Snap

Hear, hear for the Grand Unified Traditional Pull Scale!!:eek:


The Scale:

10 - unable to open by hand
9 - able to open but breaking a nail likely
8 - able to open but very stiff, tough for edc use
7 - firm pull, edc range
6 - ideal edc range
5 - nice for secondary blades, tad light for a main blade
4 - starting to get too light for use
3 - maybe acceptable on very old knives
2 - barely closes
1 - does not stay closed

A tip of the hat to confucius37!!:thumbup:
:D
 
waynorth said:
Hear, hear for the Grand Unified Traditional Pull Scale!!:eek:


The Scale:

10 - unable to open by hand
9 - able to open but breaking a nail likely
8 - able to open but very stiff, tough for edc use
7 - firm pull, edc range
6 - ideal edc range
5 - nice for secondary blades, tad light for a main blade
4 - starting to get too light for use
3 - maybe acceptable on very old knives
2 - barely closes
1 - does not stay closed

A tip of the hat to confucius37!!:thumbup:
:D
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Exactly Waynorth. Now we need a similar definition scale for the "Snappiness" of a blade. Thus, the official Blade Forums Snap Scale. [emoji23]
 
Kind of embarrassing to admit, but a few of my new GECs I have snapped so often I develop ringing in my ears! (Worst with the 73's)
 
There are beautiful snap related armonic resonances sometimes...the difference between walk&talk and walk&sing!!
 
I figured for my personal rating, if sweat beads up on your forehead trying to get the blade open, and then it takes off a chunk of your finger when you close it, then that is a 10. If you close the blade and can't hear any noise, that is a 1.

I suppose there may be a way to rig up a vice, and a trigger pull scale, and get actual pounds of pull.
 
bflying said:
But what I discovered was that most (if not all) were just using a random subjective number on a scale of 1 to 10 for pull force. Very scientific and totally useless as everyone's experience and comparative knives (and fingernail strength) are different.
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I have always used a 111mm SAK as my baseline and things are compared either stronger or lighter relative to that. Have to admit that my little Vic Bantam has a surprisingly good snap. There are a lot of what people consider pretty good knives that have a lower subjective snap than that one.

If my Bantam is a 5, my AG Russell Large Sowbelly Trapper is a 2 and the 2015 Trad Forum knife is a 2 or 3. :rolleyes: Ok,.... a 3. I agree with the above scale generally. 6 or 7 is best for me for edc use. That scale is sort of like the Richter scale... exponential. My Bantam has a surprisingly good snap for a small knife.
 
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I use a system of both boolean algebra and quantum mechanics and if this fails I will listen to how loud it is.
 
btb01 said:
I was thinking about buying a 73 recently but when I saw the rating for the pull that the dealer gave it and compared it to other familiar knives on that dealer's site, I had second thoughts.
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I also read how hard the 73's were to open and went ahead and got one anyhow . Then I bought another one . Then I will eventually get another one. I don't know that they are so hard to open and they are a pretty good EDC IMO !!!!!

Harry
 
1) BB gun
2) Pellet gun
3) .22
4) .222
5) .410
6) 30-30
7) 12ga
8) .300
9) Elephant gun
10) Howitzer

A scale of snap from 1-10.
First being a Higonokomi/Opinel/Svord
Last being no knife I own. But 9 is close.

But I am totally stealing "walk and dance" it's when the handle material resonates just right with closing!!
 
1. No sound what so ever
2. Occasional pop
3. Mild grind
4. Audible grind
5. Weather is coming
6. Weather is here
7. Where's the Ibuprofen?
8. That's going to cause a limp
9. Do I have to move?
10. I'm going to stay in bed a couple of days.

We were talking about joint stiffness right?
 
I find the best way to enjoy the snap of a GEC is in the most acoustical room in the house....the bathroom. :D

Oh, Snap!
 
1. "Did you hear something?"
2. "Yeah I did, what was that?"
3. "Shhh, I can hear it too."
4. "Sounds like a twig breaking."
5. "Nah, that's a branch breaking."
6. "Sounds like a guy hitting a home run to me!"
7. "I think it's someone shooting a shotgun!"
8. "Oh man, a wrecking ball must have taken out that building!"
9. "It wasn't a wrecking ball, it was that freight train that left the tracks and crashed into the dynamite factory!!"
10. "Tonight on the Evening News, freight train crashes into nuclear weapon facility."
 
I'm assuming you are actually referring to blade "pull", the effort needed to open each blade, the rule of thumb seems to be a 5. Which refers to the Swiss Army knife as most everyone has one so it gives a good source of reference as to hard it is to open the knife. So that is the median.

When you get up to an 8, it's getting towards the nail breaker area, and many, myself included, do not care for a knife that stiff.

Too light in the other hand, feels as though the blade is just waiting to close on your fingers with any type of pressure on the blade. Not good either and guys are uncomfortable using them. I won't use them that light and will only buy one if it's going into my collection only.

