Recommendation? Manual Folders That Can Be Open/Closed Single-Handedly?

luethge said:
If you wanted a knife you could really beat on and not worry - Cold steel AD10 is a good choice. The Adamas is a great knife.. I just wish the lock up was a little better than it is. I’ve had many Benchmade knives and rarely encountered any issues with any of them.. besides the Adamas. The Demko knives are more expensive but the lock up is unrivaled ln my experience.. both triad or shark lock configurations.
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I was thinking maybe a Cold Steel AD15 then.

What about the Taiwanese-made Demkos? I've seen some of them going for almost $300 NIB.
 
luethge said:
Microtech fixed the amphibian lock - I’ve got a few and use them like I hate them , no lock issues whatsoever

Ironically though, the full sized Adamas pops closed once in a while- don’t stab it into tree stumps

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I carried the original black one daily for 7 years.. I tried to break it and failed.

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09/23 to present day amphibians are rock solid
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I gotta say, I'm on my third adamas, and all of them have had some rock lock. My amphibian has been rock solid from day one.
 
Count Zero said:
I was thinking maybe a Cold Steel AD15 then.

What about the Taiwanese-made Demkos? I've seen some of them going for almost $300 NIB.
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I have no experience with the AD15. I’ve had quite a few triad lock models though - they are Rock solid, decent materials and good heat treatment for 1/3 the price of half the knives mentioned in this thread. Even though they cost more , I’d look for a ad20s or ad20 with flat grind on the exchange.. easiest to operate gloved, tough as hell, good heat treatment and many blade shapes and steels to choose from
 
Count Zero said:
That Manix 2 soured me on Spyderco for the interim.
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Understandable. The PM2 and PM3 are both very solid builds though. Zero plastic unless you go with the PM3 lightweight. And even those are pretty solid. The most realistic complaint I've seen over the years is the G10 is a bit aggressive. I have a light weight Manix and agree about the plastic on the lock. I guess it works but you would think as much as they cost it would be made with better materials. I'm just not sure about the PM series compression lock with gloves. But I've soured against things over less.
 
Maximumbob54 said:
Understandable. The PM2 and PM3 are both very solid builds though. Zero plastic unless you go with the PM3 lightweight. And even those are pretty solid. The most realistic complaint I've seen over the years is the G10 is a bit aggressive. I have a light weight Manix and agree about the plastic on the lock. I guess it works but you would think as much as they cost it would be made with better materials. I'm just not sure about the PM series compression lock with gloves. But I've soured against things over less.
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The G10 handles are actually my fav thing about that knife! :)

No. What I just can't get comfortable w/ is the thumbhole deployment. I just find them to be kind of slow on the open and close.
 
Count Zero said:
The G10 handles are actually my fav thing about that knife! :)

No. What I just can't get comfortable w/ is the thumbhole deployment. I just find them to be kind of slow on the open and close.
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Well that is ironic then because that's my lawncare knife for that reason... I can wear my leather gloves and open with the thumb hole. But I wear thinner deerskin gloves. Good luck on the Adamas!!!
 
luethge luethge outlines a buncha good options. I also like the Presidio II, and it can often be had for reasonable money. RSK is a useful knife, too.

If the OP should ever move beyond his Spyderco distaste, I'll add another vote for the Military 1. It is the best box cutter I own by a country mile.PXL_20241202_165229702.jpg
 
The only time an Adamas has failed on me, was when I forgot to use the lock on my auto and it opened in my pocket;)
I know they fail. Obviously there are videos and first hand accounts. I will say the new mini auto has more lock rock than I think it should, but it has been solid so far. All 4 of mine have never failed a whack test. Even with the short comings, I find the whole line to be the best combination of things for my needs.

I'll also say that I have never had an issue with my Microtech Amphibian. It's a great fidget knife. I've had mine since February, and it's a silky beast to open and close. I can't get the ram lock to fail either.
 
