New guy seeking opinions about A.O.'s

[Elarski]

Another Kershaw Leek fan here. Plenty of models to choose from. I use the plain blade 1660 in business situations, it never raises eyebrows, is comfortable, and gets the job done. Good luck.

 

[Kaizen1]

+1 on the serrated Kershaw Leek. There's enough colors for you to choose from to feel comfortable with a suit and tie. I personally don't care for AOs, but don't discriminate if it's a good design. The Leek is a great design.

 

[offsetlover]

ok, so i wont bother one quoting here, but hobo, lemme ask you this? does the microtech Halo represnt something "cheap" (which you imply of AO knives cause of moving parts) because it is an automatic knife? or are well made autos out of the running?

i've handled a MT Halo. those things are filthy fast, and VERY well made. i would trust it like i would my Kershaws in a heart beat. heck i plan on purchasing one once i get into the Navy (that and the ZT autos that are coming out ).

as for the original topic, the spec/speed bump are excellent knives. large yes, but lemme tell you, i carry a ZT0200 in my EDC rotation, and it rides VERY well, and its bigger (in girth) than the bumps. so other than liking your choice, i agree with everything SPX said concerning the bumps

 

[spiralarchitect]

Some other Kershaws to look at are the Chive, Centofante and Shallot. I like waved knived too but think they would be all wrong for the situation. Waves can actually be quite noisy, hard to draw in dress pants and are showy. I am an admitted Kershaw guy, so do with this what you will, but I feel that most other AOs feel crude next to the Speed Safe knives. Try 'em and decide for yourself.

 

[missin_hobo]

Anything I post is either a product of my opinion, my logic, or my experience, and is never to be taken as fact unless I cite a reputable source. I assume the same of any post by any author that I've seen on this site.

Perhaps my logic is flawed - this would explain my unpopular opinions - but my experience, for what it's worth, is this:

Between work and hobbies, I have high demands set upon my knives. I've put a number of them through a reasonable amount of hard use and abuse, sometimes to the point (and I'm not proud to say this, since it usually is my fault) that they break. The thing is, the knives that break are quite consistently the flashy sort of knife in which you frequently see AO mechanisms. I wasn't trying to make an indictment of the mechanical integrity of an AO device; though in hindsight I realize I may have come off this way.

So alright, fine. No, there is nothing wrong with AO as a means of getting your knife open, and surely there are qualitative, well-built AOs out there, like Microtechs and Benchmades. Offsetlover, I've handled those same autos myself, and I agree they're intoxicating. I'm not frightened by extra moving parts, I just opt against them when I think they're unnecessary. Which is often.

Personally, I don't see AO as being necessary to the design of a folding knife, insofar as the knife is a piece of machinery. In my experience, the knives that survive abuse are the mechanically simple ones; the Sebenza was an instant hit, when I got to it, and I'm reluctantly growing more and more fond of the Strider folders as well - these would be my current workhorse and bush folders. Even before my knives got so expensive, the philosophy was the same. Spyderco and Cold Steel folders were my most successful working knives, even if they weren't my favorite knives; they're made mostly out of a few bars of metal and plastic, and a handful of rivets. Nothing fancy, but they work. Say what you will about my opinion, but those knives ought to speak for themselves.

When I say all this, I don't mean to say 'don't buy an AO knife,' because actually AOs are sporty and they do in fact make the blade open faster. (I stand by my previous remark - with practice, one tactical folder is as fast as any other worth its stripes - but that's not to say AO wouldn't help if you wanted to bypass all that extra work.) The bulk of what I said was meant to suggest that if you want your knife to really perform hard as a knife, AO is perhaps a lesser concern. The Leek and similarly sized knives will likely never be called upon to perform a task that puts their structural strength to the test, so AO, if you want it, is a perfectly good idea.

Lastly, with regard to my remark about the Emmerson Wave being invariaby faster than a conventional AO, I concede that this is of course not a scientifically verifiable fact. My logic was that in circumstances where speed was prioritative, fewer actions need be performed to bring a waved knife to bear, as opposed to an AO knife. An AO, like most tactical folders, still needs to be drawn and opened, while a waved knife need only be drawn - since in the course of this action, the knife is designed to open itself. I'm sorry for not having explained that statement more thoroughly.

 

[wutitiz]

If you have never had an AO before, an option might be to get one that is switchable. My Kershaw mini-cyclone has a tiny switch on the back of the handle to disable the AO, turning it into a manual opener. I always carry it with AO disabled, because I don't want the blade to accidentally open in my pocket.

If you buy the AO and later decide you don't like it, you have the option of flipping that switch.

 

[knivesandguns]

Anything I post is either a product of my opinion, my logic, or my experience, and is never to be taken as fact unless I cite a reputable source. I assume the same of any post by any author that I've seen on this site.

