How important is one hand open and close?

Hey. Here’s some but not all- Ladybug, Endura 4, Tighe Stick, Chaperral, Meadowlark, Civilian, Delica, Rescue, Manning, Caly, Atlantic Salt...

I’m not positive about these but I’m pretty sure they all have backlocks.

There’s more but I already stressed my brain thinking up the list and can’t think of them.

I’m certainly not an expert on Spyderco.
 
One-handed operation is crucial to me, at least for a primary EDC folder. I grew up with traditionals, Swiss Army Knives, etc. Since getting into one-handed operation, why would I go back?
 
Pretty darned important it appears. I've been trying to EDC my Buck 110 and it falls short on account of the 2 handed requirement. I don't use the EDC knife that much, but I definitely remember having to completely stop what I was doing, put things down, open the knife, etc...

Fishcreekrim said:
Using a two hand knife is like making a call on a rotary dial phone.
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Yeah opening a knife with 2 hands feels really primitive when there are better ways to do it.
 
All my folding knives are two hand to open.
All my slipjoints and friction folders take one hand to close.

Personally, I have no need for a one hand opening knife. I am not in any hurry to open it. Even when I was working on a (((shudder))) ladder, I managed to easily get the knife open, without any chance of falling off. (I very much dislike ladders and fear heights.)
 
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View attachment 1281790 I like the one hand option. My William Henry button locks can be flipped open and shut when the pivot area is clean and the lock button is depressed. If the pivot is sticky for any reason, I can open the knife with the thumb stud and close it by depressing the lock button and wiping the spine on the back of my leg.
 
T.L.E. Sharp said:
I've the same question. I can't think of any Spydercos I'd need two hands to close and only one that I need two hands to open (the Roadie).
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The ones that have backlocks. But like I said, I’m not a Spyderco expert. I have a dozen and only one (Delica) won’t open one handed so maybe that wasn’t the greatest example to use in my original post.
 
I think it is not really important
In most of my use cases a two hands opening will work fine 90% of the time

If I approach the question from a purely analytical point of view I think carrying a SAK will be all I need ;)

but at the end of the day I really enjoy one hand opening and closing better
It is more fidgety and it solve the question of the 10% of use cases for which I will have only one hand free to grab my folder ;)

So not important but it matters ;)
 
By the way backlocks are usually not a problem. I never had problem to close my Delica or my native 5 with one hand
The cold steel pro lite is not has easy but I manage to close it with one hand
In the worst case I push the back of the blade on my thigh and it does the job
 
For me one hand opening is pretty much essential for a knife I want to carry at work or anywhere I think it will get regular use. The ability to open and use it whilst my other hand is free to hold what I need to cut, or hold on to the ladder or other tools is not only conveniant in my opinion but also safer.
I do carry and enjoy using slipjoints that generally require two hands to open safely, but I tend to reserve these for polite company or public situations where a flipper or thumbstud knife might gain negative reactions from people that see knives of any kind as weapons, but a traditional pattern like an Opinel or SAK is more likely to be seen by the majority of people as a unusual but fairly inoffensive tool these days.
What is an absolutely essential safety feature for me of any knife I carry is the abiltity to CLOSE it with one hand safely.
An open knife that is put down on the floor or the bench or clutched clumsily in your hand while you complete your task is a stab wound or stitches just waiting to happen. Being able to close the knife quickly and easily with one hand and return it to your pocket or sheath is to me almost more important than one hand opening. In my experience I can usually take the extra time and with a little common sense slow down and use two hands to open a knife safely, but more often than not ,once the cut is made one hand is holding what I have cut so I'm left with only one hand to close my knife and prevent injuring myself while I put it away and complete the task.
This is why I personnally prefer liner locks, frame locks, axis locks or even slipjoints as I find these easy to close safely with one hand without looking and with a little practice and the right technique I find it is almost impossible to cut myself while closing the blade and making it safe again.
The ability for me to close quickly and safely with one hand is also the reason I generally shy away from backlocks, there are some very well designed modern backlocks that IMO can be closed safely with one hand but for me something like the classic Buck 110 always makes me fear for my fingers closing one handed. Even a fixed blade for me unless the sheath is very well designed it can be a bit tricky to put away quickly and safely with one hand without looking.
So as much as I love any and all kinds of knives, the abilty to open and even more importantly CLOSE with one hand is almost always the deciding factor when choosing a knife I want to carry and actually use.
 
One handed operation is handy.

One handed operation is not necessary.

That being said I taught myself to one hand open and close Buck 110s and Buck 112s when I was in the Boy Scouts back before thumb studs and pocket clips were all that popular. I eventually replaced the Bucklite I’d been carrying with a new fangled Sypderco with a plastic clip, a thumb hole, and a mid back lock. That was nice, but eventually that knife was lost.

I now have a couple of 110s and 112s, but no Enduras.
 
It’s important for me when I’m working around the house and such to have the one hand opening for sure but I will get by much of the time with the old traditional pocket knife too as I just have to take a moment to stop and get it opened. Being a bonafide collector I usually have at least 2 or 3 in my pocket
 
Absolutely pivotal for survival, either instantly available with one hand operation, or fixed blade. There is no reason to have a blade that does not meet that level of acessabbilty, unless it is a tool.
 
In my past life I was a landscape contractor. I was using a knife during the day constantly often with handfuls of cuttings. A one handed open and close knife became a valuable tool. It was very important. Now I work as a nurse. I can carry any knife I want. I carry mostly traditional pocket knives or occasionally a Swiss Army knife. I still own a few one-handed open and close knives and will probably buy more, but it is no longer important in my life.
 
JDRanger said:
The ones that have backlocks. But like I said, I’m not a Spyderco expert. I have a dozen and only one (Delica) won’t open one handed so maybe that wasn’t the greatest example to use in my original post.
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Therom said:
By the way backlocks are usually not a problem. I never had problem to close my Delica or my native 5 with one hand
The cold steel pro lite is not has easy but I manage to close it with one hand
In the worst case I push the back of the blade on my thigh and it does the job
Click to expand...

Like Therom I've never had much issue closing the backlocks one handed. Maybe the smaller ones like the dragonfly.
 
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