Pros and cons of the half stop

I am not sure that I prefer one type or the other but I find that when I close one with a half stop , I will close it while looking at the blade . When I close the other type , I will close it by putting the Blade Spine against my leg . I have no idea why I do that either . I do wish that they would break the corners that the half stop tangs have . I have some very few knives that I have modified a corner of .

Harry
 
I wasn't really interested in the GEC Stockyard 29 until I found out it had half stops, ended up getting all the regular factory offerings and rotate through them fairly often.
As others have said the tactile feel of the half stop knives in my collection are just that much more satisfying to me than cam knives but I also love and rotate through my Dixie 81 Stockmans with about the same frequency as the 29's.
I do check if a possible addition has half stops and if it does it jumps up several places on my acquisition list.
 
I think I like half stops more on multi-bladed slippies, and on the larger ones I like no half stop. However this isn't something I've ever considered and realized until this question got me thinking.
 
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!
Click to expand...
I was always puzzled that the Case trapper (4 1/8 inch) has no half stop, but the smaller version of the same knife (3 1/2/ inch) does have half stops.

Swiss army knives mostly don't have half stops, but on some models the caplifter/screwdriver blade does, even if the other blades on that knife do not. I've read that is make the screwdriver work better.

I have no preference.
 
Not a deal breaker either way, on most patterns. I don't care for them on say Barlow and smaller, but on a large knife like a moose or two blade slipjoint folding hunter, or XL stockman, they don't really bother me.
Rough Rider/Ryder sure seems to put them on a lot of knives that don't need them though.
 
I find the halfstop to be distracting when closing knife against your leg.

Upon getting Merle the bladeforums Barlow, I was surprised to see a halfstop. Not a deal breaker, but still aint preferred.
 
Last edited:
If the spring is strong, I worry about the half stop injuring me when I close it. That said, I like the four way stop in my Manly Wasp, not for safety but the walk to open and shut is satisfying, not a strong spring.
 
cbach8tw said:
If the spring is strong, I worry about the half stop injuring me when I close it. That said, I like the four way stop in my Manly Wasp, not for safety but the walk to open and shut is satisfying, not a strong spring.
Click to expand...
It can't hurt you if you learn to keep your fingers out of the way....
 
For what it is worth I have both in my collection. I generally prefer them but my favorite slip joint doesn’t have a half stop and it has never bothered me. It really is a personal preference.
 
and what is the history of half stops? When did they start being used? Were they on knives that were made around 1880?
 
I picked up a Robeson grandaddy barlow and newly discovered a benefit of half-stops. The blade makes contact with the spring if allowed to snap shut (not severe, and luckily noticed before putting an edge on it, I think one good sharpening will give enough clearance). With the half-stop you still get a satisfying snap while closing before grabbing the blade and slowly closing it the rest of the way. With no half-stop you don't get any tactile feedback while closing unless you let it snap shut.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top