Slipjoint question

It's when the blade is made to stop in the half open position - at a 90 degree angle to the handle. The blade can stay at this angle indefinitely without putting stress on the backspring. The half stop slows down the blade movement and reduces the chances that a blade will close too quickly and catch you by surprise.
 
If you have a Swiss Army Knife (Victorinox ones anyway, can't speak for Wengers), look at the flathead/caplifter. While most blades/tools are smooth opening the whole way, this one stops firmly halfway, at 90 degrees. Better torque this way for the screwdriver.

If this is done with a regular blade, most likely it's for safety as SharpNJ says. It gives you a bit of a buffer for those "OH CRAP!" situations where you might otherwise fold the blade on your finger and remove a digit. :eek:
 
They truly belong on Barlows (Barlow Baseball, anyone? ;)), but on a lot of knives, they're out of place. Both my Q muskrats, a Special and a Standard, have them and I wish they didn't.
 
Personally, I like every slip to have a 1/2 stop. It's a nice piece of mind feature that doesn't detract from the knife IMO.

S&S, aside from tradition maybe, why don't you like a 1/2 stop on some styles?
 
The half stop also allows you to change grips when you open the knife. On alot of SJ's you have to use the nail nick to initially open the blade, after getting the blade half open you can go from 'nail nick grip' to a more secure grip and open the blade the rest of the way.
 
cpirtle said:
S&S, aside from tradition maybe, why don't you like a 1/2 stop on some styles?
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Some patterns are supposed to just slip open easily- a muskrat, for example, just doesn't feel right with a stop. Same thing with my toothpick. I filleted my social finger the first time I opened that- didn't expect a stop.

Stow, OH, eh? Beauty of a town. :) One day, we will have to swap antique mall data. :)
 
Sword and Shield said:
Stow, OH, eh? Beauty of a town. :)
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Thanks, we love it - but we're moving to Lake Milton in about a month. So if you want it, Pirtleranch is for sale :D

I know of a few good places, and we occasionally kill a Saturday in Heartville scouring the knife boxes.
 
One other thing about half-stops. It has a square tang, which should line up with the end of the spring in closed position. The joint then cleans itself a bit better than round-tang knives. Doesn't tend to drag lint and crud into the joint under the spring.
 
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