half stops.... (bit of gore)

I think it depends on the knife, but half stops don't bother me. I've been carrying my peanut long enough that it seems natural to me to have a half stop. The old TL-29's we had in the army all had half stops, and they were a popular knife. On the other hand, my Buck stockman that I carried didn't have them and I like that knife. So for me, it all depends n the knife. For a small knife the size of a peanut, I want them. I feel it give me a bit more control over the closing blade.

Carl.
 
black mamba said:
I'm with GW, the only knives that have ever bitten me DID have half-stops. I much prefer cam tangs.
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Yep, me too. I have had more issues with half stops than with knives that don't. And I seem to have more problems when they are hard pull as well; the snap and/or the stop can pull the blade out of my nail causing me to lose control of the blade. I have learned to be very careful to keep my fleshy parts out of the arc of the blade. I do that almost all of the time. I have had two peanuts nick me lately though.

Ed J
 
I've never been bitten like this (at least never badly) and don't have a preference regarding half stops or not.
But, since I often switch knives, there sometimes are situations when something stupid almost happens because I expect no half stop but there is one.
 
i think it's probably just something i need to get use to :P as the last knife i "edced" was my TL-29 with a very light half stop (hardly noticable but did favor going to the 50% mark when close to it) and the spey blade on the Boker is like that, so normally use that for quickly cutting things, but i do much prefer the sheepsfoot for orange eating :) and the coping seems to excel with apples, and i normally use the pen blade for opening things. anyways got off topic there. i think i just need some time to get use to it, but so far not really likeing half stops so much :P
 
I like half stops... Not from a safety aspect though. If ya keep your fingers out of the way, they won't get cut :D
I just like the feel of a knife that has them. To me, it adds a nice "touch" to a knife.
 
338375 said:
I like half stops... Not from a safety aspect though. If ya keep your fingers out of the way, they won't get cut :D
I just like the feel of a knife that has them. To me, it adds a nice "touch" to a knife.
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well its fairly obvious that one needs to keep ones fingers out of the path of the blade, but sometimes they just arent out of the way enough :P
ive never been cut on the knuckle or anything like that from accidental closure on finger, always in that general area (next to the fingernail) on any given finger. so my fingers are out of the way, just needed to be a little bit more so :P
 
I was always under the impression that half-stops WERE a safety feature. When closing and the blade clicks to the positive half stop,I rearrange my hold of the knife to make sure everything is out of the way before I cam the blade over to close it. I've never had a problem with any Half stop knife.
 
It is almost impossible to cut yourself if you close your knife one of two ways.
1. Pinch the handle between first finger and thumb with no part of your thumb or finger in the path of the blade, while the second joint of that same first finger firmly holds the handle from underneath. With the other hand, pinch the blade in the same way. (again with no part of your thumb or finger in the path of the blade)/ With the second joint of your first finger push the blade slowly but firmly shut. This keeps the knife under control at all times.
OR: 2. hold the knife by the handle as described above and push the back of the blade against your pants leg till blade is shut. (Making sure your fingers are never in the path of the blade.
#2 snaps the knife shut which, according to a custom maker who makes great knives, is "not a good idea as it wears out the stops. The stops are a sign of good craft, not to bang against".
 
I don't mind half stops but I can see how they can pose a risk if your careless or not used to them. I really don't see that they prevent too much cuts but its possible I guess.
 
I too think that half stops prevent cuts. I have some really strong springed knives without them and that blade gathers some real momentum!
 
OR: 2. hold the knife by the handle as described above and push the back of the blade against your pants leg till blade is shut. (Making sure your fingers are never in the path of the blade.
#2 snaps the knife shut which, according to a custom maker who makes great knives, is "not a good idea as it wears out the stops. The stops are a sign of good craft, not to bang against".
This is what I usually do as I usually have whatever I'm cutting in the other hand. I've never ruined a knife doing this but I don't usually keep knives all that long. I have a habit of asking whoever is around to use their pocket knife. When they say they don't have one( more often than you would think) I pull one of the two I usually have on me do the cutting and hand it to them and say now you do. You better have it next time I ask and they usually do. I don't know what's up with these kids today I can't imagine not having a knife!
 
