Flicking open any folder is bad for the knive and could void the warranty as abuse.

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peshkabz

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May 6, 2003
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I recently read in a magazine (this particular article written by a famous knife maker) that flicking, flipping, popping, 'what-ever' you want to call it is bad for the pivot pin of the knife and the lock. The article stated that the forces of the popping are far greater than what the knife was intended for. After extended popping the pins get hammered causing some eventual slop.

Now I admit it is fun, and I am very guilty of this in the past, but the article put a halt to routing recreational-in-front-of-the-TV popping.:grumpy:

Has anyone experianced this 'loosening' for themselves?:eek:
 
It's probably not so bad for the pivot pin, but the stop pin gets flattened a little and it makes the knife go back more so the liner engages more. This shouldn't happen on a good knife, but I've seen it on some framelocks before.
 
Come on, sing along!

It's my knife, and I'll do what I want...
It's my knife, and I'll do what I want...

:D
 
I figured I paid all that money for the knife and if/when the stop pin gets flattened a little and the knife developes a little blade play that will give me an excuse to go buy another.

I have a Benchmade 943 and the action is so smooth you can't help but flip it open, it's just so damn SMOOTH.
 
It's my knife, and I'll do with it what I want! :)

Every single Benchmade AFCK I have ever owned has been so smooth and loose that it was impossible to not want to flick it open. So I did. :)
 
How about auto and flipper type of folder ? Does it say anything about them ?
 
OK, this has been bugging me.

Read the article, respect the opinion of the author, but dammit I get too much joy from flipping them.
I have never experienced a problem from it. So my flipping is OK for my knives. Moderation being key in all things.

I perfectly agree that a manufacturer may regard this as a severe stress on the design. And further they may want to preclude servicing knives treated this way. And thats OK.

But.......
Doesn't waving a knife open subject the knife to exactly the same forces??
If so, and I believe it does, the knife should have been designed to withstand such forces.
Seems to me if a knife is designed to wave open it should be good for a flip open now and then.
 
When you pull back an axis lock, the blade can be flicked out so easily, it hardly puts any pressure on the mechanism at all. Darrel Ralph says his knives are designed to be flicked. The standard way to open any balisong could be called flicking, too :)
 
Flicking a knife is the prerogative of the owner. So long as they realize that there is a potential for damage and that the maker/manufacturer may not fix the damage under warranty then it is up to them what they do with their knives.
 
I don't really give a crap. Unless it's clearly stated in the warranty that you aren't supposed to "flick" or "snap" the knife open and they consider it abuse and won't repair the knife under warranty They lost my business plain and simple.

Any one here disagree with me?
 
I agree that they've lost your business. They'll still keep mine though. I'm not a compulsive flicker.

I Spydie drop. :D
 
I need instructions on how not to flick open a knife. All the more reason to buy from a reputable manufacturer with a no BS warranty. I bought my first lockback in '74 'cause with a little practice and break in you had your first flicker. We called them 4" folding hunters in the old days...
 
Allen Elishewitz was the author of the Blade Mag article warning of the potential dangers of flicking. Anyone who attends knife shows has seen the signs on the tables of many makers---"Please Do Not Flick Knives". It does not take a degree in mechanical engineering to see the long term risks to the integrity of a folder from vigorous, aggressive flicking.

That said, I really don't see much real harm in an occaisional flick with a well-made knife--custom or manufactured. As stated above--you bought it--it's yours--have fun.;)
 
Originally posted by Buzzbait
I agree that they've lost your business. They'll still keep mine though. I'm not a compulsive flicker.

I Spydie drop. :D
Click to expand...

Well they haven't lost it... bah!

CE or PE Millie?
 
Hehehe..... Who would have ever thought that dropping your knife would be a good thing? ;)

Always PE. Although the Military's blade is long enough to support a combo edge, I just don't like having such vastly differing grinds on the same blade. The combo edge makes the blade more of a hassle to sharpen, and I tend to end up rounding off that first serration while sharpening. Call me a klutz. I also can't properly convex my serrations. :(
 
On similar threads, custom knifemakers have said you can flick my knives all you want. A small minority said it was abuse.

The spyderco starmate was designed to be flicked open by the spydie drop per Terzuola.

Some say a well made and hardened stop pin is a key to successful long term flicking. I've also heard it said that those that can't make it right, say flicking is abusive.

But then, don't forget, the best production knife in the world, the sebenza, can't be flicked w/o voiding the warranty and CRK won't give a straight answer as to why you can flick a Benchmade but not a sebenza.
 
Yes, the article was written by Allen Elishewitz...who subsequently introduced a series of flipper knives at Blade!!!!

AE3483.jpg


RL
 
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