How to open a Spyderco?

glockman99

glockman99

RIP Dann, you were a good guy.
Joined
Jun 12, 2000
Messages
21,269
Sal Glesser,

I have heard two different ideas on just how the Spyderco knives with the round hole (like my Endura II, for example) should be opened, so I hope you can "set things straight" for me.

Should they be opened by using the tip of the thumb, "lever-like", or should the hole be "pinched" between the thumb and index finger, and the knife "flicked-open" with a "snap of the wrist"?

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Dann Fassnacht
Aberdeen, WA
glockman99@hotmail.com
ICQ# 53675663
 
Tip of the thumb and pivot will get less people excited and will probably make the knife last through a few more opening cycles.

Otherwise there must be enough different techniques to fill a small book or atleast a long post.


Mike
 
One of the reasons that I asked this question, is that while practicing the "tip of the thumb" technique, my thumb slipped-off the hole, slid across the SHARP serrated blade, and got a pretty good cut.
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Dann Fassnacht
Aberdeen, WA
glockman99@hotmail.com
ICQ# 53675663
 
I cut myself once while opening the blade with the pad of my thumb. My thumb slipped out of the hole and slid down the blade to the edge.

Gently opening the blade with your thumb pad is probably the least menacing way to open the knife one-handed, but I think flicking the blade open is safer. By "flicking", I mean sticking the tip of your thumb into the hole, using your fingernail to flick the blade slightly open, and snapping your wrist at the same time to increase the momentum of the blade and get it into the locked open position. In this procedure, the flicking motion the thumb makes is a lot like shooting marbles.

A drop opening, where you pinch the hole and snap the handle down, is probably more dangerous than the two procedures above.

An opening that is really dangerous, but really cool, is the gun-slinger type opening. Hold the knife tip down, with the knife tilted slightly to the right (for right-handers), blade side away, and place your index finger in hole. Then fling the tip side up and towards you, so the knife does a 360 degree spin around your finger. As the knife ends the spin and returns to the original position, quickly remove your index finger and firmly grab the handle. Once the knife completes the spin, thrust the top of the handle down hard while arching your wrist back slightly; this will flip the blade open.

This opening is very impressive (looks like Bali-song stuff), but it's also horribly dangerous. Some tips: you need a large opening hole and you should practice spinning and flip opening the knife separately.
 
Hey cerulean, that gun-slinger opening sounds really cool, but I'm not sure how you actually do it..could you please elaborate on that a bit more? Thanks.
 
For tip-up, fairly large blades such as the Endura, you can just grab the handle and shake the blade open. With practice it's very fast and you don't even have to touch the blade.

David Rock

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AKTI Member # A000846
Stop when you get to bone.

[This message has been edited by David Rock (edited 07-09-2000).]
 
The "gun-slinger" opening is basically just a variation of the "shake-and-flip" method of opening that David Rock describes, with an additonal little trick. Before you flip the knife open, you just twirl it once around your index finger. You want to have a smooth transition between spinning the knife around your finger and grabing it and flipping it open.

If I understand correctly, in a "shake-and-flip" opening, the "shake" part is shaking the knife to get the blade slightly open and then you sort of snap your wrist to flip the blade the rest of the way open. If the blade is really heavy and there's a weak back spring or ball detent, you can just snap your wrist and flip the knife open without the shake part.

Another way to overcome the force of the back spring or ball detent is the procedure I mentioned in my last post: thrusting the handle down hard. When you try this, you want to hold the closed knife vertically, tip down, at about ear level. Get a really firm grip on the handle and then thrust the top of the handle down hard; like you're whipping something. The momentum will snap the blade open! It also helps if you arch your wrist back very slightly as you thrust down.

The reason why the "gun-slinger" opening is dangerous is that you can whirl the closed knife around your finger and quickly grab it, but your grip isn't secure. Then, when you thrust the knife down, it opens as it goes flying out of your hand! It doesn't really impress people when you twirl a knife around your finger, quickly open it, and then promptly stab yourself in the leg.
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I prefer the "flick-down" style opening described by David Rock, because if done right, it puts the handle right in the hand and the blade in the desired direction -- much smoother, in several ways, than pulling the handle out of the pocket (a more awkward wrist position than grabbing the blade), followed by changing the grip so that you can open with the thumb, and then opening.

Sal: did anyone ever talk about putting a "volcano grip" pattern on the blade, right around the hole? Obviously, you can also do the flick opening from the hole if you pinch tightly enough, but it's hard to keep the knife at the same angle if you do it this way. It is a round hole, after all, intentionally designed so that it will easily rotate around a finger...and the steel around it is pretty smooth.
If a volcano grip doesn't make sense, maybe just a textured or depressed area, sort of like on the David Boye folders...I always thought those would be great for drop-flicking if the action were as smooth as as Calypso Jr.'s.
 
Glockman - IMO, The safest and most secure way to open the knife is to put the tip of your thumb into the hole and slowly, with control open the blade until it locks. The least "jerky" or "Quick" motions are the safest. Control is the issue. I'd be curious as to how your thumb got behind the blade after slipping? Wouldn't your thumb slip towards the spine?

All of the other "cool" openings are fun albeit sometimes dangerous.

sal
 
Sal Glesser,

I'm not really sure just HOW my thumb slipped onto the blade while opening the knife, (maybe I have a short thumb?)...Thus the purpose for the question, so I don't do THAT again...
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PS...My Endura II opens pretty hard...I mean, it's new, and pretty "tight".
frown.gif
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Dann Fassnacht
Aberdeen, WA
glockman99@hotmail.com
ICQ# 53675663
 
How to open a Spyderco?...Carefully. My first model was an Endura. I practiced opening it on the couch in front of the T.V. A WHITE couch. Bad, bad idea.

Joyce
 
I seem to remember awile back Sal or someone else mention that repeated hard flick openings (of, for example, the Police model) as being bad for the knife, particularly openings involving the weight of the blade, as opposed to grabbing the blade and doing drop openings of the handle.
Jim
 
Thumb that hole, slowly slide it out until the blade locks. This worked marvellously for me. Well, I least worry about severing my lil' pinkies that way!
Fancy flicking techniques are for the macho-tuff types, but your spydie will definitely pay the price when it becomes loose..
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