PaulBosley said:
This is what I usually do as I usually have whatever I'm cutting in the other hand. I've never ruined a knife doing this but I don't usually keep knives all that long. I have a habit of asking whoever is around to use their pocket knife. When they say they don't have one( more often than you would think) I pull one of the two I usually have on me do the cutting and hand it to them and say now you do. You better have it next time I ask and they usually do. I don't know what's up with these kids today I can't imagine not having a knife!
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Hah! That's awesome, I love it. I'll have to start doing that! :thumbup:
 
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PaulBosley said:
OR: 2. hold the knife by the handle as described above and push the back of the blade against your pants leg till blade is shut. (Making sure your fingers are never in the path of the blade.
#2 snaps the knife shut which, according to a custom maker who makes great knives, is "not a good idea as it wears out the stops. The stops are a sign of good craft, not to bang against".
This is what I usually do as I usually have whatever I'm cutting in the other hand. I've never ruined a knife doing this but I don't usually keep knives all that long. I have a habit of asking whoever is around to use their pocket knife. When they say they don't have one( more often than you would think) I pull one of the two I usually have on me do the cutting and hand it to them and say now you do. You better have it next time I ask and they usually do. I don't know what's up with these kids today I can't imagine not having a knife!
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i'll need to start carrying an extra (inexpencive) knife for this :P probably a bit duller than my knives though :P
 
I for one CANNOT STAND THEM!

Let me tell you about my favorite knife, the Queen Mini-Hunter.

When I found this knife I almost instantly fell in love with it. It was pretty much flawless. Nice slicer, D2 steel, super comfortable handle just melds to my hand, curly maple that looked great, just overall a knife I clicked with! It was even liner-locking, can you imagine! It was doomed to fail though. The mini-hunter was not just a cold nail-busting mistress but one with a half stop as well. At the time I worked in a gas station and often was in the cooler/freezer stocking it, and in this cold environment that knife would bite me pretty much every other day. The nail-nick wasn't deep enough to get a good purchase with my thumbnail, the satin finished d2 was kept well oiled and far too slick to grip, and the damned half stop would cause the blade to get away from me all the time. I must have let it cut me a good 12 times before I said screw it and sold it off....

Nowadays I carry, among a short list of others, the replacement for the Queen mini-hunter. Her name's Chesty, a lock back from up Canal Street. She's a sweety, but just isn't a Queen....
 
This topic comes into discussion every now and then; I'm almost sure I did open a thread about half stops long ago :rolleyes:
I've always been very careful when opening and closing slipjoints, especially US traditionals. I grew up with friction folders (which, in my very personal opinion, are way safer than slipjoints) and/or knives with a light pull and no half stops (SAK's). SAK's (more than Sardinian folders) taught me how to always open/close a knife pinching the blade between thumb and index and keeping away from the space between the edge and the handles. This has kept me decently safe.
But, if you want my opinion, half stops, especially combined with a strong pull, are not a safety feature, not at all; they're just added danger. I know most of you folks will cringe at this...but then again, most of you are used to such knives. Yet, I'm sure that, if an enquiry could be made among knife users, many more cuts result from strong pulls, most of which with half stops, while SAK (or Buck 30x knives, for the matter) have cut less (fingers), and Opinel's (as representative of friction folders) even less.
I know it might be due to my "knife roots", but even thinking about it rationally, I really can't see any advantage in a knife with half stops.
As I wrote once (and made Kevin laugh), I'm not going to cut anything with the blade open at 90 degrees :D

Fausto
:cool:
 
well hopefully i will get use to it and i can stop cutting myself XD i like this knife too much to sell it, give it away, or put it up to never be used again.
 
i do get why people want half stops, it does feel very satisfying when it snaps into that halfway point. but overall i do find it to be more of a hazard than a saftey feature :P
 
I liken 1/2 Stops to additional features, complications, on a fine Swiss watch. Do you need Moon Phases, Power Reserve Meters, etc. to tell what time it is? Do you need 1/2 Stops to cut? No to both questions but they do help to showcase the makers talents. I will take a finely crafted slip joint with 1/2 Stops any day over one without. Even if the pattern traditionally does not have them, such as a Sowbelly, go ahead and put them on mine please.
 
well i could also see no half stop could also be a way of showing the makers talent, like if it is perfectly rounded and completely smooth all the way to the open position. i would think that would take a bit more talent than a half stop.
 
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