Question about opening a Spyderco

[Elkslayer]

I am a newbie to Spyderco knives. In fact I met Sal at the Denver Knife show in August and bought the sharpening system from him but didn't even realize who he was until I watched the video. I now wish I could relive that 30 minutes I spent talking to him!

I just bought a used Native and have been practicing opening it. I find that I need to re-position my hand to fully open the knife as my thumb isn't long enough to get the knife into full "battery" (using a shooting term). Then, once I have the blade fully open my hand is positioned to far forward on the handle for a "proper" grip.

Is there a trick to opening a Native or any other Spydie that I am not aware of? What am I doing wrong? My only other clip knife is a Kershaw Blackout with the SpeedSafe but it is too bulky to carry in the same pocket I carry my keys in (I can't get my hand into my pocket past the knife to get my keys with out scratching the back of my hand. Maybe a diet would help here).

 

[brownie0486]

This is how I explain to them [ people ] with that problem.

Find the spyderhole with your thumb, cock the thumb [ bend it to 90 degrees ] which brings the knife deeper into your hand. Then you will have enough to open the blade and the thumb will be long enough.

Works for everyone I've shown who were new to the line of knives by that maker.

Brownie

 

[calyth]

Odd.. I have problems with the endura where my hand won't reach (my hands are small compared to caucasian hands), but I absolutely love my Native because it's great at opening....

 

[yobbos1]

I had the same problem with my Police. The 90 degree thing works very well or you could use the "snap". Pinch the hole between your thumb and middle finger with the index finger on (or near) the blade spine and snap the handle downward with a flick of the wrist. A bit dramatic for some people's taste but with a little practice, quite effective.

 

[zer0sig]

i usually end up snapping mine, but i usually do it backhanded, with my thumb on one side and my index and middle fingers on the other, gripping fairly near the non-pivot end of the frame. it's important, of course, to grip well when doing this. sometimes i will pop it in standard grip with my fingers toward the end similarly, but i usually find backhand to be more stable/effective. i also do the hole-grip snap, but i do it with only my thumb and index fingers. the mass/balance of the blade and handle determine which of these i find most intuitive/efficient. usually the backhand snap does not fail, though on a stiffer spydie, it can take some force. be wary not to accidentally let the knife slip from your grasp-in fact, if practicing, it miight be a good idea to do it alone, as i've seen many a knife go flying across a room before.