This thread had another long sleep. At least, I see, it is being read occasionally!
This term has come up in a couple other threads, so let's talk a little about HALF-STOPS!
Sometimes called safety stops, half-stops refers to a design element of blades that cause said blade to come to rest at 90 degrees from closed.
Some people love them, others don't. I prefer them, as much as for the extra effort it takes to build them in, as for the safety they provide. They stop the blade, so you can change the position of your fingers if you wish, to more gently close the blade. I like snap, but often close a blade gently, easing it shut a bit. It's like shifting gears in a performance car. If you slam shift it all the time, it will break when you least want it to!!
When I had Queen build me some Harness Jacks, I discovered one of the reasons that cutlers do NOT put them in. It has to do with an esthetic sense as much as anything. Generally (with exceptions) a rounded end bolster will not include half stops. The designer at Queen at the time, did not like to see square ended tangs hiding between rounded bolsters; he felt that rounded bolsters looked overall, better with rounded tangs.
Looking through my older knives, I found that his thinking is based in tradition. Most older pieces follow this pattern.
My feeling is, a punch blade should always have a half stop, because of the way it is used. Screwdriver blades the same. Of course "locking" is better for both, but not often seen on punches.
It is hard to take pictures of this with my scanner, so I am going to ask you skilled camera users to provide some pics of this detail.
The square and flush finish at the bolsters on some current Great Easterns is a good example of the square bolster with half-stop situation.
All my canoes seen above have round tangs, so no half stops.
Please show us a picture or two, of the tangs in between the bolsters!
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