EDC For Handicapped Nephew

T

TerryM

Joined
Dec 1, 2005
Messages
84
I'd like to buy my two nephews each a good pocket knife. Brian will get a Buck but the issue with Mike is he only has one hand. Is there a one hand easily opened, quality pocket size knife that would suit this young lad and can you recommend a make/model? Many thanks!
 
Benchmade Brand. Most knive only require one hand these days. I would recomend the Griptillian. It's lock is the easies and safest for single handed opening/closing. Out of curiosity, which hand does he have? Most knives are geared towards Righties.
 
If your nephew has normal manual dexterity in his single hand you have a lot of possible choices. I would call around to your local Walmarts and locate one that has a Spyderco Native in stock. This knife opens by thumb pressure acting on a hole in the blade. It is made with a premium S30V alloy blade. It costs just under $40.00 at Walmart and is comparable to knives costing twice as much.

If his manual dexterity is not so great he might have a better time with a knife with a little spring assist in its opening mechanism. A Kershaw Leek would be a nice choice. These are a bit more expensive and you might need to go to a knife shop to find one. Online they aren't too bad. Here's one place that you can find them at a good price:
http://www.thekershawstore.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=K1660&click=7
 
I like the native a lot too, but I would not recomend a backlock. I'm not saying it's not possible to do single handedly, but it may be too much trouble.
 
I second getting Mike a Benchmade. Get one with an axis lock. Maybe a mini-griptillian. Brian might get jealous, though. ;)
 
I'd look at these:

CRKT
http://www.crkt.com/litem1.html I carry this everyday. It has a "flipper" for easy one handed opening and a liner lock. Its ground on both sides and takes a beating.

http://www.crkt.com/catalog.html
These knives (in the Carson family) have the liner lock and "flipper". They are chisel ground, which I'm not into, but different strokes....

Camillus:
http://www.camillusknives.com/1mainframe.htm?camillus/index.shtml~main

Mooremaker
http://catalog.mooremaker.com/viewProduct.cfm?item_id=485973


These last two have cool gizmos to open and close the knife, but I own the M1 and I don't think I've ever used two hands to open or close it. If it is lost it is easily replaced, he can carry it tip up or down.

Biscuits
 
too much trouble? I close lockbacks all the time one-handed, without even looking at it. As long as it's not all the way on the edge, like the Buck 110, it's very easy.
 
I'd recommend one of the smaller Spyderco folders, with a serrated edge . . . just DON'T get one of the models with Micarta scales, as the pocketclip will eventually bust right off! If you're on a budget, thr Gerber EZ-Out can be got at Wal-Mart.
 
I belive some states actually have a provisoion in their knife laws that permit one hanede people to carry auto blades. Might just apply to adults. Worth checking out for his future?
 
You might look at a Kershaw Leek. It's an assisted opener, a little harder to close one-handed (without cutting yourself, that is), but practice makes perfect.
 
Spyderco Native at wal mart if you can find a wal mart that has them or you can order from new New Graham Knives. I have 1 and I love it . Always check them out for blade play too.
 
All right, a topic I can actually claim to be a pro at. I am a disabled vet and hardly have any use of my left arm and hand so I feel I can give you some decent advice here.

Main thing to look for is a knife that has some way to open it one handed, ie. the hole in the blade of Spyderco knives or the Thumbstuds on Benchmade knives. This solves the hardest part of opening and closing a knife one-handed.

The locking mechanism is your next thing to consider. There are 3 types you will most likely see:

Lock Back - has a bar on the back of the handle you push in to release the blade in order to close it. I have no problem closing one but I have handled knives since I was 8 (37 now) and have good manual dexterity. Probably the more difficult of the 3 to close but it can be learned and then mastered no problem. Basically I hold the knife in a saber grip and push down on the back of the lock while I move the blade down with my index finger pushing on the spine/back of the blade. Then I shift my grip and finish closing the blade with my thumb in the opening/closing device. Example - Spyderco Delica

Liner Lock - a steel liner engages the blade and locks it in the handle on the edge side of the handle. It unlocks by moving it to the side out of the way, then closing the blade. Easily done one handed by moving the liner out of the way with the thumb and moving the blade past the liner with your index finger then move your thumb to the opening/closing device to finish closing the blade. Less shifting of the grip compared to a Lock Back. Example - Al Mar SERE 2000.

