Flipping vs Flicking...Abuse?

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pinkfloyd101

Joined
Sep 24, 2008
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I was wondering the other day in class about this subject. I heard from many people that wrist "flicking" or even thumb flicking your knife open is "abuse". At first i thought this was all BS, and that a knife should be able to take it, it is a tool after all. Then about a year later....my spyderco i had bought around the time of hearing this wrist flicking idea, had a worn out lock, and a very loose blade with a lot of blade play. After inspecting the knife, the wear and tear looks like it came from the "wrist flicking". My fault and no one to blame but me. I thought of it as....taking a hammer and pounding on an anvil. Eventually the shaft on the hammer is going to break. But, if you slid the head of the hammer onto the anvil, it would take your life time to wear out the metal. Since then, I DO NOT flick open any of my knifes because I have grown up(realized it is not needed to flick the knife open to use it).
So, this is my question. Why do knife makers produce knives that flip open? It seems to be the same as "flicking", but maybe its not. I don't own a flipper, but was looking at some customs that all have flippers. Why would a custom knife maker, make a knife that is just going to wear out and fail by "flipping" the knife out for use. So is flipping and flicking the same thing? Do you consider it knife abuse? Where do you stand?
 
I have never worn out a knife. I have some that look worn and abused but work just fine.;) I don't often hear of someone plain wearing a knife out...

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Was a Tanto....
 
you don't want to flick a lockback, but a framelock or axis lock should be fine. one of my delicas has a bit of play because i've flicked it.
 
There are different degree's of flipping open a knife. The harder you open it the more shock it will have and the faster it will wear. I've seen people loosen the blades so that the blade is loose and upon drawing the knife out of their pocket they SLAM it open. This type of flicking is abuse, and will wear out the knife pretty quick. What I do is open mine so that they pretty much fall into lockup, and fall gently. Doesn't always work as sometimes the blade will not quite get there but it is an easy fix from there. I like to keep a tight pivot so I rarely slam open a blade.
 
pinkfloyd101 said:
I heard from many people that wrist "flicking" or even thumb flicking your knife open is "abuse".
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I have never heard this, even once, from anyone. Working parts wear out, but one-handed opening is what the flicking is for. I do understand the logic behind what you are saying though. Impact forces and all that. Just can't call it abuse at that level.
 
cutter17 said:
There are different degree's of flipping open a knife. The harder you open it the more shock it will have and the faster it will wear. I've seen people loosen the blades so that the blade is loose and upon drawing the knife out of their pocket they SLAM it open. This type of flicking is abuse, and will wear out the knife pretty quick. What I do is open mine so that they pretty much fall into lockup, and fall gently. Doesn't always work as sometimes the blade will not quite get there but it is an easy fix from there. I like to keep a tight pivot so I rarely slam open a blade.
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+1

Think, how you did with your Spyderco and btw tell us, which model it was.

My axis open as smooth, there is not more than a soft kick with the thump needed to let the blade fly open and lock with not more "shock" as if it were opened completely lead by the thump.
 
There are some locks that handle flicking open better than others. Lockbacks are probably the most prone to accelerated wear, frame/liner locks less so, and Axis/Ball locks even less. I do thumb flick my knives occasionally, but I try to limit it to a few cheaper ones. I don't do wrist flicks. If I was to fling my car door open, it would break too.

So I do consider wrist flicking abuse. Just because some designs handle it better than others don't make it it a good idea.
 
I flick my Benchmade 943/940 Osbornes all the time in both directions (not in public). There is no sign of looseness or wear.
 
My spyderco model was some Bob Terzuola model. Not sure what one, it is discontinued now. It had a liner lock. The top of the lock where it met the tang was worn. The blade stop was also worn. It was flat instead of being round from the blade tang wear. I do not have the knife anymore, lost since gave it away to a friend. I am not talking about flicking the blade open with your thumb part way, and then opening it the rest of the way. I am talking about wrist flicking vs flipping. They both open hard and fast.
 
I flicked and flipped an axis lock for 10 years of EDC, tens of thousands of openings, and it still locked up tight. Blade weight matters, lighter the blade the less the stop pin has to do to arrest momentum.

