool use. So, it is mostly what you get used to.
 
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I don't know that I've ever "needed" the one hand open feature but I do appreciate the convenience. I occasionally carry traditional slip joints and they handle any cutting jobs I have.
 
I always carry two knives. A one handed opener and a traditional slipjoint. Nine times out of ten, I use the two handed opener. I just like them better. When I need it, I have a one handed opener just in case. Usually a mini grip or something unobtrusive. I use a one handed knife enough to justify carrying it, but I don't use one as my go to. I also threw a thumbstud on a 110 so I have the best of both worlds. I prefer traditional materials so much more. As they say...it's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
 
Yes I do need one hand opening.


Hickory n steel said:
There's no real way to specifically need a two hand opening knife, but you can certainly have no real need for a one handed knife.
In the end it all boils down to what we like to carry over what we actually need ,but I think a lot of people haven't even taken the time to assess what they actually do or don't need though .
Click to expand...
I don't presume to know what strangers on the internet "need" in there daily life.

Nor do I assume they have no idea what they actually "need".
 
I have converted to mainly slip joints lately. So do I need one handed opening generally not is it handy at times yes. At work I always carry a one handed opener as I work in law enforcement and in the slight chance I would need it for weapons retention I wouldn't want to bust out a slip joint and say hey hold on a second. Out of work I carry a slip joint about %90 time and have no problems. May sound stupid but like someone else stated that extra couple of seconds of opening time actually seems to give my brain enough time to process what im about to do which translates to less whoops moments and accidental cuts. That being said I can see how it could be needed or at least really useful for other peoples needs which always vary.
 
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