Perhaps my logic is flawed - this would explain my unpopular opinions - but my experience, for what it's worth, is this:

Between work and hobbies, I have high demands set upon my knives. I've put a number of them through a reasonable amount of hard use and abuse, sometimes to the point (and I'm not proud to say this, since it usually is my fault) that they break. The thing is, the knives that break are quite consistently the flashy sort of knife in which you frequently see AO mechanisms. I wasn't trying to make an indictment of the mechanical integrity of an AO device; though in hindsight I realize I may have come off this way.

So alright, fine. No, there is nothing wrong with AO as a means of getting your knife open, and surely there are qualitative, well-built AOs out there, like Microtechs and Benchmades. Offsetlover, I've handled those same autos myself, and I agree they're intoxicating. I'm not frightened by extra moving parts, I just opt against them when I think they're unnecessary. Which is often.

Personally, I don't see AO as being necessary to the design of a folding knife, insofar as the knife is a piece of machinery. In my experience, the knives that survive abuse are the mechanically simple ones; the Sebenza was an instant hit, when I got to it, and I'm reluctantly growing more and more fond of the Strider folders as well - these would be my current workhorse and bush folders. Even before my knives got so expensive, the philosophy was the same. Spyderco and Cold Steel folders were my most successful working knives, even if they weren't my favorite knives; they're made mostly out of a few bars of metal and plastic, and a handful of rivets. Nothing fancy, but they work. Say what you will about my opinion, but those knives ought to speak for themselves.

When I say all this, I don't mean to say 'don't buy an AO knife,' because actually AOs are sporty and they do in fact make the blade open faster. (I stand by my previous remark - with practice, one tactical folder is as fast as any other worth its stripes - but that's not to say AO wouldn't help if you wanted to bypass all that extra work.) The bulk of what I said was meant to suggest that if you want your knife to really perform hard as a knife, AO is perhaps a lesser concern. The Leek and similarly sized knives will likely never be called upon to perform a task that puts their structural strength to the test, so AO, if you want it, is a perfectly good idea.

Lastly, with regard to my remark about the Emerson Wave being invariably faster than a conventional AO, I concede that this is of course not a scientifically verifiable fact. My logic was that in circumstances where speed was prioritative, fewer actions need be performed to bring a waved knife to bear, as opposed to an AO knife. An AO, like most tactical folders, still needs to be drawn and opened, while a waved knife need only be drawn - since in the course of this action, the knife is designed to open itself. I'm sorry for not having explained that statement more thoroughly.

Thanks for clearing that up. I am dying to try out a waved Emerson--but alas, I cannot find any decent knife shops around Portland. But with my assisted, tip-up blur, I can consistently whip that thing out in less than one second, starting with my hands in front of me. I can also sort of "wave" my blur on the edge of my pants, but that rips my pants up. Oh, and the speedsafe cutout within the handle of any Kershaw, (or ZT for that matter) does not compromise for strength imo.

But in order to keep on topic--go for a kershaw OP.

 

[svrider3]

Agreed...cruise around in the Kershaw sub-forum a while, then ask there. You'll get a lot of good advice.

Good idea SP. Then the OP will have the opportunity to get advise from
people that actually own and use AO's :thumbup:......not just speculate and assume. :thumbdn:

2008 makes 10 years now that Kershaw has been implementing Speed Safe
on some of there folders. They're still selling strong if not stronger then ever.
This is not a fad. Parachute pants and pet rocks were a fad.

 

[ssx1]

Just a follow up, I'm a member of other BB's and I often see posts where the poster hits and runs. Well I thought I'd correct that in my case. I been busy lately, but just wanted to let my fellow members know that I appreciate everyones time and effort in helping me make a quality choice in an EDC tool. I picked the 1660 Kershaw Leek as my EDC and promptly albeit inadvertantly shaved some fingerprints off checking the edge, talk about razor sharp.. lol. Great weight, very useful, thanks again.

 

[the kid]

I just ordered a Kershaw Shallot myself, it also has AO and adjustable clip.

http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/s...hallot&SUBMIT2.x=0&SUBMIT2.y=0&SUBMIT2=Search

Edit.
Nevermind, I'm 16 minutes to late.

 

[s.c.]

If you have never had an AO before, an option might be to get one that is switchable. My Kershaw mini-cyclone has a tiny switch on the back of the handle to disable the AO, turning it into a manual opener. I always carry it with AO disabled, because I don't want the blade to accidentally open in my pocket.

If you buy the AO and later decide you don't like it, you have the option of flipping that switch.

Ironically, I find that my MC is more likely to open accidentally with the AO off. I find that the torsion bar helps keep it locked, and in my MC, it takes substantially more force to open it with the AO on.

Congrats on the Leek. Mine is a dedicated letter opener at the office. As Kaizen stated, it is a great design. The solid lock up, the smooth lines, the flipper/figerguard placement, the simplicity of the lock keeping it closed, and how the thumb studs double as a stop for both opening and closing all make it a very well thought out design.