One of the first knves that came to mind is the Combat Elite RRF manual. Mine is soooo smoooooth!! My Spyderco's are easy to open one handed and are non-assisted. Also, have you thought about the Benchmade Axis lock? I have a Ritter mini-grip, and it IS easy to open as well. Spyderco has the Ball Bearing lock, which I feel is smoother. None of the knives I have mentioned are Assisted Openers. I DO hope this helps! PS: The knives I have mentioned also have good, if not real good blade material. I personally would stay away from Columbia Knife & Tool, as the quality of their blade material has seriously gone downhill, in my opinion. And I would not waste my money on their knives. THAT is just me.