Half stop epiphany

B

Brian.Evans

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Aug 20, 2011
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I have had an epiphany. But first the back story.

I was VERY generously gifted a TC Barlow by a member of this fine forum. I have carried it every single day exclusively since getting it in the mail. It has half stops, which I have never really liked before, but I have gotten used to on this knife.

I contacted Kerry Hampton about his Knutbuster knife pattern, and he told me to go pick up a Case sodbuster and copy/modify it. So, last week I finally did just that. I carried it in tandem with my TCB, mostly to fiddle with and think about how I'm going to change it when I make one.

Three days ago I was working my part time job at another ambulance service, including sleeping overnight on the couch. Can you see where this is going? I got home and my heart sunk as I realized that my beloved had fallen out of my pocket. I knew I had right before bed, so it was likely in the couch. I quickly called the dorm and they looked and confirmed they had found it. But, what to do for a knife for the three days until I worked there again?

Well, I did have that sodbuster. I sharpened and stuck it in my pocket. I missed my TCB, but found the soddie to be a very capable knife. I'm going to change the blade shape a bit, but overall, it will do well for a pattern.

Today however I was very happy to return my TCB to its rightful place.

Which leads me to my epiphany. I actually like half stops now. I missed them on the sodbuster. Can you believe it!? A confirmed half stop hater wishing I had them. It still is weird.

I went from spear blade without half stops to clips with half stops. I'm almost afraid to try anything else new, lest my world be shaken any further!

If you have any knife epiphany stories you'd like to share, feel free.
 
I can't tell you how many things I have flip flopped on...guards, match striker nail nicks, 1095 steel, micarta. The list goes on and on.
 
I haven't carried enough different knives, or for long enough, to really have any epiphanies. I suppose I sort of had one when I realized my love of slipjoints and how safe they really are to use. Switched from lockbacks to slipjoints and while not completely opposed to locks, I'm a confirmed slipjoint lover. Almost at the point of wanting either slipjoints or fixed blades and nothing else. Okay, not quite. I still really like and trust (but not complete trust mind you) the viroloc (virobloc?) on Opinels. Otherwise I'm a slipjoint and fixed blade man. The one lockback I have left I never really carry. So, I guess I did have an epiphany after all.

And as far as your halfstop story, I've always loved halfstops. My first few slipjoints were all halfstops. Finally bought a Case stockman a few months ago, and a SAK recently, both of which have no halfstops. I don't mind the lack at all, it feels alright, but I really do like and even prefer halfstops. I like them on their own merits, but I admit a lot of my preferring them is being so used to them after using them for a year straight before trying the alternative. To me they just seemed a natural part of opening and closing a slipjoint, having tried nothing else for that length of time.
 
something similar happens to me virtually every time ive carried a knife i havent carried in a while.
 
I love half stops, and miss them on my "cam" end knives (no half stops).
My Dad taught me to use a knife with half stops when I was 7 or so, about 1951- 62 years ago.
I have loved them ever since. He died in 1989 - I still miss him!
I can remember that blade stopping for me, so I didn't drop it on my awkward, untrained finger! I'll never forget it!
 
I prefer them, not sure why but I just do - I'm used to them I guess. There's a small protection there in the way it stops half way (just may save a nasty cut).
 
I like them on knives with a strong pull but if the blade has a softer pull like on my white owl then I don't miss them. :)
 
I like them as a sign of craftsmanship but not so much for edc. I now have two vintage MOP handled congress knives, and the half-stops of all 4 blades show off how well-crafted these knives were, as they are flush in all positions. For practical use I prefer the non-halfstop, I have a Russell era Bertram whittler in my pocket now which is perfect without them (a g russell is a famous hater of half-stops), and am looking forward to my half-stop free #81 GEC stockman. I don't use my knives hard though (apples, packages etc), I can understand the relief of someone pulling a jammed knife out of a block of wood and seeing the blade snap only half way shut.
 
Also, half stops make a self cleaning joint. The corners push dirty and other assorted junk out from between the tang and the spring. Ask Trevor (bigfattyt) about his Oesser gunstock jack and how well it did cutting bulls.
 
I had a similar epiphany a couple years ago. I never really disliked half stops but I preferred knives without them. Now it's just the opposite.

I like good snap on my folders. For me it goes a long way toward my overall enjoyment of a knife. I think the reason that I prefer half stops now is because it gives me one more snap to enjoy.
 
I wont buy a knife without a half stop. To me, just feels like how a knife should feel in an older timey pattern
 
okbohn said:
I can't tell you how many things I have flip flopped on...guards, match striker nail nicks, 1095 steel, micarta. The list goes on and on.
Click to expand...

That's me in a nutshell. And this includes patterns, too. I drift away from one pattern because I start carrying another, the tire of that a bit and start carrying something else.

Then I look at my knives and think... "you know, I could really use that new XXXXX pattern from XXXXX. None of these seem to fill that exact niche." Yeah, right.

I have more knives than I can use by a long stroke and I really enjoy rediscovering my old favorites all over again. With cooler, much less sweaty weather here, I can already feel the urge to get out my favorite CASE carbon steeled folder.

Robert
 
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