I need a knife that does not require a thumb....

I used this for about 10 years till someone decided they liked it more than I did one night and took it from my workbench. It's very easy to catch on the pant seam or pocket corner opening it in a similar fashion to a waved blade just using the end of the blade as opposed to a hook near the tang.

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Here's the Frost Black Hawk II that I also catch on a pocket corner or pant seam.

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Some states allow for the use of auto's and such of you have a disability to you're hand, so you could contact the governor.
You could also just get a friction folder like the traditional Japanese higonokami or a svord peasant knife from New Zealand. They may be 2 hand openers, but don't have any force acting against you to open or close them.
 
Louiedog said:
I've never handled one, but the Boker Griploc seems like something that will work. Although, it is a little out of left field.
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Actually think this is a really good suggestion. I have the Hawk's custom version (Tangent) of this and it is a great knife that will not require use of your thumb. Fun to play with as well!
 
Check out vids from Erni0066 on YouTube. That guy figured a way to work liners & frame locks without using his thumb..
 
I suffer from damage to my ulnar nerve (very similar to carpal tunnel syndrome, which is much better known), which often makes my lower palm, pinky, and second finger numb, and can get so painful I drop things in my right hand. On bad days, it burns so badly I put it on ice packs.. I've adapted by doing a lot more with my left hand; I am now 100% ambidextrous with my computer mouse and may switch hands repeatedly during a work session with my laptop.

One thing I did knife-wise was start carrying my EDC in my left front pocket instead of the right. So I can open my Dice or Kiwi 4 at work with either hand now. And on my days off, I now carry a small (6" OAL) fixed blade.
 
It is possible too. I am fairly ambidextrous but for whatever reason used knives with my right hand mostly. (Probably because of the way we eat fork in left hand knife in right) However I wanted to forward wave my knives many of which were Emersons. As Emersons come for right handed tip up carry only if I wanted to forward wave them I would have to carry them in my left pocket.

So I got used to carrying knives left handed. Now I make all my cuts left handed. I practiced fighting with a knife in my left hand and got used to that too. At first I thought my strikes with my left hand were slow and weak. With practice though they became fluid and natural. Throughout this I have retained my natural ability to use my knives with my right hand. I have become a true knife ambidextrous. Although I still use my fork in my left hand and steak knife in my right. Some things never change.
 
First off, it's not unthinkable to use two hands to open a knife... or close it. Now there is nothing wrong with using the thumb excuse to buy a new knife ;), but you can probably get by with something you already own until you're healed.
If it has to be a new knife, I don't think anyone has mentioned the Emerson wave. Kershaw makes some inexpensive knives of decent quality, with the wave.
Any of the lock systems can be operated with the opposite hand and all of them require thumb pressure to oppose the pressure of using any other finger on the same hand to close the knife one handed.
 
Move to Colorado! Autos and gravities will be legal here in August . OK, mean thing to say on my part. But I just wanted to commend all the good suggestions here. I am entering middle age with my own fair share of injuries and surgeries and I know I'll be hitting the BF folks for similar advice eventually.

OP, let us know how you land.

Zieg
 
I have very limited thumb dexterity and strength myself due to a nerve condition but I still have some. I can't use regular thumb studs or a thumb opening hole for example. I just tried a bunch of knives pretending my right thumb wasn't there at all. Pretty much all of them end up requiring a two hand action. You can flip a flipper using your middle finger and bring the knife back to a holding position one handed without a thumb but heck I would hate to have to rely on it. Once you're using both hands anyway, you can basically use any type of opening system. Open with two hands then return to the right hand for a punch grip hold while cutting.

I've known for a while that the correct solution for my own problem was an auto but street carry of an auto here is going to require one heck of a good letter from a doctor and lawyer to accompany it. The day might indeed come.
 
boez said:
I recently had surgery repairing the Ulnar collateral ligament in my right thumb. This makes it so most conventional thumb stud knifes painful or uncomfortable to use. I'm looking for a alternative ($150 or less) that is legal in Michigan. Any suggestions?
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According to AKTI & Knifeup's interpretation of MI laws, any FB that isn't actually being used for hunting is illegal to carry openly or concealed. Autos are illegal to carry. The law as I read it sounds like AOs might be in a "grey" area. To be on the safe side, that limits you to manual openers of some sort. Flippers will open with your index finger, but most are frame locks and that usually takes thumb action to close them one-handed. A backlock like a Delica or Endura can be unlocked with your index finger, but you have to squeeze the knife handle pretty hard to hold it while doing that, so those might not be a good suggestion either.

Having had trouble with my RH myself, I'm trying to imagine what might work for easy opening and closing. Spyderco's compression lock and their opening hole come to mind. I can carry and use my PM 2 with either hand in a variety of techniques.

Another possibility is a slipjoint designed to open by catching the front edge of the blade on your pocket, rotating the blade open, then closing it against your leg when finished. A. G. Russell sells these. They're similar to the one in T. Erdelyi's pic above.

A third choice would be a waved Emerson. Opening would work OK, but you'd have to figure out how to hold and unlock the liner with your index finger.

If it was me, though, I'd just do what Zieg has suggested and switch hands temporarily. I've actually done that before just to see how it would work and to practice a bit using my weak side hand for stuff in case I ever need it. It really didn't take long to adjust to doing that.
 
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do they make left hand autos?
else get something that you can spidyflick

in any case the thumb is essential in holding the knife to deploy regardless.
 
Spyderco Sage 5 Compression Lock. If you want something larger, get a Paramilitary 2. You can use your index finger to work the lock so the blade flips open and close it the same way.
Flippers are not a good solution because you still have to use your thumb to close the blade.
 
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