How Much Pull is Actually Needed?

[YellowSwiss]

thank you Irishman. Gonna give it a try.

 

[rishma]

thank you Irishman. Gonna give it a try.

In my many years on the interwebs, you are the very first to get it.

 

[arizonaranchman]

I guess I like about a 6 or 7 pull. Just a bit firm but not difficult. A nice snap is good to me.

 

[popedandy]

Most Case knives are about right for me, as are the large SAKs, preferably with no half stop. I guess that would put me in the 4-5 range? I love the quality on GECs, but the generally stronger springs and particularly the strong half stops are not as comfortable for my aging hands.

 

[joeradza]

In my many years on the interwebs, you are the very first to get it.

Why would I presume to call you something that you yourself won't use.

 

[major_works]

I think the whole concept of pull strength should be standardised.
Until then its completely subjective and slightly mysterious as to what exactly the difference between a 3 and a 6 or a 7 and 8 pull actually is.

Seems to me it's inherently subjective. Your 4 pull might be a 7 to me (because I'm a weakling), no matter what a hypothetical pull-measuring robot says.

 

[major_works]

In my many years on the interwebs, you are the very first to get it.

That's pretty funny. I don't know you from Adam, of course, but for some reason I always thought "rishma" was maybe an Indian (as in the Asian subcontinent) nickname or something. iRISHMAn. I'd never have guessed.

 

[Ken H>]

Is this "5" the lbs it takes to open the knife? Just for the record, I do NOT like a really hard knife to open, and for all the ladies I've made slipjoints for they request a soft pull so they don't break precious finger nails {g}

 

[Peregrin]

The pull range is 1 to 10. 1 the blade just about falls open, 10 you will likely break a nail if you can open it. 5 is in the middle of that. Kind of totally arbitrary scale, but better then nothing.

 

[swaybacksteve]

I think that the standard of which folks judge a pull is the pull of the SaK, which is fairly uniform along many models. And that pull is noted to be a "5". Most people to seem to have a SAk and then can make a comparison among knives and among others in a discussion.

 

[rishma]

I think that the standard of which folks judge a pull is the pull of the SaK, which is fairly uniform along many models. And that pull is noted to be a "5". Most people to seem to have a SAk and then can make a comparison among knives and among others in a discussion.

Agree, mostly. I do find the Alox stronger than their cellidor cousins and 93mm stronger than say 84mm. But the consistency within a model family is undeniable.

 

[meako]

Seems to me it's inherently subjective. Your 4 pull might be a 7 to me (because I'm a weakling), no matter what a hypothetical pull-measuring robot says.

Thats the exact reason a standard would be helpful.You could compare a description of an unseen knife to one that you have in hand. Knowing that its a number 5 for instance could be the difference between purchasing or not. .....maybe

 

[Ray5118]

In the olden days we would ask the seller to bring out several knives to check the pull , and check to see if the knife would " walk and talk"
That way you could make your selection with some confidence. Online sales makes this process way too much of a bother.

That said, I still have a couple of Case knives ( mostly 70's) that are nail breakers in the never ever carry, mint condition, collection.

BTW - I agree with the Poster who stated they never carry the Buck 301 because of the light springs. I have two of the newer ( mfg by Buck) 301 stockmans
and the light spring pressure makes me slightly uncomfortable. Conversely my older Buck 301 mfg by Camillus is just fine.

 

[Buzzbait]

BTW - I agree with the Poster who stated they never carry the Buck 301 because of the light springs. I have two of the newer ( mfg by Buck) 301 stockmans
and the light spring pressure makes me slightly uncomfortable. Conversely my older Buck 301 mfg by Camillus is just fine.

Same here. My newer Buck 301's go unused. But I love my Camillus-made 301. A very comfortable 4 or 4.5 on the pull.

 

[AShearer]

I like about 5or 6, any stronger and they are normally sold.

That allows me not to have to type out my own answer

 

[AShearer]

I sold a 73 GEC 2 bld, that was so tough, I nicked myself almost every time trying to open or close the second blade, that is, while the other blade was already open? That's what I have the biggest problem with. Same with one of my 77,Washington jacks.

 

[thegeneftw]

The pull isn't the issue for me. It's the spring tension when the knife is opened. I prefer a stiffer spring for the most part unless it's a sub 3" blade. I also carry multiple blades so i have something that locks if i feel like i need that security. Also have a fixed blade too....

Same for me. I carry a fixed along with a slip joint when I am camping, hiking or fishing. As far as the actual spring tension goes, I too have never had a slip joint accidentally close on me so I guess I've never put much thought into carrying one with a light pull.

 

[jmarston]

My Queen 41L has the strongest pull of any of my knives. Sadly, I wish it were lighter...it is a linerlock after all so I don't need it to be so tough. With that being said, is there a way to lighten a strong pull a bit? The pivot is clean and oiled..just a strong spring.

I have had success lightening the pull by a couple points on several knives. Be warned that it is easy to break the spring if over stressed. Out of the many I have done this with, I have only broken one. An unacceptably strong GEC 72 that I could not open with wet fingernails. If I cannot open the knife, it may as well be a paperweight.

I use a piece of copper wire or small eyeglasses flathead screwdriver. I open the blade to the point where the cam pushes the spring up to the higheSt point and take a mental note.

I then insert my wire/screwdriver and wedge it gently between the spring and cam. I gradually open the knife so the wedged screwdriver raises the spring above its typical motion. I remove the driver and test the pull. Usually it takes a few cycles or even more to tune my knives this way. If still too strong, I reinsert the driver and raise the spring a little higher, checking each time. If you stress it too far you end up with an overstretched spring that does not give any pressure or even a broken spring.

Work slowly always checking but I have made several knives that would have stayed in a drawer into excellent, functional blades. As I said before, a knife that is difficult or a hazard for me to open is of no use to me.

 

[chickenfried]

I like ~5, 5 on my scale being a typical SAK. Don't need or want any stronger. If I wanted a knife that was more secure in use....modern and it would be easy to open.

 

[Humppa]

I really like this discussion.

But it has also to be seen on a technical standpoint. It is some kind of work between the springtension and the blade itself. If the tang of the blade is not well grounded off, that means a too low level of grinding it will produce a high spring tension. The blade itself will do the same. Same story if it happens otherwise. If there is too much material is grounded off (removed) from one part, or even worse, both parts it will have a rather light tension.

The early GECs were meant to be nailbreakers... but they managed to get the job done. The reason was, IMO (!!), they couldn´t really handle their tools well and the work between the two essential parts were not the best. The same with the Buck 300 Series, but on the other side. The tension on their blades used to be rather weak, maybe there has been too much material removed.

But it also depends on the user and the fingers that are using the knife, i.e. opening and closing. When I got my first real slippies I found the springtension too high. But after some training the blades were getting easy to open. Was it more strength in my fingers - I doubt it. Did the springs loosen up (weakening the spring/blade components?) - I doubt it.

It was the technique I grabbed the knife and used to open and close it the thing.

Just my two Cents for this.

I prefer stronger springs, at the point a 6-8. It gives me additional safety and not to say I like the sound when it´s opening or closing.Never get your fingers or whatsoever in the way of the blade. A term I still remember when it comes to folding knives in general.

P.S. To weaken the springs by force, like letting the knife half opened for some time doesn´t do the job - at least for me. It will only weaken out the 11backspring as it is the only moving part there. I would recommend to use another technique of opening the blades, using the nailnicks not generally. It is some kind of physics.