Pros and cons of the half stop

SoansoMcMasters

SoansoMcMasters

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I just wanted to hear from some of you knowledgeable folks on the pros and cons of a half stop on a slip joint. I look forward to reading the responses!
 

Stop with the half stops

I’m getting curmudgeonly. Tired of every knife having to have a half stop. I like a nice firm, smooth cam tang. I especially hate it on round bolstered knives and stockmen. It does not show better build quality. Just stop it.
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Dear: Half-Stop

I was breaking down a 12 pack soda-pop box and made an error and the blade closed... to the Half Stop , saving my finger , if it had been a Slip Joint with out a Half Stop i would of cut myself bad!! this knife has just earned a place in my carry routine , anyone else saved by a Half Stop ?? the...
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Jack Black said:
Not again!! 🙄
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Please forgive me my ignorance. While I have a nice collection of knives I’ve only recently ventured into slipjoints. I’m trying to do my best to understand the ins and outs by learning from others’ experiences.

My first interest in knives was steel types, and I’ve thoroughly satisfied that itch. Now I am pursuing the aesthetic appeal of traditionals along with all they have to offer in performance.
 
0% has anything to do with safety imo, at least in practice. There are no slipjoints that spring shut from half-open. It is a feature that, if included, can indicate quality if done well. It's a nice tactile experience. I don't personally have preferences but as far as I can tell those two points sum it up. A sign of quality if included and done well, a tactile experience you might or might not prefer.
 
SoansoMcMasters said:
Please forgive me my ignorance. While I have a nice collection of knives I’ve only recently ventured into slipjoints. I’m trying to do my best to understand the ins and outs by learning from others’ experiences.

My first interest in knives was steel types, and I’ve thoroughly satisfied that itch. Now I am pursuing the aesthetic appeal of traditionals along with all they have to offer in performance.
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Without speaking for Jack, I believe his comment was not at all about your interests and personal journey, but the fact that this is a perennial topic and there are already threads about it. :)
 
SoansoMcMasters said:
I just wanted to hear from some of you knowledgeable folks on the pros and cons of a half stop on a slip joint. I look forward to reading the responses!
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SoansoMcMasters said:
Please forgive me my ignorance. While I have a nice collection of knives I’ve only recently ventured into slipjoints. I’m trying to do my best to understand the ins and outs by learning from others’ experiences.

My first interest in knives was steel types, and I’ve thoroughly satisfied that itch. Now I am pursuing the aesthetic appeal of traditionals along with all they have to offer in performance.
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You haven’t done or said anything which requires pardon :thumbsup::D. If it wasn’t for things like half-stops, what on earth would we talk about?

And about half-stops (Is there a hyphen there? Somebody is sure to correct me if there isn’t…); since age 5 I have had pocket knives both with and without them, and honestly never noticed a difference, or even knew what a half-stop was, until I started browsing the forums.

Since I generally prefer my knives to be either all the way open, or all the way closed, it makes absolutely no difference to me.
 
Whether one likes half stops or not is merely a matter of personal preference. I am completely comfortable carrying either. I still to this day practice some advice given by AG Russell that he wrote in one of his catalogs many years ago, whenever you pick up a new knife, take some time to familiarize yourself with it. Open and close the knife many times until its action and feel are second nature to you before ever putting it into your pocket. Even today, if I switch out one knife for another, I open and close it a few times sometimes, this will tell me that the knife needs a drop of oil in the pivot, or maybe needs some pocket lint removed. Have fun exploring the world of traditional knives.
 
Con:
They can be unpleasant on the thumb nail when the blade stops.

Imagine you're pulling the blade open with your thumb nail and a sharp abrupt stop happens before you could switch to a pinch grip of the blade, you tend to get strong springs and real snap on knives with half stops and it took me a while to get used to changing my hold on the blade before the half stop .

You may or may not know what I mean, I'm not sure I've described it the best.

This is something you can get used to though and It's only an issue on knives you can't just pull open with a pinch grip, that's the only con I can think of and it may just be a personal thing as I've never heard this complaint from anyone else.
 
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SoansoMcMasters said:
Please forgive me my ignorance. While I have a nice collection of knives I’ve only recently ventured into slipjoints. I’m trying to do my best to understand the ins and outs by learning from others’ experiences.

My first interest in knives was steel types, and I’ve thoroughly satisfied that itch. Now I am pursuing the aesthetic appeal of traditionals along with all they have to offer in performance.
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Certainly not a question of ignorance 🙂 However, this same issue has been the subject of at least a couple of other recent threads here. It doesn't always work, but the 'search' function is always worth a try 👍

Here's one, from April, for example: Thread 'Stop with the half stops' https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/stop-with-the-half-stops.1869532/
Dadpool said:
Without speaking for Jack, I believe his comment was not at all about your interests and personal journey, but the fact that this is a perennial topic and there are already threads about it. :)
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Thank you my friend 🙂👍
 
KnifeHead said:
For those wondering which knives traditionally have half stops and which knives have cam ends, here is a simple(and GENERAL) rule of thumb: Round-ended knives have cam ends ie., Whittlers, stockmen, toothpicks, toenails, knives with sunk joints, etc. Square ended knives (some of which may have a radiused end but are NOT CONSIDERED ROUND ENDS) have half stops, ie Trappers, jacks, hunters, etc.

Keep in mind, with slip joints, there are exceptions that defy generalizations BUT this generalization works most of the time. You can find knives that have both half stop and cam end blades in them. I like those because they have something for everyone. ;)

your mileage may vary/void where prohibited by law/do not remove this label under penalty of death/no smoking/brush your teeth after every meal/blahblahblahyakityschmakity
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A post from 2009 by Kerry Hampton, a friend and protégé of the late Tony Bose. Tony passed this bit of knowledge on to Kerry. Whenever a half stop discussion starts up I think of this post. I also think of our departed friend Ron, Half/Stop Half/Stop .
I can go either way, on the half stop question that is, although a poorly executed half stop is a no go for me.
 
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