kershaw and assisted opening

beestokk

beestokk

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Sep 20, 2009
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is there a particular reason why so many of kershaw's blades are AO? I think their designs are great but i'm just not a fan of AO. i have their whirlwind which is AO and the skyline which is not and i'd trade the whirlwind for a skyline any day. the pocket clip on the whirlwind is subpar IMO (not tight enough although i've used my leatherman charge AL to bend it tighter) and the times when it accidentally gets caught on something and pulled out or falls out of my pocket and opens up when it hits the floor due to the AO are really disappointing. the skyline OTOH is a great design for a great price. i don't think the AOs open any faster than my non-AOs, regardless of brand. seems kind of gimmicky to me. i've got a no-name thumb hole folder i found used in the woods that can be opened just as fast as an AO but is safer IMO due to the fact that a drop or accidental push doesn't fling it open. just wish kershaw didn't make the majority of their line with AO from what it seems...especially because i love flippers! otherwise i'd be willing to bet the majority of my collection would be kershaw. i wish they gave the choice of AO or not! I've read the AO can be disabled but haven't tried...does it leave the closed retention worthless? anyways, just a general discussion point/rant. feel free to reply if so inclined.
 
It's just kershaws personal style, it's easy to disable if you don't like it and doesn't mess with anything so have at it! (I'll keep my AO I enjoy it :D)
 
I agree in that I wish they offered more manual folders. Not sure why they are making alot of the new models AO. I usually disable the AO on my Kershaws unless it just seems to "fit" the knife. To answer your question on detent loss- as long as the knife has a ball bearing detent (most do) it should work just as any manual folder. Its as simple as removing the scale housing/covering the torsion bar and removing the bar. I like my Blur even more as a manual folder...works like a dream.
 
Well, I think it is a matter of preference since Kershaw doesn't penalize people for disassembling the knife to replace a torsion bar if it breaks ( and replaces them free of charge ), so I'm pretty sure they won't mind if you take it out to make it into a manual knife. On top of that, as far as my "Needs Work" the detent is very strong as a manual folder and it worked as a "flipper" very well. I think Kershaw deserves ( and gets ) a lot of credit for those two things, it's a pretty nifty feature... Well, I'm not actually sure if it was intended by design, but in whichever case, there's definitely a choice there and it's very easy to go with whatever way you prefer. I don't like having it AO if I EDC my SpeedSafe knife either, but if I'm just leaving it around the house for general use I like it with the AO.

I do kind of agree that it doesn't really add that much safety, though maybe some since getting the blade open quicker without having to put your fingers in front of it will make it safer--plus it's just more convenient sometimes. On the other hand, I bought mine at a local store, and when I asked to see it and was checking it out the guy behind the display case said, "Now, that's an 'Assisted Opening' knife" in a tone that made me think he had seen someone open it and get frightened or maybe worse by it, and I have to admit that even when knowing it would fling open and putting a good grip on it, I was still kind of surprised with how much "oomph" it had when it was fully open--and I had seen it opening and read reviews beforehand. So I tend to have the same kind of reaction of, "Be careful opening that," when I let someone else use it for the first time.

Anyway, I think it's a neat design... You get an AO knife when you buy it, and if you want to make it manual you simply take out one spring, which is actually such an ease to take out it's literally just a matter of picking it up off the scale of the knife once you have the blade open and the cover off. Replacing it is as simple as lining up the two ends back in their original placement. I think the only thing that's missing here is documentation accompanying the knife telling the user how to do this--and not to mention telling them to have the blade open first.
 
Good assist openers seem to be at a premium these days, so I am glad to see that Kershaw does so many to give the option out there. Designing the AO to be easily disabled means they intend it to be optional, and their warranty makes it appear to be that they may support doing so. Other companies make very high quality manual folders, Kershaw makes high quality assist openers. You can't expect your apple to taste like an orange, Kershaw is just nice enough to make the genetic modification that much easier.
 
I am not crazy about AO, either, and have gone back to my first love, AXIS. ;)
 
beestokk,

Agree completely -- I neither want nor have any need for assisted opening and wouldn't feel comfortable carrying in my urban office environment.

On the ease of disabling A/O, while it might be easy to remove the torsion bar, the popular dealer on these forums who removed them from my Blurs said he'd be taking a chance that the blades would remain centered.
 
Let me help a few of you out from another recent thread.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/850077-Why-do-you-hate-Assisted-Opening?highlight=hate+assisted

As to why, Kershaw popularized A/O, to the point of creating an actual category knives. So much so, that the majority of the brands out there have adopted it into their line-up. While the style may not be your own personal preference, that's a pretty incredible feat.

