Fully Ambidextrous Folders?

Honestly, for the absolute most user friendly ambidextrous knife I own, it would either be my Benchmade Sequel or Mini Grip. Buttery smooth with either hand, can be slowly opened or flicked with either hand. It doesn't get more simple than that.
 
Victorinox one hand openers are left handed. Righties complain about them all the time.

Zieg
 
View attachment 804400 View attachment 804401 The David Boye folders are ambidextrous owing to their front lock with mid release. The clips are not reversible because they are riveted in place. The cast dendritic Cobalt blades (Stellite 6-B) are half Chrome and half Cobalt. They are very resistant to corrosion.
 
tiguy7 said:
View attachment 804400 View attachment 804401 The David Boye folders are ambidextrous owing to their front lock with mid release. The clips are not reversible because they are riveted in place. The cast dendritic Cobalt blades (Stellite 6-B) are half Chrome and half Cobalt. They are very resistant to corrosion.
Click to expand...

How are those knives, I am dying to try one out. I want the one with the marlin spike.

How brittle is the dendritic cobalt in your experience? Do you sharpen these on diamonds?
 
Fellow lefty. Here's my list, repeating a few others have said, and adding some more:

* Back locks. Check out Cold Steel for instance, American Lawman, Code, Recon 1, Ultimate Hunter. And as others have said, multiple Spyderco back locks: Endura, Police, Chinook, Manix (1 model), Native, etc.
* Axis locks. Whatever you like in Benchmade line, check out the Griptilian for example.

Partly Ambi options (ambi opening, but not lock)
* Frame lock flippers. Obviously these are not "fully" ambi in the sense that the frame lock itself is RH biased. If you get a flipper version (like some Zero Tolerance models including 0562, or say Spyderco Domino), opening it is fully ambi due to flipper. Closing is either a 2-hand operation, or a cautious 1-hand operation, I've done 1-hand for years with care, never came close to cutting myself on a frame lock.
* Liner lock flippers. Same principle as with frame locks: ambi opening, careful closing 2-hand or 1-hand. Great example of this is Buck Vantage Pro in S30v, you can find this knife around $60 if you look around, and US made.
 
View attachment 804532 View attachment 804533
Lapedog said:
How are those knives, I am dying to try one out. I want the one with the marlin spike.

How brittle is the dendritic cobalt in your experience? Do you sharpen these on diamonds?
Click to expand...
The marlin spike is quite small. It is good for undoing knots and removing staples. The shackle wrench is also handy for smaller shackle pins.
The knives in the previous post have been modified to clip points. I find these handier for food prep. The origninal leaf blades are fine for cutting rope and spreading peanut butter. The dendrites (macro crystals) that precipitate in the casting process turn the micro edge into a buzz saw that is ideal for cutting rope.
These Stellite blades along with my Titanium blades have an interesting property. Because the matrix is soft relative to steel, the edge rolls instead of chipping when you whack a bone. Look for a small pipe or round bar, immobilize it, pull the defect (edge trailing) along the bar to reposition the dip in the edge, and resharpen the knife.
The included carbides in the Stellite and Titanium blades give them exceptional wear resistance, but I sharpen mine on regular water (Shapton) or oil (Norton) stones. I have diamond stones, but they are not required.
 
tiguy7 said:
View attachment 804532 View attachment 804533
The marlin spike is quite small. It is good for undoing knots and removing staples. The shackle wrench is also handy for smaller shackle pins.
The knives in the previous post have been modified to clip points. I find these handier for food prep. The origninal leaf blades are fine for cutting rope and spreading peanut butter. The dendrites (macro crystals) that precipitate in the casting process turn the micro edge into a buzz saw that is ideal for cutting rope.
These Stellite blades along with my Titanium blades have an interesting property. Because the matrix is soft relative to steel, the edge rolls instead of chipping when you whack a bone. Look for a small pipe or round bar, immobilize it, pull the defect (edge trailing) along the bar to reposition the dip in the edge, and resharpen the knife.
The included carbides in the Stellite and Titanium blades give them exceptional wear resistance, but I sharpen mine on regular water (Shapton) or oil (Norton) stones. I have diamond stones, but they are not required.
Click to expand...

I actually don't do much boating but wanted the marlin spike so I would have an on hand pry tool.

Not that I would but I wonder how the Dendritic cobalt would do prying. Likely to snap more than steel?
 
The marlin spike is Titanium, so it would not be inclined to snap. The Stellite is also quite tough and unlikely to snap with this caution. These blades are poured rather than ground. They are cooled slowly to let the dendrites (crystals) develop. Of all my Stellite blades (6-K, 6-B, and 6-BH) , these are the ones I would be least likely to use as a pry bar. Although given the cost and scarcity of Stellite, I would not be inclined to test the material in this way.View attachment 804657
 
I'm a lefty as well, I own a left handed guitar, a lefty Sebenza and a left handed bolt action rifle. The vast majority of my knives are right handed and I find with just a bit of practice I can open and close virtually any knife using my left hand only.

That said, if you must have an ambi, anything with the Axis lock from Benchmade or the ball lock from Spyderco fits the bill. Same for any lock backs.
 
As my username states, yeah, I'm a lefty. I have tried to go the righty lock with lefty carry option knives. I do (somewhat) appreciate the effort, and have bought a few of these knives(ZT, Spyderco, Brous, Kershaw, Ontario). However, I can honestly say that I can only just tolerate righty liner locks, and I absolutely DESPISE righty framelocks. The unlocking is clumsy at best, and downright dangerous at worst. I've cut my thumb knuckle on more than one occasion (Oh yes ZTs have a very smooth pivot).
In regards to production knives I use primarily Benchmades, and I have had no problems.

When I started to get into more high-end knives I quickly adopted my $70 rule. If it costs more than $70 it better be fully ambi, or have a completely lefty option available. Otherwise I pass. Yes, I may have missed out on a few nice releases, but I was able to save the cash (along with some blood) to buy some sweet custom leftys.
 
Delica is a good option as previously mentioned.

2 dot Buck 112 with no nail nick I carry from time to time is an “exact mirror image of itself” as stated in OP (minus the Buck logo).
 
As a lefty, I've suffered through so many knives to find something that works well one handed. Here are my top three. Sadly none of them allow for tip down carry (which isn't that great anyways)

1. Benchmade griptilian. The axis lock is great.

2. Spiderco Native. I also like the delica and dragonfly models as well.

3. Sog flash II. Carried this for 7 years 90% of the time. Works great, light weight and comfortable in hand. Most people would absolutely hate it. :)
 
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