Scared of the hole?

redhawk44p

redhawk44p

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Jan 10, 2004
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I was showing my new D4 to some people today. I was surprised that several of them were scared to open the knife using the Spyderhole. They thought they would cut themselves. Has anyone else seen this?
 
If the person has limited knowledge/experience with knives, especially the Spydercos since they may not look immediately mainstream to these folks, then its very possible they would display some apprehension before handling one. I would expect this to be more the case when showing the larger knives such as a serrated edge Endura which looks suitably wicked.

Its happened to me once, and with a family member.
 
Well, to be fair, I have a friend who couldn't open Spyderco's without his thumb slipping and getting cut when I first introduced him. So, I bought him a Rescue 79mm to get some practice time in and because the orange handle and sheepsfoot blade looked non-threatening enough for him to carry at work. After he got some practice with that knife he only cut himself every so often when using the Spyderhole.
 
I have a tough time seeing how you could cut yourself by opening a Spydie via the Spyderhole.

People are strange.
 
Some are all thumbs. I've had people open them and not know how to close them. I've also had people ask me to open it for them. My wife is like that. If I hand it to her closed she is like, "are you going to open it for me?"

STR
 
I have had my share of klutz moments but I don't see how you could get cut using the spyderhole. Even after a few cold ones I have never cut myself opening my spydies.
 
I've been cut by the spyderhole but not by the blade as a result of using the spyderhole. :P
 
This cracks me up, because our draftsman at work is lacking a thumb on his right hand.... and he still manages to open a spyderco using the spyderhole. I gave him my old frn clip delica, and he uses it to this day. Don't ask me how he manages, but he can still get that thing open as fast as I can. I think it's a testament to the ergonomics of Spyderco knives.
 
It is always a disappointment when I try to show off a new Spyderco to one of my friends and they timidly half open the knife with the spydie hole, then close it, and hand it back to me. You can tell if someone is a knife person or not in about 2 seconds. Not opening a Spyderco all the way is like spitting your food out after only half chewing it. :p
 
I have a hunch someone like that would be equally afraid to use a thumb stud or disk. I think it's the idea of one hand opening, rather that the method of doing so, they find intimidating. I think anyone who has used either of those systems would be inclined to view the thumb hole, especially those over 11mm, as more secure rather than less.
 
When I bought my wife a Cricket, she thought that the Spyderhole was a place for clipping it to something. Honest to God, she did. She complained to me about the knife always coming open in her purse and I looked at it and saw why.
 
I had people telling me that my knife was illegal, thinking it was an automatic because of the speed and ease with which I opened it.
Btw, auto's are legal here.
 
Hasn't the hole for one handed opening been around for over 20 years now? I remember the first Spyderco I saw in a magazine was the Police model back when the company was called Clip-it (sp?) You'd think people would know how to thumb it open although I've still seen people pinch the hole with their other hand to pull open the knife.
 
There is also the "Spyderco Drop" which works with those Spydies with heavier scales. You pinch the Spyderhole between the thumb and forefinger of your strong hand and flip the hilt downwards, opening the blade. I suspect that doing so in front of a officer of the law might well get you arrested, however. But it certainly does work and it is MOST impressive.
 
I use that method a lot with my Police especially when I have the clip on. I was thinking that it was perfectly legal to do it that way and that it only became illegal when you could throw it open using only the handle. However, I'll bet you are still right about the possibility of getting arrested b/c it seems everytime I ask a LEO about legal issues surrounding knives, I always get a different answer.

I don't see how one could slip & cut their thumb when opening one handed b/c if you did slip is seems that you would slip up and away from the blade not down. All the times I've cut myself its been when I wasn't paying attention and and had part of myself across the handle when it closed :eek:.

My cousin was scared for years to open my Spyderco's and she has only recently come around and started to open them with one hand. My girlfriend was also scared to open my knife with one hand when I first showed it to her but it didn't take her long to get over it (probably b/c she seen me doing it so much). I think its opening it one handed that scares people not the hole but since I don't have any thumb stud knives I'm not really sure.
 
I think it's definitely the one-handed-ness that scares them, not the hole per se.
However, to the uninitiated, the hole looks like an eye socket (I've had several people tell me my Spydercos look like alligators and other such long-snouted, toothy animals). This could feasibly contribute to the psychological fear they may have, in the case of that particular knife.
Alex.
 
I have cut myself trying to open my own Spyderco one-handed. This was on a Starmate. The hole system is not absolutely safe. It is only safe when all the parts are designed and built right and the knife fits the user's hand. It is not necessarily the dumb people who distrust the hole, it may be the smart ones (or at least the cautious ones). Some people have a total dread of getting cut. It is like a fear of getting shots. They panic at the sight of broken glass.
 
Duke05 said:
Hasn't the hole for one handed opening been around for over 20 years now? I remember the first Spyderco I saw in a magazine was the Police model back when the company was called Clip-it (sp?) You'd think people would know how to thumb it open although I've still seen people pinch the hole with their other hand to pull open the knife.
Click to expand...

That's only true assuming that everyone has seen a Spyderco knife before. Just becuase they've been aroud over 20 years doesn't mean that the majority of the population is familiar with them.
 
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