I'm more cautious with larger blades, but wrist flicking can be done gently even on bigger knives, even easier to do softly given more mass.
 
I doubt it's humanly possible to damage a well made knife with a thumb flick. That sounds ridiculous.

A hard wrist flick is something else entirely.
If you put your body into it and open the knife like a pitcher throwing a fast ball, I can just about guarantee that any knife will break eventually.
 
I consider wrist-flicking (including flicking a Spyderco by the hole) abuse. I also consider it abuse when my children slam my new truck door or when my wife parks her car in the driveway and then raises the garage door to go inside instead of opening the front door to the house! None of these are apt to ruin a tool with a few misguided attempts, but it adds wear that doesn't need to be.

No way I want to "need" a knife (military service, backpacking, off road motorcycling) and find I have a knife with only one more opening in it before it fails, and it's my fault!
 
Joshua J. said:
I doubt it's humanly possible to damage a well made knife with a thumb flick. That sounds ridiculous.

A hard wrist flick is something else entirely.
If you put your body into it and open the knife like a pitcher throwing a fast ball, I can just about guarantee that any knife will break eventually.
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I agree in a relative sense.

Some thumbs are stronger than others, and to get really nit picky about it, any motion that relays on a blade stop to stop a blade will create ***some*** wear.

In the end, I will sit on the sideline and refuse to concern myself with the answer to, "is flicking is abuse?" It is something I do for fun once in a while and is pretty stupid in the sense that it serves me zero purpose other than stress reduction. If my knife wears out after a couple years of flicking during my commutes, I am going to look no further than the mirror for the answer to, "who will replace or repair this knife?"

If you want it to last for ever, put it in a safe. If you want to enjoy it, do so until it is junk...then figure out if you can fix it. Theories and philosophies vary a lot on the topic of abuse/warranties, now you know a little bit more about mine (for what that is worth).

Have a wonderful day and please enjoy your knives safely.
 
bruce said:
I consider wrist-flicking (including flicking a Spyderco by the hole) abuse. I also consider it abuse when my children slam my new truck door or when my wife parks her car in the driveway and then raises the garage door to go inside instead of opening the front door to the house! None of these are apt to ruin a tool with a few misguided attempts, but it adds wear that doesn't need to be.

No way I want to "need" a knife (military service, backpacking, off road motorcycling) and find I have a knife with only one more opening in it before it fails, and it's my fault!
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I couldn't agree more. I don't like when someone flicks knives open & closed. I see it as abuse, even if it's a cheapo knife.
I also hate when my kids slam the doors closed in my car or house.
 
After 15+ years of flicking, spidie dropping, snapping, slapping, and flingling I have never had a single problem with a quality blade.
 
I have heard of flicking/flipping being bad for lockbacks in the long term, but I haven't had any of my knives wear down or break because of flicking or flipping. That said, I don't flip/flick my one lockback knife (Spyderco Endura), and I don't really see the need to...
 
Most knives can be flicked.. Its really up to you.. It is a bit more harsh on the knife... And if it is not well built, you might compromise the lock...
Good luck
I do enjoy a good flick once in a while... Most knives have a good warrenty anyhow!@
 
Ernest Emerson says go ahead and flick his knives.
I don't buy knives to baby 'em.
It would be counter productive to wave deploy a blade in slo-mo when I need it NOW.
I like to hear the solid snap signaling lock up.
And I like to do things that make me feel good.
If Ernest changes his mind he'd better start selling more fixed blades.
By Emerson and flick away.

CP
 
just has to laugh at this thread,,I guess I am a knife abuser,,I love hearing the blade lock solidly into place,,if I wear it out I will buy another one,,no big deal,,I flick mine while driving, sitting around watching the tv, etc,,guess you say its a habit,,shrugs,,I do have an old Boker the liner lock is worn out on,,maybe it was from flicking it,,it has been flicked open 1000,s of times over the yrs,,my knives are clean, oiled adn sharp,,each and everyone of them,,though I do not have near as many as most, 3 BM, 1 CS, 1 Rat, Spydy. and a host of unknowns around,,anyway just my thoughts on this matter, have a good day all
 
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