Steely_Gunz said:
The only time an Adamas has failed on me, was when I forgot to use the lock on my auto and it opened in my pocket;)
I know they fail. Obviously there are videos and first hand accounts. I will say the new mini auto has more lock rock than I think it should, but it has been solid so far. All 4 of mine have never failed a whack test. Even with the short comings, I find the whole line to be the best combination of things for my needs.

I'll also say that I have never had an issue with my Microtech Amphibian. It's a great fidget knife. I've had mine since February, and it's a silky beast to open and close. I can't get the ram lock to fail either.
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Did you ever give your Amphibian the "whack" test?
 
Count Zero said:
Still...

I thought that the lock fail problems were only w/ the Mini, and not the full-sized.

Hmmm.... Looks like it might be back to the drawing board for me then.
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The lock on the full size Adamas is just fine and I think you will be very happy with it.
 
Count Zero said:
Did you ever give your Amphibian the "whack" test?
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I did. Now, I did not haul off and bash it, as I don't expect any lock short of a triad to handle that. Just like my 4 Adamas knives, I opened the knife two different ways then struck it about half speed onto a pine 2x4 attempting to hit the spot where I felt the shock would be most likely to disengage the knife. I opened the knife with a slow roll thinking that this would maybe cause the lock to be more likely to not be as fully engaged. I also tested it with snapping it up open with a hard flick as I figured this would either cause it to engage more or maybe "bounce back" a bit.

None of the knives failed this test. I had several ZTs slip their locks doing the same thing.
 
Count Zero said:
I was thinking maybe a Cold Steel AD15 then.

What about the Taiwanese-made Demkos? I've seen some of them going for almost $300 NIB.
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I have a bunch of Cold Steels and a couple of Demkos, and there's a lot I really like about both.

But if your primary use is processing cardboard - I would be looking at thin blade stock and high cutting performance. It makes life so much easier.

I have a lot of heavier-duty folders like the above, but if I'm going to spend the afternoon cutting boxes, I'm going to grab a Spyderco Stretch 2XL, Military, TRM Atom, or something of the like that will laser through that stuff as easily as possible.
 
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FWIW, I find that any comp lock Spydie can easily be opened & closed one handed w/o even touching the blade. 🤷‍♂️
 
Stringjam7 said:
I have a bunch of Cold Steels and a couple of Demkos, and there's a lot I really like about both.

But if you're primary use is processing cardboard - I would be looking at thin blade stock and high cutting performance. It makes life so much easier.

I have a lot of heavier-duty folders like the above, but if I'm going to spend the afternoon cutting boxes, I'm going to grab a Spyderco Stretch 2XL, Military, TRM Atom, or something of the like that will laser through that stuff as easily as possible.
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For cardboard I have a CF chaparral that came as a bonus knife in a swap. The PO put a screaming sharp mirror edge on it, and it just eats cardboard.
 
I think you will not be happy with the slicing performance of the adamas. Like someone else said, you need something thinner with a better grind/profile. I still stand by my suggestion of the super freek.

The amphibian i had was a good slicer, but was annoying in the pocket and the detent was WAY to loose, as with all 3 of the MT ram locks. I would throw them in a pack, and more times than not, the blade would be half way open. Same thing in the door pocket of my truck. After the 3rd time the MSI tried to cut me while it was half open in my pocket, i sold all 3 ram locks. I prefer my knives with a stiffer detent.
 
I would agree with the comments here to not give up on Spyderco. I have quite a few of them and just retested the one-handedness of a bunch of them. Opening and closing one handed was not a problem. Of course, I'm not wearing gloves when I did this. That might have an effect. I can one hand the Manix also, but it is my least favorite of the Spyderco locking mechanisms. So, if you can, test some other Spyderco and see if you feel the same or different about them. There are several different lock options available and they're all a little different. Also, pay attention to what might land on a finger if you like to keep that in the way when closing. For those type of locks, like the back lock, where the sharp edge of the blade may land on a finger, I will often put my index finger in the spydie hole to start the close, but not let it drop on a finger. Once the close has started that way, it is easy to move fingers out of the way to complete the close, all one handed. With the compression lock, fingers don't even have to be in the way to start the close.
 
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