Is anyone else starting to hate flippers?

[tyler.whalen13]

I don't think I have one single flipper that I really like! I never see the need for the 'flipper' nub. Most of my many folders open easily with the thumb stud or spydie hole, etc. Most open far faster when I don't use the flipper. To me the flipper aspect just seems like poor engineering - something to get hung up on your pocket at worst or unnecessary at best. Also, I think it looks silly. I hope this is just a fad.

I have used CRKTs flippers for years and have found success with them. Quick deploy when required and a smooth motion where all your bit are where they should be and not 15-30% of the way down the blade.

They also serve as a finger stop if you stop short quickly while doing a task (or if you're being an idiot and stab something).

As for getting jammed in pockets... I have personally used the double flipper on a few knives where I have rotated the pocket clip so that it intentionally catches and flips the knife open into a tac ready position. Specialty use only, of course.

 

[PURPLEDC]

Sure. Short answer should be "yes, one can do short wrist flick" and get the blade locked, but my thing is - I try not to do wrist flicks, I simply don't do it... I can do a thumb flick but don't like wrist flicks, they are unnecessary moments and I never had the habit of flicking the wrist.
I fully understand that we are not talking about flippers not opening constantly, it's rather sporadic event, but would you agree that it happens with flippers more than with other systems ? It's normal IMO, it goes with the specifics of the system, the blade moves more freely than in other systems ( another thing that I do not like in flippers), the pivot screw on those flippers is not that tight as on other knifes that you are applying direct pressure with your thumb, and by being slightly loose, they also get affected more by dirt and so on, so they are more prone to stop before they lock than other systems. Again, not all the time, but it happens more often when you only accelerate the blade and let the momentum do it's job, instead of pushing the blade all the way from closed to locked position.
All of my flippers had this problem when they were new or when they are ful of dirt, lint and so on, I never had such problem when riding the thumbstud all the way to the lock.
So in my case ( of course everyone else can look at this differently) i don't do wrist flicks, I don't want to do it with blade half way open by my body, maybe in tight environment and so on, let's not going in specifics. That's it, I'm just eliminating a non-desired possibility by trying to eliminate flippers for more serious tasks that I do with my knives. SD is another story and I know number of people that will not carry flippers and this is the main reason for it, we are talking service guys, not mall ninjas.

Never seemed to have the problems you are having. I mean even if the knife lacks thumbstuds or a nick in the blade if i flip it and it doesnt fully open i just place my thumb on the blade where they would have been and open it the rest of the way.

 

[ebidis]

Never seemed to have the problems you are having. I mean even if the knife lacks thumbstuds or a nick in the blade if i flip it and it doesnt fully open i just place my thumb on the blade where they would have been and open it the rest of the way.

This.^^^

 

[Surfingringo]

Sure. Short answer should be "yes, one can do short wrist flick" and get the blade locked, but my thing is - I try not to do wrist flicks, I simply don't do it... I can do a thumb flick but don't like wrist flicks, they are unnecessary moments and I never had the habit of flicking the wrist.
I fully understand that we are not talking about flippers not opening constantly, it's rather sporadic event, but would you agree that it happens with flippers more than with other systems ? It's normal IMO, it goes with the specifics of the system, the blade moves more freely than in other systems ( another thing that I do not like in flippers), the pivot screw on those flippers is not that tight as on other knifes that you are applying direct pressure with your thumb, and by being slightly loose, they also get affected more by dirt and so on, so they are more prone to stop before they lock than other systems. Again, not all the time, but it happens more often when you only accelerate the blade and let the momentum do it's job, instead of pushing the blade all the way from closed to locked position.
All of my flippers had this problem when they were new or when they are ful of dirt, lint and so on, I never had such problem when riding the thumbstud all the way to the lock.
So in my case ( of course everyone else can look at this differently) i don't do wrist flicks, I don't want to do it with blade half way open by my body, maybe in tight environment and so on, let's not going in specifics. That's it, I'm just eliminating a non-desired possibility by trying to eliminate flippers for more serious tasks that I do with my knives. SD is another story and I know number of people that will not carry flippers and this is the main reason for it, we are talking service guys, not mall ninjas.

I hear you and my own viewpoint is not terribly different. I own mostly Spydercos. I can use the hole to "flick" them open as fast as any flipper, but I never do. Especially not in public. Like I said earlier in the thread, I was never turned on by flippers in the least until I handled the prototype that Gayle Bradley showed me at Blade. The action and physics of the knife were just so dead on perfect that I couldn't help but be fascinated. I had him make me one and I love it. I did get it made with a spyderhole so I would not be "obligated" to use the flipper when I was in situations where I would rather make a more controlled opening. I don't know. I would never have expected to like a flipper so much but I just can't help myself. This one is kind of special.

