"Drop Shutty" - Can We Have the Conversation?

Never understood the fixation on "drop shut action". I only want the sharp edge of a blade to be moving toward me when I specifically cause it to move. Anything else is an accident trying to happen. (Not "waiting", "trying")
 
With an axis lock or a button lock or something I get the appeal. But it's not exactly a high bar, even my $20 Ganzo with an axis lock drops shut.
 
For me it depends on the knife but as a rule of thumb on some knives I like it to drop shut with a little shake. But again it depends on the knife because some I like to roll them shut and even open just so I can feel the action and hear the magical clicks😁
 
All of mine drop shut like a rocket. I can easily open and close them one handed without having to worry about getting hurt. I don't let them fall, I flip the knife shut with the blade facing up. Push the side lock with my thumb and flick the blade up and shut with my finger. I use mine pretty much every day for normal task. I have a few that don't drop and have no issues with them either. I say let people buy what they want and live your life your way.
 
I generally like certain kinds of knives to be "drop shutty", although the phrase feels messy.

A big part of this is how I close modern locking folders with slick action. I no more like manually moving them to the closed position than I do slow-rolling them on the open. So I depress the lock and drop them shut. With liner and frame locks, there is a repositioning step. The lock bar is pressed, the knife is moved past the detent, then the finger or thumb is moved away and the blade is dropped home. (A side effect of this method is that detent ramps can cause an annoying hiccup, despite being considered a higher end feature.)

This is pretty natural with flipper tabs of the right geometry because it creates a natural stop point on the finger for that transition. However, not all knives with flipper tabs and slick action have the right geometry for this method and relying on it can cause nicks to the closing digit. Especially using thumb-stud knives with slick action, I've found myself starting the close in a horizontal or outwardly inclined position and gently rotating to a more vertical position for the drop. It might sound complicated but it becomes both fluid and fun with practice.

BTW, "drop shut" as a quality isn't binary and can be discussed as the extent to which a blade falls shut freely and how it feels as it does. Many knives on bearings don't drop with complete freedom and require a tiny bit of momentum. Some need a little shake on the way. There can be a unique feel along the path in closing a particular knife. Some are fast and some are slow. Some knives have an almost hydraulic glide. It can be enjoyable in ways that are hard to describe (almost like ASMR).

The real magic is when a knife can bring joy in doing that while also locking up solidly. On lots of knives, there is a sort of dance in the balance between action and lock-up in the pivot tension. Some knives never reach that balance and leave the choice of unsatisfying action versus a little blade play. Some have a ludicrously narrow window of tension for it, and you've got to dial it in with the blue Loctite. This is actually where I've found benefit in Skiff bearings. They often (not always) help with extending that window.
 
Like others, I want a little friction when I close my knife. I too use my leg to close a knife a lot.

The ability to close a knife one handed seems important to a lot of people, but not me. I have zero button locks, 1 BM axis lock, and zero axis lock like competitors. It just isn't an important feature to me.

As for the fidget factor, I don't fidget with knives or own any fidget toys.
 
Just freaking great.....as if I didn't have enough in my life to worry me - now I have - "Drop-shutty" to contend with!!!


:D :D :D - just (mostly) kidding here.

I never - until just now - thought about it.
Now, just like trying to not think about a Zebra during having sex, this is about the only thing I'll think of for the next week at least - when I open and/or close a knife.

It's enough to make a person carry a fixed blade...
 
My only knife that "drop shuts" is my Spyderco PM2 but it takes a fair amount of force to flick open which I like. The compression lock makes it easy to close. My bugout axis doesn't drop close which is fine with me. I'd rather control that one.
I have a feeling this "fidget factor" was made up by online stores/YouTube channels to either get more interest in knives or sell more. People lived with a slipjoints that don't fidget just fine. Every single review I watch of a knife people talk about how fidgety it is. 20 minute review and they never cut a single thing, makes no sense.
 
Drop shut is cool, but it shouldnt be the measuring stick of how good a knife is.I like them,but have plenty of folders that dont drop shut,too.I just cant even watch youtubers on knives anymore...
 
I cringe every time I hear “drop shutty” from some clown on social media that lives in an apartment and uses knives as fidget toys. Same as the dipshits preaching about “ergos” when they use a knife for 5 minutes a week.
 
Never got why so many people seem obsessed with how a knife opens and closes...but i'm a fixed blade guy and i prefer backlocks on my pocket knives 🤷‍♂️ Also phosphor bronze washers over bearings...

Biggest cringe to me is the "hydraulic" action crowd. Imagine buying a car just to obsess about how the doors open and close.

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“Drop-shutty” and the obsession with knives being “drop-shut” is the inevitable result of knives becoming fidget-toys and pocket-jewelry. Just another insignificant attribute to place value on.
 
GAGL said:
Never got why so many people seem obsessed with how a knife opens and closes...but i'm a fixed blade guy and i prefer backlocks on my pocket knives 🤷‍♂️ Also phosphor bronze washers over bearings...

Biggest cringe to me is the "hydraulic" action crowd. Imagine buying a car just to obsess about how the doors open and close.

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The worst is when people try to make these attributes justification for passing on a buy or returning a knife to a retailer.

“Like, no cap this knife isn’t hydraulic, bro. How am I supposed to be boujee when my EDC piece isn’t drop-shutty? That’s so cheugy, fam.”
 
One of the biggest draws for me towards Zero Tolerance was the action. I think I got my first one in 2016, when really good action was a little more rare and assisted was alive and kicking all over the knife universe.
I have one specific 0562g10 that is like a guillotine, but no blade play. I don’t necessarily seek that kind of thing out, but I have to admit I love the smoothness of a well made knife on bearings.

And I’d say the smoothest knife I own is probably my Eklipse Spanto. Not completely drop shut, but the smoothest IMO if that makes sense. It fires nice and quick,and once it’s past the detent ball, a turn of the knife, maybe a slight wrist movement, and gravity does the rest. I love that knife lol
 
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GAGL said:
Never got why so many people seem obsessed with how a knife opens and closes...but i'm a fixed blade guy and i prefer backlocks on my pocket knives 🤷‍♂️ Also phosphor bronze washers over bearings...

Biggest cringe to me is the "hydraulic" action crowd. Imagine buying a car just to obsess about how the doors open and close.

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Click to expand...
Lol I got a chuckle from this, but in all seriousness, a car does a lot of things, a knife only opens, cuts, and closes.
 
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