Fastest One Hand Folder

M

monk71

Joined
Mar 14, 2002
Messages
32
Hello all,

Just wondering which folder you feel provides the fastest one handed opening. I prefer opening the blade with a quick flick of the wrist. Is the thumb stud or hole better for this?

Thanks.
 
I'd have to give the nod to my Buck/Strider -- you can wrist flick it open without even using the thumb stud (although that usually causes the liner to stick a bit). Mostly just a nudge of my thumb is sufficient.
 
I love my Emerson Commander. That is the fastest opener that I own, besides an auto.
 
My CRKT M-18 opens darn fast, the flipper makes it so easy and makes a good finger guard.
 
millie r/f

Just grab via pivot and hole, thumb hole as you apply wrist flick and pivot handle into grip.

most ppl don't even see you get it out, they just hear the click.
 
by far the fastest on the market to deploy is the emerson commander with a "wave".
http://www.emersonknives.com/Tact_index.html
click commander. then click Demo. then click the top commander link. nothing is faster, an auto does not even come close. it is faster than a fuxed blade(no strap to unlock. when you pull it from your pocket it is open, no flicking, pushing, or anything else. it is open when it comes out of your pocket). next best is a benchmade axis or SOG arc-lock. they can be opened faster than a switchblade(no fumbling for a button or accidentally opening in your pocket). they can be adjusted to open by gravity, making them that much faster:)
 
My new BM 942SBT. No need to touch the blade. A true wave opener. Thanks Osborne and Benchmade!
 
The fastest opener out of the pocket is the waved Emerson Commander.
If you are talking 'bout speed while having the closed folder in your hand, the Carson flipper on CRKT's M16 series works great.

Other than that, opening holes work better than thumbstuds IMO.
 
Originally posted by waynejitsu
by far the fastest on the market to deploy is the emerson commander with a "wave".
http://www.emersonknives.com/Tact_index.html
click commander. then click Demo. then click the top commander link. nothing is faster, an auto does not even come close. it is faster than a fuxed blade(no strap to unlock. when you pull it from your pocket it is open, no flicking, pushing, or anything else. it is open when it comes out of your pocket).
Click to expand...

I hear that so often but let me play devil's advocate...as a Commander owner, I have some experience with the Wave...it is fast, no doubt but consider the following...

1) it doesn't always work (this is especially true when wearing "softer pants" that allow the knife to move around and get "caught up" in your pocket...or that aren't strong enough to deploy the wave)

2) in order to deploy the Wave, you need to draw the knife toward the rear , which is most likely not the way you intend the knife to be going...so, does the split second you gain in opening the knife get lost in the extra motion to get it going back in the right direction?

3) what if you are in a position that you can't take advantage of the wave (e.g. someone jumped you and you are flat on your back)

4) you lose all the benefits of the Wave once the knife is outside your pocket...the same is not true of autos, wrist-flicking, Balisongs etc.

5) you can lose all the benefits of the Wave if you are not "properly dressed" to use it...e.g. I once cut a hole in a shirt that I was wearing outside my pants (over my pocket)...needless to say, since my knife got caught up in my shirt, it was not a lightning fast deployment!

6) faster than a fixed-blade? i don't think so...especially not if you have one sheathed in Kydex without retention straps

RL
 
I don't know about "the Wave", (since I've not yet owned an Emerson), but I DO know that once I get my stainless Spyderco Police model out of my pocket and nestled well into my hand, the blade seems to glide out rather smoothly and quickly with a push of my thumb.
 
I have to agree with RL. I had an Emerson Commander with the wave and while it is a cool little dodad, I don't think it is any faster than a knife that "flicks" open. I feel that I have much more control by wrist flicking and the knife is going in the direction that I want.

I think that the Cuda Maxx is pretty fast but the fastest knife I've played with is the Cold Steel Vacareo Grande. Because of the blade profile (it has a large hump shape when closed) it flicks VERY FAST.
 
1) i always wear levi's, so i guess that is why i have no problem.
2) using a reverse grip, it is moving foreward, OR, you can use the rapid deployment sheath(see last past for links.
3) that is why there are also thumb studs, you revert back to "flicking".
4) EVERYTIME the knife has ever come out of my pocket, it was open(way over 1,000 times, flawless with practice:)
5) ok, let me rephrase that then. as fast as a fized blade. if you pull either, the blade is open when it comes out, which is faster..., the same speed:)
thanks for the input:)
 
Microtech SOCOM. I have been flipping mine open with a flick of the wrist now since I bought it in 97. Easiest knife to flip open that I have ever owned and still locks up with no blade play.
 
I've gone with the carson flipper, riding in my back pocket, and a Benchmade AutoStryker in my right front, but the fastest of them all, is the Fixedblade Bowie knife tucked inside the waistband in crossdraw fashion. I prefer the Dozier Freedom Fighter.
 
My EKI commander is the quickest for me. I don't mean with the wave either.

I can't wrist flick any other knife in my collection as fast as my Commander.
 
I'm also going to say that any waved knife, assuming you get the technique down, is going to be faster than any non-waved knife.

If you're limiting it to traditional openings, probably the Spyderco Military. But I don't "wrist flick" knives -- if you do, there might be something faster.
 
since the speed difference can only be measured in the fractions of a second.

In every instance I've needed a deployed knife, I had the "situation awareness" to have deployed it long before the "threat" was within speaking distance.
 
Originally posted by MelancholyMutt
since the speed difference can only be measured in the fractions of a second.

In every instance I've needed a deployed knife, I had the "situation awareness" to have deployed it long before the "threat" was within speaking distance.
Click to expand...

Suppose that the "threat" is a piece of clothing caught in some machinery, or a rope into which some kid got himself tangled in such a way that it's cutting off his air.
 
Discounting the Emerson Commander and its pros and cons for a moment...

One of the fastest conventional non-spring folding knives for flicking, believe it or not, is the Gerber Covert. What the...?

Why? First, it's a liner-lock so you don't have the same type of resistance of the backspring of a lockback. Sorry Glockman, I love the Police too but it is a slug compared to the Covert and other liner-locks for most people.

Second, for thumbstud flicks, the thumbstud has a tight radius. You just have to push the thumbstud, even a love tap, to "snikt" the blade out.

Third, for wristflicking you can loosen the pivot screw with an allen wrench. In fact, you can have it to the point where a tiny bob of the knife will deploy the blade without sacrificing lateral blade play. The Lake/Walker safety is a bonus too. Note: With a simple omega type spring, they could probably design the safety to engage automatically when the blade opens.

It also doubles quite well for a kubotan stick in the closed position.

Although it may not be at the top of everyone's favorite folders, it's a pretty cleverly designed fighting folder IMO and deserves much more respect than it gets. It would be even better if it were a tip up carry.
 
What about the BM AFCK, and the Spyderco Police Model, two of the fastest one hand openers I know of.
 
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