 

[buckeyeborn]

I didn't like them to at first but bought and used it some now I like them just fine

 

[POCEH KOCEB]

Never seemed to have the problems you are having. I mean even if the knife lacks thumbstuds or a nick in the blade if i flip it and it doesnt fully open i just place my thumb on the blade where they would have been and open it the rest of the way.

I don't really have a problem... When I carry flippers I flip them and everything is fine. I'm talking about possibilities and eliminating the one I don't want to encounter. Like, when you are moving rapidly, knowing that your blade didn't lock open, you cant look at it and you don't know where quickly to put your thumb so you can lock the blade and in the same time avoid the sharp edge. I got too many cuts on me to create wrong habits, but if it works for you this is great :thumbup:

 

[POCEH KOCEB]

I hear you and my own viewpoint is not terribly different....I was never turned on by flippers in the least until I handled the prototype that Gayle Bradley showed me at Blade. The action and physics of the knife were just so dead on perfect that I couldn't help but be fascinated. I had him make me one and I love it. I did get it made with a spyderhole so I would not be "obligated" to use the flipper when I was in situations where I would rather make a more controlled opening. I don't know. I would never have expected to like a flipper so much but I just can't help myself. This one is kind of special.

Absolutely. Just because I don't prefer flippers it doesn't mean that I don't like some of them and don't drool over others... I'm also for the form, not only for the function when we're talking knives. Principle are to be broken, this GB is gorgeous, I was staring in your pictures like I was hypnotized... There are so many great looking flippers that forum members are showing here, that I would probably spend my last cent on it if I had the money, but I still think that blades with thumbstuds are some how superior designs in terms of opening. Again, I could be the one in this block but if you ask me, all my knives will have thumb disk or plate as the CS Spartan's, or waves and "flipper's" "guard", just to proove that I don't discriminate

 

[jbmonkey]

I like flippers more for the guard aspect than the opening aspect of them. What i dislike is flippers without another opening mechanism such as a thumb stud. Some open easily with the flipper but many cheaper knives do not and that turns them into a 2 hand opener or a project.

 

[Serenity]

If flippers were practical, Chris Reeve would have made one a long time ago.

Thankfully the Chris Reeve Sebenza 25 I first purchased was so badly finished it wouldn't open out of the box using the thumb studs (...and still doesn't) !

Otherwise I wouldn't have bought those beautifully made and finished Shirogorov flippers, that I really like...

 

[ATJ999]

Just my opinion and experience. Flippers are so much more convenient for me. I can only use flippers and spyderholes, love thumb spyderholes, thumb holes of all kinds! I think it is my fat thumb that has a difficult time opening with studs, unless the stud is a cm. out from the handle. If the detent is too strong, that can be a problem too. Just have weird shaped thumbs I guess! Also if it has a stud on each side depending on the shape of the stud, it wears a hole or gets caught on my pants as I take the knife out. I have had flippers for 15+ years and never had trouble opening them, but I can definitly see how they could be a problem for some, just like thumb studs are difficult for me. Nobody can get everything perfect. With tip up or down, my index finger is in perfect position at the flipper, right into a solid grip. Easy one hand open/ one hand close, the main thing I look for in my working knives, EDC's. So nice doing farm work, fishing, etc. Just works for me.
And I have NO problem manually opening a flipper knife when I don't want to flip it, no studs, holes, etc. Just slowly with two hands.
Just a preference, everyone is different.
Autos rock too!

 

[GCG199]

I didn't start out with them, but they have become one of my favorite ways to open a knife real fast.

Plus it is nice that it stays out of the way of the blade. And that it makes a guard at the base of the blade is good too.

They have to be a certain size (larger is better) to work right or else a wrist flip has to be done to open them right when they are too small.

Columbia River (CRKT), Kershaw, Kizer, and Zero Tolerance have made some of the best ones, in my opinion.

 

[PURPLEDC]

I don't really have a problem... When I carry flippers I flip them and everything is fine. I'm talking about possibilities and eliminating the one I don't want to encounter. Like, when you are moving rapidly, knowing that your blade didn't lock open, you cant look at it and you don't know where quickly to put your thumb so you can lock the blade and in the same time avoid the sharp edge. I got too many cuts on me to create wrong habits, but if it works for you this is great :thumbup:

Seems there is a problem if you cant learn to adapt to the knife you are carrying without cutting yourself. See when i cut myself, (which does not happen often) I blame myself. As far as wrong habits are concerned it seems only one of us has proof (cuts) of such.