Axis Lock/Ball Bearing Lock - This type of lock engages the back top part of the blade to lock it. It is unlocked by sliding back the Bar (axis lock) or ball bearing (ball bearing lock) that is located on either side of the handle. <Simple explanation of this lock type by me> Basically I hold the knife edge down with my fingers out of the way. Then I pull back on the lock with my thumb & middle finger while pushing the top of the blade with my index finger. Once the blade is unlocked I then finish closing it with my thumb using the opening hole/thumbstud. On my Benchmade Axis Lock it will almost close itself with gravity if I hold back on the lock. Example of the Axis Lock - various Benchmade models. Example of the Ball-Bearing Lock - Spyderco D'Allara.

The most important thing to stress is safety and the need to watch where your fingers are when closing the knife. Kids are adaptable and I am sure he has figured out how to do things one-handed that most people use two.

If he really develops an interest in knives get him a Butterfly knife later on. Opens and closes one-handed with flash & style.
 
Any Axis lock Benchmade.

It can be opened with one hand (either hand) as easy as a switchblade. You can either use the thumb stud hole to slide the blade open normally, or flick it open. Axis lock knives flick open so easy they almost do it telepathically.

Axis lock knives are also VERY easy to close one-handed, and with either hand. Just pull back on the Axis lock with your thumb or finger (and with either hand as you can unlock it the same way on either side) and let gravity close the knife. You can also help it along, but gravity will do it by itself.

It is basically a switchblade that fires out, and fires in, but without actually being a switchblade.

Liner lock knives can be opened and closed with one hand, but the opening is not as smooth and easy as an Axis lock, and closing a liner lock with only the left hand is a bit hard. So if he has his right hand, a liner lock will be fine, but an Axis is prefered. If he has his left hand, an Axis lock is head and shoulders the best choice, IMO.

Most BM Axis lock knives also have a clip that can be moved to the other side for left-hand carry. Don't overlook that detail.
 
I have a birth deformity in my right hand myself, I only have 3 fingers and 2 of them do not bend fully. I have tried many different knives over the years for carry on that side, and have found Benchmade Axis locks to be the best. I can open and close them just as easily with that hand as I can my good one.

Kershaw Assisted openers are pretty good also, but I have actually found the Benchmades easier to handle.

Good luck with you search!
 
I dont know how much you wanted to spend, but you should check out Emerson knives, specifically the knives with the wave feature. The knives open as you pull them from your pocket and are very easily closed with one hand. I have had one for years and it sill works great, gets razor sharp and stays that way.
 
Is he going to be using his left or right hand?

It makes a difference for some models mentioned above.
 
Check out both the Buck Tempest and Sirus. I have the Tempest it is an assist open that is very fast and easy to operate with one hand. Go to the Buck site for futher info and then check places like NGK and GPknives for good prices....William
P.s. I have both hands, many problems and ops on both. I also like the Discontinued Spyderco Lil"Temp PE SV30, Spyderco Manix and Benchmade Resistor. These knives cost considerably more than the Bucks that I previously mentioned, but open silky smooth and very fast with a solid lockup. I would buy any of the aforementioned again if I lost any one of them...
 
Thanks boys! And thanks Halfneck for your sacrifice for our freedom!!!

Mike is in his early twenties and is right handed. He's pretty athletic. His left hand has no fingers due to a birth defect. He's planted trees in British Colubia for three seasons with a crew. He made #1 tree planter for planting the most trees in a day. Pretty good for one hand!

I've got lots of good ideas now...perfect! Thanks again fellas!
 
I was going to suggest that hand strength can be an issue on some knives, but that doesn't sound like it will be an issue at all :D

I really like the axis lock, and it requires very little effort to release. If you were talking about a young kid, I'd probably say its your best bet.
Since he's older and in good shape, he should be able to handle pretty much any of the one handed knives out there, whether its a lockback, framelock, or one of the newer designs.

I will add that some assisted openers and automatics are tricky to close because you are loading the spring for it to open again when you close the knife. So the knife wants to pop back open until you get it to the latched position. This may not be the best for only one hand.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top