flicking open your knife

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paulwesley

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Sep 5, 2005
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does quickly flicking open your knife with a good wrist flick wear down things faster than if you were to just open it slowly. I have a caly jr that was tight as all get out when i bought it and now it seems to be getting a little vert and horiz blade play (very little) and I usually give it a good flick to open it. Could this be related>>>>>thx/paul
 
paulwesley said:
does quickly flicking open your knife with a good wrist flick wear down things faster than if you were to just open it slowly
Click to expand...

Of course it does, just think about it:

Does slamming a door closed/open wear down things faster than doing it gently?

Hey, I have an idea, how about starting a thread about what manufacturers cover this kind of thing in their warranty.
 
On a lot of knives with torx screws, they get loosened up after hard flicks. Hard flicks are one of the best ways to assure good lockup, so it's worth it. Shouldn't really wear it out, though you might see some bruising on the spine and stop. Put some loctite or maybe nail polish on the screw, or just tighten it frequently.
 
cmd said:
Hey, I have an idea, how about starting a thread about what manufacturers cover this kind of thing in their warranty.
Click to expand...

Ralph actually designs his knives to be flicked open and they have huge blades for folders, check out the MAXX.

-Cliff
 
a well nown knifemaker advised against it.surefire way to f up a linerlock.maybe not immediately but it will definitely accelerate wear.and then some liners tend to get real stuck when flicked open.remember - the thumbstud is your friend
 
I have flicked open and closed my Benchmade 550 for a couple years with no problems. Still going strong.
 
If I couldn't flick them open, I probably wouldn't buy them!
Especially the couple of assisted-opening ones I own (Avalance, Wild Weasel, Scallion). They flip open harder than I would flip out a regular liner lock knife.
 
Of course it will. Moving parts will wear down, no matter how well made they are and of what material. Same thing happens to cars, electronics and human bodies. When moving parts move, they wear.

If the parts are fitted with greater tolerances (ie. tighter, better fitting) they won't wear as much because they'll move with even force on all surfaces. What causes wear in poorly fitted parts is uneven surface pressure.

Every now and then I'll flick open a knife, but I'm usually more descrete with my opening. Besides, the sound of a lockback slamming into place slowly is as close to sex with a knife as I wanna get.

Cliff mentioned Mr. Ralph's knives. If you look at them you'll see that they're very overbuilt to accomodate the never ceasing flicking open and open. He knows it's gonna happen because he designs such damn cool knives :D.
 
it depends on the knife, i dont think it will hurt a well made liner lock(ie a BM or MT will hold up longer than a CRKT for example), ya dont wanna go nutz with the thing but occasional inertia opening isnt neccesarily bad imho, its no harder on them than waving them (ie EKI) for instance, i dont think it will hurt the better locks (ie compression, axis, frame) at all. like everything else, moderation is the key word, if ya inertia open the thing 100X a day, of course its gonna accelerate wear. but, again, i think ya could inertia open a compression or axis all day long and never hurt the thing.
 
a LOT of makers wont warantee the knife...if this is done and needs repairs..........

they know when "youve been bad"

I personally hate it

:(
 
LaBella said:
a LOT of makers wont warantee the knife...if this is done and needs repairs..........

they know when "youve been bad"

I personally hate it

:(
Click to expand...

....................and I am one of them!
 
There's makers who say flicking damages the knife prematurely.

Then there's ones that make assisteds and autos, and still warranty their stuff.

How is OK to fire my linerlock Microtech LCC D/A time after time after time, but if I flick a Sebenza once, I'm abusing it? :confused: :confused: :confused:

I'm not really bothered either way. They give me the warranty terms, and it's up to me to decide if I follow them. But it seems silly that 2 different high quality knives are supposed to be able to take different types of use/abuse.
 
There's been a lot of threads on this subject. In the past, the consensus has been that Cammilus, Benchmade, SOG, Kershaw and Spyderco don't care if you flick and some knives are designed to be flicked open. In the other camp, only Chris Reeves says the his knives, specifically the built like a tank (?) sebenza, can't be flicked. Some knife companies have said the design flaw in knives that are hurt by flicking is in the stop pin.

Of the custom makers, Carson, Ralph, Terzuola have said flicking is fine, Elischewitz had a Blade article bemoaning flicking.

With your calypso jr., it might be getting loose from the hard use you've been giving it. If it bothers you, gently tighten the pivot screw/pin.
 
i do not managed to flick open my new Caly Jr ZDP189, i was thinking it was because the blade was tool light... i'll try again:)
I love to flick my BM940, and I have'nt seen any damage for the moment. It's a real pleasure and i have to control myself not to do it at the office...
yep, i am a bit nut... like most of you !:D
 
And some knives you HAVE to flick them to set the locks. (Strider Framelocks)

And add Brian Tighe to the makers who don't care if you flick. I asked him about it a year or two ago and he said why wouldn't you flick them, he does.:thumbup: :thumbup:

oil
 
"Elischewitz had a Blade article bemoaning flicking."

I carried a custom linerlock Elishewitz for 3-4 years. Flicked it repeatedly daily for that length of time. Never saw a problem, until------

training with Jim Keating one year in Little Rock where we were using our live blades on a dummy in slashing drills. The blade released on a good hard slash and nearly cut through the leather glove I was wearing..

On inspection of what happened, it was discovered the blade pivot had elongated enough to let the blade move enough under presssure to release the liner. Without the hard slashing drills, I would not have known it had a problem as lock up was still tight.

It went back to Allen and was fixed for shipping charges only.

Took 3-4 years of hard flicking repeatedly for that to happen. Less well made knives probably won't last as long before problems arise. I flick less today than back then for no particular reason other than it is now less important to do so.

Robin Brown
 
I never flick a liner lock, because I get worried about premature wear, unless the manufacturer states it's ok. However, on famelocks like my SNG I don't care. It is thick and overbuilt, and well, just begs for it. As for DDR's knives? Well, hell yeah they can be flicked. That is one of the reasons I ordered one!;)
 
I buy a knife so I can flick it. If it's not flickable, forget it. (Emerson Raven doesn't flick but I'm stuck with it.)
 
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