 

[bld522]

They have to be a certain size (larger is better) to work right or else a wrist flip has to be done to open them right when they are too small.

Honestly, using a wrist flick just isn't a big deal for me. I know some people think it's the kiss of death, but I've been doing it for so long that it's become second nature to wrist flick all of my non-AO flippers. YMMV.

 

[PURPLEDC]

Honestly, using a wrist flick just isn't a big deal for me. I know some people think it's the kiss of death, but I've been doing it for so long that it's become second nature to wrist flick all of my non-AO flippers. YMMV.

I dont have a problem with wrist flicking. But I dont care to. Not because of damage or because its "wrong" I just like manual flippers to be set up that I dont have to. Its probably because I got into manual flippers as an alternative to autos and assisteds. So I want it to flip open as if it were one of those yet not actually being one.

 

[bld522]

Part of it is that I rotate through a lot folders and sometimes I don't even know what I've got in my pocket. So I just try to use one consistent motion every time.

 

[Ken44]

Thankfully the Chris Reeve Sebenza 25 I first purchased was so badly finished it wouldn't open out of the box using the thumb studs (...and still doesn't) !

Do you have pics of badly finished Sebenza ?
Did you mean to say the detent was to heavy instead of saying "badly finished" ?

Never seen a badly finished Sebenza, and I've been buying them since the late 90's. If you really did get a badly finished Sebenza you should have sent it back pronto.

I have seen some newer ones with a detent that is heavier than I like, but many seem to like them that way. I prefer a light to medium detent myself, but many companies are going with a heavier detent these days.

If it is your first Sebenza the small thumb stud does take some getting used to. I hated it on my first, but once I got the hang of it I now prefer a low profile stud. It also opens different from other folders, as you need more of an arc motion.

I would try another opening technique(more of an arc), but if you can't get the hang of it you need to send it back for a refund, or sell it here(IMO).
Good luck.

 

[OK Blade Nut]

I love Hinderer XM-18 flippers! All day every day carry.

 

[Sikael]

Is anyone else starting to hate this thread? ...I jest, of course. Let's share the hate over something that comes down to personal preference... and the knives we currently own. Non-flipper boy today will find a flipper he really likes tomorrow, and buy it. At first it's just that flipper, of course. It's special. But then his next knife is a flipper, and voila!, flippers are cool, and the flipper-flapper-conversion is complete. Next comes the segment of alien DNA spliced into... but never mind that.

A 'flipper' that required a wrist flick was fine a few years ago, but things have changed.

I consider a properly functioning flipper to be one in which the stored kinetic energy built up applying the absolute minimum amount of pressure to break the detent results in a quick, solid arc into a locked position. Many Hinderers are not properly functioning flippers, IMO. I'm sure some Hinderer owners feel differently, and that's grrrrreat! But the flippers I prefer now are more reliable than any thumbstud, hole or auto I've owned.

They can only fail to deploy if you physically stop the spine as it comes out. After hundreds of openings, 100% perfect. The PM2 is 100%, but every other spydie has failed at least 2 times per hundred. Thumbstuds... about 93-95% on the whole, but some are better than others. Autos are 100% reliable, but both my Microtech Ultratechs had very stiff action that made them harder to fire and in some ways slower than a good flipper, Axis-lock, or compression-lock.

I prefer simplicity, and don't want thumbstuds on my flippers unless they act as blade-stops; holes are unnecessary, but less obtrusive. If I'm ever in a situation where I think I might get lynched publicly for flipping open my knife, I'll pinch it open with two hands. Traditional knife fans do it all the time :thumbup:. That's never come up for me, but I can see it being a concern in some office environments. I think I'd just use the flipper and explain it politely to any fools throwing back dirty looks... but who's going to throw dirty looks at the hood brandishing some kind of switchblade-thing? He's got a knife! He's crazy!

 

[POCEH KOCEB]

Seems there is a problem if you cant learn to adapt to the knife you are carrying without cutting yourself. See when i cut myself, (which does not happen often) I blame myself. As far as wrong habits are concerned it seems only one of us has proof (cuts) of such.

Seems like you have problem understanding and processing information. Stick with the threat please and don't give me your perspective of what should or should not do with my knifes and the way I'm opening it.
I carry and use two or three knives every day, not like I can't but I don't want to adapt to my tools, they are chosen to answer to my requirements. It's easily understandable for someone who's working with it's knives and not just walking around with knife in it's pocket.

 

[FCCBCT]

Flippers can easily be accidentally opened, soon I post a video of how this can happen under various real life scenarios. You won't like what you see and won't want to know about it.