mid range front flippers

N

NorthernKnife

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Feb 22, 2016
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I find myself leaning towards front flippers right now but i'm having a hard time finding mid range knives in this category. On the high end there's Burger knives, Thorburn I think makes some and the amazing Bull Gareth Shamwari's (which seem to be impossible to find). I've seen that Kizer is putting out the Feist and I've been tempted to pick up the low end Boker exkelibur but i'm afraid I'll just be disappointed. Does any one have any recommendations for front flippers? I'm looking for something light and slim, an edc that won't break the bank.
 
Sacha Thiel Citizen:

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http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd272/orixamc/thiel_citizen_02s_zps93f0ef9f.jpg
 
What's your budget? Personally I have the burger EXK1 in carbon fiber, ordered direct from burger and its a awesome piece, worth every nickel!
 
dwdickey said:
What's your budget? Personally I have the burger EXK1 in carbon fiber, ordered direct from burger and its a awesome piece, worth every nickel!
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I was shooting for the $300 - 400 range. Without a doubt - the Burger Exk1 looks great but they are not budget friendly.
 
Oooh, useful thread. I'm in the same boat, exactly.

The announcement of that Kizer is weird to me. They're advertising the slow action as a feature. Pretty sure I don't want a slow opening flipper.
 
I picked up a Boker Plus A2 and it's a decent front flipper. A little under your price mark too. I think in the realm of cheap, front flippers it's a little better than the Exkelibur series. It's a very small knife, but the front flipper seems to function well once you get the proper grip on the handle. I'm also interested in the Kizer Feist but will wait until there's some feedback on them after release.
 
SpySmasher said:
Oooh, useful thread. I'm in the same boat, exactly.

The announcement of that Kizer is weird to me. They're advertising the slow action as a feature. Pretty sure I don't want a slow opening flipper.
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I thought it was odd too but I did find Justins video and it looks like it flips open nice and quick. They're not due to release for a few months so i'm searching for something else to play with.
 
I want a Gareth Bull and someday will get one. However I too would like a front flipper in the mean time. I am waiting on the Feist from Kizer too. I wasn't too impressed with the Excalibur series from Boker.

I heard that front flippers were popular among South African knife makers. Well who are these makers?
 
Lapedog said:
I heard that front flippers were popular among South African knife makers. Well who are these makers?
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There are many out there. Here is a little history lesson:

Blues Bender said:
Actually, I'm pretty sure [South Africa is] where the idea originated. I don't know who started it, but I do know this: South Africa's knife laws are really strict, and prohibit any thum studs/holes, flippers, assisted opening, etc, etc. it's really strict out there:)

The knife makers started making manual folders that had an "elongated blade tang" that extended north of the pivot, and was used to open the knife with your thumb or index finger. These weren't flippers mind you, but manual knives. Although they were manual, you would open them just like you would a front flipper.

Since custom makers make custom knives, flippers became the rage, and they slapped some bearings on these manual folders, fine tuned the lockbar and detent, and Voilà! Front flippers were born!
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marthinus said:
The front flipper, more commonly known locally here in SA as the lip opening method, dates back to the early 1980's.

Our legislation is not that strict, but very open to police interpretation. Our Knife Makers Guild of South Africa has contributed significantly to our dangerous weapons act with regards to many aspects. Much the same as Knife Rights in the USA (SUPPORT THESE TYPE OF ORGANIZATIONS!)

There are numerous makers using the front flipper in South Africa, but only a handful that can run something as smooth as Andre [Thorburn]. Andre really pushed IKBS to be utterly smooth and the work and maths that goes into each knife is astounding.
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Yes I understand that not all "front flippers" are true flippers. Some of them are meant to be opened slowly while some of them can be more flicked.
 
NorthernKnife said:
I was shooting for the $300 - 400 range. Without a doubt - the Burger Exk1 looks great but they are not budget friendly.
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Where are you located because and exk1 is very doable within your budget range in USD.

An exk1 can be had for about $300 in g10 and the exk-l in g10 for about $100 more.
 
Avoid the boker front flippers, they are terrible quality for the money. unless you find one used.

CRKT also has a super cheap front flipper, they dont have great reviews at all.

Kaizer is releasing a front flipper soon. i dont expect it to be really good, but it will probably be better than the boker and crkt front flippers.

if you are looking for a decent front flipper go with the original Burger knives. you wont be disappointed.

A2 Andre Thorburn is one too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A57udlzyDzY
[video=youtube;A57udlzyDzY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A57udlzyDzY[/video]

https://youtu.be/v7CR0SHZjo0
[video=youtube;v7CR0SHZjo0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7CR0SHZjo0[/video]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs5SFLb7r9Y
[video=youtube;fs5SFLb7r9Y]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs5SFLb7r9Y[/video]




also check out Gareth Bull front flippers and Clyde Challenor front flippers. all 4 of those are going to be your best bet in front flippers that are going to be worth your money.
 
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Herucus Blomerus is another from South Africa that I don't hesitate to recommend.
More simple styling than Thorburn but the action of his from flippers on IKBS is really excellent.

Sorry though - still in the $ 500 to $ 700.00 range new. If you can find a used one :thumbup:


Ray
 
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I don't think it will be long until we see front flippers become more "mainstream" and we start seeing them from company's like BM and Spyderco...

Right now it's mostly custom or mostly crap, I would love choices in the middle.

Personally, a front flipper with an option like a spyder hole would be really interesting...so would a Sebenza front Flipper...
 
Right now there isn't much out there worthwhile that isn't custom.
Another maker worth keeping an eye on is yet another South African maker. Clyde Challenor. His MK1 and MK2 models are front flippers. He has been looking into doing some mid techs, but I don't know if he'll be using these models.

Here's my MK2. Easy to open slow , or flick once you get used to the method.

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Notice the extra gimping at the top?

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No flipper tab sticking out either.
 
I m not too enthusiastic about back flippers and will only get one if there is an alternative opening option. And I like the idea of a back flipper much better than a front flipper. I can t ever see myself buying a front flipper.
 
dwdickey said:
Where are you located because and exk1 is very doable within your budget range in USD.

An exk1 can be had for about $300 in g10 and the exk-l in g10 for about $100 more.
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Any idea where I can get one at that price? I found some burgers on gpknives but they were very pricey.
 
I've seen that video, that thorburn is incredible! I'm looking for the more affordable burger type knife though. I may be at that point where I start to slim down the collection to fund nicer purchases.
 
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