Easy open, why isn't it more popular??

roninelh

roninelh

Joined
Dec 14, 2010
Messages
610
I was out and about yesterday and I wandered into an antique shop in northern Idaho and came across something that changed things for me.... It was an all steel four line camillus easy open knife. I picked it up for $5 but it is going to cost me sooo much more in the long run.

I soon realised that easy open knives were the future for me! Just as I thought I was getting my traditonal collection where I wanted it I had to come across that dang easy open camillus! I find that it's much easier on the fingers and nails.

Anyway, I had a question for all you studied and experienced traditonal forum guys.... are there any newer makers making a nice easy open?? I've seen the GEC #25 and it looks too small and wide, also i have seen the #85 sfo and it looks better. Do any of the other makers make a slimmer easy open? If so, I must be missing something. I sure wish this were a more popular model.




 
I discovered that pattern not too long ago, but struggled to find a production model. I ended ordering a a custom one, I would love more production options also. They are great!
 
I guess it was more common back in the day when pocket knives were a working man's tool and those men were often wearing gloves, which makes using a nail-nick difficult.

These days I suppose those guys are using one-hand opening knives, assisted or otherwise, rather than pulling out their trusty Barlow.
 
jc57 said:
I guess it was more common back in the day when pocket knives were a working man's tool and those men were often wearing gloves, which makes using a nail-nick difficult.

These days I suppose those guys are using one-hand opening knives, assisted or otherwise, rather than pulling out their trusty Barlow.
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In my opinion, all true. Especially the second sentence for me. Although I still carry a smaller traditional with me regardless of my work knife, I can get to a knife clipped to my jeans 100 times easier than I can digging around in my dirty, sweaty pockets trying to get my knife out.

And no question how much easier it is to just unclip the knife with gloves on rather than to stop what you are doing completely, take your glove off, pull out the knife and use it, then reverse the process to put the knife away. It's a lot of monkey motion just to sharpen your pencil or to cut a banding strap to get at material.

Robert
 
GEC also makes the #85 easy open in a single blade model. I have one with natural stag covers. Not my picture but this is the same model:

GEML852112NS.JPG
 
My arthritic fingers are slowly getting worse, I might need to try one one day soon. Which one however will be the challenge. There are some really sweet ones out there. That GEC #85 would be a top contender!
 
That OP EO knife pattern continued as an offshoot of a Navy knife, and many thousands were made after WWII.
Great pattern. I would bet on a production model from GEC, maybe this year, based on their #15 pattern jack.
 
Fanglekai said:
GEC also makes the #85 easy open in a single blade model. I have one with natural stag covers. Not my picture but this is the same model:

GEML852112NS.JPG
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Beautiful!! this is more what im looking for, but now im having a hard time finding one thats single blade and not a liner lock (apparently GEC did a linerlock version)... Thanks for sharing.:thumbup:
 
waynorth said:
That OP EO knife pattern continued as an offshoot of a Navy knife, and many thousands were made after WWII.
Great pattern. I would bet on a production model from GEC, maybe this year, based on their #15 pattern jack.
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I was just wondering this very thing earlier today. An Easy Open TC Barlow or #15 Boy's Knife would be the ticket! I really hope to see this happen and if/when it does, I hope I can afford to acquire a small collection of them.

I have been enjoying my #85 SFO Easy Open knives a lot since I received them, and I would definitely be interested in getting some other patterns with the easy open feature.
 
I'm trying to figure out how to upload photos. Once I do, I'll post a picture of my modified GEC #15 EO.
 
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Grabbing the spine & opening is my favourite method. I have a few Fallkniven backlocks That open this way. They have double nail nicks, & only one blade. Not exactly traditional, though, but excellent users & a bit different with modern steel.
 
I know you guys are getting tired of an Opinel being mentioned in every thread nearly, but how much easier is it to knock the end of your knife on something solid and have the blade open enough to allow you to grab the blade and open it fully? A lot of these questions about problems with your knives can lead to the simple, well thought out design of the Opinel.

My apologies to the OP for disrupting the original purpose of your thread, re: finding a new pattern that you enjoy and want to add to your collection of knives. A great find, and a unique style of knife that I have never come across. I can see the obvious advantages of such a pattern, and would like to find one for my collection someday. I just thought of the Opinel when the conversation turned toward the advantages of the design.
Bang! There he is, now I can get off this rabbit trail, and back to the original thread.

Blessings,

Omar
 
Functionally, I can get behind the idea of pinching the blade open. I like that I can pinch my Hayn' Helper sheepfsoot. But aesthetically I can't jive with the EO cutout on EO jacks. Because it looks like someone cut out a huge chunk of the handles.:rolleyes:
 
Since you are asking why they aren't more popular, I'll give the opposing view. I don't like them. I've had a couple to try them out, but to my eye the EO cutout ruins the lines of the frame, and to my hand the notch screws up the grip. I don't care for bails, either, for the same reasons. Maybe enough others share my views to keep their popularity down, don't know.
 
Over/under said:
I'm trying to figure out how to upload photos. Once I do, I'll post a picture of my modified GEC #15 EO.
Click to expand...

I would like to see that. :) You have to use a 3rd party site to put pictures up on bladeforums if your a nonpaying member as far as I know. I use Photobucket to upload on here.
 
Forum just ate my post and can't be bothered retyping it. So in short, didn't like the look of them, but recently I've started to like the way they look, alot, although some patterns look better with it than others. I can and do use nailnicks, but much prefer being able to pinch open a knife by the spine of the blade. Some like my sodbuster this is very easy, some like my #15 clip blade are moderately easy, some are not easy to do so. The easy open solves this so functionally it appeals to me. Never liked the look of them before, but now I'm actively looking to get some sort of easy open.
 
Here's a pic of TL-29 that I converted to a single locking blade jack knife. I had added an easy open pull to it before giving it away to a good friend of mine. Sorry I didn't take another pic after adding the easy open pull.

DSCF2145.jpg
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