half stops

[bruss]

tell me about half stops..i -get- what the name implys, but what benefits dya get by having them ? still learning !

 

[Peter Parker]

I think they're a safety feature so you can close half way and get your fingers out of the way.

 

[zerogee]

Half stops also have the nice feature of being "self cleaning" to an extent -- the corners move contamination out from under the joint, either into the body of the knife or out the end. Having cleaned up many old knives, ones with a half stop are quite a bit easier to clear out properly -- without needing anything special.

Also, having taken apart a number of old beaters, I find that the half stop based tangs seem to put rather less wear and tear on the spring over time than cam end tangs, especially when neglected. The edges of the half stop tang sweep back and forth along a length of the spring, while cam end tangs concentrate their contact point to a very small area of the spring.

 

[moonwilson]

I think they're a safety feature so you can close half way and get your fingers out of the way.

What he said. But you really shouldn't have your fingers in the path of the blade anyway. I'm not a big fan of half stops, but I have many knives with that feature. If a knife with half stops has the springs flush in all three blade positions (open, half open and closed)- that's a good indication that the knife is well made. Also, if you want a flush joint (as in the Remington and GEC trappers), you have to have half stops.

 

[338375]

I won't call it a benefit, but I like em

To me it has always added a little extra touch to the knife. I have never looked at them as a safety thing because I don't put my fingers where they aren't supposed to be.
It just seems to add a touch of quality for some reason.
In all honesty though , I own more knives that don't have them, but that is just because few of the knives offer them.

 

[comoha]

Reading in one of his recent catalogues, A.G. Russell was mentioning his great dislike of half-stops. I always thought that curious. I kinda like em.

 

[KnifeHead]

Making a knife with half-stops has a PITA Factor of of 10, whereas a cam-end knife is a 7. Flush the joint and the PITA Factor jumps to a 12 or 13...just sayin (and that's on a single blade knife )

....but I still like em.

btw...zerogee covered the bennys just fine :thumbup:

 

[moonwilson]

Kerry- what would you say the PITA factor on something like this would be?

I'm still trying to get my head around that thing. It makes my eyes bug out of my head. What kind of stops are those?

 

[bruss]

PITA factor of 365 ?
i'll have to try out a half stop knife at a store..to see what the biggie is, ty for the replys

 

[zerogee]

Kerry- what would you say the PITA factor on something like this would be?

I'm still trying to get my head around that thing. It makes my eyes bug out of my head. What kind of stops are those?

That's a "barrel" knife also -- there are blades out the butt on *four sides*. You can imagine the complication this brings to the spring construction, on top of everything else. Though there is one saving grace -- other than making sure each blade has a proper walk and talk, you don't have to worry about making sure any of the springs are flush with anything, since all the springs are in the center of the body of a barrel knife, and you cannot tell their precise position so easily (plus most larger barrel knives have endcaps of a sort to cover the open ends and thus mostly hide the spring ends).

Here is just an 8 blade example by Ron Newton to put it into perspective:

 

[hlee]

The Lobster pen knife was invented by James Crawshaw of Sheffield in the 1820s.
He also invented the quadrangular pen knife -- looks like a cigar, with blades in multiples of 8.

BRL...


BRL...

The exhibition year knife and the above knife are both "quadrangular knives." 365 is not a multiple of 8, but 368 is.

This is a barrel knife.

 

[CL01]

On half stops & whether I like them or not, it really depends on the knife. I like them on my Case/Bose Dogleg Jack & the they aren't bad on Case's mini-Trapper, but I found it more of a hassle on GEC's knives because of the hardness of the springs.

 

[kodiak]

I don't like them. I don't like when I open the knife a the blade comes to a screeching halt. I have to reset my thumb nail or pinch the blade so hard that my thumb pad squishes near the edge. I know those are personal problems... but they are my problems.

I have been trying to find a single blade custom folder in the $200.00 range. They are out there (some real nice ones) but all I've seen have had half-stops.

Being a machinist, I respect the craftsmanship of a well built knife. I understand the phrase: FLUSH IN ALL THREE POSITIONS, commands respect. However, for me, someone who is striving for the perfect USER knife, I think the half stop is a bit self indulgent. I know that is a inherently disrespectful statement but it's my opinion for a knife ment to be used....... by me.

 

[zerogee]

The exhibition year knife and the above knife are both "quadrangular knives." 365 is not a multiple of 8, but 368 is.

Sorry - but the exhibition knife and the Newton above *are* barrel knives -- that's what these types of knives have been called a long time. Yes, I know about the other type of "barrel" knife - a far more recent arrival on the scene than the Sheffield barrel knives. As reference, I point to "Sheffield Exhibition Knives" pages 71, 205, and 238-239, as well as "Exhibition Knives - Joseph Rodgers & Sons - The Samuel Setian Collection" pages 226-227 -- all knives of this type are called "barrel knives" in these books. While he's a great reference, it's sometimes harmful to treat whatever BRL says as unquestionable Word of God -- while I don't know what the original Sheffield cutlers called this style of knife, I feel quite certain that they never called them "quadrangular pen knives" - that's a BRL-ism.

 

[knarfeng]

Kerry- what would you say the PITA factor on something like this would be?

I'm still trying to get my head around that thing. It makes my eyes bug out of my head. What kind of stops are those?

Short ones.

(I can't bring myself to type the entire phrase.)

 

[hunterfisher808]

I agree. On my GEC Scout the kick of the half stop is disconcerting not to mention that it will kick again at full open, thats 2 times your nail takes gas. That being said I really don't mind half stops on your average sprung slippie.

I found it more of a hassle on GEC's knives because of the hardness of the springs.

 

[knarfeng]

I prefer not to have a half stop. For me it interrupts the flowing motion of opening the knife. But I understand it's a personal thing, so YMMV.

 

[2brothers]

I have some that have them, some that don't.
On the ones that do, I feel they belong. On the others, I don't miss the stop. weird.

 

[KnifeHead]

Kerry- what would you say the PITA factor on something like this would be?

I'm still trying to get my head around that thing. It makes my eyes bug out of my head. What kind of stops are those?

Looks like a nice little weekend project but please, I won't be taking any orders for that pattern

 

[Knife Crazied]

I really like half stops myself. I think they are a great added feature!:thumbup: