Folders for use with (winter) gloves

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I had this question in my first post in the “we were all new once” megathread. Killgar suggested it would make a good question for this forum section, so here it is!

I’m interested in recommendations for folders that are particularly “winter glove friendly” (so in environments 0’C to -35’C, 32’F to -30’F).
Which opening mechanisms have worked best for you? Which haven’t?
Any knife features or carry methods that have worked well for you?
Any materials that have proved problematic (kids where I live do sometimes lick metal lamp posts for fun in the winter 😁)?
Any other important points to consider?
 
A Buck 110 with a quik-stud, carried in a belt sheath worked well for me for years. Probably nicer (?), more expensive stuff around now days.
Rich
 
“winter glove friendly”
Fixed blade with a non-metallic handle , as large as you can carry .

If it absolutely must be a folder , then as big as possible with a long heavy blade and generous handle .

So that it will be heavy glove friendly and easier to open by the shake down , gravity , inertial method .

Any of the larger Cold Steel Tri-ad folders or a large Axis type lock .
 
Back-locks , axis and able locks, CBBLs all work well with gloved hands, and larger than usual handles will prevent glove material catching or getting stuck between moving parts. Other than the Millie, the Chief would be also fine or the Police which I don't have. Also a large flipper with big enough cutouts for its liner lock or framelock.
 
Issues I would consider-

Ease of opening.
Ease of closing (what's the point of opening with gloves on if you have to take the gloves off to unlock it).
Grip. A small, thin handle could get "lost" in a thick glove. And slick handles could make the knife hard to grip and use.

One suggestion that comes to mind is the Cold Steel Recon 1. Thumb stud for opening (using one or two hands), when closed there is plenty of room around the thumb stud for easy access with gloves on, back lock for easy closing, and aggressive G10 handles for a good grip.

Another thing to consider is how it's going to be carried. If there is only a small portion of the knife available to grab onto when clipped in a pocket or in a belt sheath it might prove difficult to take the knife out.

Out-the-front autos have been mentioned, but I wonder how the mechanism and function might be affected by freezing temps. I have no experience with such things.
 
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I recently got the Spyderco Salt 2 (that being said Endura would work equally) and I was reminded how darn well they work with gloves such as my thick Crud leather work gloves. The knife got big generous opening hole and positive grip. Also the long handle helps. Even if you don’t feel like using the hole the big hump on the spine can be used as two handed opener.
 
Something in a button lock or axis lock.or similar variant. You will be able to open n close while gloved!!!!
 
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Spyderco Tuff. There’s plenty of room for a gloved finger in the generous choil. The handle has very generous proportions for the largest gloved hand. The Cruwear steel is plenty tough enough for camp chores (for a folder).
 
Move to a more temperate climate and your choices blossom exponentially

You're not wrong, but I don't think it's fair to assume somebody else has that kind of commitment to The Knife Life. I know I'm not that hardcore!

My personal observation is that cold climates seem to encourage people to be better at being people, but that's way off-topic. Also, the miserable little flying, stinging, biting insects all freeze and die and go back to their special Hell like they're supposed to.

I'm going to echo what Killgar said about Cold Steel, with the addition of listing a couple models.

The AK-47, and
the Storm Cloud

The AK pulls out ahead a bit by having steel liners, and being not huge, with a blade of 3.5". That's 8.89 cm, because I'm guessing Vaytsee uses Science instead of "banana measures".

Why do I think these two in particular, aside of blade length?

Thumb disks.

As for the "JuSt GeT a FiXeD bLaDe", argument (man, I'm never typing like that again)? I work in aggregates processing, which is considered part of the mining industry. You would think that nobody would give a damn what kind of knives we carried, but thanks to a rigger on an outside contract, and an HR person who should not have been anywhere near where "real" work was going on, we have a rule that says we cannot carry fixed blades of any length or size. It ain't always that straightforward, unfortunately.
 
One of the rare instances where I'd recommend a Cold Steel due to simple backlock and chunky handles.
 
I’m interested in recommendations for folders that are particularly “winter glove friendly” (so in environments 0’C to -35’C, 32’F to -30’F).

Not sure where you live and if automatics are legal for you, but these Spyderco Autonomy & Autonomy 2 have both proved their cold weather reliability to me down to -15f, plus they are both salt and water proof too.

You can pre-test them out by putting them in the deep freezer overnight and soaking them in water to see how they operate once they are all frozen up. Once you get down to -25f to -30f metal things seem to react a bit differently and I’ve seen all sorts of things break on the trucks that normally wouldn’t break in more normal cold conditions.

For me at least, in cold wet freezing weather with heavy gloves on, these have proved themselves multiple times over.

The all black serrated Autonomy 2 was just released back in June, so I have not used it in real world cold yet, but I’m sure it will prove to be just fine.

And because everything is better with pictures, here you go.

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Spyderco Manix 2. The oversized thumb hole is excellent for winter.

M3Ei69v.jpg
 
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