The difference on the heavy pull knives can be negated if the design of the knife lends itself to pinching the blade to open it, or if it has an easy open notch, allowing the blade to be pinched and put into play. A heavier pull will be tolerated in that case since you're nor relying solely on your thumbnail to open it.

When buying a knife, if the seller hasn't provided that info in his listing, it is not impolite to ask. If you are ordering a custom, you can discuss this with your maker as to your own preference.

Hope that helped.

And after all that, if you were indeed asking about the snap a blade makes when closing, I don't think I've seen much mentioned about that aspect. Other than on some older slippies being sold, that may have a lazy snap, indicating it's gunked up in the pivot, or maybe a weak spring.
 
Hal, thank goodness, when I saw the Thread Title I thought it was going to be a broken Spring of some sort - and with the qulaity and breed of knives you have my friend - it was not going to be nice, but it's not....so good..

Snap - well if I was inspecting a knife of yours Hal or Charlies etc....( put it this way, if I was so lucky to be inspecting... ) I would not let the knife snap, but I cant help myself, take for instance the 100 plus year old Sheffields I have - Oh man....its a snap I know without exaggerating - you will hear way down the other end of the Hallway - Man it's like a Bear Trap going off!!! - DO NOT GET UNEDUCATED FINGERS IN THE WAY!!! so thats a 10 out of 10!! and its always the same reaction from me when it goes off...Wow!!!! with one heck of a grin - and then to repeat the exercise of course - cause I just love that sound!!!:D

With my GEC's I love the crisp snap and the small "jarring" it sends through the wrist - its yet another thing that adds to the enjoyment of using these awesome Traditionals......................First off the picking up of the knife - then subconsciously more than you would admit to and bit of thumbing of the scales, either the pinch or the feeling of finding home the nick....the Walk and Talk whcih starts with whatever rating the pull is and then all this leading to that "Snap"..... sounds like a lot of things being over exaggerated, but I guarantee this is what most of we Traditionalists like to feel when using our knives - not a tool, but a tool thats a joy to use.
 
Campbellclanman said:
Hal, thank goodness, when I saw the Thread Title I thought it was going to be a broken Spring of some sort - and with the qulaity and breed of knives you have my friend - it was not going to be nice, but it's not....so good..

Snap - well if I was inspecting a knife of yours Hal or Charlies etc....( put it this way, if I was so lucky to be inspecting... ) I would not let the knife snap, but I cant help myself, take for instance the 100 plus year old Sheffields I have - Oh man....its a snap I know without exaggerating - you will hear way down the other end of the Hallway - Man it's like a Bear Trap going off!!! - DO NOT GET UNEDUCATED FINGERS IN THE WAY!!! so thats a 10 out of 10!! and its always the same reaction from me when it goes off...Wow!!!! with one heck of a grin - and then to repeat the exercise of course - cause I just love that sound!!!:D

With my GEC's I love the crisp snap and the small "jarring" it sends through the wrist - its yet another thing that adds to the enjoyment of using these awesome Traditionals......................First off the picking up of the knife - then subconsciously more than you would admit to and bit of thumbing of the scales, either the pinch or the feeling of finding home the nick....the Walk and Talk whcih starts with whatever rating the pull is and then all this leading to that "Snap"..... sounds like a lot of things being over exaggerated, but I guarantee this is what most of we Traditionalists like to feel when using our knives - not a tool, but a tool thats a joy to use.
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When I think of a great snap, I always remember that Ulster Daddy Barlow I sent to New Zealand a few years ago. Happy New Year!
 
If I were to assign a number proportional to the snap and the loudness/ringing of the sound made while doing so, the number would correlate pretty closely with the amount of time needed to repair the edge after it slams into the backspring. So long as there's enough pull to ensure the blade closes fully, even when doing so gently and not letting go of the blade until the last few degrees' worth of closing arc, that's enough snap for me.

The most awesome ring I've heard in the snap of a closing blade also coincided with the thin edge of the hollow-ground $300+ custom folder's blade slamming into the spring upon closing. I used to think it was cool, but my opinion about the sound of uber-hard snap changed for the worse after that. To me, it's just the sound of potential damage being done, and it makes me cringe.

I've also seen dealers at knife shows give some pretty serious stink-eye to browsers allowing the blades to snap shut unrestrained while they're fiddling with knives on the dealers' tables. Loud closing snap is one of those things that sounds cool, so long as it's not being done to someone else's knife and leaving someone else to fix the potential damage to the edge. Viewed in that context, I don't really like to do it (or hear it) anymore, on any knife. It's fine if the knife is able to close that hard, even if not actually allowing it to; the better ones can still be closed gently & carefully with a subtle and satisfying 'click', when they are that strong.


David
 
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thawk said:
When I think of a great snap, I always remember that Ulster Daddy Barlow I sent to New Zealand a few years ago. Happy New Year!
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It still resides here in New Zealand - and yes, that Old Girl sure does Snap! Happy New Year to you too my friend.
 
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