One-Handed Slipjoint?

J

JNieporte

Joined
Nov 1, 2004
Messages
3,352
I'm looking for a slipjoint that's designed to be opened with one hand. I already have the Byrd Tern, and two Spyderco UKPKs: one in black FRN with a plain edge saber ground drop point blade, and one in black FRN with a plain edge flat ground leaf shape blade. Both of the UKPKs are the Carpenter steel. A little checklist is below; the knife will be used for EDC.

-Less than $50 U.S.
-Opened with one hand. I know that almost any knife can be opened one-handed, but I mean a knife that employs a thumb stud, disc, hole, slot, flipper, or some other design for the purpose.
-Country of origin is not important.
-A pocket clip is highly preferred, but not necessary.
-Blade with a cutting edge of at least 2". Otherwise, no blade length restrictions.

I know Boker has the Trance 42 and the XS, but I have no experience with those. The Subcom 42 is too small. Any thoughts?
 
I've got a one-arm trapper from Queen for $50 that is designed for one-handed opening (on the spey blade at least). I'm afraid anything more will be leaving traditional territory.
 
Have you seen the Ka-Bar Big Easy slipjoint that AGR has on his web site? It's under $50 and the blade fits your length requirement. It has a nail nick instead of thumb studs, by AGR says that it's a big enough nick to make it possible to open one-handed. 440A steel, but it could be something to consider in spite of that.

There's also the Spyderco Grasshopper. The blade is 2-1/4" so the cutting edge should be close to 2".
 
2nd the Dozier Big Easy by Kabar. It's got a lotta meat on that blade though it doesn't exactly meet your requirements.

Maybe even venture into friction folders that could be deployed with one hand?
 
Sanrenmu H02. I edc one pretty often. Edge length is about 2.5". The design of the actual slipjoint mechanism resembles the way Spyderco does it. That is, like a bad lockback. Good steel, good construction, handsome, inexpensive.

An oddball in the one hand opening slipjoint category is the first CRKT Edgie. This is an odd one for knife nuts, in that the blade steel, gimmickiness, and sloppy construction for such a brand name, lead to easy dismissal outright. But I found it to be fairly usable, and I carry one on occasion.

I've been wanting to try out an AG Russell One Hand Folding Steak Knife since seeing how thin they are closed. That line looks pretty sodbuster-ish to me and fixes one of the gripes I usually have with sodbusters: fat handles.
 
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I can personally vouch for the boker trance 42. It fights with my ukpk for pocket time. Maybe not quite as comfortable, but very good, especially considering the price. I know have been complaints of rough f&f on them, but as far as i know they have been resolved, and mine is perfect. I'd consider it a great alternative.
 
This is over your price limit, but the Case Mid Folding Hunter fits the bill.

I have use of only one hand and I love slipjoints, so this is something I've been working on for a while. On a single blade slipjoint, if it's not a nail breaker, you can attach a thumb stud (called a one-armed-bandit). If a knife handle is flat, you can add a Niteize eClipse.
 
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