Flick or snap? Difference in parts wear?

D

dulleddown

Joined
Sep 2, 2007
Messages
155
Good morning,

When people refer to flicking a knife open as being bad for the stop pin, pivot, or any other parts, what is the consensus here about 'flick speed'. I'm likely being too anal about this, but my new Alias easily 'flicks' open just by me using my thumb. I can press down on the stud with my thumb tip and flick my thumb out and the blade will fully open and engage the lock. That is, my thumb breaks contact with the stud by the time the blade is about two thirds open, and momentum carries it the rest of the way.

Alternately, I know you can start any knife open just a little, to get it past the detent, or lockbar, or whatever is holding it shut, and then use your whole arm and wrist action to snap it open, you know what I mean?

I'm assuming that when people (CRK included) advise against flicking knives open they mean the latter, and that just lightly but quickly opening the blade with your thumb strength only is of very little consequence to wear on any parts.

Do you reckon that's about right, or is either nearly equally bad?
 
sounds right to me, I flick mine open, and hard snap occasionally just to do it (not in public)

I think a lot of people who never do it talk about how bad it is, but since they never do it, they don't have much of a frame of reference.
 
I try not to flick my knives open but sometimes its just plain fun, and I will flick it open via the thumbstud, not with a flick of the wrist,, lol, these days the only folder I do that with is my griptilian...
 
I don't mind to admit that I'm a flicker, some people are, and some aren't. What I'm not is a snap-slammer. I've seen some young folk who will loosen a blade just so they can pull it out and sling it open making the loudest SNAP you hear. It's a wonder some of the knives have not fallen apart from this already and flown in every direction possible. I've practiced to the point that I can open all my edc's with a flick so that the blade just sorta falls into the lock up position with no loud noise (only noise you hear is the lock coming in to lockup). The flick is not in my wrist but in my thumb. Under a pressure situation I don't know how I would respond, flick or snap, but I do practice getting it open and lockedup by flicking.
 
I think the minimum amount of force should be used. But the Axis lock was DESIGNED to be opened by a flick of the wrist.:) Why open it any other way??:confused:
Unless, of course, you're in the middle of a flock of sheeple, and you use two hands to open it! :barf::barf: OTOH, the sheeple will probably panic as soon as they see it, so you might as well flick it open! :D
 
I flip open my SOG X ray all the time. It's too fun not to. What's even worse, I flip it open upside down a lot, soley relying on centrifugal force.

=(
 
i dont think it matters unless ya are obssesive/compulsive about it.

i know i have never had a prob in that regard.
 
I have a 420 sub zero quench ti lite I got several years ago. This is definitely a beater, if I break it it'll just be a great excuse to get a new aus 8 version. But I've gone out of my way to try and break this thing. I've snapped it open as hard as I possibly can probably over 100 times and it's still fine. I don't think you're going to break the stop pin on a decent knife without being very determined to do so. On the other hand, my friend broke the pin on his Recon 1. Might be the heavier blade or just a defect.
 
I'm going the other way.... I also like to flick my CS XXL Voyager Clip point open. Most of the time I open it all the way with the thumb stud. Sometimes I start it and then finish with wrist action. I've done this hundreds of times with no ill effects visible or felt in the knife.

Then one day it occured to me that I may want to open the knife silently without the tell all "Snick", sound, one handed.

Whole new ball game! Might be possible with liner locks but not easy with my CS's.... Fun stuff.:cool:
 
glockman99 said:
My Kershaw Cyclone flips itself open, so I guess it's ok.:).
Click to expand...

You bring up a very good point, glockman. Is it just that Kershaws are made that much better (possible) or that all this talk about "flipping a knife is bad for it" goes a little overboard?
 
Seriously! I've taken apart my share of Microtechs and their stop pins and pivots weren't all that unlike all the other knives I've disassembled yet they have held up to hundreds of HARD openings.
 
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