A/O's sell...a bunch, and that's a good thing. To see it any other way is very individualistic. The industry as a whole needs successes like A/O's. It's healthy for all of us. Sometimes we need to look past the fact that it's not your favorite flavor, and see more big picture. It's important to remember that knives in general are a very small cottage industry, barely relevant. I see popularity as good, even when it's a competitor of ours. If our most fierce competitor went out of business, it would be a sad day for us a company.

As to manual openers in our line up, over the last few years we have focused more on that category. A few new manuals I can think of off the top of my head are the following:

Kershaw

Salvo and it's variations
Groove and all its variations (RJ Martin design)
Zing and all its variations (RJ)
Nerve (RJ)
Chill/variations (RJ)
Volt (RJ)
Half-Ton
OD-1 (Lee Williams)
OD-2 (Williams)
Skyline/Variations
JYD/Variations (Galyean)
Little Lockback (Galyean)
Speedform/II
R.A.M. (Hawks)
Select-Fire (Hawks)
G-10 Hawk
Vapor III
Crowns
3100 Series (Wood & Jigged Bone)
2150/55 (Carbon Fiber & Pearl)
Double Cross/Duty (VG-1 Clad)
Tilt

ZT
0700 (Galyean)
0780
0550/51
0560/61 (Upcoming)
0777 (Upcoming)

Seems like perhaps we haven't lost track of our manual category IMO, and I believe there will be more in the future as well. Hopefully there is at least one flavor (or more :)) of Kershaw/ZT for everyone to enjoy.
 
beestokk said:
is there a particular reason why so many of kershaw's blades are AO?
Click to expand...

Thomas W. from Kershaw might give you a better answer if you post in the Kershaw forum, but: I think there are fewer SpeedSafe (assisted open) models than there used to be -- at least it represents a smaller proportion of their product line. SpeedSafe knives have their place, but if its not your preference, Kershaw has many similar choices without it. I recently handled a Salvo, for example, and found it to be a lot like a Leek with no SpeedSafe. The ZT model 0200 is substantially similar to the 0300 without a framelock and SpeedSafe. There are other examples.

Edit: Duh. Didn't read far enough to see Thomas's response.
 
I find that topic very strange. It is like somebody has made you to buy the knife with AO feature, so you have suffered having to use it for some time and then found a brilliant solution removing the spring - so now you OK again.
It amases me how regularly that kind of thread appears here - sometimes two at a time, like right now. Is there a special reason for that? A kind of a signal? Is there a secret society using that for a code to communicate between its members? :D
 
I like the AO features on my ZTs. I think it's a cool feature and wouldn't change it one bit. As far as my Kershaw knives. The Leeks, Shallots, and Blur I own have never opened accidentally, never failed to serve their purpose, and are always go to knives. I could understand your dislike, especially if it is something that illegal in your locality. But they do work reliably.
 
Poez said:
It amases me how regularly that kind of thread appears here - sometimes two at a time, like right now. Is there a special reason for that? A kind of a signal? Is there a secret society using that for a code to communicate between its members? :D
Click to expand...

Maybe it's a secret Bat Signal to show that not everyone likes or wants A/O.

Thomas, thank you for your reply and the list -- very useful.
 
It's cuz they can make good AO without adding much cost. So they just make there knives AO. They sell better then they would if they were manual which is why most are AO. It shouldn't be a deal breaker though because you can disable it if you want.
 
keygenkid said:
It's cuz they can make good AO without adding much cost. So they just make there knives AO. They sell better then they would if they were manual which is why most are AO. It shouldn't be a deal breaker though because you can disable it if you want.
Click to expand...

Maybe, but see the above post re the dealer's concern abut disabling the torsion bar.
 
flash900 said:
Maybe, but see the above post re the dealer's concern abut disabling the torsion bar.
Click to expand...

There's been a good number who have removed the torsion bar without any problem. Probably differs knife to knife.
 
I like 'em. I'm not a huge kershaw design fan, but with the affordable ao I own more than a couple, and I'm glad I can get a decent ao knife without breaking the bank.
 
good to read a bunch of replies. thanks all for the input and contributing to the discussion. thomas w, thanks especially for the details. i'll check into some of those you listed that i wasn't already aware of. i do want to be clear in stating that i think very highly of kershaw and will continue to buy their blades...for now probably manuals until maybe this week when i try disabling the AO haha. it could be partially influenced too by my absolute love for the skyline! and i completely understand the "if they sell well let's make more" approach, i guess the more appropriate question would have been why is the demand so strong as i don't see much, if any, of a real life/application benefit. but obviously others do and replies here demonstrate that and kershaw has certainly set the foundation to fill that niche. luckily that's what makes this hobby so great...so many options and different perspectives and people to discuss this strange adoration of something which in essence is so simple...a sharpened piece of steel (or stone, or ceramic, etc. etc. haha).
 
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