Spring tension on a slipjoint

Cant you have both? a stiff enough back spring that gives you good walk and talk and the ease of opening with out pulling off a nail? Is there a middle ground? I like to ask when people ask me to make them a knife which they prefer, stiff or an easier to open type. Granted I haven't made that many but, It just makes sense that people will have different opinions on it.
 
Rusty McDonald said:
Cant you have both? a stiff enough back spring that gives you good walk and talk and the ease of opening with out pulling off a nail? Is there a middle ground? I like to ask when people ask me to make them a knife which they prefer, stiff or an easier to open type. Granted I haven't made that many but, It just makes sense that people will have different opinions on it.
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I'm thinking the middle ground would be easy open jacks. Easy to open by pinching on the blade and getting that leverage while still having that nice walk and talk.
 
I like medium to soft.

The Bokers are soft, most of the Queens are medium.
I had a couple that were stiff, but after working them out they are now medium.

I have a GEC sheepsfoot jack, where I can pinch open the main blade, but the small pen remains pristine as it is almost too hard to open.
 
I like them medium! I try them all, but I will not buy a nail breaker. Also, if it is so weak that it will not stay open or closed, that is just wrong.
 
Interesting thread, Rusty hit on it fairly well by having both, the real secret to
having a slippie that opens easily is smooooth action. I try to make them about
a 5.5-6 on the pull open scale but smooth enough to open like 4.5 on the 1-10
scale. I usually hand them to my wife to see if she has trouble plucking it without
the nail nick. The EO feature will usually allow a pretty stiff knife to be opened
easily also.
Ken.
 
I'm not too picky. The only minor complaint is with my Vic Classic, which has weak springs in my opinion. It annoys me when a blade is stiff from being squeezed by the liners, though.
 
Victorinox is about perfect. Think of Vic as medium rare, I can handle 'em anywhere from rare to medium well.;)
 
I'm a medium-heavy kind of guy. Kind of like the spring tension on an alox Victorinox Farmer. I figure that medium heavy when new will last for a good long time. Too soft when new spells for an early retirement.
 
kc custom said:
I usually hand them to my wife to see if she has trouble plucking it without
the nail nick. The EO feature will usually allow a pretty stiff knife to be opened
easily also.
Ken.
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I do the same thing with all my knives, if she cant open it I take a lil more time with it. She usualy just says no and hands it back, with my smaller knives I let my daughter open them and tell me what she thinks, {before I sharpen them}
 
I think Schrade USA's had it perfect, just a tad lighter than a Case. But a Case would be my second choice.
 
My left thumb nail has developed super strength over the years due to knife opening (or vitamin supplements) I like a heavy spring mainly, GEC are plenty fierce and some Schatts too. RR have surprisingly heavy springs, Bulldog are strong, CASE have good balance, Queen is a bit lighter but still strong enough. Böker are often softer but they seem to vary more than other knife companies,the Russell Barlow is a tight little minx! Canal Streets I've had are just too wimpy&passive for my needs.

There are two knives I have that are monsters. One is some Sunfish 'style' horror from Pakistan, at a distance it might look vaguely OK but the gaps etc, then if you want to open it,no homo sapiens has fingernails capable of tackling it (they would not be broken but DRAWN in the process!) so pliers are needed,closing it really is like some medieval man-trap....The other anti social type that needs sectioning is a Ka-Bar Gunstock from the 80s. Very decent jigging on the bone,weighty knife but you can feel your nails move when you tackle this one! No pliers needed thankfully but approach with care...not useful.
 
Victorinox is about perfect. I used to like them a little stiffer though. My tastes have just changed. I swear that backsprings were heavier back in the 70s & 80s, but maybe it was me just being a kid.

Speaking of Victorinox, I whish that those traditionals that had a liner locks would approach the level of fit that Vic does with their locking models.
 
This is a great thread. Necro time!! I am newer into traditional knives. I bought a Spyderco Swayback... which drew me to the Case swayback, to patterns, to GEC and others. I have found that I also really like Case tension. The Case knives, especially the Sowbelly and Trapper have what I would consider near "perfect "pulls. For me.

My GECs vary. I have a 23 that's in spring training (half opened between half stops for a while). Its a nail breaker. The Spey blade has loosened up a good bit, the clip refuses to give. I have a Congress with somewhat excellent pulls, and a 44 that I adore. Out of my humble collection of 25 or so mixed traditionals I think my favorite walk and talk is on my model 44. It's a good Medium IMO. A little stuffer than the Cases, but at a welcomed margin.

I was just thinking about this as I was admiring them the other day. For instance if the 23 clip wasn't so horridly hard to get our id more than likely carry it very often. This saddens me some.

Traditionals are a ton more complex and diversified than I could have ever imagined. Does anyone know any other "tricks" to lessen tension if a spring is too stiff?
 
JohnDF said:
I said it earlier today... Those #44's had the best Walk n Talk of all. :cool::thumbsup:
Sorry, I can't help with lightening a pull, I'd never want to do that. I like strong pulls.
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Do you have a 23? Its the sword and the stone on the clip lol seriously! At least mine is. I bought the Northfield bullet and the second I opened it bought a Tidioute about an hour later. The northfield has taken over my pocket. Tidi is NIT. I will probably get the Micarta and Cocobolo as well if possible.
 
I have found that stronger springs are an acquired taste. When I was younger I had real difficulty opening my dad’s large Case stockman. It felt almost too strong to open. I bought a GEC 77 and found it very hard to open, too. Flushed and oiled it well and it didn’t seem to help much. Pull went from “very hard I’m going to surely tear my fingernail” to “still unpleasantly hard but a hair more manageable.” Then I bought a GEC 73. I started carrying said GEC 73 daily for about two years, and now the 73 doesn’t seem too heavy, and neither does any other knife. But when I first received this 73, it felt so hard to open that I intended to either send it to GEC for repair, or to sell it.

Now the 73 is “pleasantly stout,” my dad’s Case is smooth and manageable, and the 77 is effortless.
 
JohnDF said:
Yes, I have the #23 Micarta LL and i love it.
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Touch Sir

GaiusJulius said:
I have found that stronger springs are an acquired taste. When I was younger I had real difficulty opening my dad’s large Case stockman. It felt almost too strong to open. I bought a GEC 77 and found it very hard to open, too. Flushed and oiled it well and it didn’t seem to help much. Pull went from “very hard I’m going to surely tear my fingernail” to “still unpleasantly hard but a hair more manageable.” Then I bought a GEC 73. I started carrying said GEC 73 daily for about two years, and now the 73 doesn’t seem too heavy, and neither does any other knife. But when I first received this 73, it felt so hard to open that I intended to either send it to GEC for repair, or to sell it.

Now the 73 is “pleasantly stout,” my dad’s Case is smooth and manageable, and the 77 is effortless.
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I see. I flushed the 23 clip after reading this thread some. Wrapped the blade in a towel and worked the action somewhere around 100 times. Will repete until its manageable. The spey lightened up fine and us a nicely strong Medium. The clip is similar to getting your first frame lock flipper....
 
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